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How-to's

Self Portraits

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Keywords: glamour, photography, portrait, commercial, studio, photographic, disciplines, guides, tips

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Well, somewhere around the 15 minute mark is where I start not really caring about what I look like in front of the camera. And, shocker, that's a good thing, because when you care about what you look like in front of the camera, you don't look natural, you look like you're trying to look cool, or composed or whatever. Spend a little bit of time looking at the work of great portrait photographers -- Anne Liebovitz, Richard Avedon, Nadav Kander -- and you'll see a common thread: the subjects look natural. And that's what makes for a powerful portrait.

And really, the only one who ever has to see the photos you produce is yourself, so why not let yourself go? Why not just be yourself? If you walk away with a whole memory card full of photos you want nothing to do with, then there's always the delete key.

Experiment on yourself, 'cause clients shouldn't be your guinea pigs! :)

self-2

Thy Self in: Short lighting. 1/200th f7.1 ISO400

As I mentioned up above, I use my self portrait sessions as a way to try out new things I'm learning. Lately, that's been lighting. But in the past I've worked on posing, composition, and a host of other techniques while shooting myself. This has been critical to making successful client photographs later on.

Take lighting for example. For me, learning to use Speedlights correctly has been a very difficult process. I've got a solid grasp of it now, but it didn't come at the expense of clients or even my family members. Sure, there were lots of times when my wife and daughter were called in as subjects, but after awhile they started just refusing to cooperate. Mainly because as a photographer, when I say "just one more shot" I'm really hoping for another thirty, and they had other things to do with their lives.

As for clients, well, the idea of experimenting and then having to explain that I didn't get the shot because I was busy figuring out how to expose the background correctly and get my light's power adjusted properly turned me off from attempting that. So I turned the camera on myself. You name it, I've tried it on myself -- Rembrandt, broad and short lighting, hard light, soft light, back light, cross lighting, been there, done that. The best part about this is that I'm always available when I want to shoot! Two in the morning and everyone, including the dogs, is asleep? No problem, just give me a minute to clear some space in the living room and I'm good to go.

 

(6 Votes )
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Originally written on December 17, 2012

Last updated on August 25, 2016

User User

9 comments

Frederic Hore (voyageurfred) on April 17, 2014

Good article and photos Josh. First time I heard of the string idea to establish precise focus distance, something I will have to try out. For remote triggering, Yongnuo (Chinese) makes a nice cheap, radio controlled device for both Nikon and Canon cameras. I bought mine for $15! They are available on eBay too. Frequently, I trip my camera, by placing the radio trigger on the floor, and hit the button with my toe! Hope this helps! Cheers, Frederic in Montréal

User on January 9, 2013

Enjoyed your article, Josh. Just did my passport renewal pic last week w/o getting my wife involved and it was kinda fun AND challenging. Having also seen the Van Gogh exhibit, I am reminded that self-portraiture is a long and storied tradition. On my iPad withiout access now, but will post up the pic; I took about 20 shots to find one I wanted to carry around for the next decade. :)

User on December 30, 2012

These are great. I've been thinking about searching close to home for new things to phtograph - what's closer to home than yourself?

User on December 29, 2012

Thanks Josh for some very useful ideas. I too am trying to get a better grasp on my Nikon CLS. It's a great system, but unfortunately, it takes a lot of trial & error until you finally get the hang of it. Still working on that, but your ideas will be a big help!

Richard Evon (camershy) on December 28, 2012

I like all of your ideas (minus the mad dash part; got my remote handy) and plan on diving into self-portrait photography this weekend. Very inspiring. Thanks for posting, Josh.

Thomas Leonard (Magnus66) on December 28, 2012

Thank you for posting this article, this will help as I start a new project for 2013.

Mel Moore (Melmoore) on December 23, 2012

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I think I'll be using myself as a "light test dummy" and see what happens. Theis should be interesting.

C Smith (AdirondackUK) on December 21, 2012

Thanks for some great ideas. I see a new project for me in the New Year.

KENNETH JACKSON (f5titan) on December 18, 2012

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I like these ideas. I've done self portraits from time-to-time but your article sparked some new ideas for me. I'll be posting some results soon!

G