![self portrait of woman in bathing suit with black straw hat in home studio](https://marydougherty.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/mary-dougherty-how-to-take-self-portrait-swim-editorial-home-768x1024.jpg)
My birthday was during quarantine, which made it harder to find a way to celebrate. I make everyone look and feel amazing as a wedding photographer, so I decided to do that for myself. With a few simple tools I captured these self portraits on my phone.
How to take self portrait
The set up is simple and you can make it more complex as you go. Start here :
- simple backdrop (I use a Savage Seamless Paper from B+H)
- window for natural light
- tripod (I use this Joby Gorillapod)
- iphone / camera set on timer
My goal was to feel beautiful on my birthday and pretend I actually went somewhere to celebrate (we are currently on week 5 of quarantine). Therefore, I pulled out my rarely worn black straw (I live in the mountains not on the beach), a favorite black JCrew bathing suit top and Hackwith Design House high waisted bottoms. As a result I didn’t put makeup on for the hat covered my face.
![self portrait of woman with hands on black straw hat in bathing suit](https://marydougherty.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/mary-dougherty-how-to-take-self-portrait-hat-hands-875x875.jpg)
![self portrait of woman in bathing suit with black straw hat in home studio with seamless paper](https://marydougherty.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/mary-dougherty-how-to-take-self-portrait-swim-hackwith-768x1024.jpg)
![bw image self portrait of woman with hands on black straw hat in bathing suit](https://marydougherty.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/mary-dougherty-how-to-take-self-portrait-hat-875x874.jpg)
![self portrait of woman in bathing suit with black straw hat in home studio](https://marydougherty.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/mary-dougherty-how-to-take-self-portrait-swim-editorial-768x1024.jpg)
![self portrait of woman in bathing suit with black straw hat in home studio](https://marydougherty.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/mary-dougherty-how-to-take-self-portrait-swim-editorial-hackwith-1-768x1024.jpg)
How to pose for a self portrait
Because you are photographing yourself, make it easier to see what you are doing. I like to flip the camera on my phone so I can study the light and angles as I go. Here are a few tips :
- Use angles – move your hands and bend your arms
- Turn your face towards the light
- Position your camera slightly above your face pointing down
As a result, you can see what is working. Every time you take a self portrait you get a better sense of how to put other people at ease. As a photographer, I like to be photographed regularly for that reason.
![behind the scenes creating a self portrait during quarantine at home with kids](https://marydougherty.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/mary-dougherty-how-to-take-self-portrait-swim-bts-769x1024.jpg)
Since I have three kids, we all put on bathing suits and turned up the heat for our pretend spring break. Here is what it looked like behind the scenes.
![self portrait of woman in bathing suit with black straw hat in home studio pinterest](https://marydougherty.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Copy-of-Diagonal-Lines-Photo-Academy-Awards-Pinterest-Graphic-683x1024.png)
Pin this image and leave a comment or tag me on Instagram @ mary.dougherty if you try your own!