James+Surdam+(examples+of+unconventional+self+portraits)



*Photographobia*  -Fear of being photographed In this photo the photographer, Tiago RÔbeiro, creates a self portrait of himself that is in many ways unconventional in that he is able to portray his emotions and fears. Appropriately titled “Photographobia” he expresses his fear of being in front of the cameras crosshairs rather than behind, as clearly seen through the raw emotions running through every muscle in his face as he presses his finger down on the trigger of the camera. It is a self portrait because it gives you a picture as to who he is, however it goes deeper into his vulnerabilities and opens up a conversation as to what strengths and capabilities a picture truly has, for the better and for the worse.



Self Portrait (The Desperate Man) In this self portrait of the 19th century French realist painter Gustave Courbet, we are given more than simply a picture of a desperate man, it is a self portrait as to who he is. Ironically as a leader of the realist movement in the 19th century there is a sense of realness in this image, as compared to any “normal” portrait where you will see variations of the same image of someone emotionlessly smiling, where the only difference is the actual person doing the smile. Here we get a window through his eyes and straight into his mind, rather than a feeling of a groomed façade covering everything up, and there is a sense of it being on the spot and vulnerable. You cant imagine what is going on in his mind, but while contained as a still image you begin to imagine him pacing back and forth. This image is a self portrait in that it shows a man, and more than that, who he is; rather than serve to downgrade his image this portrait lifts him up as a mad genius of his time with too much knowledge to handle.