First Steps in Self Portraiture
LANCASTER PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER
I’ve recently started taking self portraits after my mentor, the hugely talented Hannah Bracher, recommended I give it a try to get more photos of me on my Instagram feed. I knew this was lacking from my social media content but like most photographers I’m far more comfortable behind the lens rather than in front of it. However, feeling the fear and doing it anyway has been such a great experience and ignited a mini self portraiture project.
For my first ‘serious’ self portrait I decided to keep it really simple as being a busy mum trying to juggle a small business and two wild kiddos I knew that if I overcomplicated things it would never happen. With minimal makeup (just a tad on my cheeks to disguise my rosacea) and a quick change into a white linen dress that I picked up from my favourite charity shop (Wolfwood, for those of you that live in Lancaster) I set to work.
Using my Canon EOS-M6 which is super portable and includes a handy flip LCD screen viewfinder I could see and position myself in frame, then I simply laid on the bed and used the two-second timer to get the shots I wanted. I have a handful of images from that morning and it’s become the start of a self portrait project. Just like my annual 365 project, it’s provided me with so much learning and I can’t wait to start seeing how my self portraiture develops.
