Let’s be honest. It’s hard to take a dignified self-portrait in the mirror — to arrange your face casually, to half-pose without feeling contrived, to push the button without feeling a bit silly… for us, that is. These are professionals. They spend their days behind the camera, so it’s quite exciting to peek into this intimate moment in their private space, to soak in the details — from the dimples in their face to the patterns of their wallpaper to their camera gear. A demure Diane Arbus in the ’40s, a surreal Weegee in the ’50s, a sexy Helmut Newton in the ’70s — we’re fascinated by these pre-Internet, pre-cliché images from the masters. Here are a few known art photographers and noted photojournalists shooting themselves. OK, now your turn.
Diane Arbus, Self-portrait, 1945. [via]
Sally Mann, Self-portrait, 1974. [via]
Nan Goldin, Self-portrait in the mirror, Hotel Baur, Zürich, 1998. Courtesy iCollector
Vivian Maier, Untitled, 1955. Courtesy Vivian Maier
Lisette Model, Self-portrait, 55 Manhattan, 1940s. Courtesy Focus Onto Film
Helmut Newton, Self-portrait with model, Hotel Bijou, Paris, 1973. [via]
Man Ray, Self-Portrait, 1932/printed after 1960. Courtesy Smithsonian American Art Museum
Marianne Breslauer, Self-Portrait, c. 1930 [via]
Stanley Kubrick, Rosemary Williams showgirl with self portrait, 1949. Courtesy the Museum of the City of New York
Ilse Bing, Self-Portrait in Mirrors, 1931. Courtesy Edwynn Houk Gallery
Weegee, Self-portrait, 1950. [via]
Ed van der Elsken, Self-portrait with Ata Kandó, Paris, 1953. [via]
Lee Friedlander, Self-portrait, 1997. [via]
Eve Arnold, Self-Portrait in a Distorted Mirror, 42nd Street, New York, 1950. [via]
Willy Ronis, Self-portrait with flash, 1951. [via]
Frank Horvat, Self-portrait, 1956, Paris. [via]
Robert Doisneau, Self Portrait, 1947. [via]
Diane Arbus, Self-Portrait in Mirror, 1945. Courtesy The Audrey and Sydney Irmas Collection