One of the best parts (in my opinion) of the COVID-19 pandemic in which we don’t really know which way is up, is the space and time that has opened doors into deepening creativity.
A few days ago, when I was writing my latest personal update, I wanted to be able to post some pictures of what life “at home” looks like and since Danger hasn’t quite got this in his skill set, decided to do a little impromptu self-portrait photoshoot.
I received SO MANY DM’s asking how I did it, so here we go.
What you need:
- a tripod
- a camera phone or camera
- a window with bright but indirect light
I used my iPhone X set up on my normal camera tripod (specifically this one) with a phone clip.
You want to position the tripod right up against the window, facing you because natural light is the most flattering and will get rid of any imperfections and weird shadows. In this set of photos, I just sat on my sofa as it’s facing enormous french doors so bring in lots of light.
And then, play!
I did my self-portrait photoshoot in two ways:
- In the first set of photos, at the top of this article, I used Instagram. I selected the hands-free mode, then chose a filter that I like and pressed play. For those 15 seconds, I moved around in fun ways that I thought I might like to capture, with a glass of wine in hand as a prop. Then I saved the video and picked out frames that I like and screenshot them to save them to my photos. You can actually see the various video frames at the bottom of some of those photos.
- The second set of photos that you can, I used the good old iPhone timer. I’d set it up to 3 or 10 seconds, press “go” and then run into position. Afterwards, I deleted the ones I didn’t like and edited them in the Tezza app.
That’s it! Easy, breezy, beautiful self-portrait photoshoot.
Do’s and don’ts:
- Don’t’ shoot in direct sunlight as this will create harsh shadows unless of course, you are being creative, and want that kind of contrast in your pictures.
- Do take as many photos as possible and then delete the ones you don’t like. The more you have to choose from, the better the results.
- Don’t overthink it. This is supposed to be fun.
- Do use props and have outfit changes ready. The more playful and experimental you get the more photos you will take that can feel proud of and show to the public.