A couple of weeks ago, I went into That London to do a photoshoot with a difference – I was both the model and the photographer!
I’d seen ads for You Self-Portrait Photostudio on Instagram and decided to take advantage of one of their sale days. I’d booked a slot online for 2pm to give myself plenty of time to get to Waterloo.
Deciding what to wear and what to take to change into took a bit of planning, especially not knowing how warm it was going to be. You get a 40 minute session for £65, so you have lots of time to change outfits and take plenty of shots. They don’t mind how many people attend each session, so it’s great for families and friends to capture some memories. They even allow you to take pets (for an extra fee)!
I decided to wear my PVC jeans with a sheer long sleeve top and my Twisted Alice t-shirt, and I also took a backpack with other clothes and accessories. I had a pair of boots that I really wanted to wear, which took up the majority of available space, and everything else had to fit around them!
It was a warm day and I arrived on Lower Marsh early, so I got a chance to wander around, and find where I needed to go. I also took the opportunity to pop into the Honour shop on the same road. I tried on a short latex skater skirt but wasn’t thrilled about the waistband, so I passed. Would have loved to have tried a catsuit on while I was there, but I was already too hot and sweaty in my PVC jeans!
I had an amazing lunch from one of the street food stalls, Voodoo Chicken. I had their chicken box – spicy chipotle chicken on Cajun fries with chilli jam and slaw, topped with mayo and chillies, and it was delicious!
After unexpectedly bumping into a Threads friend (hi Marsha!) in Iceland (the supermarket, not the country), it was time for my session. The studio is located on the second floor above a shop, accessed by a bright turquoise door with an intercom. You have to go up a couple of flights of steep narrow stairs, so sadly it’s not accessible to everyone.
In the studio I was greeted by Daria, who offered me a drink and explained how it all works. She led me into the studio, which is a large-ish room, with a white photographic backdrop at the back and a huge mirror facing it. The camera hides behind the mirror, indicated by two arrows, so you know where to look. There was a huge umbrella flash/reflector thing in the corner as well, plus a couple of chairs and other props that you could use. There was also a huge fan that you can use to get that hair shampoo model effect – or just keep cool!
They have a few rules at the studio, but mainly they don’t want you to wear outdoor shoes in the room, especially if they have black soles. You can take other indoor/light coloured shoes so I checked that my boots were fine. Alternatively, you can go barefoot!
Daria handed me the clicker and explained the black lines on the floor and on the wall. Basically, everything within those lines would be in the frame and everything outside wouldn’t be. It’s best to look between the arrows at the camera, rather than looking at yourself in the mirror otherwise your eyes can look flat. In the bottom left of the mirror is a countdown clock, so you know how much time you have left.
Daria asked me to try a test shot to make sure it was all working and then she left me to it, telling me she was going to put on some music and If I wanted to change it, just ask, or alternatively I could play my own music through the Bluetooth speaker. Thankfully, she played some good tunes!
During your time, no one will come into the studio unless you specifically ask them to, so you have absolute privacy. This means that you can take photos in whatever state of undress you wanted and it would be totally private. (There was a huge window to the left of the camera, so people in adjacent offices could theoretically look in, but there is a curtain you can pull across to give more privacy if you like.)
So then it was just time to strike poses and take photos! I felt a bit self-conscious at first, but quickly relaxed and started to enjoy myself.
After a few shots I changed clothes and kept snapping. I was a bit worried that I would step to far back in my boots and pierce the background screen with my heel, but thankfully that didn’t happen.
I was quite hot – it’s amazing how warm you can get just changing clothes – so I turned on the fan, which also helped animate the dress I was wearing too. I played around with different poses, also using one of the chairs.
Time went quite quickly, but I managed to get the majority of shots that I thought I wanted in the time. I had intended to wear a Snag harness that I’d brought with me, but it was going to take too long to get into, so I bailed!
As the time counted down to zero, I made sure I was fully clothed again, but I was given plenty of time to sort myself out after the session. Once I’d packed up, I left the studio. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could have stayed in there before Daria came to find me, but I didn’t want to out-stay my session! I don’t think there was anyone waiting to follow me, but I thanked Daria, handed her back the remote clicker, and left.
I had to go into Greggs afterwards to get a coffee and Belgian Bun as I was feeling a bit low blood sugared and light-headed, but quickly felt well enough to get the train home!
When I was on the train out of London, I checked my emails and the photos were already available, uploaded to a One Drive dropbox for you to download. The default format is black and white, as that makes the process simpler and the photographs more classic-looking. You can ask for colour pictures, for an extra fee.
You state that they do not look at the photos taken, unless given permission to do so, and the whole process is automated, meaning that they can be sent to you within an hour. Over the 40 minutes, I took over 500 pictures. Some do come out black, due to a synchronisation glitch with the flash, but I think I only had a couple. Pictures are also deleted from their servers after one week.
I loved my time at You Self-portrait Studio, and I can’t wait to go back again. I would love to spend a whole day there, exploring poses and different outfits, but I couldn’t afford that. I would also prefer it if it weren’t in the middle of London, so that I could take more outfits and not have to spend stupid amounts on train fares! If I do go back, I think it will be in the Autumn/Winter, so it’s cooler to travel there too!
If you want to get some great photos without the awkwardness of being directed by a photographer, then I highly recommend You.
Positively Catie 