i adore a cute camera strap!  it is a fun and easy way to really dress up your camera and you as a photographer at photo sessions or as you are photographing your everyday!   it’s a way to express your style and your personality.  plus, camera accessories are just plain fun to shop for!

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i get a lot of questions as a photographer and i love to answer each and every one of them.  most of the time i get asked about what gear i photograph with.  answer:  a nikon d610 and a nikon d600.  and the second most popular question i get is….”where did you get your camera strap!?”  i love that question because accessories are just so fun!  plus, i adore my camera straps so i am so happy to chat about them!

i have gone through a camera strap or two, but my absolute favorite camera straps have been made by cam-in.  my new floral camera strap just arrived in the mail last week, and i couldn’t be more in love.  not only does the print make a beautiful and subtle statement that compliments my outfit, but it is also very comfortable and neutral enough to go with just about anything i choose to wear.  even better, i always receive lovely compliments on it!   i also have a fun colorful woven camera strap on my nikon d600 that i equally adore!

so read a little more about my gear, take a peek at what is inside my photography bag!  and to follow along with me on my daily journey with photography, be sure to join me on instagram!

as photographers, we are always behind the camera.  sometimes we even tend to hide behind it.  one thing that i am really passionate about is self portraits because i love to encourage photographers and moms to get in front of the camera.  get in the pictures!  whether it is just you or you with your children, it’s time to jump in front of the camera and document YOU!  it’s time to stop only having pictures of other people on your computer or in your photo albums and start having some pictures of you too!  you will thank yourself for this later, as you are looking back on your memories.

even though it may seem a little intimidating, taking a self-portrait is actually very simple.  in this post, i am going to share how i set up my self portrait using a self timer, what gear i use, and how i achieve focus, even when i am in front of the camera.  and i am sharing some self portrait pullbacks!

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setting a self timer   first, let’s talk about setting up your self timer on your camera.  i photograph with a nikon d610 and a nikon d600, both of which have a self timer feature.  for my cameras, the self timer setting is set on the left side of the camera by rotating the dial to the icon of the circle with the line through it.  when setting up the self timer, there is also an option to have the camera take multiple frames once the shutter button is pushed.  this is so helpful because you only have the press the shutter button once, but you can get multiple photos.  i love this because it saves so much time running back a forth from your camera to your pose.  i have set my cameras up to take 9 photos in a row after i press the shutter button.  as the camera is clicking those 9 photos, i am also intentionally making small adjustments to my pose so i can achieve a variety of photos.  these subtle changes could mean looking off to the side, looking down, or slightly adjusting my body angle.  sometimes the smallest adjustment can achieve just the right look!

please refer to your individual camera’s manual for reference on whether your camera has a self timer option and how to set it up.

maintaining focus   one of the most common questions i get is how i take a self portrait that is still in focus.  one of the easiest ways to take a self portrait that is in focus is to place an object in your frame to focus on that will be in the same place that you stand.  for example, in the photo above i placed a mason jar of tulips on the window seal that i wanted to hold in my self portrait.  when i was setting up my photo, i placed the focus on the jar of tulips, pressed the shutter button to begin the self timer, and stepped into the frame and held the jar of tulips.  when doing this, i was very careful to stay at the same distance away from the camera that the tulips originally were, being sure that i didn’t step further back or closer to the camera so my focus was maintained on the tulips and, therefore, myself.  i use this trick quite often, whether i am focusing on a coffee cup, a jar of flowers, a camera, or a computer.  i love having another object in my self portrait because…well, i never know what to do with my hands!  it’s always easier for me to hold something or be doing something.  to me it helps to create a more natural looking self portrait, as i also like my photos to document my everyday.

higher aperture or lower aperture?   many people think that getting a self portrait in focus means raising your aperture.  honestly, i take most of my self portraits at a lower aperture because i really like to have dimension in my photographs.  while raising your aperture can be helpful, it is very possible to achieve a self portrait with a low aperture by using the focusing trick i just explained in the example with the tulips.

the self portrait below was achieved at a low aperture, with the following gear and settings: nikon d610 | sigma 50mm f/1.4 lens | tripod | iso 200 | f/1.4 | ss 1/100

what gear i use   before i share another self portrait trick, let’s talk about what gear i use when taking my self portraits.  i photograph with a nikon d610 and a nikon d600 and the self portraits in this post were taken with my sigma 50mm f/1.4 lens, which is my go-to everyday lens.  i also find it helpful to use my tripod when taking self portraits, but i have also been known to simply set my camera on a tabletop or chair when setting up my portrait.

taking a creative self portrait   it is no secret that i am a fan of a creative self portrait.  i like to take a creative spin on the selfie and be untraditional.  this doesn’t mean that this is the correct way to take a self portrait, but only that this is the way i like to do it.  i encourage you to be creative and original to yourself when taking your self portrait.

intentional out-of-focus portraits   i really like taking self portraits that are intentionally out of focus.  i think they are interesting and often surprisingly beautiful.  for this second self portrait, instead of focusing on the coffee cup that i would be holding, i focused past the cup and on the frame of the window.  because i was focusing on something that was going to be behind me, i knew that i would be intentionally blurry in the photo.

by the way, if you have or have not noticed, i accidentally grabbed the wrong coffee mug when re-creating this pullback photo for you all.  ooops!  too many cute mugs to choose from, i guess!  so…let’s just pretend that i grabbed my cute deer head cup instead.  😉

i encourage you all to stop hiding behind your cameras!  if you are participating in >>the bethadilly challenge<< with me, you all know that i like to sneak in a selfie or self portrait prompt once a month.  i know some of you dread it, but i love to encourage photographers to get in front of the camera!  not only will you learn a lot about your camera and photography skill, but you will learn a lot about yourself!  and, by the end of the year, you will have at least twelve photos that you are in!  and twelve is so much better than zero.  so instead of being intimidated by taking a self portrait, be excited!

to join me on my daily journey with photography as i document my everyday, be sure to follow me on instagram!  and if you need a fun way to practice your photography skill every day, be sure to join me in >>the bethadilly challenge<<!  it’s never too late to start and i’d be happy to have you joining in!