Embracing Self-Portraits: A Journey to Self-Acceptance through Manual Lenses

 

A quiet moment of self-reflection.

For a long time, I avoided the camera. Like many women, I deflected compliments, shied away from self-portraits, and focused my lens on everyone else. But a few years ago, something shifted. I began to explore photography not just as a craft—but as a way to reconnect with myself.
This post shares part of that journey: how picking up manual lenses and turning the camera inward helped me move toward self-acceptance, curiosity, and deeper creativity.

Tips for Starting Your Self-Portrait Project

1. The Beauty of Manual Lenses

Working with manual lenses encourages a slower, more deliberate approach. It forces you to connect with your subject, be present in the moment, and embrace the serendipity of the process. This slower pace can lead to surprising results in both your images and your self-reflection.

2. Finding Focus with Manual Lenses

Manual lenses require hands-on precision when it comes to focus. To ensure sharp images, use a chair, a doll, or any stand-in as a reference point. Focus on the reference and step into your intended position. This technique minimizes out-of-focus images, allowing you to concentrate on your expression.

3. Understanding Depth of Field

Depth of field (DOF) is crucial in self-portraiture. Avoid super wide apertures like f/1.4, as they create a shallow DOF with minimal focus area. Smaller apertures like f/8 or f/11 offer a larger DOF, making focus more forgiving. Choose your aperture based on the story you want to tell.

4. Embrace the Creative Process

Frustration often accompanies creative endeavors, especially when you use a manual lens. Embrace it as part of the journey. Experiment with depth of field, unexpected compositions, new angles, lighting, and poses. Learn from mistakes, look for the unexpected, and let patience guide you towards growth.

5. Setting the Tone: Reflecting Your Life

Lost in Transition

Self-portraits are a canvas for your emotions and experiences. Reflect on your thoughts and feelings, and use them to guide your self-portraits. Set up a journaling practice to learn about your emotions. Props and settings can convey any message effectively.

6. Consistency Matters

Dedicate time to your self-portrait project regularly. Schedule sessions, share your goals with others for accountability (Instagram offers plenty of opportunity to connect with likeminded artists), and let a routine nurture your creativity.

7. Drawing Inspiration from the Masters

Explore the works of self-portrait masters like

  • Frida Kahlo: Her emotionally charged self-portraits reveal the power of self-expression.

  • Cindy Sherman: Known for transformative self-portraits challenging societal norms.

  • Vivian Maier: Candid self-portraits capturing the essence of everyday life.

By exploring their work, you'll find diverse perspectives and techniques that can elevate your own self-portraits.

8. Exploring Creative Techniques

Dancing Waves: A Slow-Shutter Self-Portrait in Swimwear

Manual lenses invite you to slow down and experiment with creative techniques. Once you’re familiar with the basic use of a manual lens keep building your skill set. Try slow shutter photography, double exposure, prisms, and artificial light to add depth and artistry to your self-portraits.

9. Black and White vs. Color Photography: Expressing Emotion and Vibrancy

Color vs. Monochrome: A Self-Portrait Exploration

As you embark on your self-portrait journey, consider the choice between color and black and white photography. Each offers a unique avenue for self-expression:

In color photography, each hue plays a role in conveying mood and narrative. Pay attention to why you choose specific colors; understand the impact each color has, both individually and in the overall composition. Color can be a powerful tool for self-expression. Vibrant and bold colors can convey energy and positivity, while muted tones can evoke a sense of calm and introspection. Use color when you want to add vibrancy and depth to your self-portraits, or when color itself is an integral part of your story.

Black and white photography strips away the distraction of color, allowing emotions and form to take center stage. When you work in monochrome, light and shadow become the main actors in your composition. The absence of color can often intensify the emotional impact of an image. Use black and white when you want to create evocative, timeless portraits that focus on the raw essence of your subject.

A Journey Inward, Frame by Frame

In conclusion, self-portraiture with manual lenses is not just a creative act—it’s a meditative process. The slower pace, the intentional setup, the physical back-and-forth between camera and scene—all of it gives space for your ideas to unfold. While composing the frame and dialing in focus, the story you want to tell starts to deepen; you begin to feel your way into it. That extra time builds a connection between you, your camera, and your inner world. Yes, it can be frustrating to toggle between being the photographer and the subject, but that friction often squeezes out something raw, unexpected, and beautifully real. In my experience, self-portraits with manual lenses are like painting by hand—intuitive, textured, and layered with meaning. Autofocus is like painting by numbers: useful to learn the form, but not the same as crafting each stroke with your full attention. So start with what’s accessible, but don’t be afraid to move into the slower rhythm of manual self-portraiture. That’s where the real stories begin.

 

Keep Exploring

If you found inspiration in the creative and emotional power of self-portraiture, these blog posts offer more paths to explore:

Photography for Mindfulness and Healing
Discover how photography can help you process emotion and reconnect with your inner voice.

Double Exposure Photography: Tips & Creative Techniques
Layer memory and meaning with one of the most poetic in-camera techniques for introspective storytelling.

Color and Emotion in Photography
Use intuitive color choices to bring out depth, contrast, and personality in your self-portraits.

 
 
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The Magic of Prism Photography: Tips and Techniques for Creative Images