Alice Catherine

I took these in Catherine’s studio last week and I love how they turned out. I know to some that selfies seem like a vacuous form of self indulgence that we should steer away from, but I happen to think there’s something very powerful about the self portrait…

It’s the ability to capture yourself in those moments alone that nobody else has the power to do. A self exploration that has just as much right to be documented as a scenic afternoon at the park…

I remember really getting into the work of Vivian Maier around the time that Instagram came out, and falling in love with her work. She was queen of self portraits, and manages to make each one a piece of art. It’s this simplicity of self that really made me fall in love with photography in general – we don’t need to travel far and wide in order to create images that are worthy of interest. We can photograph ourselves, the objects in our own homes, and the people that happen to be around us (if they let us)…

Vivian Maier was creative with her self portraits too – she used lots of street mirrors and played around with reflection and objects she found on the street. There’s even images of her shadow that she’s captured over the years – another form of selfie that she makes look effortlessly cool. All of her selfie images have a feeling attached to them, she’s often centre stage but somehow the image as a whole is still striking. As a woman, she inspires me to travel to new cities alone and take more photographs of myself instead of asking strangers on the street to capture a blurry shot…

This isn’t me exploring the work of one of my favourite photographers and trying to convince you that selfies aren’t self indulgent – they absolutely are. In my opinion, they are the type of self indulgence I’m happy to see popping up in my Instagram feed. You know that person took a moment for themselves because they simply felt like it, and I will forever champion being your own biggest cheerleader.

Especially in a time where everybody has a very skilled photographer and fancy studio lights. There’s something about the raw intimacy of a selfie that leaves all the over produced stuff to one side and gives us a tiny glimpse into a moment of self appreciation.

I’m an advocate for setting the self timer or snapping a mirror selfie and always have been. If you don’t have anyone to take your photo then why not try taking it yourself. Life is too short not to explore ourselves a little along the way… 

Photographs taken on an Olympus MJU II 

Dress c/o – Réalisation Par, Blouse & turtleneck – both vintage, Boots – Ganni, Bag – vintage via Etsy

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