Camera or ‘phone? In preparing these tips, I’m assuming you don’t have (or want to buy) expensive cameras and equipment. Of course, you can use these, but I want you to feel reassured that you don’t need to.

All of the tips that follow are appropriate for cameras and smart-phones, so work with what you have. Don’t feel the need to spend up.

Tripod alternatives: You’ll need to keep your camera nice and still, and be able to prop it at the right height and angle for your portrait. Use a tripod if you have one, or get creative: over the years, I’ve propped up my phone in a drinking glass, leaned it on books, and used blu-tac and masking tape to stick it to a wall.

A few years ago I invested in a gorilla grip stand, which I love because I can clasp it to just about anything: the handles of kitchen cupboards, fence posts, window shutters, and more.

Timer & focus: if you have a remote shutter, use that. If not, you’ll need to set the timer on your phone or camera, and dash back into place ready for your photo. Some tips:

• Take lots of “practice shots” to get the light and background just right

• When you’re happy, mark the spot on which you’re to stand or sit with an X

• Find something to stand in for you at exactly the height of your face (in the past I’ve used a mop, and a giant teddy). Focus your camera on that item, then lock the focus in place. Now, when you remove the mop/teddy and step Into place, your face will still be in focus. (To lock the focus using iPhone, tap the screen where you want to focus, and hold your finger down to lock it in place)

Stay on-brand: Choose a location that suits your brand’s visual style. Look at the types of content you are sharing in your style, and pick somewhere that feels consistent to those. If you’re a maker, photographing yourself in your studio / kitchen / workshop always works well.

If inside: Seeing a person's home and belongings is usually more informative than looking at their face. For a more intimate portrait, consider including personal details like pots and ingredients you’re cooking with, plants on the windowsill, or a stack of books you've been reading.

If outside: Stepping into an outdoor scene is a great way to make a self-portrait more engaging, while also documenting yourself in a beautiful place. Decide whether you want to blend in (eg. half hidden in trees) or stand out, and think about the colours you wear and your backgrounds, accordingly

Follow the light: If shooting inside, always use natural light (unless you’re in a studio). Turn off all the lights and sit near a window / open door. Unless it’s super dark, you’ll be surprised how much light you capture in the photo - just have it still eg on a tripod. When photographing self-portraits inside, try shooting near a large window.

If shooting outside, choose a cloudy day, or shoot in the morning or evening. The harsh midday sun creates strong shadows and is less interesting: your goal is to have the light softly illuminating all around you, or flowing in from the side.

Over and above everything else, you should feel comfortable and confident in the clothes you wear for your self portrait. There’s no point feeling awkward from the very beginning! Aside from that, here are some extra considerations:

Your work: If what you do involves anything face to face or on screen (for example, you teach baking), wear in your photos what you’d wear when face to face with clients, so there’s no disconnect (don’t wear a flowy princess dress in photos if you present in a suit to clients)

Visual style: Think about your visual style and mood words, and try to be consistent. This isn’t rocket-science: if one of your words is “natural” or “organic,” don’t dress in polyester metallics

Colour palette: Think about your colour palette (again, it shouldn’t be tricky): if your palette is made up of neons and brights, don’t wear neutrals in your photo shoot

Solid colours are best: Avoid patterns, as they distract from your face; and stay away from logos and writing as these detract from your message, and will look even more strange if you need to mirror-reverse your portrait

What else: Long sleeves work better, as too much skin detracts from your face; avoid anything too baggy or too tight - just go for “fitting comfortably” - and make sure you’ve taken your keys and phone (etc) out of your pockets before you click: no awkward bulges

And don’t forget to launder and iron your clothes first!

Make up: I’m reliably told (by photographers) that the camera can wash out our faces, and that make up looks different in the camera than it does in real life. I’m also terrible at applying my own make up! Here’s a fairly simple guide to applying make up for portraits, if it’s something you’d like to learn

I’ve included this section in case you feel as awkward in front of the camera as I do. Because there’s no need to stare down the barrel of the camera with your shoulders set at three-quarters. There are many other options!

