Saturday, March 12, 2011

What is behind self portraits?

Last year I started a 52 project, which meant taking a self portrait a week. Now, about one year later I'm stuck at thirty something. Probably I will continue or i will start all over again.
But then, thinking about self portraits, many questions come to my mind. Why taking SPs? Well, I never appear in my family photos, as I am the one behind the camera, or when I happen to be in one, I find myself awful! I want to look better! I can look better. And I like to like me.
And then, showing selfies: Do I want to show them? Here there's this duality: On the one hand I am very shy and like to keep my private things for myself; on the other, I like to show what I think is worth showing. The balance between these two positions comes with Flickr: you show yourself in the place where you want to be seen.
So far, so good.
Then one day, one of my colleages at work wanted to see my photos, and I accepted to show him my flickr. He liked my photos very much. But then one day he decided to show them to some other colleages at work. That's when I freaked out and felt absolutely betrayed. I felt overexposed, naked and very disappointed.
I decided not to upload any other selfie, at least as a public image, in any case, only for my friends and contacts.
Am I exaggerating? Maybe I shouldn't feel like this, as I show my self portraits.
Now this is the part of me I want to show:
hiding behind the camera

Here is the link to my 52 interrupted.
Now I will try again to find balance between narcissism and shyness.
What is your attitude to Self Portraits? Do you take SPs? why?

1 comment:

  1. Ana, I know all about not being in the family photos. I stay behind the lens; I like it better that way. I just hate to see myself in a picture. But when I started this photography adventure I realized that I was going to need to put a face behind my words. So now every few months I try a self portrait. I figure if I am taking the photos then no one else will see anything I don't want them to see. I share only the what I like and when I don't get something I like I can have some fun with photoshop and create something like the one I am using now! :) Good luck with your "selfies"!

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