Fine Art Photography: Self-Portraits Filled with Symbolism
A course by Lídia VivesPhotographer
A course by Lídia Vives, Photographer
Learn how to turn your feelings into artistic photographs that are full of emotion and personality
Self-portraits can serve as a means of introspection, and are a powerful way to transform your emotions into art. Lídia Vives, is a photographer who approaches her work as a painter with a canvas and uses metaphors to illustrate her thoughts and feelings. Instead of photo sessions, she creates unique artwork that are elaborated like a painting, abundant with symbolism.
In this course, learn how to create a fine art self-portrait representing a character or personal experience. Throughout the units, learn how to give shape to your ideas and original style to create unique pictorial portraits that are filled with emotion. Are you ready to tell your own story while being both the photographer and model?
What will you learn in this online course?
27 lessons & 10 downloads
What Will We Do in this Course?
1 minute, 21 seconds
Referents of the Self-Portrait
6 minutes, 0 seconds
Style Guide for Self-Portrait
6 minutes, 38 seconds
Finding Inspiration and Making the Mood Board
8 minutes, 58 seconds
Finding Props
7 minutes, 49 seconds
Materials
2 minutes, 27 seconds
What's included in this course?
Start by getting to know your teacher, photographer Lídia Vives, and how creating self-portraits has given her a way to express what cannot be said with words. She shows you the artists and art that influence her work, and the process you’ll follow to bring your final project to life.
Discover some renowned self-portrait artists and analyze what characterizes their work. Explore your personal style and learn how to find inspiration to create your own mood board. Plan your photos and look for your atrezzo to bring it to fruition.
Next it’s time to start producing your session. First, see the materials you need, how they work, and when to use them. Prepare the set with art direction in mind. Lastly, Lídia teaches you some tricks to strike the perfect pose and start shooting.
Once the session is finished, upload your photos on Camera Raw to then move onto editing them on Photoshop. See the different ways of saving your original photos and to finish, evaluate the different options to print your artwork.
Recommended software & tools for this course
What is this course's project?
Create fine art self-portraits where you can represent a character, or a personal experience. Create your photos in the same space with different perspectives: one that is closed to explore facial expressions and another that is open, to work on your pose.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
For those interested in self-portraiture and need some guidance in pose, focus, or framing techniques. Those who have basic skills in language and technique for photography and an intermediate-level in post-production skills will also enjoy the course.
Requirements and materials
To take this course, you need basic Photoshop skills and know how to use a reflex camera. You can also use your phone camera and natural light.
Reviews
- 10 months ago
Me encantó el curso. Super recomendado.
- 1 year ago
ha estado bien, y lo he disfrutado.
- 2 years ago
Muy buen curso, lo estoy disfrutando mucho.
- 2 years ago
Excelente curso para principiantes o fotógrafos profesionales que quieran especializarse en fine arte. Profa sumamente creativo con valiosos consejos, buenas referencias de artistas y técnicas impecables.
Curso excelente para iniciante ou fotografo profissional q quer se especializar em fine arte. Prof extremamente criativa e com dicas valiosas, boas referencias de artistas e técnicas impecáveis.
- 2 years ago
Ótimo curso. A criatividade da professora é estimulante!
Lídia’s work has been exhibited in Spanish and Australian galleries, using her Instagram account as a visual diary where she expresses all that she doesn’t say out loud. Her main clients include brands and editorials for which she creates fashion and advertising photography, and above all, for art collections.
Content
- U1
Introduction
- Presentation
- Influences
- What Will We Do in this Course?
- U2
Pre-production
- Referents of the Self-Portrait
- Style Guide for Self-Portrait
- Finding Inspiration and Making the Mood Board
- Finding Props
- U3
The session
- Materials
- Learning to pose
- Prepare the set: props and lighting
- Shooting: close-up
- Shooting: medium shot
- U4
Post-production
- Development in Camera Raw 1
- Development in Camera Raw 2
- Development in Camera Raw 3
- Cleaning the image 1
- Cleaning the image 2
- Cleaning the image 3
- Cleaning the image 4
- Cleaning the image 5
- Skin retouching 1
- Skin retouching 2
- Contrast and color 1
- Contrast and color 2
- Liquify filter, focus and texture
- Saving your Photo
- Submit your photograph
- FP
Final project
- Fine Art Photography: Self-Portraits Filled with Symbolism
What to expect from a Domestika course
Learn at your own pace
Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.
Learn from the best professionals
Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
Meet expert teachers
Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.
Certificates
PLUSIf you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.
Get front-row seats
Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.
Share knowledge and ideas
Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.
Connect with a global creative community
The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.
Watch professionally produced courses
Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.
FAQs
A Fine Art self-portrait is an artistic, conceptual photograph where the creator explores their own image to express ideas, emotions, or stories, focusing on aesthetics and meaning beyond a simple portrait.
This course is designed for people with basic digital photography skills but is also accessible to those new to artistic self-portraiture who want to develop their creativity.
You’ll learn how to conceptualize, plan, and create artistic self-portraits, interpret characters, use creative techniques, edit images, and develop your own photographic style for portfolios or exhibitions.
You’ll need a digital camera, tripod, remote shutter or timer, props, and access to editing software like Photoshop. Advanced professional gear isn’t required.
The course teaches body language techniques, artistic makeup, lighting use, and pictorial composition to help you express emotions, narratives, and visual concepts in your self-portraits.
A selfie is a spontaneous, casual snapshot, while a Fine Art self-portrait involves artistic intent, planning, and a search for meaning or message in the photo.
Yes, the course includes tips for creating sets, backgrounds, and props from simple household materials, encouraging creativity to achieve professional results at home.