Amy Dunn, Houston Photographer Blog » self-portrait

Another Galaxy

amydunn — Mon, 10 May 2010 13:25:34 +0000

In a recent podcast interview with Model and Photographer, I note that "access" is one key to being a great photographer. Over the weekend, I had access to an incredible ranch outside of San Diego, California. When I saw this room, I said, "This room is out of this world!" I was the only one who laughed at my corny joke, but it still makes me ROFL.

In the midst of all the chaos surrounding a swimsuit calendar shoot this weekend, I managed to snap this self-portrait. I shot it in less than 10 minutes and then played around with CS5 on Jon’s laptop. While I still need to tinker with CS5, I have noticed some enhancements and some features that need improvement. The one thing I can’t stand is the clone tool: when you sample part of the image, that sample toggles over the area you wish to clone. I find that distracting.

On my computer at home, the image looks way over-saturated but not quite saturated enough on Jon’s screen. I don’t know how to reconcile that. I guess I’ll just deal with it and post it for now. What do you think of this self-portrait?

P.S. I almost named this photo “Saturn and Uranus.”

Rancho Santa Fe
San Diego, CA 2010

Assistant: Jon Slevec
Gear: Canon 5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-70 mm
AB 1600 w/reflector

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Self-Portrait Weekend

amydunn — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 13:55:59 +0000

My mom’s bedroom looks like Laura Ashley herself threw up in it. It’s all girlie and pink–so unlike my mom or me. I have encouraged her to re-decorate for years, but now that I enjoy photography, I see things in a different way. Don’t you agree that photographers have a different perspective on beauty and life? We tend to see things that other people can’t.

"Hey, look! There’s a hairy mole. What if we light it with a snoot, put a tree branch next to it for decor, and shoot it with the macro kit on a lensbaby? Now that’s art!"

I know I could not have said anything and no one would have noticed, but you know I never miss an opportunity to poke fun at myself. Ignore the clubbed foot at the bottom of the frame. This was actually the first test image from the shoot, and Jon and I accidentally chopped off my foot. I had to re-construct it in post, and I clearly did a horrible job! My feet got pretty beat up in Hawaii, but they don’t look THAT bad! hahahaha It makes me laugh, so I’m keeping it.

Photographer: Amy Dunn
Photo assistant: Jon Slevec

Houston, TX 2010

Gear: Canon 5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-70 mm
Lighting: AB 1600 Beauty Dish
aimed at adjacent wall on camera left so as not to compete with
the back-lighting, lit by the beautiful fiery star in the sky (a.k.a. the sun)

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New Self-Portrait, “The Ex”

amydunn — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 06:10:58 +0000

I had a rough time trying to set up a self-portrait today. First, my Vagabond did not hold its charge (again), so I had to scrap my shoot at the neighborhood park. Then, I tore apart my house so I could light some surfaces outside. No matter what I tried, my lighting look atrosh. Blargh. I tried different set-ups inside my house and settled on the whole notion of “less is more.”

Photographer: Amy Dunn
Photo assistant: Jon Slevec

Houston, TX 2010

Gear: Canon 5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-70 mm
Lighting: AB 1600 Beauty Dish

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Like a Fat Kid Loves Cake

amydunn — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 05:56:39 +0000

Hello, friends!

Thank you so much for the positive support by joining my Facebook page. I have over a 100 “fans” now, and I have been too shocked to express my gratitude. I love you all like a fat kid loves cake.

Speaking of fat kids, I accepted the P90X challenge and have kept myself busy with workouts. The picture below incorporates a self-portrait I did last year with the assistance of Jeff Fuller, Diana Manzanares, and Jon. I never posted the photo because of my low self-esteem: too much cake from the previous year made me look and feel like a bloated pig. I actually cried when I saw the photo, and it motivated me to work out. This year, I feel incredible, and I owe it all to new scenery, a change of pace, family, and great friends like you. I appreciate you more than you know.

My gift to you is this hilarious link to have fun with your photos. Thank you for the birthday wishes, your support and your friendship.

Love,
Amy

New York City, 2009

Aviator Amy (Mia & Wasabi, too!)

amydunn — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 20:59:26 +0000

My favorite TV commercial from last season was the Kindle spot, the result of a contest held by Amazon. A beautiful blonde actress named Annie Little graces the television screen, and she sings the ever-so-catchy “Fly Me Away.” The commercial captivates the audience’s attention with the costume changes and adorable photograph flip-book quality. It reminds us to dream, to suspend our disbelief, and totally dive into the pool of creativity. Part of that creative process, for me, is the ability to reverse engineer lighting and post-processing.

