3.5. Kid Photography

3.4. Self-Portraits

Sometimes it's easier to take your own picture than to hand the camera to someone else ” especially when you're practicing with your camera.

The preceding discussion about blurring the background applies to pictures you take of yourself, too, of course. But there are a few other considerations.

If you're on vacation, the natural scenery might be all the backdrop you need. If you're shooting a picture to use on a resum or to post on your Web page, however, find a well-lit room with some open wall space. The blank wall (preferably light-colored) will serve as your backdrop. Natural light coming in from windows is best for this setup.

Find a stool or a low-back chair without arms, and position it about five feet in front of your backdrop. If possible, it should face the brightest window in the room.

Next, you'll need a way to position your camera. A standard tripod is best, but you can use a pocket tripod (page 53) on top of a table if necessary. Either way, position the camera about five feet from your stool.

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Tip: In a pinch , you can use a standard hotel-room lamp as a tripod. The threads that are designed to secure the lampshade to its support bracket are exactly the right diameter for your camera's tripod socket!

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Turn on the flash. The ambient room lighting is often bright enough to provide overall even illumination , but the flash will provide a little burst of front light to smooth out facial blemishes and put a twinkle in your eyes.

The best cameras for self-portraits have a flip screen and a remote control. The flip screen lets you preview how you look in the frame before you shoot the shot, and the remote control lets you actually take the shot while sitting comfortably on your stool.

If you don't have these options, put your camera in self-timer mode. To help you frame the shot while you're not actually on the stool, use a table lamp as a stand-in.

Check your hair and clothing in a mirror, press the shutter button to trigger the self-timer countdown, and then sit on the stool (preferably after removing the table lamp).

Once the camera fires, play back the photo on the screen. Did you zoom in close enough? Are you in focus and centered in the frame? How does the lighting look?

If you need to add a little light to one side of your face or the other because it's appearing too shadowy, you can construct a homemade reflector out of white cardboard or similar material. Position your reflector as close to you as possible (although not in the photo itself) and angle it so it bounces light off the brightest light source onto the area requiring illumination. This will help lighten up the dark areas.

Shoot another round. Once you get the basic setup looking good, experiment with different angles and facial expressions. One advantage of taking your own portraits is that you can be more creative. Remember, you can always erase the embarrassing frames ”or all of them. Remember, too, that self-portraits don't have to be dull headshots; they can be every bit as interesting as any other photo.