Mamarazzi: Self Portraits

Today we’re turning the camera on ourselves.

This post is going to be most applicable to craft/sewing bloggers. We all know that it’s more fun to see that skirt you just made on a body rather than a hanger. So you’ve got to learn to be in the front of the camera too.

It’s also handy to have a head shot for guest posts and such.

So let’s go over some tips for taking pictures of YOU! 

Disclaimer: Please forgive me for how many times you are going to see my mug in this post. 🙂

If you can’t rally your husband, your friend, or even your child (I’ve done that with mild success) for help in taking your picture; then I advise investing in a tripod. I got mine cheap at Walmart for $15. Totally worth it. They aren’t just for self portraits either.

They help with low light photography. It can help reduce or eliminate camera shake when you’re using very slow shutter speeds. Go to this post for more information on why I think they are useful.

All you need to do is set up your camera timer and then run around and back and forth and take pictures of yourself.

OR…you could spend another $25-30 and get a remote. Or THIS  one I just found for $20. (affiliate link).

These are so handy. I can’t imagine not having one anymore.

They are incredibly useful for taking your own family pictures too. See my post here about ours from last year.

My kids love to use it as well. I have to watch where I set the remote down because they’ll snatch it the first chance they get. 🙂

All you do it slide it into where you would install an external flash at the top of your camera. Turn the dial to secure it firmly to the camera body.

Plug the cord into the side panel.

Press the button on the top down until the light on the side turns red. Now turn your camera on and that’s it!

Press your remote button down to your hearts delight. Your camera will click away accordingly.

You can also use the shutter release button on the camera without uninstalling the remote as needed.

If you don’t want the remote to show up in your pictures, you can put it on the floor and tap it with your toe. I discovered that during my DIY maternity photo shoot.

Now that we have the logistics of taking the actual photos out of the way.

Let’s talk about how AWKWARD it feels to take pictures of yourself. 

I think it feels weird partly because we feel like we are going to be perceived as egotistical or something. Instead of thinking that, think of yourself as what you are…the person modeling your creation. Someone’s got to do it right? Just focus on it as apart of the process, just like creating the project is apart of the process.

It can also be  awkward because we just plain aren’t used to modeling. Hopefully the following tips will help with that.

* Take a TON of pictures. Sometimes you can’t see how stupid your smile looks on that small screen when you play it back. 🙂 At least if you’re like me, I am my own worst critic. I have certain smiles and looks I hate! Even though I probably smile like that in real life all the time, and other people don’t complain about it, I hate it. So, I take a ton of pictures and delete 90% of them later, especially the ones of my funky smile. 🙂 Oh…and blinking pictures. Boo.

-It also might take you 50 pictures to loosen up and finally get a good picture. Don’t fret. Just think of the first 49 as practice. Thank goodness for digital right?

-Try all angles, front, side, back and all angles in between, to find the ones that are most flattering and best showcase your creation.

-If you still don’t end up with a good one you like. There’s always cropping. Crop your face out and that picture with you half closing your eyes and frowning is still useable! I also crop my head out when I just don’t feel like doing my hair that day but want to get my post done. 🙂

* Think happy thoughts… Not so you can fly like in Peter Pan :), but so you can look genuine in your pictures. If you’re focused on feeling insecure it will show in your body language and therefore in your pictures.

* Laugh.  This goes along with think happy thoughts. I think people smile the best when they laugh. Their bodies relax too. So think of something funny and allow yourself to giggle…even though you might be alone in your own backyard…laughing at/by yourself…and taking a picture of it. 🙂 Try not to think about how awkward that is…ha ha 🙂 Or laugh at that very fact!

* Jump, dance, practice fake karate, do the funky chicken. Having a hard time making yourself laugh? Act crazy for a minute to get your self consciousness out of your system. You could also turn on music while you take your pictures too. I’ve never tried that because I just thought of it, but it sounds fun. I might give it a go next time!

* Act a little sassy. Try some exaggerated poses. Sometimes they feel dumb, but they can turn out great in photos. Just try it and erase it later if you don’t like it.

* Look away or down. 

Sometimes if you look at something else instead of the camera you can get a more natural photo. My husband teases me that I look cross eyed when I stare straight at the camera.

And you know what…he’s right about that most of the time. So, I usually try to look away. If I want to look at the camera I look slightly above it. It helps me not look like I’m trying to stare at my own nose. 🙂

*** OR You can skip the tripod, the remote and all the previous advice and just snap photos of yourself in front of a mirror. That way you can obscure your face and feel slightly less self conscious.  Although, having a camera face in every picture can get old after a while, and it restricts where you can take the pictures.

Had enough of me yet?

Me too. 🙂

To finish up I want to share a couple tips for helping your husband/friend/child snap pictures of you for you:

– Adjust your settings before handing the camera over. Unless they are proficient with dSLR’s it helps to have the camera all ready to go, so all they have to do is frame the shot and snap.

– Be very specific. I draw an invisible box around how I want the shot framed. I specify if I want portrait or landscape. I say what I want the focus of the shot to be…full length, or head shot, or just feet. Be specific.

– Give lots of kisses and thank yous when they’re done. 🙂

And that’s it for self-portraits! Please comment with any questions or with suggestions if I forgot something. I will try to answer the best I can within the comments section.