Getting that ‘Pat on the Back’ Shot
Alright, so I had this idea buzzing around in my head. I wanted a picture, you know, that classic ‘pat on the back’ gesture. It just feels encouraging, right? Like saying ‘good job’ without words. I figured it would be cool to have one for maybe a blog post or just… well, just to have it.
First thing, I realized actually getting someone to pose for this might be awkward, or maybe they wouldn’t get the angle right. So, I decided to try and do it myself. Sounds weird, I know, staging a pat on the back for myself, but hey, it’s about the image!
I grabbed my phone, that’s my usual go-to for quick shots. Then I looked around for a spot with decent light. Near the window seemed best, soft morning light, not too harsh. Didn’t want weird shadows making it look spooky.
Setting things up was the tricky part.
- I propped my phone up against a stack of books on a small table. No fancy tripod here, just making do.
- Then I set the camera timer. Started with 10 seconds, figured that’d give me enough time to get into position.
- Okay, position time. I stood with my back kinda angled towards the phone. Then I had to reach my right arm over my left shoulder to pat myself. It felt super unnatural, let me tell you!
The first few tries were garbage. Either my hand looked weird, or my arm blocked my shoulder, or I wasn’t even in the frame properly. It was a bit of trial and error.
Trying Different Things
I adjusted the phone angle a bit. Tilted it up slightly. Tried standing further away, then closer. Changed which arm I used for the ‘pat’. Left arm over right shoulder felt slightly less awkward, for some reason.
I also played with my shirt. A plain t-shirt seemed to work best, less distracting than patterns. Needed the focus just on the gesture itself.
After maybe fifteen minutes of hitting the timer, scrambling into position, holding the awkward pose, and checking the results, I finally got a few shots that looked decent. Not perfect, you know, but they captured the idea of the pat on the back.
Finishing touches.
I picked the best one. The lighting was okay, the hand position looked reasonably like a pat, and you could tell what it was meant to be. I did a super quick edit on my phone – just cropped it a little tighter to focus on the shoulder and hand, and maybe bumped the contrast slightly so the hand stood out a bit more from the shirt. Nothing fancy.
And that was it! Got my ‘pat on the back’ picture. It was a bit silly doing it myself, but honestly, it worked out. Sometimes you just gotta figure out how to get the shot you need with what you’ve got. Felt pretty good about solving that little challenge.