Moments from life: Some of the best self-portraits capture moments from everyday life. Photograph yourself cooking dinner, commuting to work or spending time with friends. You’ll feel more comfortable, and it will probably be more on-brand

Relax: In general, you should try to be poised, but relaxed. Try not to slouch, but there’s no need to have your back poker-straight. Engage your core and use your stomach muscles to hold you comfortably upright.

Create space: Create some space for your arms and legs, rather than squishing them against furniture or against your body. Separate your arms from your torso a little, and try to lift your legs ever-so-slightly from the chair if you’re sitting down, so they don’t looked squashed.

Create curves: If you want to take this posing thing even further, try creating curves with your body. This may mean turning a little, leaning your weight on one leg if you’re standing, raising a knee if you’re reclining, or putting one arm or leg slightly in front of the other.

Pull faces in the mirror: Try to choose expressions that help to convey your mood-words (everything is consistently branded - even your facial expressions!). In most cases, it’s your expression and body language that will influence the mood of your self portrait.

For example, if your brand is “joyful,” don’t pose with downcast eyes and a pensive expression. If you want to welcome, support or advocate your right people, don’t pull a haughty model face (even if you think you look good doing it)

Follow the rule of thirds: Place the subject of the photo (most likely you!) in the left or right third of the image, leaving the other two thirds more open. This makes your photograph much more interesting than if you are in the middle.

Face the open space: If you are facing left or right in the picture, frame it so that you are facing the two-thirds area, not the single-third area. This gives the impression that there is more to the image, whereas the other way makes you look caged in.

Straighten the lines: Often we cause accidental angles and warped perspectives in our photographs. It’s funny how we don’t see this when we’re taking the photograph, and only when we look back on it do we see skewed window frames, funny angles on the floorboards, strange table corners, and the like. If it helps, turn on the “grid” view on your phone or camera to align your photograph properly.

Remove distractions: Unless you want the background to be part of the story you’re trying to tell with the photo, showing too much of your environment can also be distracting, especially when the objects are unidentifiable or don't impart any relevant information about the portrait subject. Remember to remove unnecessary clutter, and look out for things behind you that might distract.

Aim for negative space: Think about ways that you can incorporate a decent amount of negative space into your photograph. This doesn’t only have to be “white” space, just any space that represent the absence of anything else that is going on.

Shoot square: When you’re framing up your photograph, imagine it cropped square, rather than in portrait or landscape modes. Shooting it this way gives you the opportunity to crop it any way you like later on, without having to cut out important sections of your portrait

When you’re ready to shoot, alongside light and composition, there are some simple tools you can use to make your self-portrait look more professional, and to help convey the mood you want to convey.

Depth of field: You know those portraits that have a person or thing in focus, and everything else in the background is blurred? That’s a nice way to make you stand out from your surroundings, and there are a few ways you can do this:

• If you’re using a DSLR camera, use a low f-stop setting to create a shallow depth of field 


• On some recent smartphones, you’ll be able to replicate this by using “Portrait” mode. If your smartphone doesn’t do this, look up camera apps that allow you to change the f-stop


• As a last resort, you can create the illusion of this when editing. Apps like VSCO or even the edit mode on Instagram allow you to blur the background around the subject of an image

Editing and filters: I use the free photo editing app on my iPhone, or VSCO, to gently edit my photographs after I take them. Usually, that means slightly toning down the white balance because I prefer photos with a cooler light, and sometimes adjusting the exposure and contrast up or down.

Try to keep things consistent, particularly anywhere that many of your photographs can be compared to one another, such as on Instagram or your website. If you like warm light, stick to yellow tones. If you like cool light, stick to the blues.

And finally, if you want to apply filters for social media, do so sparingly. Gone are the days of heavy Instagram filters. If you choose to use one these days, be sure to dial it down so it doesn’t look too unnatural