I love film. And I particularly love instant film. I think most of you know that already. But you might not know that I’ve been working a great deal on honing my skills and creativity around shooting self-portraits on film. I’ve been working on self-portraits (in general) for about two years, and I’ve been shooting instant film for more than a few years. Over the past 11 months or so, I have started to see these two parts of my photography come together. And I’m loving it. It’s quite a challenge, but rich with reward.

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As I looked through the Mortal Muse Film Friday Flickr group to find your photos of YOU that you shot on film (any type of film), I came to a stark realization. There are VERY FEW. When I got to the Flickr group and searched “self” within the group, I mostly came up with my own photographs! Hmmm….I wonder why this is. Maybe it’s that shooting self-portraits is a vulnerable task, particularly for many photographers who are used to aiming the lens at other people. Or maybe it’s that shooting film can be expensive, and perhaps risking it on a self-portrait feels too pricey. Or maybe it’s the fear of not being able to edit a self-portrait on film and that feels too vulnerable. Maybe a combination of all of these. I’m not sure. But I want to really encourage you film shooters to give it a go. Take the risk. Try something new.

To encourage you, here are a few film selfies I did find in the pool. From VeronicaMo

"M" is for me~self portrait and my fave camera

From Zeb Andrews

Paradise discovered

And from n.white1

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These are lovely self-portraits all shot with film. I’d love to see more on the Flickr pool (hint, hint!). And if you’ve shot some that aren’t in the pool, share a link to them here in the comments and add them to the group.

Meghan of Life Refocused