Photography is one of my hobbies. Though some people say I should really advertise and put myself out there to make money doing this, I’m hesitant because I know there are so many other people out there better than I am… at least I think so.
Anyway, yesterday was a gorgeous day out and I was wearing brand new shirt that I’ve been waiting to wear (since it was too hot to wear it last month). I couldn’t resist, I had to get my camera out of its bag and go for a short self-portrait session. I did start off just taking pictures inside, but like I said, it was too nice outside to not take some pictures out there!
Self-portrait sessions are something I like doing at least once a year. One of the reasons I like to do this is because first of all… it’s fun! Second of all, I don’t have access to any other photographers to take my pictures for me (for free anyway), so this way I’m saving myself some money. And lastly, I get experience by doing my own photos and getting to experiment with different poses and whatnot.
As with any photo session – whether it’s sports, lifestyle, self portraits, or still-life photography – there are hundreds of pictures taken. Sadly, only a few make the final cut. I found that with this session I didn’t take nearly as many as I have in the past (due to a limited time), but I still ended up cutting at least half of the photos out… if not more.
Unfortunately this time, there was a focus problem with a few ones that I particularly liked, but since they were not up to my standards I didn’t bother with them. I was really disappointed because when I looked at them on my camera they looked fine and like they’d be great pictures. Next time I’ll be a little more attentive to the focal points before I hit the timer.
I know some of these might not be my best work, but I don’t think they’re too bad for an impromptu photo-shoot. I’ll try to plan a better session soon for some better photos, and maybe even try to recruit a friend to take some photos to save me the trouble of using the self-timer function. On the other hand, I can cross off ‘do a new self-portrait session’ off my 25 Before 25 list since technically, this was a self-portrait session.
Also, the rest of the pictures from my mini session can be found on my Natural Chance Productions & Photography Facebook page.
orangeowldiaries 
Considering the circumstances, I’d say those all look pretty good (I know what you mean about the focus problems, but those softer focus shots don’t look as if they are unintentionally so).
Thank you! :) I was actually unsure to keep those last few or not, but I really liked them and you know how it goes… when you try to recreate something it just never comes out right. But I do plan on being more careful next time, haha!
Since you really liked them, that’s all the reason you need to keep them! That’s the most important thing, because ultimately it’s your photo, not anyone else’s.
And I agree on trying to recreate something. I tried doing that a couple of times this past summer, and wasn’t thrilled with the results. Sometimes I think capturing that One-Time Magic of a shot is the real art of Photography.
You’re very right about that… photography is an art and not everyone will like it, but the main thing is that as the artist, I do.
That pretty much happens with me every time I try to recreate an image… it just never works out. But the accidental ones do.