Headshot: 2017

I do not typically feel nervous to share photographs. This is a rather scary image to share. It feels so personal and well… intimate. Yes, I know that might seem like a strange thing for a self-portrait artist to say. Surely I should be used to being in front of the camera? Yet when I photograph self-portraits for my conceptual fine art work, they exist in an old and whimsical world where expression is much easier. I have not done an in-my-face portrait in years! Let me tell you, this was very intimidating and scary to both photograph and share.

A couple of times over the last few months I have found myself to be in need of a decent up-to-date headshot photograph. Besides which, the “About” page on my website needed an update. Although I have done plenty of portraits for other people, I have never really had a proper head-and-shoulders headshot of myself. I figured it was high time I got one done. It also turned out to be a really good opportunity to challenge myself.

I have always wanted to book myself a proper photograph experience. However, for convenience sake and because I needed it fairly quickly, I decided to do it as a self-portrait. And yes I admit, to ensure full control - as a self-portrait artist, this is a difficult thing to give up. I figured it was going to be difficult enough looking straight into the lens, that remaining within an environment I knew well, would probably be easier.

I wanted to be sure my headshot was as authentically me as possible, but also professional and most importantly, compliment my style of work.

In keeping with being as authentic as possible, I did my own hair and makeup. Luckily I was having a good hair day, so my hair just needed some neatening up. I do not typically wear much makeup. I am a foundation, mascara (love my mascara – I feel naked without it) and lip balm kind of girl. When I dress up for an event, or when the winter blues make me feel “dull”, I might add some eyeshadow and lip gloss. This seemed like a time for a bit of sparkle and so I went with my dress up style.

I decided to keep it really simple and just stick to what I really needed, i.e. a simple head-and-shoulders headshot. With this in mind, I kept the pose and wardrobe really simple.

These were photographed in my little home studio, using only natural light (I only ever photograph in natural light), which filtered in from the front. It was a dull rainy morning, so I had to bump the ISO up a bit to compensate for the lower light.

The technical specifications were as follows:

Canon 5D mark III | Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Lens

f2.8 | ISO800 | 1/13s

Please show me your headshot!

Or share your headshot story...