For the past few months, I have been creating and executing my own self-portrait photoshoots. It started off very simple, with me setting up my camera in my empty garage. Now, however, I have loved creating more intricate and planned shoots. One of my more recent shoots involved using a LOT of aluminum foil.
I started off the process by planning what I wanted the final result to look like. I knew I wanted editorial style poses, and an outfit that I thought would match the style of the foil background. The clothing pieces I had already previously owned. The sparkly black top was from Plato’s Closet, the white pants were from Goodwill, and the silver boots I found on Poshmark.
After my outfit and planning were complete, it was time to start setting up. I luckily had a little bit of space in a spare bedroom to create my “set”. Starting off with two boxes of aluminum foil, I began ripping off square pieces and then slightly crinkling them in order to create texture. From there I just used some painter’s tape to adhere it to my wall. I soon discovered that only two boxes of foil were not enough, so I ran out to a dollar store to pick up another box. I also managed to lay some foil on the floor to create a studio like look.
Once the foil wall was done, I did my makeup and put on my outfit and got ready to shoot. I set my camera settings and used the self-timer to take about 6 photos every 3 seconds. This allowed me to not have to walk over to my camera after every shot, since I do not have a way of remote shooting yet. The 3 seconds in between also gave me enough time to think about which pose to do next. This is the method I have used for all of my self-portrait shoots thus far.
Overall, I loved how these images turned out. I think it can be really fun to use normal, everyday objects to create a makeshift photoshoot set. Doing these shoots allows me to practice my photography skills even more, experiment with modeling/posing, and having fun with fashion.
Written By: Alyssa Kasunich
Edited By: Crystal Lord