One of the most common questions I get is “Kristen, how the heck are you comfortable shooting yourself in public?” That being said, I decided to share some of my favorite tips:
TO START, AVOID MAIN STREETS
When I first started self-shooting (and still to this day), I tend to flock to areas that aren’t too crazy packed with people. I love shooting at mill buildings, driving down random side streets, or even going to towns that are super dead, and I end up shooting there. It’s easy when you’re first starting to do this so that you can get comfortable before you head to a busy main road.
PREPARE FOR ATTENTION
Especially if you’re shooting on a main street, I can almost GUARANTEE you’re going to get some idiots beeping at you, catcalling you, yelling out the window, or even just stopping to ask what the heck you’re doing. Be prepared.
MAKE SHIT UP
There have been SO many times when I’m self-shooting and someone will come up to me and ask what I’m up to. First of all, it’s not their business, so don’t feel like you have to explain yourself to ANYONE. For me, I’ve gotten to a point where I realize I have to be kind (usually these nosy people mean no harm, they’re just nosy ) so sometimes I just make things up 🤷🏻♀️ Especially when it’s an old person and they definitely won’t understand the whole Instagram thing, I tell them I design clothes and am shooting photos for my website or some shit. Have fun with it 🤷🏻♀️
USE A SPECIFIC LENS
When I first started self-shooting, I had a 50mm 1.4 Lens on my camera. It’s an AMAZING lens but the issue is that to obtain a full-body photo, it needs to be quite far away from you. That’s an issue because sometimes you’re not equipped with a sidewalk that’s wide enough or you’ll have people constantly walking IN FRONT of the camera. So, I purchased a 20mm 1.4 Lens which is essentially 1-2 feet away from me while shooting so people can easily walk around it without bothering me. Plus, you get a MAJOR wide angle so HELLO LONG LEGS!