Feature Image by: Andrea Francolini

10 Self Portraits Which Challenge the Modern-Day Selfie

27th February 2017

'Self Portrait' was the latest #CanonChallenge set by community member Andrea Francolini – and in an era dominated by the #selfie, we were excited to see what people would come up with.

A self portrait or portrait should captivate you and give you some sort of emotion. It can make you laugh, smile, be sad or think.

"It can be close-up or have the main subject situated in a location to help tell their story. It can be a selfie or a proper portrait. It can be your shadow or your reflection." Andrea says.

Enjoy the selection of Andrea's favourite entries below. His commentary is included too.

"I really like this image for many reasons. Panoramic, black and white, and a portrait. I like the usage of the vignetting and the slightly off centered position of him sitting on the bench. Saying this, the white rim of the coffee cup does bother me a little. It would have been more powerful if he was looking at the camera with both arms down. Anyway, that is a very personal thing."

"Wow – very moody picture. Even though this is not my style at all, I love the fact that this image has no ‘white’ in it. Very simple composition yet very powerful and nice light. This is someone I would like to shoot for my series EYE 2 EYE. He has that ‘don’t mess with me’ expression, but I can imagine he is a gentle giant."

"This image showcases good composition and great location scouting. It gave me plenty of ideas. But is this a portrait picture – you don’t really see the people? I like it because he thought outside the box."

"This is a great use of negative and positive space. This images makes me wonder what is going on. What is she feeling? It would work well for a cover shot of an arty magazine."

"This image is an example of a great use of light, and I really like that the subject fades into the black background."

"Too funny! I love a bit of humour in a picture. My only comment is that you cannot see the subject properly and it makes you wonder who is the main subject here. But love the sense of humor! I really like the exaggeration in saturation which makes it very Hollywood/Palm Springs."

"A lot of work behind this shot. Angle of death, perhaps? Post chemical war? Spooky. Very cool!"

"Obviously Cindy knows how to use lights and fast shutter speed since this picture was taken at the first attempt – her t-shirt is still dry."

"This image reminds me of a famous shot years ago in a more macabre situation. In this instance it makes you think. Is he a dad waiting outside the delivery room when some complications have occurred during delivery? Is he a surgeon after an operation where he lost his patient? The empty space on the left wall bothers me a bit because it is too empty. But the image makes you stop and think – which is a good thing when looking at a picture."

"Cute idea even though I am not 100% sold on her expression. Would have loved to see the other pics which were part of this series. I think the editing (choice of image due to the facial expression) needs some more work. But good idea and fun!"

Check out the other entries here!

Header image by Andrea Francolini Photography.

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