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weekend challenge: self portrait

07.22.09

This is the second weekend challenge that I have been a part of with Dana Pugh at Short and Sweet Photography. Our first one is here. (her pick)

This weekend challenge was to take 1-3 self portraits. Of yourself. By yourself. Why in the hell did I come up with this one?!?!

Saturday morning came, looming, and all of my grand plans and ideas sounded either super involved or lame. We also had plans with Jason and Summer (Jeff’s sister and husband) and their kids so I had an excuse to forget about it until that night. As I sat outside in the middle of a war between the kids and the grown ups (the only neutral adult since I was carrying the camera) I realized with a start that I had forgotten all day, and the light was fading. It was basically dusk.

In the hopes of just warming up, I took this shot. Pretty standard fare, hold camera over your head and smile kind of shot.

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After viewing it on the back of the camera I realized it was too dark to be taking photos and stopped. I had one idea that I had always wanted to be brave enough to try. I would need to do it the next morning. I was going to take a portrait of myself upon waking Sunday morning. No glasses, no make up, (not that I wear make up on a daily basis. I don’t.) no washing the sleep from my face. I love Jeff and the kid’s ‘just woke up face’ and have many photos of them in that state. All warm and smooshy and lined and woozy. I was curious how I looked to the outside world and wasn’t sure I could really tell just by looking at myself in the mirror. The camera doesn’t really lie.

I realized the next morning as I pulled open the blinds and reached for my camera that I wished I had made the challenge this, exactly. A ‘just woke up’ self portrait. Just one. Honest, warm, smooshy, lined, and woozy.

Here I am at 9ish Sunday morning. Little processing, and no skin editing (unfortunately for my grandma forehead).

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I look like a sleepy little alien.

xo

Tara

PS: Sorry for the lateness of this post by the way. We had some really fun plans Fri/Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues and I am only now beginning the slow forray into the internet after four days “off”.

PSS: If you joined in on the challenge, please do link in the comments!

Posted in Life, Orange County Photographer, weekend challenge

by Tara Whitney

52 comments

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carrie@urbanbaby - a beatiful sleepy little alien. i wish i looked that pretty when i woke up.

dana pugh - I love the top one because that is the smiley girl I met once and wish to see again and have a chat with...BUT...BUT!!! I love the second one. it's so peaceful and wonderful...and it's funny because I almost did just this as my self portrait. I will...next time ;)

Heather - Your a brave women but your cute so you can take pictures like that. I, on the other hand, would scare the bejesus out of people if they saw a picture of me in the morning. Thank God I have a husband that loves me, scary and all :)

Crystal Chick - Hooray for self portraits! I started a self-portrait-a-day project in February. I've learned a lot just by doing one picture a day. I'm almost 150 days in. Weird and cool.

tara k - both of these images are so gorgeous and best of all, real. you look incredibly peaceful and lovely waking up. i just love that about you, miss. you are this beautiful, authentic person and make no apologies for that. i'm trying to get there, too. http://www.tarakuhlow.com/blog/?p=532

Jody - These are fantastic Tara! I love the rawness! I cheated and made mine slightly out of focus to avoid editing wrinkles;) http://totshots.typepad.com/

Vanessa - Love the just-woke-up shot. I'm glad someone else was brave to do a close up of their face, un-retouched and all. You are absolutely beautiful and always an inspiration. Thanks for your kind words on my SP (http://www.vlmstudios.com/blog). Can't wait 'til the next challenge!

Gina P. - i like it....true and honest.

Deann B. - I love your 9am photo, Tara. Between your sleepy face and your processing, it evokes such a feeling of peacefulness.

Betsy - Your family will cherish these real photos of you. I need to do the same. Goooood stuff. : )

Samara - Tara, you have fantastic eye brows. :) This is a great idea. I like your self portraits.

Heather - You are brave and beautiful.

celine navarro - you look amazingly beautiful :)

Jennifer - Can I just say how it is wrong that you have such beautiful eyelashes first thing in the morning? Just. Wrong. ;)

Christine - Tara, this is why you're my favorite - you're brave and creative and honest!!!! You look so beautiful in these self-portraits! I don't think I could ever muster the courage to do that! :) You're my hero and inspiration! xoxo (And thanks for visiting my blog - I nearly died this morning when I read your comment!! http://www.pobkephotography.com/blog/?p=1713)

Lindy - I love these pictures! What a great idea!

Jennifer Chaney - Ohhh yes... brave is right, but a true SO for sure. Beautifully creative! Thanks so much for inspiring and pushing us - especially with this last one. But next time can it be something easy like standing in the middle of 101?

