Finding Inspiration for Self Portraits - 5 Creative Exercises
Hello everyone! My name is Jennefer Murphy, and I can be found on Instagram as @JenBerlyn. I run a part time family photographer business, but my passion lies in capturing my own family, setting up still life scenes, and creating conceptual portraits of both myself and others.
Self portraiture was the last thing I thought would bring me fulfillment or joy, in fact, I only started out of need. I had ideas and camera angles I wanted to practice, but when my family would see my camera, they would run the other way! Eventually, I decided that I would just practice on myself, and in the midst of all my trials and errors, I fell in love with the genre of self portraiture.
As I began sharing my self portraits, I started getting questions about how I came up with my ideas. I am a firm believer that inspiration can strike at any moment, but I also believe that the more we seek and are willing to receive, the more we will find. Below are my five favorite exercises to find inspiration for self portraits. I hope they help inspire you to step into the frame!
35mm | ISO 640 | f/7.1 | 1/800sec - For this image, I was inspired by a painting of the beach by Linda Olsen.
1 - Deconstruct images/paintings/drawings that catch your eye
Instagram, Pinterest, and other social media sites can be a great source of inspiration, but oftentimes, these apps throw so many images at us at one time that it can be overwhelming when trying to use them as a source of inspiration for our own work. We pin, like, save, and then forget about them. Even worse, we recreate an image exactly as we saw it and forget to add our own special touch.
To get around this, I like to ask a series of questions as I scroll and save. They are:
1- What draws you to this image?
Think beyond just the objects or poses included in the portrait. Do you like the lighting or shadows? What about the tones or color palette? Is it the mood or emotion? You don’t have to limit this to one answer either. Often, we favor images because they include multiple factors that pull us into the frame.
2 - Do you have the gear necessary to achieve a similar result?
There is nothing more frustrating than struggling to get a certain result with gear that wasn’t designed for the task. It is especially frustrating when also trying to set exposure and focus for self portraits. Some standard equipment that I almost always use are my tripod and Nikon SnapBridge app on my iPhone (most camera brands also have their own apps). Sometimes my images also require me to add a bit of extra light with an off camera flash or continuous light. Sometimes I need to use a wider angle to achieve a desired look. My point here is to know your equipment well enough to understand if it can give you the final image you are hoping to create.
35mm | ISO 1250 | f/2.5 | 1/200 sec | with off camera flash - This image was inspired by a number of double exposures I have seen on Instagram. I know I wouldn’t be able to easily line up the flowers using my Nikon Z6ii camera body, so I chose to create the ‘double exposure’ effect in Photoshop.
3 - Is there anything the artist could have done differently to make you like the image more? Or is there anything you can change to make the image better fit your voice and style?
To me, this is the most important question. I try to be super cautious when it comes to using other artist’s work as my inspiration and not outright copy an image. If I can come up with at least two or three aspects of an image to make my own, I generally feel more comfortable with my final piece. And if I can’t come up with my own ideas, I’ll be sure to credit the original artist when sharing my piece online.
35mm | ISO 200 | f/5.0 | 1/200 sec | with off camera flash - This image was inspired by the neutral colors and lighting of many of Rembrandt’s portraits.
2 - List out meaningful activities and capture yourself in the moment
Do you have a hobby you enjoy (besides photography, of course)? A specific part of the day you look forward to? Write those down and keep a running list of potential moments you could photograph yourself in. Do not think of the hurdles you might face when creating the image, but instead let your list become ‘pie in the sky’. You never know when you may have the opportunity to cross off an activity/moment from the list!
35mm | ISO 640 | f/3.5 | 1/1000sec - My favorite part of my day is my afternoon coffee/tea, and it is what inspired this image.
If you shoot more documentary in style, this list can serve as a wonderful reminder of times when you might want to have your camera nearby, and if you prefer more of a conceptual style, the list is a great launching pad for session planning and scheduling.
105mm | ISO 125 | f/6.3 | 1/500sec - In the summer I spend a lot of time out in the garden. While pruning isn’t necessarily my favorite thing to do, I did want to document how beautifully this rose bush bloomed this past season.
The list itself can be as detailed as you need. I find it helpful to keep it in a place that I refer to often. For me, that is my planner. But you could also use a journal or a notes app on your phone. Every few weeks, I go through and revise my list, adding or removing activities as needed.
Some moments and activities currently on my list:
Reading before bed with my daughter
Journaling with my morning coffee
Unpacking boxes while moving into my new home
35mm | ISO 1600 | f/4.0 | 1/320sec - As a mom, I don’t get a lot of time to myself. Besides using that time for photography, I often enjoy reading romantic historical fiction and fantasy.
