Day 3: It’s selfi Sunday

Chances are unless you’re a model, you feel as intimidated and awkward when posing in front of a lens as I do. You can imagine my initial reaction when asked to do a self-portrait for the second day of the challenge.

My first reaction was to turn to Instagram for inspiration from other artists. I compiled a list from portraits I felt they have unique styles and wanted to recreate. I also included a number of self-portraits by seasoned photographers in hopes to learn from the best.

I took more than 30 different ones and fired my shutter around 200 times (6 shots each pose) to no avail. Trying to mimic someone else’s style without the skills, knowledge and gear, you’re guaranteed to fail. Especially if you try to compare your work to theirs.

After spending more than 3 hours trying different poses, I decided to be myself and express who I am.

In doing so, I came up with these two portraits (see next page). Both are completely different in terms of style and emotions, but they both mirror my diverse personality.

This challenge helped me learn about being unique, expressing my personality through my photos. This exercise will hopefully help me develop my own style during this photographic journey.

I also learned tons about tripods, timed shutter, posing, zone focusing, flash-photography, and backgrounds.

I’m ready for day three!