In The Picture: Self-portraits 1958-2011

The selfie is probably the most ubiquitous use of photography today. Especially with people relegated to staying at home, many photographers seem to be doing self-portrait projects. It seems to be a little bit of a trend that many (older?) photographers tend to be a little bit camera shy and don’t like to be photographed. I always wondered if this was due to the fact that photographers go out into the world to take pictures. I heard it described as many photographers are “Outward facing” individuals. Personally, I’ve always disliked photos of myself. I was a little more open to the idea when I was told that a selfie implies the photo was taken by a phone and a self-portrait was taken by an actual camera. Then I saw this book:

First of all, I noticed the dates. This book spans more than 50 years. I also noticed it was a very thick book by a photographer I hold in high regard. I didn’t realize the first time I saw this book that Lee Friedlander's first book was a book of self-portraits. That much thinner volume has many photos in common with this book (I was lucky enough to find a copy a few years back). This book blew my mind of what a self-portrait could be.

The book has lots of very clever portraits using reflections. It has shadow usage as well:

And a lot more. I’m also fond of the more recent stuff, including a heart surgery.

This book made me want to take a self-portrait on every roll. More Friedlander genius, as expected.