articles/Portraiture/powerself-page2

The Power of the Self-Portrait - part 2 of 1 2

by Larry Lourcey Published 01/12/2013

Without some sort of iron-clad deadline, the project will likely get moved to the back of the priority list.

There will be some fire that needs to be put out each day and your project will slowly fade into the background.

The secret to a successful project is a good deadline. More importantly, you need someone to hold you accountable for that deadline. Friends and family generally are a great choice for this role. In addition to keeping you on track, it helps to spread the word about your project.

A few years ago, I took on a huge self-assignment. I charged myself with creating a self-portrait every week for 40 weeks. These were not just business headshots or casual snapshots. I was setting out to create images that were worthy to be entered into photographic competitions or used in promotional materials. To create an artificial deadline, I told all my friends and family about the project and promised to have a new image posted on Facebook every Monday. I knew that if I missed a single Monday, I would hear about it!

The project started off easy enough, but became increasingly difficult. I would be at a photography convention in another state and realise that my Monday deadline was the next day. The pressure of the deadline took my creativity to places I could have never imagined. There was no client looking over my shoulder. Nobody giving me limits or guidelines. Just me and my creativity.

By the end of the 40 weeks, I had amassed a portfolio of images with a wide variety of styles and techniques. Each image told a story of a unique experience or maybe a technique I had always wanted to try. The shocking thing for me was the fact that I entered a few in competitions and they actually did quite well. A couple of the images even made it into The Professional Photographers of America's prestigious Loan Collection. More importantly, however, I had grown artistically.

Were they all masterpieces? Absolutely not! In fact, there were many weeks when I would complete the portrait, decide that I didn't like it, then start again from scratch on a completely different concept. Believe me, there are several reject images that will never see the light of day! The point is, nobody will remember the failed images - they will only remember the fantastic ones that you publish!

While the project wasn't a big money maker per se, it did open some doors for me. For example, a few people who had been following along with the weekly portraits eventually became clients. I even had a high school senior ask to reproduce one of the poses during his session. That image became 'School Spirit' and was published on the cover of a recent issue of Professional Photographer Magazine. All this from a simple self-assignment.

In the coming months, try to set aside a little time to exercise your creativity.

Decide what you want to do and set a deadline. Then find someone who will hold you accountable to that deadline.

Need a place to start? Here is a suggestion - create a new Facebook profile image. Go for something personal - something that shows the viewer a little bit of your personality. Keep at it until you have an image you are proud of, then upload it for all to see.

If you will take the time to create a cool self-portrait and post it online, I can promise you one thing: you will get LOTS of positive feedback. You will be the envy of all the folks with simple 'snapshot' profile pictures. More importantly, you will be setting yourself apart from the pack as an artist - not just another person running around with a camera!

Please Note:
There is more than one page for this Article.
You are currently on page 2

• The Power of the Self-Portrait page 1
  
• The Power of the Self-Portrait page 2
  

Contact Larry Lourcey

1st Published 01/12/2013
last update 09/12/2022 14:58:07

More Portraiture Articles

There are 0 days to get ready for The Society of Photographers Convention and Trade Show at The Novotel London West, Hammersmith ...
which starts on Thursday 1st January 1970