I love to follow FlakPhoto – a photo digest and community created by Andy Adams. He recently asked in his newsletter why we make shadow selfies. I make them almost everywhere I go and had thought about this question for a while. Here is what I came up with:

RELATABILITY

Including an anonymous subject makes it easy for anyone to relate to.

BARRIER REMOVAL

Classic self portraits require a certain amount of effort: I feel the need to look at least a little put together and it usually requires setting up a tripod or even creating elaborate sets. Shadow selfies remove those barriers and let us focus on the scene as it is.

NOSTALGIA & RECORD KEEPING

As photographers we are usually only included in the scene through our point of view but not in a visible form. Including a hint of ourselves, even in this pretty abstract shape, is a way to hold onto the reassuring thought that we really did exist at this place in our lifetime.

CONNECTION

Out of all the methods to include ourselves in the frame – classic self portrait, faceless, reflection, hands/feet – shadows feel the most organic and unobtrusive. Shadows make us equal to everything around us: trees, rocks, wildlife, buildings and other humans. It allows us to blend into the environment and I think it’s what many of us seek when we step out the door with our camera: finding connection with the world around us.

IN SUMMARY

I think people who make shadow selfies have these interests in common: The interest to record our own existence, the interest to connect to the environment, and the interest to be as unobtrusive as possible.

Of course there is also the idea to use our shadow to balance the frame but then I find it’s less about making a shadow selfie and more about making the best picture of a scene.