Self Portraits and why you should shoot them...

Firstly I must apologize for not updating this blog anywhere near as often as I should be.

With that out of the way, lets get stuck into self portraits. Recently I read an article over at FStoppers by Khatleen Minerve who does quite an excellent job at making the case for why Self Portraits should be something every photographer should do at least once and the benefits of shooting them. You can check that article out and join in the discussion HERE.

For this article I want to discuss how I have been using self portraits to improve my own photography and why I think you should too.

1. Progression.

For me Self Portrait photography is a way I can track how my photography has been progressing through my own portraits. It can either be shown publicly or just kept to myself but importantly I can see progression and that is sometimes hard to see when you are just shooting for other people. As you can see from my portraits below shooting yourself in this way can not only show the progression in your skills but your own maturity as a person as well.


               

 
going from left to right shows my progression from when i got my first camera through to just last week. So many things have changed in my photography and it's nice to be able to see that without trying to compare differing genres of photography.

2. Experimentation without fear.

When I'm shooting a self portrait there is no anxiousness or fear of screwing up. I can mess about with settings safely in the comfort of my own home without worrying that if i get the exposure wrong or if i miss on the focus I've ruined it. I can always re-shoot and in most cases it puts you in a position where you are actively encouraged to re-shoot to get whatever idea you might be working on right.

Recently I worked on an assignment for class that went through multiple iterations until I got to the final version and because I wanted to try something new I decided to do it as a Self Portrait project so I felt more free to screw up and explore.




             

3. Shooting for fun!

Lastly I like Self Portraits because it enables me to just shoot for fun. I can at any point pull the camera out and just have fun without worrying about missing a deadline or messing up or worrying if I can't nail a technique. It enables me to mess about and be someone else for a time, maybe a detective in a film noir, maybe a spook hiding in the shadows.

I can experiment with ideas that randomly pop into my head such as the image to the bottom. Shot on a spur of the moment I didn't need to plan or hire a model or buy any special equipment. I just needed to pop myself in front of a camera and shoot.

So Next time you see some Self Portraits and think to yourself that you don't need to do that or think they are not for you, stop and give it a go. Next time you have some time at home just sit in front of the camera and start shooting, you don't have to upload them as I have or share them with anyone but it's so much fun and the benefits are definitely worth it.



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