I had an aviator cap and goggles for another self-portrait I wanted to try and conveniently stumbled across some faux snow from the holidays. I set up the seamless background and added the fluffy cloud bits with tape. In the commercial, a fairly obvious light shines strongly from camera-left, and at the 0:07 mark, a rectangular shape appears on the goggles. I set up a medium softbox, put my camera on a tripod, and got my wireless remote ready. Jon assisted by waving my scarf around and kept an eye on Mia and Wasabi so they did not fall off the stool. Boy, those two would do anything for a treat.

After a few minutes of shooting, I popped in the photos into an editing program and processed the images to have a Polaroid 669 film kind of feel. Voilà! Done. Even though the formula differs, I achieved similar results. Just remember, it only takes minutes to come up with something this creative and fun. The winner(s) of the Kindle contest shot an entire commercial in a seven-hour take. It inspired me to get creative and quit making excuses about my time. Congratulations to Ithyle Griffiths, Angela Kohler, Annie Little, Sharon Williams, and Rachel DeSimone. Thanks for the inspiration!

[See the adorable commercial here]

Self-Portrait by: Amy Dunn
Photo assistant: Jon S.
Models: Amy, Mia & Wasabi

Houston, TX 2010

Solitude of Self

amydunn — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:14:09 +0000

I shot this in my kitchen. I did not intend such a moody, introspective self-portrait, but rather, I wanted to shoot a kitchen scene while baking cookies. I goofed on my lighting but liked the way this overhead light highlighted my bone structure. A quick change of clothing, and I embraced a secondary self-portrait setting.

I enjoyed shooting this self-portrait much more than my previous one for a couple of reasons: (1) while Houston had yet another thunderstorm tonight, I did not have to run outside in the spooky weather, and (2) I finally replaced my remote switch so I could shoot from afar. This time, I did not break a sweat other than setting up the lighting which consisted of a beauty dish and grid placed on a boom stand. The remote facilitated the shoot, and after a handful of shots (16 to be exact), I went with the classic, “Good enough.”

Other than a little dodging and burning to bring out textures, I did not do much in post-production. If all self-portraits were this easy, I would shoot them more often. I do have some set-ups that I want to try soon—including the one I missed this evening—so please keep up the support as I fumble my way through these ideas.

Houston, TX 2009

Gear: Canon 5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM Lens
Lighting: AB 1600 Beauty Dish + Grid on boom

Protected: Silhouette

amydunn — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 06:33:11 +0000

The Glamorous Life

amydunn — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:41:10 +0000

The lyrics to Fergie’s song, “Glamorous,” make me smile. She sings about her rise to success, about wearing gold and diamond rings, shopping for expensive things, being in magazines and bougie scenes—but she still goes to Taco Bell, “raw as hell.” I find that hilarious that she can have pretty much anything she wants, but she keeps it real. I can relate.

It feels like my life has come full circle since I left Texas nearly 10 years ago. When I left home for modeling, I traveled to exotic destinations, appeared in glossy magazines, and popped up in TV commercials worldwide. I wore expensive clothes in expensive cities and have even had intimate conversations with celebrities. But it is all a façade. Underneath all the glamour and perfection belies a young lady that loves Red Lobster and a damn good fart joke. When people get to know me, they almost always say, “You’re not at all what I expected.” I come from a loud, quirky family, but I guess I hide it well.

For this self-portrait, I got in the mood by listening to Lenny Kravitz’s “Lady,” and conjured up the adjectives in the song: sophisticated, chic, pretty, and refined—pretty much my polar opposite. I found Chanel accessories from a lifetime ago and wore them for this portrait only. It reminded me how much I have changed throughout the years, but at the end of the day, I still cry laughing at Dirty Sanchez jokes.

Houston, TX 2009

Gear: Canon 5D Mark II
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 a.k.a. “The Nifty Fifty”
AB1600 with black/white umbrella

Fergie’s “Glamorous” video:

Fergie – New Music – More Music Videos

pricegrabber.com

amydunn — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:57:31 +0000

I probably show up more now that I have officially retired than I ever did in my active career. Maybe Jon and I should collaborate more – then I would be the most ubiquitous Asian-American commercial print model. hahaha See the ad here on pricegrabber.com.

Thank you, me2 and klaatu!

