I rarely put myself in photos. I have no problem filming myself talking and posting it all over my courses and on social media, but still photos aren’t my thing.
I don’t know why. It’s kind of weird that I don’t weigh both equally.
But last year I followed a prompt to take a few self-portraits. I didn’t want myself front and center so I found ways to incorporate myself without being the focus.
Taking them helped build my skills in idea generation and choosing a hero in the image. The results gave me a few creative lifestyle images to add to my portfolio.
Here are some tips I learned from the experience:
Focus on the backdrop. Find an interesting subject behind you. It was subway tile for me. Let yourself be only in a portion of the photo.
Hide behind something. If you don’t like full body shots, leaning forward towards the camera on a table or countertop is definitely an option to experiment with.
Shoot down. Viewing yourself from above with more focus on an action rather than you is a good way to capture yourself without being the center of attention.
Self-portraits are something that I’m working to get more comfortable with and these were a good start. As I think of more ideas, I hope to do more shoots and will share more tips with the experience.