You Don’t Need a Reason to Take Up Space | by Casey Ladisa
There is something really interesting that happens when you start taking self-portraits. At first, it can feel a little ridiculous. You can second guess everything. Are you interesting enough? Is your space clean enough? Are you good looking enough? Will anyone think you’re conceited for taking photos of yourself? You might even find yourself thinking, I wasn’t built to be in front of a camera.
I know I did.
And after four years of taking self-portraits, I can tell you that the thing I love most about them has very little to do with getting the “perfect” photo. Self-portraits have taught me how to be seen. They have taught me the value in speaking my truth no matter if anyone cares to stop and listen. I’ve learned the value of recognizing my worth and that seeing myself as the main character in MY LIFE isn’t just okay, it’s how its supposed to be.
I’m here to share some of the lessons I have learned in my self portrait journey. I hope they resonate and help you realize you belong in the photos too!
You don’t need a special reason
We are so used to photography being about documenting something important. A birthday. A vacation. A new baby. A wedding. A milestone. And when we aren’t celebrating something, it can feel strange to point a camera at ourselves. But here’s the thing… Your ordinary Tuesday is still your life.
The messy kitchen. The coffee you make every morning. The weird outfit you weren’t sure you could pull off. The afternoon light coming through the window. The five minutes you have before everyone needs something from you again. You don’t have to wait until you have something worth photographing because you are worth photographing.
That doesn’t mean every photo needs to be beautiful. It doesn’t mean you need to post them. It doesn’t even mean you need to like them. Sometimes the value of a photograph is simply that it proves you were there.
Your self-portrait doesn’t have to look like a portrait
One of the biggest things that changed my approach to self-portraiture was realizing that I didn’t always need to make a portrait. Sometimes I’m interested in my face. Sometimes it’s my hands. Sometimes it’s the way my body interacts with a space. Sometimes I’m barely recognizable in the frame. And sometimes I’m just a tiny person somewhere in a much larger photograph. There are so many ways to photograph yourself without standing in front of the camera and smiling, and exploring the vast number of ways can make it easier at accepting conditions that aren’t perfect for photos.
You can make something with what you already have. You don’t need a studio. You don’t need expensive lighting. You don’t need a complicated concept. You don’t need a spotless house. Some of my favorite images have come from setups that took just a few minutes.
Instead of asking: How do I make this situation perfect? I started asking: How can I make this work? That tiny shift changes everything. The limitations become part of the creative process instead of something stopping you from creating. Your environment doesn’t have to cooperate.
I think we put so much pressure on ourselves to make the entire scene perfect. I have to make sure I have cleaned the room. My hair needs to look presentable. My face needs to have makeup on it. Then, after all of that, maybe we’ll finally take the photo. But learning to embrace the messy and imperfect has made many of my self-portraits relatable to those viewing it.
Let yourself make bad art
You are going to take bad photos when taking self portraits. You will have weird faces captured. You’ll miss focus and not know it right away. You’ll have images taken where you are in an awkward pose. You’ll think an idea is going to be incredible and then look at the back of your camera and it just didn't translate.
That is good. Make the art anyway.
One of the best things you can do for your creativity is give yourself permission to make photographs that don’t work. Not every idea needs to become a finished image. Sometimes the purpose of an unsuccessful photograph is simply to teach you what to try next and what didn’t work. Other times, an image you almost deleted might become your favorite after you’ve had some time away from it. The awkward pose photo might look completely different once you crop it. The image that isn’t technically imperfect might have an emotion you can’t recreate.
Don’t be so quick to decide that a photograph failed. Give yourself room to experiment.
Take up space
I think this is ultimately what self-portraiture has given me. It’s not just been more confidence in front of a camera. It’s been permission. Permission to be visible to take up space (both in the physical and digital world). Permission to make something simply because I want to and find it fun. It’s given permission to be weird and to try something and fail. Permission to photograph myself without needing an explanation for why. It’s given me permission to stop believing that being photographed is something I have to earn. You don’t have to lose weight first or find the perfect outfit. You don’t have to become more confident or create a life others deem interesting enough. You don’t have to know what you’re doing and you can start exactly where you are. Use the camera you already own and the home you have. Because you were here and that is reason enough.
