Self Portrait

I've always been put off doing self portraits, I guess because in part they seem so immodest (I am British!) but also because I often see extremely unflattering examples where people have used their mobile phone's and held them far too close thus making their head appear bulbous. I also think, standing somewhere alone and grinning like an idiot, is well, a bit idiotic, but then I read a book by Natalie Dybisz aka Miss Amelia. In the book she says that you don't need to smile and look into the camera, she rarely does because happiness per say hasn't been the emotion that's prompted her to pick up her camera. Somehow being let off the grinning and staring into the camera makes things a whole lot better. It's difficult to conjure a smile or a grin when there is no one in front of you making you smile or laugh and you can usually tell a forced looking smile in a photograph a mile off. You need to really feel that emotion inside to let it be seen on the outside.

I tried a few not smiling at all, shots but unfortunately my 'deep in thought' face has the sort of expression that prompts builders to shout "Cheer up love, it might never happen" to which I've learned to respond "It's too late, it already has!" even when there is absolutely nothing wrong.

I am lucky enough to have some extremely supportive friends who are happy to pose for me at my request, but there is no question that self portraiture opens up the possibility of being more spontaneous. If you have a vision of just one shot, you can go get it without delay. There can be less excuses for not trying a new technique right now, and no bad feeling that you're wasting someones time if it doesn't work out how you hoped it would.

I think next time I'll try some interval timer shooting so that I can forget the camera and do whatever I am doing and hopefully get a natural expression.

Another article I read recently spoke about the fact that in your 20's you take a lot of photos with your boyfriend in photo booths but once you have kids you only photograph the kids, or occasionally dad with kids, but rarely do you, as the photographer of the family, get in a photo and there are never shots of you and your husband. I'm single but even looking back at holidays with past boyfriends I think it rings true and feels quite sad. You look back at photographs to trigger memories and it's almost like you weren't there or not a participant, merely an onlooker. With this in mind I might buy a Gorilla Pod for my next holiday. Though posing for self portraits with people passing by feels a bit embarrassing, hopefully I'll learn to not give a damn.