My Self Portrait Philosophy / Process
Welcome to my first “For Photographers” blog! This week I’m talking to you about self portraits, which if you know me, is a huge part of my business, check it out!
hello my spicy friendss!
And welcome to the first post in the “For Photographers” blog! We’re going to be chatting about all sorts of things here from photography tips and tricks, education, boudoir mentoring opportunities and so much more, so if you’re into that, BUCKLE UP!
We’re kicking it off with why I think boudoir self portraits are so important and my process of actually taking them. Whether you’re a photographer wanting to step outside your comfort zone or just want to regain some confidence and step back into your power, this one’s for you!
Significance
As boudoir photographers it’s our duty to provide our clients with a safe and comforting environment to explore themselves on a more intimate level during their boudoir session. But what about us? we deserve to feel this empowerment, we deserve to document all stages of our lives and guess what? You have the power to do that right in the palm on your hands.
When you, yourself, experience boudoir, whether that’s self portraits or booking your own session with another photographer (which i HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend), you’re putting yourself into your clients shoes, you’re stripping away your comfort zone and by doing this you’re able to feel what your clients feel and help guide them on their boudoir journey that much better.
My last philosophy on taking self portraits is this, it humanizes you. it shows your clients and viewers that you practise what you preach, you’re not just all talk. It shows your future clients who you are and creating that personal connection is so so important! If we don’t put in the work to become more body neutral ourselves, how can we guide others through this experience?
The Process
The hardest technical part of self portrait photography is composition. When you’re shooting a client, I usually give them a pose / posing flow and I’ll move my camera to composite differently, however when taking self portraits, your lens and camera are fixed, so you have to move your body instead. Here’s my break down and gear I use:
Gear:
Canon r6
Tripod
Canon connect app
Set your camera up on a tripod, book shelf or anything else you can set it on. Tripods that can change orientation are best!
I use the canon connect app on my iphone to connect to my cameras wifi. Through this app you can see live view, trigger, change settings and grab focus right from your phone. THIS CHANGED MY SELF PORTRAIT GAME. But i know not all cameras have that feature so if you don’t, set up a book or anything in the spot you’ll be posing, grab focus and sit in that exact spot
Set a 10 second self timer and get that pose babe! Now, the one downfall of my camera the canon R6, is i can’t figure out for the life of me how to get it to shoot continuously. So moving posing just aren’t an option lol if you know how to fix this LET A GIRL KNOW!
I hope this inspires someone to try self portrait photography and if you do, I’d absolutely LOVE to see them so tag me over on instagram if you give it a shot!
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