You've probably heard me say this before. I'm a self-portrait photographer by necessity, not by choice. There are certain advantages to self-portrait photography that appeal to me, chief among them the fact that you can do it by yourself. You don't need anyone else's help. Or permission. But there are also a lot of limitations inherent to the format, chief among them the problem of not being able to be behind the camera while you're posing in front of it. I enjoy the independence of being self-sufficient, but I regret being restricted to the single body I have (however hard I've worked to make it photo-friendly). Here's a list of some of the main pros and cons of self-portrait photography that come to mind:
(pro) never having to pay a model
(con) never getting paid by a client
(pro) never needing a model release
(pro) never having a creative or financial disagreement with a model
(con) not having another creative mind to bounce ideas off of
(pro) not having to coordinate with a model to arrange a photoshoot
(con) all your photos feature the same model
(pro) never feeling pressured to do something you're not comfortable with
(con?) not having a like mind encouraging you to take creative risks
(con) not having an extra set of eyes and ears when shooting on location under potentially risky circumstances (e.g., public nudity)
(con) having to run repeatedly back and forth to the camera while shooting
(con) not being able to see the model's pose before snapping a photo
(con) having to learn both modeling and photography
(pro) gaining the perspective that comes from being both a model and a photographer
(con) not being taken seriously as either because you don't collaborate with other artists
(con) limited flexibility in your modeling if you focus on being a photographer, and limited flexibility in your photography if you focus on being a model
(pro) having the opportunity to get to know yourself better
(con) losing an opportunity to get to know someone else better
Overall, I'd say the cons outweigh the pros, but there are enough pros to recommend the practice, especially if you are able to adopt a multi-disciplinary approach (switching between shooting models and self-portraits as the occasion warrants). But even in my situation, the rewards of self-portrait photography are strong enough to balance out the considerable limitations, such that I find it worthwhile to shoot self-portraits when the alternative is not to shoot any portraits at all.
