A Guide to Shooting Self-Portraits for Those Who Are Afraid to Try

[Cheryl McCain]

Nothing like jumping in and getting my feet wet. I too hate photos of myself but I'm willing to try anything for the sake of learning.
This is only my 2nd post but I'm truly loving all I'm seeing here. LOVED your write-up on self portraits! Thanks for sharing!

[Tantarado]

I am a camera shy type of person, but by reading this write-up, it kinda change my mind.
I might be taking photos of my self a lot more!

Thanks & cheers!

[Saralonde]

Hope you're all trying this week's assignment!

[Jim Bryant]

Yes.........I saw your images..got some nice stuff there. I'd break the camera after getting shots of my mug, but yours were pretty damn creative. Good job for staying focused

Originally Posted by Saralonde

Last year I finished 365 days of continuous self-portraits. Although this is not unusual - a lot of photographers have done it - I found it a wonderful challenge that taught me a lot. Since completing it, I've had a number people ask me for tips and I'd like to encourage everyone to try it. After all, you will never find a more willing subject than yourself!

For your first attempt, try one that is easy: a mirror shot.
Get your reflection in focus and be aware of the background to make sure it is not distracting. Make sure you have enough light; an on camera flash will probably not work well here. You can get a little more creative with this idea by finding other reflective surfaces to use.

Next, try a shot without the reflective crutch. A tripod will be immensely helpful for this, but you can improvise with tables, beanbags, whatever is handy and will hold your camera still. The self-timer on your camera will be really helpful for this. If you have a wireless remote, even better. The remote will keep you from running back and forth to constantly take each shot. Set your camera for a narrow aperture to get more of you in focus. Wide open apertures can make wonderful self-portraits, but until you get comfortable with focusing, narrow will be more helpful at keeping things in focus. You may find yourself doing a lot of trial and error shots to begin with. It's not necessarily a bad thing. You will start finding out what works and what doesn't and soon you will find what steps you can eliminate.

One of the most difficult things to figure out is how to focus on yourself. You can set up a shot using something as a stand-in (a chair, a lamp, a lightstand, a teddy bear), set your timer and then take your stand-ins place. It can work, but not necessarily efficiently. Eventually, for close-ups, I would just chose the focal point I wanted on my camera, stand in front of the lens using my wireless remote, and push the button halfway, moving my body until my lens focused on me. There are other techniques such as using a flashlight in a dark room to get the camera's autofocus to focus on the thing it "sees", what your flashlight is highlighting.

If you are not comfortable in front of the camera (one of the reasons most of us are photographers), remember that you can act as foolish as you like. No one needs to see the outtakes but you. Try dancing, singing or listening to music to loosen up. Make silly faces, use a prop. As for smiling? Wulf said something once when we were all thinking about doing self portraits,

"Try chuckling to your self as you take the picture - I found it gives a more natural looking smile than actually trying to smile."

Oddly enough, it works.

Equipment you might need? Get a point and shoot camera and you're set. But if you have a DSLR and the aforementioned tripod and remote, you might want to add a 50mm lens. I used all my lenses at one time or another (except the 100mm macro, I didn't want to get THAT close), but the nifty fifty was my workhorse, giving me sharp headshots and dealing with often insufficient lighting.

Remember that self-portraits are not just facial shots. A shot of your hand playing a piano keyboard, your feet with swim fins, or your nose sniffing a flower can tell a great deal about you. Take silly shots, and ones that serious. Record important events and everyday ones. Analyze your images and decide what worked, what didn't and use what you learned.

Once you get the basics down, start getting creative. Try wide angle close-ups, ghetto lighting, high ISO, natural lighting, and, yes, intentionally out of focus shots. Go into your editing program and see what you can do to enhance the image. Cropping often saves a shot that didn't quite come out the way you hoped. A wonderful by-product of doing so many self-portraits was that my editing skills improved quite a bit, as well as my knowledge of lighting and camera settings.

