Creating Self-Portraits- Revealing the true self1

July 12, 2021

“Many people are anxious when they’re about to be photographed: not because they fear, as primitives do, being violated but because they fear the camera’s disapproval. People want the idealized image: a photograph of themselves looking their best. They feel rebuked when the camera doesn’t return an image of themselves as more attractive than they really are” – Susan Sontag

It is both amusing and excruciating to create your own portraits… while it isn’t always a comfortable experience for me to face the camera, the elaborate aspect of bringing out my real self in a frame is enough to get me engaged in it.

I look forward to create images of myself whenever I find time and have a mindset for it – doing so not only satisfies my self-absorbed tendencies but also helps me empathise with the new parents (who are clueless about how to pose) whenever I’m behind the lens.

Creating self-portraits continue to teach me to look harder, to look again and to look through my clients eyes. I’ve learnt a great deal about what could possibly go through in the mind of a person being photographed and found ways to say things to them that will put them at ease. It is undeniably one of my favourite ways to evolve as a portrait photographer.