SELF-PORTRAIT HANDOUT

  

FINAL PROJECT: BEYOND THE SELFIE - A PROJECT OF SELF-PORTRAITURE.

Robert Cornelius’ Self-Portrait. 1839. (Officially, the first photographic self-portrait.

DIRECTIONS:
REFER TO HANDOUT GIVEN IN CLASS. 

REMINDERS:
1. If you will be holding the camera while taking photographs (aimed at yourself), focus first on an object that is the same distance away from you that the camera will be when you become the subject. For metering, face the direction where you will be and hold the back of your hand in the spot where your face will be. By doing this - and metering your camera to the skin tone of the back of your hand - your camera will measure the light reflected off the back of your hand, therefore, reflecting the same amount of light that your face will be reflecting.

2. If you are going to step out from behind the camera, place the camera on a sturdy surface (or tripod). While looking through the viewfinder, decide where you will place yourself. Put a chair (or something on which to focus) in the spot where you will be and focus your camera on that spot. Turn on your camera’s auto-timer, press the shutter button, and make a run for it…

BEYOND THE SELFIE:

CLICK HERE for a few examples.

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A SELFIE AND A SELF-PORTRAIT? 
Okay, sure. If someone whips out their camera phone and takes a picture of him/herself for the sake of taking a picture of him/hererself, that’s nothing more than a selfie.

Now, if that very same student whips out his/her camera phone and takes an identical picture of herself, but does it for the sake of almost any other aesthetic purpose, then the photographer can be considered an artist creating a self portrait.

The quality of the image is important, but so is the aesthetic intent of the person creating the image. A self portrait is art. (Not necessarily good art, but art nonetheless.) At best, a selfie is craft, and that’s the fundamental distinction.

The difference between craft and art is the difference between how and why. The how is obvious, but if the photographer can’t answer why he/she’s taking a picture of him/herself in a manner that isn’t self-referential, then he/she probably hasn’t earned the right to call it a self portrait.

If you will be holding the camera while taking photographs, first, focus on an object that is the same distance away from you that the camera will be when you become the subject.  If you are going to step out from behind the camera, place the camera on a sturdy surface (or tripod).  While looking through the viewfinder, decide where you will place yourself.  Put a chair (or something on which to focus) in the spot where you will be and focus your camera on that spot (and light meter the ‘scene’). Turn on your camera’s auto-timer, press the shutter button, and make a run for it…

LINKS
Before the "selfie", the SELF-PORTRAIT. CLICK HERE.
#Me: Instagram Narcissism And The Scourge Of The Selfie. CLICK HERE.

What turns a would-be self-portrait into an awful and stupid "selfie?" Let's look at some examples:
Example one. CLICK HERE.

WHAT DOES OUR SELFIE CULTURE SAY ABOUT US?
What does the "selfie" say about our society? CLICK HERE.
Selfies from around the world. CLICK HERE.

EXPANDING THE SELFIE'S HISTORICAL CONTEXT
CLICK HERE.

A couple teens with remarkable self-portraits:
Brendon Burton HERE.
Cristina Otero HERE.

READINGS:
Liu Bolin. CLICK HERE.
Sara Lando. CLICK HERE.
Quantrell Colbert. CLICK HERE.
Zev Hoover. CLICK HERE.
5 Lessons of Photography from David Falconer. CLICK HERE.

GREAT EXAMPLES OF WHAT TO DO: 
Liu Bolin. CLICK HERE.
Christian Hopkins. CLICK HERE.
Brendon Burton. CLICK HERE.
Zev. CLICK HERE.
Alicia Savage. CLICK HERE.
Luca Pierro. CLICK HERE.
more Pierro. CLICK HERE.
Ingrid Endel. CLICK HERE.
Caulton Morris. CLICK HERE.
More Brendon Burton. CLICK HERE.
Laura Williams. CLICK HERE.
Rachel Baran. CLICK HERE.
Francesco Sambo. CLICK HERE.
More Rachel Baran. CLICK HERE.
Kevin Corrado. CLICK HERE.
Kaija Straumanis. CLICK HERE.
Andy Alcala. CLICK HERE.
Pierre Beteille. CLICK HERE.
Iyumi MIyazaki. CLICK HERE.
Lex Wilson. CLICK HERE.
More Izumi Miyazaki. CLICK HERE.
Kyle Thompson. CLICK HERE.
Manu Pombrol. CLICK HERE.
Alex Stoddard. CLICK HERE.
Liu Bolin images. CLICK HERE.
Sara Lando. CLICK HERE.
Quantrell Colbert. CLICK HERE.
Zev Hoover. CLICK HERE.
Michael Lewis. CLICK HERE.
Alex DeForest. CLICK HERE.
The Curious Beetle. CLICK HERE.
Dominick Reed. CLICK HERE.
Iiu Susiraja. CLICK HERE.
Julian Flynn. CLICK HERE.
Kyle Thompson. CLICK HERE.
Kyle Thompson (more). CLICK HERE.
Ben Zank. CLICK HERE.
Alex Wein. CLICK HERE.
Amy Aiello. CLICK HERE.
Jason Grim. CLICK HERE.
Some ways to creatively "solve" this self-portrait project. CLICK HERE.