Staying Creative & Shooting Indoors, Part II

For Photographers: Getting Started

If you’re not sure what to shoot or where to start, my first suggestion would be to acknowledge how difficult this period of time is. We are collectively grieving right now, and we will be for some time. We are experiencing a roller-coaster of emotions every day, every hour. Because of this, we need art and photography now more than ever, as outlets for our anxiety and isolation, and as a documentation of what is going on around us and inside of us.  We must also allow ourselves to find moments of joy, of art, and of pleasure. Allowing ourselves to fully embrace and experience this range of emotions is what makes us human, documenting and expressing it is what makes us artists. It is ok to read the news and despair, and it is ok to put it away for a few hours and take some photographs.

Acknowledging that, here are some practical ways I have made photography (specifically using mirrors and portraiture) part of my Corona-coping. I invite and challenge anyone feeling stuck or constrained by the limitations of their homes, their bodies or their minds, to set aside at least thirty minutes to one hour every day to make photographs. 

Make Photography Part of Your Daily Routine. Make a daily schedule and carve out time every day for photo-making and photo-taking. Prioritize photography as a part of your daily to-do list.

Journal. Write some ideas down before you start shooting.  Write about how you’re feeling about yourself, your mind, your body, and see what visuals come up for you. What does social distancing feel like for you? What emotions keep bubbling up? What do you miss doing? What do you miss shooting? What do you see in your immediate surroundings?

Think About Your Relationship to Mirrors. Have you used them before in your photographic work? How do you feel when you look in the mirror? What are you nervous about? What excites you about this type of self-portraiture? How do you feel having your photograph taken?  What types of self-portraits have you taken in the past?

Tools. Begin with any camera that you have access to; as many mirrors as you want to experiment with; and any and all household objects that either have personal meaning to you, or that you want to get creative with. Some photographers may also want to experiment with a tripod and a timer as well. 

What to Shoot. If you’re hesitant to take self-portraits of your face, start with objects or items that are meaningful to you, or that represent you, such as jewelry, clothing or household items, or another body part that you are comfortable shooting. 

Get Comfortable Making Mistakes. You will be surprised by what the mirror, and the camera reflecting the mirror, picks up that your eyes will not. This has been my biggest learning since starting to shoot with mirrors. This technique takes a long time to get right, so have fun with rearranging your apartment, your backyard, your rooftop. You may have to clear the room of clutter, or place your mirror in all sorts of angles and positions to get it right. Enjoy this process. 

Quiet Distractions. Put your phone on Do Not Disturb. Let yourself get lost. Put on some music. Burn a candle. Do whatever it is you need to do to get creative for a period of time.

Research. Spend an afternoon (or several) looking up photographers who use mirrors in their work, as well as photographers who have a strong body of self-portraits. For example, Vivian Maier’s “Self-Portraits” book has been a huge source of inspiration for me and I have sat with it twice in the last week for ideas.

Edit & Share. Once you’re done shooting, carve out some time to cull and edit your images. Be brave enough to share them with your network, on whichever social media platforms you’re most comfortable with. Ask for feedback. Try to do this at least once a week. 

Instagram. There is no shortage of photographic inspiration on Instagram.  I have created an Instagram TV tutorial about using mirrors in photography, and I have committed to posting them every Thursday. Follow along for more ideas at @ericareadeimages. I have also been sharing any mirror images made by other photographers on my Instagram stories, and I welcome any and all submissions.

Other mirror photography accounts I follow for inspiration include: 

@ziqianqian, @mrwhite_, @thankyou_ok, @themirroreffect_, 

Start All Over Again. Repeat all these steps. Keep shooting. Enjoy.