Masters Of Self Expression: Self Portrait Photography Artists To Get Inspired By

Discover Masters of Self-Expression: Self-Portrait Photography Artists To Get Inspired By

People may think self-portrait photography is a niche pursuit.

Still, a surprising number of professional artists make a living from their work through print sales, licensing, education, or social media.

In today’s article, I will share my 12 favourite self-portrait photographers who have greatly influenced my work and career.

(Coincidentally, they are all female self-portrait photographers- if you happen to know great male self-portrait artists, leave their name in the comments!)

Whenever I feel uninspired, I look at the following artists’ images to motivate me to get my camera out and create something.

It’s been exciting following the careers of these female self portrait photographers as they have become role models for me, proving how much you can achieve by taking beautiful self-portraits and being business savvy. 

Now, let me introduce you to masters of self-expression–self-portrait photography artists who will hopefully inspire you, too!

Lídia Vives

The first self-portrait photographer I want to share with you today is Lídia Vives, a visual artist based in Spain.

I learned about her work through a photography course I completed on the learning platform Domestika, and I immediately fell in love with her visual aesthetic.

Many of her images are inspired by Renaissance and Baroque art.

However, her pictures also show a lot of fashion influence, so they look incredibly modern despite their historical influences.

Lídia’s self-portraits have inspired me because they are very evocative and powerful.

She manages to convey a lot of different emotions through her facial expressions, body language and use of props and colours. 

Completing her online course on Domestika has also given me insight into her highly professional Photoshop editing technique.

In that respect, I’ve learned a lot from her, such as how to properly retouch skin or export images for print and the web.

2) Brooke Shaden

Fossilized”. Image credit: Brooke Shaden

Just like Lídia Vives, I discovered the artist Brooke Shaden because I completed an online course she was teaching on the course platform CreativeLive.

The course is called “Fine Art Compositing”, and I can honestly say that it completely changed my life and career.

In it, Brooke teaches how she takes self-portraits, which she then composites (combines) in Photoshop to create beautiful fine-art images.

The reason why it was so life-changing for me was that I realised that there were other people out there taking self-portraits just like me.

Not only that, but photographers like Brooke Shaden were actually making a living out of it! 

It was such a big aha moment because, until then, I thought photographers had only commercial career options, such as wedding photography and fashion photography.

I had never thought I could make self-portrait fine art photography a career, sell prints, or teach others about it.

Now, I know all of that is possible.

When it comes to self-portrait photography artists, Brooke really is a master of her craft.

“Life After Death”. Image Credit: Brooke Shaden.

I highly recommend that you check out Brooke’s self expression photography.

It’s very meaningful, and she draws inspiration from emotions like sadness or grief to create her images.

She is also very creative when it comes to using props.

Brooke is also a great inspiration for Photoshop editing. For example, she will create a window in a wall where there was none or completely change the lighting in an image.

I highly recommend the following classes on CreativeLive–I’ve completed both of them and found them extremely valuable:

Fine Art Photography: The Complete Guide

Fine Art Compositing

3) Claire Luxton

The next self-portrait photographer I want to introduce you to is Claire Luxton, a UK-based artist who also works with installation and poetry.

First of all, Claire is another example that you can absolutely make a career out of being a self-portrait artist:

She has a huge Instagram following, is signed with an artist agency, has had one of her images on a magazine cover, and lots more.

It’s easy to see why her images are so popular:

They are very impactful thanks to her classic portrait poses and plain-coloured backgrounds, underscored by an editorial, polished editing style.

I really love Claire’s photographs because they have a beautiful vulnerability and contain a lot of symbolism, a pictorial element I also tend to work with a lot.

When looking at her images, you will notice the striking use of colour–she often chooses very bright, vivid colours that really pop.

Finally, I think her editing style is gorgeous, especially the highlights and shadows on the skin, which create a flawless, doll-like appearance.

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A little interruption from the blog post to say:

If you love taking self-portraits, make sure to download my free ebook with 50 Self-Portrait Photography Ideas below:

But now, back to the blog post!

4) Giulia Grillo

Next, let’s talk about Giulia Grillo or as she is better known, Petite Doll.

Giulia creates incredible, surreal artworks that appear out of this world.

I find her images inspiring for several reasons:

She creates her own sets and even props made of materials such as polymer clay or resin.

I admire her wealth of creative photo shoot ideas, and I adore her vintage pastel colour schemes and burlesque-style hair and makeup.

Her photographs are interesting because they feature many distorted facial features and unsettling details or symbols. 

It’s impossible to look at Giulia’s Instagram feed and not feel inspired.

5) Ildely

Ildely is a Mexican artist based in Seattle, Washington, USA. I first encountered her work on TikTok.

The first thing I noticed about her self-portraits is that they are a feast for the senses–they burst with flowers, vivid colours, and symbols.

You can definitely see the Mexican heritage in her photographs, as she often wears Mexican-style dresses and incorporates typical Mexican themes and objects like skulls.

It’s this influence that makes her images so unique.

Another big influence on Ildely’s images is Renaissance art.

She is clearly inspired by the elegant poses and pictorial elements in classic paintings and replicates these in her self-portraits.

What I love about Ildely’s pictures is that she does a lot with very little.

