Some people may think that turning the camera toward yourself is the height of narcissism, but sometimes you need a shot, and no one is around to take it for you. These are the times when it’s good to know how to shoot a self-portrait.
Start with the basics by making sure your hair is combed, collar is down, shirt is clean, and your teeth are free from spinach (and lipstick!). Then find a location with a pleasing, uncluttered background. Put the camera on a tripod and set the focus as close to the area where you’ll be standing or sitting and activate the self timer. If the room is too dim for an existing light portrait, try using “slow-synchro” flash (see “Flash Modes” in Chapter 2 for more information). This type of flash provides enough illumination for a good portrait, but slows the shutter enough to record the ambient light in the room. Position yourself where you had focused the camera and look directly into the lens. Don’t forget to smile.
When setting up a self-portrait, pay attention to background
elements so they don’t distract too much from the main subject:
you! If you have to use flash, try slow-synchro mode to
preserve the room ambience (see Figure 7).
Self-portrait indoors using the flash set in slow-synchro mode (f-2.5 @ 1/30th of a second)
Take several shots, trying different poses until you hit on a few you like. If you have a remote release for your camera, you can save yourself lots of running back and forth from the tripod to the modeling position.
Creative portraits are sometimes more fun when you’re both photographer and model. In Figure 8, the rearview mirror of a car is used to frame this self-portrait.
Self-portrait using the rear view mirror of a car (f-2.8 @ 1/20th of a second, no flash)
Self-portraits are also perfect for experimenting with different “looks” that might make you feel more self conscious when someone else is behind the camera. You can try different expressions and poses, and erase the bad ones. The world will never know the difference.
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