When you're always the one behind the camera, it's not often that you end up with nice photos of yourself. You ask a friend to grab a picture of you on their phone, and you get back a blurry, poorly framed "photo" that just isn't up to par for any kind of social media.
Is it unimportant to care about this? Probably, yeah. Is it vain as hell? For sure!
But damn it, I care, and I just want to look good sometimes. Is that so much to ask?
So, as the photographers, sometimes we have to take it upon ourselves.
All you reaaaaallllllly need is a camera and a tripod. You can add remotes, lights, props, whatever you want, but at the base of this project, you can get it all done with a camera and a tripod.
It's pretty simple, you set the camera on the tripod with the framing you like, and then you take the picture using one of the two following methods...
Now, there are two ways of going about this. The first is the self timer method. Every camera is going to be equipped with a self timer function. So, you set your camera on the tripod, click the button, and run back into the frame in the ten seconds before the shutter clicks. It's fine, it's the classic method, but it's inefficient.
Nowadays, many cameras are equipped with a wifi function that allows them to be completely operated from your phone, within a range of about 30-40 feet. This alternative method to the standard timer allows you to take a lot more pictures, and try a lot more poses without getting up and clicking the timer for each shot. You can just stay in frame.
If I'm being honest, this is actually a lot easier for me than shooting an actual model. As the photographer and the model, I have the exact vision in my head for how I want the shots to turn out, so through trial and error I can just keep working towards that vision. And I can do this all without having to try to communicate my vision to a single other person, or feeling like I'm testing a model's patience by trying the same shot but just a liiiiiiittle different 50 times. The only patience I'm testing is my own.
Doing photoshoots with yourself is honestly one the best experiences to hone your photography skills. You get to be as adventurous as you want, experiment with all kinds of techniques, it's all up to you. And you don't have to worry about disappointing anyone, a client not being happy, or the photos not being good enough, because at the end of the day, they're for you, no one else. And if all goes well, you'll have a pretty bitchin instagram post at the end of it all :)
