Self-portraits are a bit of a right of passage for photographers, who will undoubtedly, at least once, experiment with them.

We’re talking selfies but with a difference, selfies on another creative level, selfies which in fact existed way before the word selfie entered the Oxford dictionary. Self-portraits are a step towards self-acceptance and a creative pursuit no one should be ashamed of, even if they dislike the idea of selfies or just the word itself.

In this new article I will share self-portrait photography ideas and tips which I hope will take your self-portrait game to the next level or at least inspire you to think more creatively when it comes to snapping your own face.

But first, let me reiterate that you may well dislike the word seflie and all they represent but if you look beyond Instagram and look back in time, people have always taken self-portraits.

Here is an early example of selfie dating circa 1940 which my grand-father shot facing a mirror with his 1938 Rolleicord “Art Deco” edition, which I still use occasionally:

I’ll admit, I have other things to shoot than myself and you can see on my IG feed I only features a few rare ones, and I generally go for fun.

But I understand if someone enjoys it, why not after all? I’m supportive of anyone’s way of expressing their creativity.

When I began my journey into photography back around 2006-2008, naturally curious as I still am, I looked into many genres of photography, I wanted not only to find my niche but also learn transferable skills from other genres too.

And whilst I was mainly shooting urban photography encompassing urban landscapes, street photography, architecture… on a rainy day I’d be stuck inside and practise self-portraiture.

Let me show you actual examples of self-portraits I took, it’s the best way to inspire you to give it a try if you haven’t already!

Self-portrait photography ideas and tips

Humour is a big part of my life, I mean… humour is subjective so I may not be funny to everyone but I prefer to be in a light mood if I can.

I find self-portraits to be a great way to express myself and show that funnier side of me as well as a darker side etc… Whatever my mood is whenever I shoot a self-portrait really.

The magic mirror self-portrait:

Probably my earliest self-portrait, over ten years ago in fact.

By placing the camera on a tripod on the side, you can take two photos, one for the reflection and one for the “real me”. In Photoshop you can then split them and link them so two photos become one as shown in this image.

The “classic” fridge self-portrait:

This is an easy one, we all own a fridge. I placed my camera inside the fridge facing out, set on a 10s timer with the flash turned on. You can use a remote control if you have one, or perhaps your camera’s phone app… or go old-school and activate the shutter manually. These generally take a bit of trial and error but eventually you’ll get something fun!

Be sure to wipe that fridge clean first!

Photo and illustration crossover:

This is one for those of you who like to draw a little. Ever thought of adding illustration to your self-portrait photography?

In the levitation photography example below, I hung a plant using fishing line and positioned my hand underneath it as if using magic to make it levitate. I chose a shallow depth of field so that the plant and my hand would be in focus but my body and the background blurred.

A little Photoshop and you can easily remove the string from the photo.

Finally I imported the photo on my iPad Pro and using a drawing app (Sketchbook Pro in this case) paired with the Apple Pencil I drew what I thought looked like convincing beams of magic powers.

Here is another example in which I added those triangular shapes from my popular series “Captured London”. It featured in a four page article in Digital Camera Mag (March 2021):

The disturbing self-portrait:

A big part of the fun with photography is the ability to express inner feelings or just pretend to be someone else through a photograph.

So here we are with a slightly terrifying self-portrait.

But in all seriousness, there are times in anyone’s life when things get tough, you feel at breaking point and this photo is really a visual representation of the feeling which I once felt and needed to capture somehow.

Think what you want… the point is you can be with self-portraits as personal as you want, you are free to express yourself.

So in this case I sat on a chair and used a slow shutter speed of a second or two (something like that anyway). Give it a go and with a bit of trial and error, it’ll work.

As the shutter opened I shook my head rapidly and the resulting photo which captured movement does appear to show different faces, emotions and person in one.

Disturbing indeed…

The high-key self-portrait:

In this case I decided to opt for a very close crop and high key look.

What’s high key photography? It generally means using above normal brightness which eliminates or reduces shadows and dark tones in your image.

I covered my hands in black shoe polish, call it spur of the moment. I think it works somehow!

In Photoshop I considerably increased the brightness of the image and the contrast in order to make this image a little more minimal with fewer facial features visible, fewer distractions.

Whatever self-portrait person you are, I encourage you to look beyond the traditional selfie, in fact I’d encourage anyone to remove the word selfie from their vocabulary and instead use self-portrait. Same same but different.

Finally, self-portraits don’t need to be static as this final example of me levitating while seeking inner peace illustrates: