{"id":26615,"date":"2016-11-15T07:00:45","date_gmt":"2016-11-15T12:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.adorama.com\/alc\/?p=26615"},"modified":"2022-05-25T18:16:03","modified_gmt":"2022-05-25T22:16:03","slug":"getting-creative-professional-self-portraits-not-selfie-part-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adorama.com\/alc\/getting-creative-professional-self-portraits-not-selfie-part-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting More Creative With Professional Self-Portraits (Not a “Selfie”) – Part II"},"content":{"rendered":"

A follow-up to 4 Ways to Create a Professional Self-Portrait (Not a “Selfie”) – Part I<\/a> from back in May.<\/span><\/em>
\nSelf-portraits have been a form of portraying oneself that goes very far back in time through not only photography, but sculpture and paintings as well. It has only been recently that it has morphed into an arms-length version called a \u201cselfie\u201d. The more classic version of a self-portrait, allows endless possibilities of how you tell your own story. In general, a self-portrait should be a reflection of you, your ideas, your tastes, your interests and your personality. How you communicate these things is where the fun begins.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A simple pensive self-portrait.<\/em><\/p>\n

Why Self-Portraits?<\/b><\/h3>\n

It fuels creativity.<\/b> When you have all the time in the world to create a portrait without the pressure inconveniencing someone else\u2019s time to create it, and no boundaries set by a subject other than yourself the possibilities are endless with how creative you can get with your self-portraits. The less pressures that inhibit you, the more creative you can become.<\/span>
\nPerspective In Front of the Camera.<\/b> Self-portraits gives you a sense of feeling of what it\u2019s like to be in front of a camera – rather than behind it – making you more aware of how your subjects feel in front of your lens.<\/span>
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Self-portraits give you perspective in front of the camera.<\/em><\/p>\n

Behind the scenes image courtesy of Gil Aldrin<\/em><\/p>\n

Giving Direction and Posing.<\/b> This form of photography can also help you learn how to direct your next subject or model as oftentimes you need to mimic the pose to translate to the subject\/model what you want them to do.<\/span>
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Giving direction for posing.<\/em><\/p>\n

Behind the scenes image courtesy of Gil Aldrin<\/em><\/p>\n

Self-expression.<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0Self portraits are also a good form of personal self-expression. Yes, we can put a personal touch on a portrait of someone else, but using yourself as a subject adds a whole new level personal expression.<\/span>
\nIdeas & Experimentation.<\/b>\u00a0It\u2019s difficult to find friends and family who are patient enough to sit for you when you are only beginning learn lighting techniques or you want to experiment with a new idea. I resorted to using a mannequin when learning lighting but I found that using myself as a subject also worked and improved my photography tenfold.<\/span>
\nYou Can\u2019t Find a Model.<\/b> You know what they often say, \u201cyou can only depend on yourself\u2026\u201d. Sometimes you fall short of time and end up without a model and sometimes your model is late or just doesn\u2019t show up at all. No one is more available than you.<\/span><\/p>\n

Coming Up With Ideas<\/b><\/h3>\n

Inspiration for self-portraits is all around you, you just have to open your eyes, be aware and seek it out. It\u2019s also important to reach deep within for inspiration that is unique to only you. \u00a0Some places I have learned and practiced to find inspiration are:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n