Creative Self Portraits

Don’t Let the Pandemic Take You Out of The Picture

At the beginning of the pandemic, in an effort to distract my daughter from yet another YouTube video, I started flipping through my camera roll. I shared photos and videos I had taken over the years and it provided for a few solid minutes of entertainment for both of us as we took a virtual trip down memory lane.

The only problem… every time my daughter saw a photo or video, she’d ask:

“But where’s Mommy?”

I am a photographer and the chief storyteller over here at the Frame of Life Project. I am the self appointed documentarian in our family and yet, somehow I still failed to show up in the “picture story” of our lives.

This conversation with my daughter was a punch in the gut. I have prided myself with documenting the details of our life, but I left out one of the main characters… myself. I thought that by just taking the videos and sharing the stories, that I was showing life through my perspective, and I guess, by osmosis I would be a part of it.

But the sad truth was, my daughter was right. Viewed through her eyes, I quite simply wasn’t in the picture of her life. This is when I made it my mission to show up in more photos. I was determined not to let my new squishy postpartum and sleep deprived body, or lack of having a personal photographer following me around, get in my way of being photographed in more of the “everyday” moments of our family life.

I believe it is so important to show up for our kids & become a part of the visual story.

Giving birth during the pandemic fast forwarded my mission. Normally, this would be a time that I would have hired a photographer to spend time with our family throughout the year documenting all of the many major milestones that take place within the first few months of life.

All plans flew out the window when the world seemed to jolt to a halt, just two weeks before I gave birth in early 2020. Suddenly, we had to adjust to living quarantined life during the height of a global pandemic. In a time when it was no longer safe to be in close contact with people outside of your immediate family bubble, I focused on leaning into the challenge of documenting my own life (with me in the picture too.) I found the challenge therapeutic and rewarding.

Rather than keep the lessons I learned through a whole lot of trial and error to myself, I thought I’d share my 3 biggest tips with you today.

1 || Find Tripods in Everyday Items

Tripods are everywhere if you get creative. The camera I use most often is the one I have on me nearly all the time — my iPhone. That thing can fit pretty much everywhere. Lately, my most commonly used tripods have been tree branches, my stroller and a random fire hydrant in the neighborhood. You can take some pretty unique photos when you think “outside the box” or off the pins of a traditional tripod and search for places to lean your camera against.

2 || Remote Triggers & The 10s Timer

Series captured using remote trigger + Canon 5dMkiii + Tripod

Most DSLR cameras and all modern cellphone cameras have self timer functionality. There typically are 2 options: a 2-3s timer and a 10s timer. I have found the most success with the longer timer, especially when photographing with my kiddos.

On my iPhone, I use the 10s timer to take most of my portraits. This gives me time to set the phone up, set the AF Lock to focus the image where I will be standing, and run to get in the image. It is also helpful to use the forward facing camera so that you can see the scene and more easily hit the “shutter” button.

I am not a cool enough kid to own an apple watch, but if you do — you can use your watch face to press the shutter button / trigger the timer to begin. If this is the case, you could use a shorter timer to have better chances of capturing the moment.

If using a DSLR camera, focus can be a little harder to see in real time. It typically takes a few tries to set the focus right. Turn off the AF function on your lens, and set the manual focus using your hands to twist the lens. Also try shooting at a higher aperture to increase the chances of capturing an image in focus.

3 || Have Fun

It is a VERY rare occasion to capture the perfect “selfie” on your first try. The beauty of living in a digital world is that you can take multiple photos and delete all that don’t work. So don’t beat yourself up if it takes a few times to get the “best” image. When using the timer function on the iPhone - you will capture a 10 image “burst” of images when the shutter snaps, giving you a few options to choose from within a 1-2s window of time. You can find these by clicking “edit” on the image when you go back and review your files.

Most importantly, don’t forget to have fun with this. Get creative. Practice often. Be silly. You won’t regret having some of these images later. Some of my most favorite images are from the “outtakes” — those are the moments where life feels the most real. I hope you try this at home and walk away with some new fun memories that you can share for generations to come! Capture an amazing shot? Share it with me over on Instagram.