In her behind-the-scenes videos, you can see that she usually takes her photos at home with simple props and lighting.

She then manipulates the images in Photoshop, adding flowers, plants, animals, wings, or other elements.

Inspired by the Old Masters, she creates dramatic, Renaissance-style lighting.

The result are poetic, evocative images that tell a story.

6) Cindy Sherman

Cindy Sherman is probably the most well-known self-portrait photographer on this list.

She’s a legendary American photographer known for her quirky, creative images, so a list of self-portrait photographers wouldn’t be complete without her.

When studying photography, we talked about some of Cindy’s series and images in detail, and I always liked the element of humour in her work.

I highly recommend looking at her self-portraits, in which she often dresses up and becomes a completely different character. (I once saw a photo of her studio, complete with loads of different wigs and facial prosthetics!).

What I like most about her images is her play with stereotypes, identity, and gender roles.

She transforms herself in her images and seems completely different in every shot.

Cindy is a true role model for me because she paved the way for self-portrait photography and made a huge career out of it.

If you love taking self-portraits, you should definitely research her extensive catalogue of images.

I think her work will inspire you, too!

7) Vivian Maier 

Vivian Maier is quite different from all the other photographers in this list:

She was an American street photographer who mostly focused on street photography rather than a dedicated self-portrait photographer. 

Hence, her self-portraits are not the manufactured, conceptual-type images you would expect from the other artists I’ve introduced you to here.

Instead, most of her self-portraits are street snaps in windows or other reflective surfaces.

However, I did want to include her in this article because I find her self-portraits quite fascinating in their own right:

She almost always has a very serious, concentrated expression, and many images are composed in an unusual, visually interesting way. 

If studio photography is not your thing, look at Vivian Maier’s work.

It may inspire you to take more natural, in-the-moment self-portraits when you’re out and about.

8) Chantal Convertini

Like many artists on this list, I discovered Chantal Convertini after taking an online course she taught, Fine Art Photography: Self Portraits with Film on Domestika.

Indeed, Chantal is the only photographer on this list who uses film, and I love that aspect of her work:

Her images have that gorgeous grainy look that you can only achieve by shooting on film. 

I admire photographers who work with film, as it is more technically demanding and less accessible than digital photography.

I adore Chantal’s photographs–they are artistic, sensual and feminine.

She often photographs herself in the nude, which I love because it looks so natural and timeless.

Also, I would encourage you to study her use of light.

As far as I know, she mainly shoots with natural light and often uses shadows, light patterns, and specific light situations, such as shooting against the light.

She actually holds workshops abroad every year, and I’ve wanted to join one for ages as I think she is someone I could learn a lot from.

9) Krishna

The next self-portrait photographer I love is Krishna, a visual artist from Mexico.

I highly recommend you check out her website and Instagram account as her photos are really beautiful: They have a very romantic, moody aesthetic fit for dark fairytales.

Krishna has a very particular editing style. She adds dramatic highlights and shadows, especially in the facial features.

The result is extremely painterly portraits reminiscent of classical paintings.

I particularly like how she edits eyes, adding luminous white highlights that make her look doll-like and give the images a melancholic touch.

Krishna is actually still relatively young but has already exhibited internationally and created a huge body of work, which is quite inspiring.

By the way, did you know I’ve written a complete guide about self-portrait photography? Check it out below:

10) Zoé Alexandria

Zoé Alexandria is another artist I discovered through TikTok, where she has a large following (just like on Instagram).

She takes self-portraits, which are then heavily edited or composited in Photoshop to create dreamy, creative images. 

What I love most about Zoé Alexandria’s work is that she takes photos in what looks like her bedroom, with a plain white or black background and some props–showing you can do a lot with very little.

She also visibly has a lot of fun!

You’ll see her become a completely different character in each photo and experiment with different aesthetics, whether it’s a vampire movie or a Renaissance period piece. 

I find her joyful approach inspiring.

You can see that she enjoys experimenting with different wigs and makeup and enhancing her look in Photoshop.

She has a lot of creative ideas and a unique aesthetic–definitely check out her Instagram account. 

11) Cristina Otero

The next artist on the list is Cristina Otero, a Spanish photographer who is known for her self-portraits. 

I like her photos a lot–they have a raw, evocative aesthetic and are quite emotional and impactful.

I particularly like her use of colour. Her palettes are very sophisticated, with strong reds, muted greens, and blues. 

Also, study her photos to see how she uses makeup to emphasise her facial expressions and emotions.

12) Flóra Borsi

The last photographer on the list of “Self-Expression: Self-Portrait Photography Artists to Get Inspired By” is the self-portrait artist Flóra Borsi from Hungary.

She is a rather well-known photographer–you may have seen her self-portraits with a half-human, half-animal face.

I love her images because they are so polished and very editorial.

Her work also has a big surrealist influence, making you look twice at her images.

What I love most about Flóras images is her use of colour:

The photos are often edited in a reduced, almost monochrome palette, which makes them very striking.

That’s it for Masters of Self-Expression: Self-Portrait Photography Artists to Get Inspired By.

Is there any self-portrait photographer I haven’t included here that you absolutely love?

Then leave their name in the comments!