I realized it’s been a while since I have shared any of my self portraits in dramatic light on here! I always try to take some self portraits with Sam (especially when we are traveling!) and I have shared quite a few of them here like the one from sunrise on Jeju Island or our photos from our picnic on Russian Ridge. But I also love taking self portraits by myself and I tend to be more creative with light when it is just me. When I first started getting really into photography, self portraiture was my big thing. I needed a subject to practice on, and I hated asking for favors, so I pretty much practiced on myself! It was through self portraiture that I learned how to see light and use it to create an emotional impact in photographs. And it is still with self portraiture that I try out most new techniques or lighting situations on. Earlier this month, my ebook + videos (breakout) with Melina Nastazia went live. It is called Composing Boldly with Light and is now available in the Click & Co store. I have been working on this breakout for months and one of the things I did was have mini-photoshoots in places where I saw beautiful light. The reason I came up with the idea for this breakout was I wanted to encourage photographers to see beyond golden hour, to be comfortable shooting at all hours I truly believe there is beautiful light to be found at any time of day. I pushed myself to photograph in more unusual types of light, such as dappled light, artificial light and full sun, creating some of my favorite pictures to date. I have a huge love for self portraits in dramatic light and I can’t imagine that I am ever going to stop looking for beautiful, dramatic light! Here are some of the self portraits I created for Composing Boldly with Light.

Feel free to ask me any questions about the details behind the lighting on any of these self portraits!