Jennifer Chaney - That should read: a true SP. Not "SO" :)

Tammy Mellish - The second I saw your raw, unedited morning face, I had an instant visual of Anna. She looks so much like you (and she is beautiful :)

Helen - Your first in the morning pic is so beautiful. You are so pretty inside and out. (may I say you are brave to do that. I think i would break the camera first thing in the morning lol!)

Jocelyn - Tara I love these self portraits. My favourite is the first thing in the morning one, it is so real, and so beautiful. Everyone should do this. This is the sort of photo I would want my kids to have.

Goddess Leonie * Goddess Guidebook - oh sweet woman... so very beautiful :)

Lesley - I guess I kind of cheated because I posted self portraits from a few weeks ago... but I wouldn't have had the courage to post them otherwise, so thanks! You are an amazing woman. Has anyone told you that today? http://www.kensingtonblue.com/2009/07/self-portrait.html ps. you don't have a grandma forehead

elizabeth - first off.. you are beautiful not just on the outside but the inside too.. these are awesome.. because they are real and they show your true beauty

courtney ortiz - it's amazing how different you look in both pictures, but none less beautiful!

Christina - I think they are both absolutely beautiful but the rawness of the second one is breath taking :)

Rachael - you know what picture I should get...me waking up in the morning after I cried the night before. Talk about puffy and raw!!! I like the weekend Challenge ideas :)

rhonda robbins - you look smashing in your morning picture....love it!

jodi bingley - Holy cow Tara... this is the first time I have noticed the incredible resemblance Kenna has to you!! In that wake-up shot - she is just like you... amazing!

missy - Do you wax your eyebrows? Holy smokes, they are perfect. I love this. You are gorgeous!

Elaine - love to see your honesty and true beauty.

carrie - so beautiful reminds soooo much of sweet Anna xxxcar

jason - "grandma forehead"? that's hilarious!

Jenny - hey miss tara! i LOVE that you have one with glasses on, then glasses off . . how we move through a day . . . so unprotected and safe and vulnerable in our beautiful warm beds and then up and out there to face the world . . . also like being behind and in front of the lens. these are dreamy . . . sigh. mine: http://www.jennydrakephotography.com/blog ;)

Kami - you are just so cool. I want to be Tara Whitney in my next life.

Michelle - Ok, you look really pretty in the morning. That's when we feel our worst but you have given me hope that maybe my puffy face doesn't look so horrible after all. I admire your courage, I almost took a four in the morning breast feeding one, thinking : yep, it's real, it's natural, it's beautiful...lol, ya, not so beautiful! :)

Georgia - I love both of them. I have never been able to take a photo of myself that i like. I very rarely see photos of me taken by other people that I like. Well done!

aimee - you look amazing, naturally beautiful, and you have some killer eyelashes!

Jennifer C - Beautiful. Amazing eyes....to die for eyebrows. I am sure that this is exactly how the people who love you see you all the time, not just when you wake up, but all the time. They would see the smile you have in your eyes.

Crystal - You are STUNNING. You inspired my post today...hope you will stop by and take a peek. :)

Shona - I lurv your "sneepy eyes" :) Beautiful and calm.

marcy - After seeing yours I wish I would have participated. You're beautiful Tara... inside and out.

Katrina V - Gee... this challenge sure was challenging! I almost chickened out on the posting of the pics that I took... but I decided to be brave and put these images out there. I've decided that the years have brought me many great life experiences, love and memories... and they have left me little reminders, in the form of lines on my face. How lucky am I?? Thanks for the challenge.

catherine - Love this idea Tara, thanks! Your posts always inspire me and my own photography. My (pregnant) self portrait can be found at: http://www.catherinemayer.net/?p=335

Stacy - You are beautiful!!!

laura h. - love this. :)

LisaO - Tara, you are so cute, looking just like that cutie daughter of yours :-)

jennalee - Thanks for the challenge and inspiration.

amy - you are beautiful.

Kelly Warren - lovely blog and lovely post. i took the challenge. http://happyshackdesigns.blogspot.com/2009/07/fresh-faces-and-birthday-places.html

susi (dragonflydreamer) - You are beautiful. I like both photos. You have an aura of peacefullness that I am searching for ways to find the same within myself.

Kelly: Fresh Faces and Birthday Places « Creative Construction: Life & Art - [...] challenge on Cristi’s blog who read about it on Crystal’s blog who read about it on Tara’s blog (don’t you love the connectedness blogging brings?), and I thought that the girls’ birthday [...]

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