Why shoot-self portraits?
Uncover the reasons behind putting yourself in the frame
There are two main reasons why you might want to shoot portraits of yourself. The first is to express yourself, your personality or conceptual ideas. The second is to practise technical camera skills when you don’t have someone else on hand to photograph. When you want to test a new lens you’ve acquired, for example, there’s no reason why you can’t become the subject.
Julia Wimmerlin (www.juliawimmerlin. com) is a pro photographer who sometimes appears in front of her camera. “I shoot selfportraits when I travel and I can’t find a model to take a slightly different travel shot, and when I create a personal series based on a personal story,” she says.
Becoming your own model is a sure-fire way to test out poses and expressions before collaborating with others. By the time a ‘real’ shoot comes, you’ll be able to illustrate exactly what you want from your subject, smoothing out the process.
If the self-portraits you want to take are to illustrate and express your life, then think about including visual clues – ways to give information about yourself to the viewer.
Where are you? What will you be wearing? Will you be looking at the camera or away from it?
“There is always a reason why we decide to tell certain stories,” adds Wimmerlin. “Decide on a creative tool you will use – pose, make-up, props, light. You can do a few tests of each of the elements, or it can all work from the first attempt. You can change certain elements while you are shooting, if you realise that your original idea can be improved or modified.”
For self-portrait sensation Taya Ivanova (500px.com/tayaiv), the first photos she fell in love with were self-portraits. “I was impressed by how independent and creative my favourite photographers were. They all inspired me to find potential in things that usually go unnoticed.” For Ivanova, shooting self-portraits is therapeutic and tricky in equal measure. “It’s challenging enough to help improve my general photography skills, but it’s also relaxing enough to let me enjoy the whole process.”