What Is Self-Portraiture and How to Master It

Learn more about self-portraits, some tips for doing them and what this artistic genre involves

In 2013, the Oxford Dictionaries chose "selfie" as the word of the year after estimating that its use had grown by 17,000%. Behind the increased use of this word was, obviously, the smartphone. With their embedded cameras, they have made self-portraits one of the most popular photographic genres.

At the most artistic end of this photographic discipline is Cristina Otero (@cristinaotero), whose self-portraits push the edge that separates photography from painting, and could be easily elevated to the category of art. Her work focuses on her life, and everything around her, from anecdotes, turned into metaphors, to verses by her favorite authors. This is how she discovered her best muse in herself.

Cristina started her career as an illustrator, captivated by facial expressions and the female anatomy. She used her own body and face for her drawings and, influenced by hyperrealism, wanted them to be experienced almost like a photograph. Since then, she has focused her career on artistic self-portraiture.

A self-portrait is a portrait of the person who creates it, and it is one of the most relevant self-analysis exercises that an artist can do. There's a need for self-knowledge, both technical and personal, so that the expression captured in it can convey the idea intended by the artist.

The origins of self-portraiture

The first self-portraits date back to Ancient History when an Egyptian sculptor named Bek sculpted himself on stone. During the Middle Ages, they were commonly used as a signature to give proof and authorship of a painting, and they were not necessarily realistic. It was not until the Renaissance that the self-portrait developed as a unique artistic genre.

Cristina offers some tips to achieve the best self-portrait:

- Write down all the ideas you have.

- Draw your sketches. It is not necessary to immediately work on the ideas with the camera; you can use pencil and paper to "capture" the essence of your image and then refine it.

- Reflect on yourself to draw from the experiences and doubts that occur in your life.

- Think about your body. The self-portrait does not only involve framing the face. Consider the details in your hands, feet, and skin. You can even focus on specific parts of the face, such as your eyes or mouth.

- Research, learn, and play with symbolism.

- Experiment and step out of your comfort zone to grow as an artist and a photographer.

Cristina Otero teaches the Artistic Self-Portrait Photography course at Domestika. You will learn to explore artistic photography using yourself as a model, from the creative process to making a successful self-portrait to the post-production techniques.

You may also like:

- Conceptual Self-Portrait Photography, a course by Krishna VR.
- Analogue and Digital Artistic Photography, a course by Berta Vicente Salas.
- What is RAW Imagery and What is It For?