On the other side of the lens
I have taken up a couple of projects this year, but one of my favorites is the Monthly Self Portrait Challenge. I’ve committed to taking at least one picture of myself every month. Too often (especially after I got my dSLR) I find that I am in far less photos than everyone else. While I love taking pictures of (and scrapping) my friends and family, I also love having pictures of myself! After all, I scrap to preserve memories, and it’s not just my friends and family who are worth remembering. I am a very important part of those memories as well. So I want to challenge you to take some more self portraits. You don’t have to do one every month like I am, but at least promise me you’ll take one this year.
In case you’re not sure where to start, I have a few suggestions for you.
1. Grab a partner in crime!
First of all, it’s a LOT easier to use a remote, but you can still get some gorgeous self-portraits without one. Just use a stand-in where you will be (like a stuffed animal or something) and manually focus on your stand-in, set the self-timer, push your stand-in out of the way, and smile! That being said, it is WAY easier to get your focus right if you are taking a picture with someone else. Sit them down where you want the photo taken, focus on them, and then just sit down next to them! Plus a lot of my favorite pictures of myself are of me interacting with other people.
2. Mirror, mirror!
Another easy way to get the focus right is to take a picture of yourself in the mirror! You don’t even have to have the camera in the photo, as you can see in the photo above. If you’re trying to keep the camera out of the picture, it’ll be easiest to use the LCD screen on the back of your camera. 🙂
You can also just embrace it and leave your camera in the photo, but still not do the typical picture with your camera right in front of your face!
3. Get creative!
It doesn’t necessarily have to be a typical portrait shot! I found this quote during the fifth week of the year and fell in love with it. I hand-lettered it on a piece of printer paper and took a picture of myself holding it for a more artsy shot. I had a few with my face in it, but I loved it more with my head cut off!
4. Be silly
I know I have a habit of trying to look my absolute best in photos. The perfect smile, the perfect hair, the perfect makeup. So once in a while I try to get a few photos of me making some faces and being a little silly!
5. All about light!
Play around with different lighting situations! When you’re taking self portraits, you have the ability to set up the shot however you want. Try window lighting, try side lighting, try back lighting and see what kinds of results you get.. then figure out what you like and apply it to pictures you’re taking of other people too!
6. Strike a pose
This kind of falls under get creative. Like I said, you don’t just have to do typical headshots! You can totally show off some favorite outfits by taking full body shots. This particular pose was inspired by the fabulous Sue Bryce, who did a CreativeLive workshop almost two weeks ago. Her main tips for flattering a woman? Chin forward and down, work a shoulder towards the camera and bring your chin towards it slightly, and ballet hands!
Hope these inspire you to pull out a tripod (or a stack of books) and take a few pictures of yourself! 🙂 One last tip! When you’re first starting out, you’ll probably want to close down your aperture (use a higher number) so you have a larger depth of field. It will give you a little leeway for missed focus.
