I had always hated my photo being taken. So it may seem odd to have jumped into self portraits...but really, that was the easiest, best way for me to accomplish a few goals: keep on top of my photoshop skills as I job searched (for graphic design), explore photography (one of the few art classes in college I actually enjoyed), and to simply have a creative outlet. Often times this creative urge struck when I was unable to sleep, late at night...er...really really early morning. (more about how I started self portraits can be found here)
I started with a point and shoot. It was a really nice one, with a manual mode option where I had some (though still limited) control over aperture and shutter speed.
I remember one of my earliest ones... when I was still living with my parents. Like a lot of the self portraits in the beginning, I shot it in the bathroom, which provided the best lighting and it was easy enough to do hair/makeup right there. A simple one...I was inspired by a vague makeup idea I wanted to try--I had never been that into makeup, until I realized it could be treated just like painting a canvas. ;)
Eventually, when I moved out onto my own, my locations expanded. As did my bathroom counter space, privacy, and schedule.
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| More elaborate hair/makeup/wardrobe started to happen...though the bathroom still remained an excellent shooting location ;) |
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| New wide open spaces to play with |
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| Huge backyard that came with a beautiful creek |
Things slowed down while I worked a normal person job for a while, but after I was let go, I jumped back into things, full force. Shortly after, I stumbled across a photographer looking for an assistant... I contacted him, thinking it would be a great way to learn. He had seen my work, and asked me if I'd model for him. I was thrown off, I was NOT a model and still hated my picture being taken... With self portraits, I don't really see them as photos of ME, and I have complete control over every aspect... so if I find something distracting, I have no issues adjusting it in post-it is about creating a piece of art, not capturing the true essence of an individual. It is about the emotions....and I think THAT is what had caught this photographer's eye. (more info about starting in modeling)
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| Meeting new people, some of them I was fortunate enough to collaborate with... Ghost: Seth Nayes |
For nearly a year, I continued shooting self portraits and did a good amount of modeling. And then there was the hair incident... I stopped shooting self portraits for years after that. It knocked the wind out of me, I had no inspiration. Once I started working with Andrew Kufahl, inspiration leaked in once again (our first shoots), but I had no desire to shoot it, and hated the thought of having to look at what had happened from beginning to end. Plus, Andrew is a heck of a photographer...and could make any crazy idea of mine come to life. (more about starting to collaborate with Andrew)
Now... the past year has been a crazy one... a lot of challenges, and not a lot of time/space/options to create. I'm stir crazy, to say the least. It took a while, but I finally found ways to get back to making art... playing with watercolor, knitting (more knitting), and guess what? Self portraits. I am overflowing with ideas again, and can't even keep up!
Soo...for this giveaway, you get your choice, of ANY self portrait. I found what seems to be an eco friendly photo printing company, and I am excited to give them a shot (note: I am not sure what kind of turn around time the printing/shipping is going to involve, so just be warned it may take a while to receive this one). Take a look through my self portrait album on facebook (or a more refined one on my website), copy the link to your photo of choice, and paste in the comments of the giveaway announcement video for your chance to win. Deadline is October 9 (NEXT Friday) at 12pm (central)
We are back to the original rules by the way...
