How many times have you tried to take your self portrait, only to find that it’s out of focus, you have the obvious “I’m trying to hold my big dslr camera with one hand far enough from my face so you can see me” angle, or you just flat out look like a hot mess?!
This has happened to me way too many times to count on my fingers and toes. I would find myself getting frustrated, thinking “I just want a good profile picture!!”, then finding the nearest dark corner to assume the fetal position in utter defeat.
I’m here to tell you that you no longer have to hang your head in shame for being the photographer that can’t even take their own picture.
This year I have decided to do my own project 52 (that I started late) focusing on self portraits. Each week, I have been challenging myself to step out of the box not only with my “selfies”, but with my makeup and the post-processing of these images as well.
So far they have been mostly headshots, because I’m thinking of making an album of these images at the end of the year, so I kind of want a little bit of cohesiveness. But I’m sure that I will through in a few extra, more innovative shots throughout the year as well.
Here are my personal tips to rock your self portraits:
PLAN
I put a lot of thought into what I want each of my self portraits to look like. Think about the color scheme, wardrobe, lighting effects, and how you plan to edit the photo(s) after. Really, everything you would do for a session with a client, minus paying yourself.
PREPARE YOURSELF
This is part of the process that others (if you plan to share) will see and for me is usually the most time consuming part. Take the time to do your hair and makeup, maybe even your nails, and go shopping (if you needed a good reason)! If you’re a mantographer, go get a fresh haircut or whatever men do to get fancy. Remember to prepare yourself to match the theme of your photo. It doesn’t make sense to get all super duper fancy if you were going for a grungy look in your photo.
SETTING UP YOUR CAMERA
This is what most of us find daunting. If you are like me and have a habit of buying cheapo tripods that always break, you probably don’t have a tripod at the moment…
So get creative!
I have used a ladder, chair, desk, floor, counter, tv stand, couch, bed, window sill, and washing machine, among other things to prop my camera on to get a good shot of myself. I definitely recommend making the $5 investment into a wireless remote for your camera.
From experience, I know it is a huge pain in the butt trying to hit your shutter and run into position, only for the camera to snap a picture of you busting your head on the floor after you trip trying to run too fast (wait…maybe that has only happened to me.) Anyways, get the remote! I get asked all the time, how I get myself in focus.
Easy….I cheat. lol
I don’t feel like getting out a measuring tape to try to figure out how far away from my camera I have to be for me to be in focus. So I change my camera to autofocus (which I don’t use when photographing other things or people). This way I’m always in focus.
EVERYTHING ELSE
The rest of the steps are completely up to you and your creative mind. Solidify the feel of your self portrait with your stellar post processing.
Now I challenge you all to get out there and take a self portrait!
Be as creative or as simple as you would like! Post your images in our Forums under Challenges – Self Portrait Challenge, between now and June 29th. Please note, you must create your FREE account with Photographers Connection in order to gain access to our newly launched forum!
We will pick our three favorite self portraits and those photographers will get some sweet goodies from my other businesses! Up to {3} entries per person. Winners will be announced on June 30th, 2013.
Prize 1: Free Custom Logo Design from Branded Love
Prize 2: $15 Gift Card from my Branded Love Apparel Shop
Prize 3: Color Fantasy Action Set from Faithful Grace Photography
And to stay up to date on my newest self portraits check out Belle Coeur Portraiture.