3 - Challenge yourself to use a random prop
This is one of my favorite ways to push myself creatively. The prop can be large or small, but I find I’m most comfortable including objects that I can easily hold and move. It makes changing angles and trying different poses less strenuous.
35mm | ISO 500 | f/2.8 | 1/500sec - Flowers are one of my ‘go to’ props for self portraits, but for this image I wanted to challenge myself to use the greenery that came in a bouquet instead of just the blooms.
You can keep this exercise nice and simple by just including yourself and the prop. Or you can expand upon the scene by including other objects. And if you really want to challenge yourself, have someone else pick the prop for you!
Here are a few ideas to get you started:
a hat
a scarf
a mirror
a picture of your younger self
a musical instrument
Bonus tip: use props that bring you comfort or joy. Having them in the frame with you will help you relax. Some of my favorite objects to include are old books, tea cups, flowers, and thick blankets.
35mm | ISO 100 | f/8.0 | 1/200sec | with off camera flash - For this image, I wanted to use a peach that I had just purchased from a local farmers market; however after trying a few frames with just a single peach, I decided I needed more of them to help balance the scene. This whicker fruit basket added some nice texture and gave me an easier way to hold multiple peaches at once.
4 - Pretend to be someone else
While it can be very therapeutic to step in front of the camera and bare the emotions you are feeling, sometimes I would rather distract myself from my emotions. That is when I step in front of the camera as someone else. There are no rules stating that you must be acting like yourself in a self portrait (and if that happens to be a rule written somewhere, I’m giving you permission to break it).
You can take this exercise as far as you would like by planning a costume and background. You can make your image a literal portrait of the person/character, or you can just use their history and backstory to build upon your own version of that person/ character.
35mm | ISO 500 | f/13 | 1/200sec | with off camera flash - Mary Lennox from Frances Hodgson Burnett ‘The Secret Garden’ inspired this image.
Some ideas for characters to play:
A historical figure
The main character from your favorite movie or book
A superhero/heroine
A spy
A king/queen
A mythical hero/heroine
35mm | ISO 320 | f/6.3 | 1/200sec | with off camera flash - I had the general concept of ‘Greek Goddess’ for this image. I had recently worn this dress to a wedding and one of the guests commented that it reminded her of a greek toga. That comment stuck with me and also helped inspire the image.
5 - Invite someone else into the frame & let them direct the scene
There are also no rules that a self portrait must only include yourself. By inviting someone else into the frame, you allow yourself the option for new poses and ranges of emotion. By allowing them to take or share the lead, you are doubling the potential for ideas! It is so easy to fall into a pattern of poses and angles for our work, especially when we have found one we really like. But by encouraging the ideas of those in the frame with us, not only are we making them feel like an active participant in the final product but we are also allowing our minds to explore ideas we may not have thought of on our own.
This exercise will payout differently depending on the age and temperament of those in the frame with you. A large majority of my self portraits also include members of my family. Sometimes before we begin shooting, I’ll ask them if they have any ideas for an image. My husband usually always starts out by telling me ‘no’, but it is amazing how after a few frames, his ideas will also start flowing. He’ll suggest new poses and we’ll troubleshot together. Not only is it a fun way to spend time together (okay, he probably still wouldn’t consider it ‘fun’), but oftentimes he’ll have ideas that I normally wouldn’t consider.
When shooting with my daughter, I have very little control over how she will act (she is three years old and headstrong). Sometimes she goes along exactly as I had intended, but most of the time, she comes up with her own ideas. At first this really annoyed me. As an artist, I wanted more creative control. But as a mother, I knew that was an unrealistic expectation. Still it took me awhile to accept that if I wanted images with her, I was going to have to let her take the lead. Now I generally begin with a certain setup or idea and then let her do her thing. In all honesty, it doesn’t always work out. But at least this way we both enjoy the experience.
35mm | ISO 500 | f/9.0 | 1/200sec | with off camera flash - My original intention for this image was to capture myself brushing my daughter’s hair. But she thought it would be much more fun to brush her own hair!
105mm | ISO 200 | f/3.2 | 1/200 sec | with off camera flash - For this image, I had wanted a picture of my daughter looking directly at the camera, but she is obsessed with my OCF and finds looking directly at it while it fires the funniest thing!
I truly hope these exercises help you to come up with ideas for a self portrait and encourage you to get in the frame. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to DM me! And if you do use these exercises to inspire a self portrait, I’d love to see!
Thank you again,
Jennefer Murphy
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