So try some self-portraits and post them here on the forum or be brave and try a threesixtyfive or a fiftytwo. Stick with it and you will be surprised at how much you learn!

[chopstickjayne]

Originally Posted by Saralonde

Hope you're all trying this week's assignment!

Hi Linda,

I am really trying to be able to post a shot for this week's assignment - the closest I've gotten is showing my hands in an "Other - Critique" shot - and even that makes me uncomfortable! LOL! I have been practicing for the last two days trying to get the lighting right (to at least NOT accentuate all the things I hate seeing in the mirror, much less in a photo posted to so many people !). Not only are your shots creative in style and composition, your lighting is so wonderful. I've been "stalking" your Flickr 365 trying to study your lighting set-up but would love to hear what you do - for example, your "Love affair with music" shot and your "Pick Flowers not Fights" shot come to mind right away...any pointers for someone with only an external flash and one desk lamp with a dimmer switch???

You are such an inspiration - especially when I learned you were camera shy! Thanks so much!!

BTW, if I can't think of anything else to post to the assignment, would it be "legal" to re-post the shot I recently put in placed in the critique section? It fits the assignment, I think, I just wasn't sure if we could use the same photo for an assignment if we've already posted it somewhere else in the forum...

[Saralonde]

Originally Posted by chopstickjayne

Hi Linda,

I am really trying to be able to post a shot for this week's assignment - the closest I've gotten is showing my hands in an "Other - Critique" shot - and even that makes me uncomfortable! LOL! I have been practicing for the last two days trying to get the lighting right (to at least NOT accentuate all the things I hate seeing in the mirror, much less in a photo posted to so many people !). Not only are your shots creative in style and composition, your lighting is so wonderful. I've been "stalking" your Flickr 365 trying to study your lighting set-up but would love to hear what you do - for example, your "Love affair with music" shot and your "Pick Flowers not Fights" shot come to mind right away...any pointers for someone with only an external flash and one desk lamp with a dimmer switch???

You are such an inspiration - especially when I learned you were camera shy! Thanks so much!!

BTW, if I can't think of anything else to post to the assignment, would it be "legal" to re-post the shot I recently put in placed in the critique section? It fits the assignment, I think, I just wasn't sure if we could use the same photo for an assignment if we've already posted it somewhere else in the forum...

We try to encourage people to take shots specifically for the assignment, but I suppose you could put up an sp you've already shot.

I can't always remember what type of lighting I used for previous shots. Frequently I've used natural light from a large north facing window in my living room. Mostly I take test shots and check them for light and focus then make adjustments.

If you have a desk lamp, you have the setup for "ghetto lighting". Here is Sime's definition. We did an assignment with ghetto lighting once, too. Here's another helpful thread. You can get some wonderful dramatic lighting from a desk lamp!

[candleman]

thanks for this..!

the assignment (and lookaing at some of the wcked entries (particularly simes friends)
pushed me over the edge into te fiftytwo pool.
week 1 is my assignment.

good tips.. i used the "stand in object" tip for my assignment.. that was the hardest part!.. the focus when the camera was out of reach with no remote... lol

[chopstickjayne]

Originally Posted by Saralonde

We try to encourage people to take shots specifically for the assignment, but I suppose you could put up an sp you've already shot.

Thank you for the information and encouragement. I just wanted to clarify (albeit maybe a little too late as I've already posted to the assignment area): I took a shot specifically for this assignment but posted first to the critique section. For future reference, is that okay? Or should I have simply posted straight to the assignments thread?

[wannabehorsephotographer]

Originally Posted by Agata

Thank you for taking time to write this. I hate self-portraits, mainly because I can't do them but also because I really don't like photos of myself. Nonetheless I still think that it's important to learn how to do it. So, I'll be happy to try. :-)

Thank you again! :-)

I am not photogenic and typically hate to have my picture taken, but taking self portraits has really helped my self confidence. You have complete control over how you look and you know what you like. Find the beauty in the body God gave you and jump in - it's really changed my perspective.

Oh and Saralonde thanks for taking the time to write up the tips!