This morning I posted an Instagram poll on my story asking what would be preferred: tips, tricks, and inspiration for senior photos or for self portraits. You voted and I acted accordingly… so let’s get straight into today’s self portrait shoot!
Let’s start off by answering the why, when, where, and what then we’ll get into the how.
WHY:
It often helps to put some planning into your shoots but sometimes the best photos really are the ones you didn’t plan on taking. Today’s portraits were a bit of an in-between. I’m currently working on a project that I’m putting a lot of time and effort into planning carefully, paying attention to all the details. I put “take photos” on my TO-DO list today but didn’t necessarily anticipate taking these photos. After getting so many requests for self-portrait work I decided to use this shoot as a “trial” for parts of my larger project.
WHEN:
These photos were taken this afternoon between 1:30-2:30 pm. The weather was beautiful with temperatures in the mid-high 60s and a full sun shinning. Often full sun isn’t the most fun to shoot in, especially for self portraits which requires a lot more trial and error than usual, but where I chose to shoot was mostly shade.
WHERE:
I chose to shoot right in my backyard in the (mostly) shade. I used a white sheet, lacrosse goal, several lacrosse balls, and some cushions for a backdrop with all natural lighting. I’ll show a picture below!
WHAT:
I decided to do something a bit different which was to play around with props (well really only one prop today). I used to use props a lot in my self-portrait photography when I first started but haven’t much since. The prop I used was this golden yellow fabric I had ordered off of Amazon for my other project. I really liked shooting with it and gave me a chance to brainstorm some other ideas.
I matched the golden fabric with a lacy green top I had bought a while ago, and a grey skirt. spoiler alert… the skirt didn’t last long.
I loved the color contrast of my clothing with the white background and decided to really play around with the softness of it all while still sneaking in some fierceness. I love when more intimate photos project an essence of strength.
HOW:
I’ve explained the process of taking senior photos, including all my gear, in a previous blog post, which you can check out here, so I don’t want to be too repetitive. What was different about this shoot was perhaps the intimacy of it.
I’ve talked and written about the extra vulnerability that comes with taking photos of yourself. You are more likely to notice the logistical aspects and the personal ones, both which can sting at times and become frustrating when they don’t seem to workout how you envision. There is an additional level that comes when you do a more intimate shoot like this one, an added sensitivity and often an added bit of self-consciousness and doubt.
My biggest piece of advice is to prepare for the rough photos, there will be plenty. You will likely feel discouraged at some point but keep pushing through. Pay attention to how you are positioning your body, where you are putting your weight, and how the outfit you are wearing (or not wearing) is falling in the photo. These little things take some time to adjust and fix. Then look at lighting, if the lighting isn’t good you will have a very difficult time feeling confident in the photos. For more on lighting read this post.
KEEP SHOOTING. CLICK.CLICK.CLICK.
It might feel repetitive and discouraging but even when you think you have the shot, take MORE. Pay attention to the little details. What do you like about the picture? Keep that. What do you dislike? Fix it in the next.
I took almost a hundred photos for this session and only edited a few. This is more likely to happen when you do experimental photo sessions or are new to the process. There is a lot of trial and error but you just need to embrace it!
Play around.
This is another trick. Be creative with your shoot. Even if you’ve made a plan, expand past it. Play with your surroundings, with your clothing, with your props, and with your posing. Keep taking photos and doing new things. This is how you create the best work, by doing something you haven’t done before until you create what others haven’t created before. This is also a great way to begin to develop your own style.
Lastly: PRAISE YOURSELF, SUPPORT YOURSELF, LOVE YOURSELF.
After taking these photos for about an hour practically naked in my back yard, I was a bit over it. Let me just admit that they didn’t come out how I’d imagined and I was extremely discouraged and frustrated as my backdrop kept falling down and my skin was itchy and my hair just couldn’t sit right. But I took the time to breath and drink some water and kept shooting, focusing on what I loved about a shot and doubling down in the next. It’s important to recognize what doesn’t look the best but theres no need to focus on it. Recognize it, fix it, move on. That’s a good rule for life in general.
So at the end of your shoot, give yourself a pat on the back and something sweet (or salty). You did that.
And now for the photos.
