Selfies

Self portraits were a big segue into professional photography for me. Working as a model, I began to tire of frequently needing to find reputable sources to update images in my model portfolio & began to take my own photos

Self portraits were a big segue into professional photography for me. Working as a model, I began to tire of frequently needing to find reputable sources to update images in my model portfolio & began to take my own photos. I learned a lot & am happy to say that I’ve gotten it down to a science now.

I believe that if you can take your own photo – a tedious & often rushed process – you can take anyone’s photo, and 10x better. Photographing someone other than yourself allows you the luxury of taking your time, constantly tweaking & revising your composition, reviewing your shots, etc.; something you can’t really do during self portraiture. A lot of times, however, it is the only option, as it was during my trip to Easter Island, which was a journey worthy of an entire blog in itself…but I will try to keep focus here.

My husband has his own set of extraordinary talents, but unfortunately for me, photography is NOT one of them. So, when we travel, our holiday photos are either in the hands of (mostly camera illiterate) strangers or, well, me.

lenny-green

The photo above is one of my favorite examples of self portraiture on the fly that happened to turn out exactly as I wanted it to, without the use of any studio lighting or assistance ! As we were traveling to & on the most isolated populated island in the world, I knew I had to travel light; no reflectors, tripods or additional baggage that would have slowed us down or been a hinderance to carry. For this shot, I balanced my camera between a pile of jagged rocks & ran back and forth between my spot – marked by a smaller rock I used for my focus point – and a spot close enough to my teetering camera for the remote to send a signal, every 10 shots. Did I mention there was a sleeping baby on my back ? Shhhh….

13000133_1678575052394723_5212198225011525220_nCellphone photo of my madness, snapped by my husband

Many ended up crooked due to the camera falling a bit & there were a lot of awkward shots, since I was in constant movement trying to flare my skirt to give the illusion of wind – the waves below were dramatic due to the rocky coastline & I wanted to mirror that in my stance – but my efforts were not in vain & I ended up with one of my favorite shots, ever.

DSC_4395There are about 40 other photo outtakes from this shoot

 I guess I just wanted to make a post to show that it doesn’t matter where you are or what gear you (don’t) have; never pass up an opportunity to execute your vision !

Author: Rebecca Hardy

A native New Yorker, Reby Sky took a deep interest in the arts from an early age. Classically trained in ballet & theatre, she began her career in dance, performing in off-broadway venues & competing in dance competitions throughout the United States. Reby has also been featured in numerous instructional dance videos, including "Bellydance Your Way to Cardio" & "Bellydance for Mothers & Daughters".  Also formally trained in classical piano under master-pianist Rosario Garriga, Reby has performed in concert halls throughout the East coast, and attended the LaGuardia School of Music & Art & the Performing Arts - The "FAME" school - as a major in music.  In addition to dance, theatre, & music, Reby added professional football player to her repertoire in 2008; She signed with the LFL (Lingerie Football League) for a brief period of time before resigning for personal reasons.  Working as a successful model, Reby Sky has appeared in numerous national & international publications including, but not limited to Esquire, STUFF Magazine, Supermodels Unlimited, & PLAYBOY. Also making the jump into live media, Reby has appeared on television shows such as SPIKE-TV's "Midnight Spike" as a guest host & on TLC-TV's "Date Patrol" as a guest dance instructor. She has been featured in dozens of print ads and in numerous television advertisements, as well as internationally aired music videos. In 2009, Reby was named Miss Howard TV of the Year by the Howard Stern Show. She is also known within the sports world as the "NY Giants Girl".    Also working in broadcast media, Reby performed as an on-air talent for Sirius/XM Radio on the pro-wrestling show, "Busted Open”. Previous radio experience includes work as a sports correspondent for Clear Channel radio station, 98 Rock in Tampa, FL. Reby was also the host of her own radio show, "Digital Photography on the Radio", on 1010am Sports Radio (CBS) in 2008. In the world of professional wrestling, Reby is best known for her work on TNA Impact Wrestling, where she performed as a wrestler & recurring character from 2014-2017. Sky previously worked as a backstage interviewer, color commentator & professional wrestler for Lucha Libre USA Masked Warriors on MTV2. Reby currently lives in Cameron, North Carolina with her husband & two beautiful boys & is the owner/operator of HardyShoots.com.

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