Shooting a Self-Portrait

amydunn — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 02:11:25 +0000

My trip to San Diego got canceled this weekend, so I decided to shoot a self-portrait today. I forgot how much time and patience goes into creating a photo, but I certainly wanted to make use of my free time. I started my project at 3:00 p.m. and did not finish until 8:00 p.m.—a lengthy five-hour activity just for the luxury of capturing one frame. Today reminded me why I do not shoot that many self-portraits.

I initially wanted a cartoon-like illustrated background, but I settled on this cross-processed image. None of my self-portraits have ever turned out the way I envisioned, completely opposite from when I photograph models. The process is therefore invigorating and sometimes frustrating—but oftentimes rewarding. For every self-portrait, you will remember that moment in time forever.

After hair and makeup, I set up one AB 1600 at 1/6 power and used a silver umbrella for a little contrast. I placed the light right next to the camera, a Canon 5D Mark II, placed on my new and sturdy Manfrotto tripod. I had a Focus Gray seamless background roll behind me, and I sat on my piano bench. I wanted a tiny bit of distortion to emphasize the eyes, so I used my Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM at 70 mm. I do not own a cable release or a remote (on my wish list!), but I got a pretty good lock on my eyes within a few minutes.

I am terribly impatient and will only allow myself approximately 25 frames before I say, “Enough!” All of my self-portraits are the product of what I can accomplish in 20-minutes of shooting time. I slapped the CF card into the computer and picked out this image right away. Because of my fitness goals, I have been drinking so much water, I have very clear skin and did not need to retouch much other than a few stray hairs.

The chunk of the preparation and shooting time, therefore, went to hair and makeup as well as setting up the lighting and nailing the focal points. Here is a mini-makeup tutorial if anyone is interested in this particular look. I have suggested some products that would benefit a photographer’s kit as well:

Hair & Makeup:

1. Prep the skin with Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Moisturizer SPF 15.

2. Use a wedge sponge and apply Make Up For Ever Face and Body foundation all over the face and neck. You can also blend with a foundation brush; Posh makes a nice fat one.

3. Take a concealer brush and apply Make Up For Ever Lift Concealer under eyes and around the nose. Also, cover up any red spots or outstanding blemishes.

4. Sweep an ivory-colored eyeshadow across the lids. Here, I used the lightest color from the Sonia Kashuk “Smoke in Your Eyes” eye shadow quad. I used the smaller end of an Essence of Beauty brush (labeled Blush and Powder) to apply this color.

5. Then, use Trish McEvoy’s crease brush to apply a warm chestnut brown color in the crease. MAC has a good one called “Symmetry.”

6. With an angled brush, fill in the eyebrows with the same light brown color.

7. Draw a line over the top eyelid with black liquid eyeliner. Here, I used Wet & Wild H2O proof, but it clumped my lashes together.

8. Take a white eyeliner and rim the inner eye. I had an el-cheapo product, so I had to use a small amount of Make Up For Ever flash color in white to do the job.

9. Using the same angle brush from the eyebrows, slide the brush across a dark eyeshadow and line your eyes right beneath the white rim. I used the darkest color from the Maybelline Metallique collection for a little bit of pop.

10. Take a small brush or Q-tip and apply a white, shimmery powder in the inner corners of your eyes. Dex New York has an intensely beautiful pigment called “The Cloisters Pearl.” A little dab goes a long way.

11. To finish the eyes, adhere false top and bottom eyelashes with a thin layer of eyelash glue. Curl the top lashes with a Shu Uemura lash curler and apply a few layers of mascara across the top and bottom lashes. Maybelline makes the famous Great Lash mascara, and it works perfectly.

12. Trish McEvoy makes the best brushes, but I accidentally got eyelash glue all over my blush brush. Use a powder brush—here, a combination of a Sonia Kashuk and Philosophy—to apply and blend Nars “Orgasm” across the cheeks and temples.

13. For those who love MAC’s “Spice” lip liner, you will love Wet & Wild’s “Willow.” Line the lips and gently fill in color.

14. L’Oreal has a new product out now called Infallible Lip Duo Compact. The base coat feels extra creamy and lovely, and the color, Azalea, is beautiful—for the first two minutes. It crumbles on the lips and has to be exfoliated with a toothbrush.

15. Dust powder over the face last. Try Dex New York Mineral Pressed Foundation using a Make Up For Ever kabuki brush.

After washing and drying my hair, I used a Conair flat iron and made my hair pin-straight. Then I applied Kiehl’s silk groom for that extra-polished look.

I never look like this in person.