Don’t be intimidated by self portrait camera gear you could buy to take epic photos of yourself while travelling. You already have the most important equipment: your phone! Some camera gear can be expensive but most of these items are pretty inexpensive. If you feel embarrassed taking photos of yourself, visit locations early in the morning or late at night when you’re likely to encounter much smaller crowds. I promise, the more you practice, the more comfortable you’ll be in front of the camera. I still get embarrassed when taking self portraits in public: I know I’ll love the final product so it’s worth it to me. All the photos at the bottom of this post were taken with a camera and tripod.
Self Portrait Camera Gear You Need
Phone/camera: Of course the most important equipment is having something that takes photos! If you’re just starting out, your phone is an amazing and a compact camera that you always have on you! Use the self-timer and snap some photos of yourself.
There’s a whole world of camera gear! To make it simple I’ve included suggestions below but it’s a great idea to do your own research.
I recommend a camera with exchangeable lenses: a DSLR or mirrorless. Personally, I recommend the mirrorless but the DSLR options are typically cheaper. The difference is the way the camera takes a photo. If you’re starting out you may not notice a difference but you certainly will after plenty of practice! I started with my Nikon D3300 (DSLR) in 2016 and recently (2021) upgraded to the Nikon z6ii (mirrorless).
For lenses, you can get prime lenses or zoom lenses. A prime lens shoots at one focal length. A zoom lens has a range of focal lengths. There are two main differences besides the focal lengths: 1) weight and 2) the aperture (f-stop)/how much light is let in to the camera. The lower the f-stop number, the more light can be let in the camera and the better your photo will be in low light. My favourite lens is the f2.8 24-70 mm which is a compromise between low light and multiple focal lengths. My second favourite lens is the f4-5.5 70-200 mm. It is fantastic for compression and making the background look closer/more blurred.
Tripod: You’ll need this to take self portraits that don’t look like selfies. This tall one is specifically for phones. If you have a DSLR or mirrorless camera you’ll need something more sturdy. I personally love this one. I recommend a tripod with clips, rather than twist legs and you’ll definitely want a 360 ball.
Remote shutter release: Using a self-timer means you have to physically press the shutter, run to your position and then let the camera take the photo. A remote shutter allows you to be in position to take the photo. It’s highly advantageous to use a remote shutter. Another bonus to the DSLR/mirrorless option is using an app on your phone to see what you look like before taking the photo!
BTS stuff: With the basics above, there’s a world of other gadgets that allow you to take behind the scene videos. I use a gorillapod with a phone mount to attach to my tripod: my phone takes videos while my camera takes photos. I also use it to take timelapses so there is no movement in the photo. If you have a DSLR/mirrorless, you can purchase a phone mount to attach directly to your camera.
Photo Editing: Not quite self portrait camera gear but one way to make your photos sparkle is to edit them using Lightroom. You have greater flexibility editing RAW photos but it’s still a really great editing app for phone photos.
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