Oscar Wilde famously wrote, “Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life,” but when life serendipitously coincides with art, rather than a flat-out imitation, I wonder what the writer has to say about that.
When I was taking these self-portraits by myself, I had no particular artwork in mind. I was just doing my modeling “thang,” and the looking-back over the shoulder is one of my go-to poses.
It was not a few months later, I had noticed a similarity between my self-taken portrait and Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. As I said, when taking this photo, I was not imitating any one or any artwork, but as a model and dancer, I have a natural instinct on form and expression and what looks good on camera. And although I enjoy art and portrait paintings, I wouldn’t call myself a dedicated art observer. Perhaps I was imitating art subconsciously, but I’d rather argue that beauty is a natural instinct; it cannot be imitated to achieve its true form. All of this is to say: between the 17th century to modern day 21st century, girls across the world instinctively know that the look-back over shoulder is a flattering gesture.
Centuries apart, girls all over the world with an inkling for natural beauty know that an over-shoulder look back, staring out of the corner of the eyes and straight into the observer / photographer, lips ever so slightly parted, body facing away and to the side, creates a flattering and candid pose.
As the model, I’ve discussed the beauty and the pose, but I’m also the photographer of this self-portrait, so I’ll now also discuss the technicalities and gear behind this photo. Can you guess what camera I used? None other than my tiny Canon G7X Mark III. This camera never ceases to surprise me. For such a compact tiny powerhouse, it can take some amazing high-quality photos that, in my opinion, seems to come out of a 50mm lens. The backlighting, the soft bokeh, and the beautiful focus on the subject (yours truly), the photos and portraits this digital camera the size of my palm can take is truly remarkable.
While I will admit what I’m about to say is self-indulgent, I’m quite stunned by how great my self-portrait is. The fact that I took these photos myself: it was perfect timing with the soft glow from the near-setting sun, my hair catching wind at the right moment, and a really good pose. As someone who has been taking my own photos for over 20 years since I got my first digital camera in the 4th or 5th grade, it’s taken a lot of self-taught photography lessons to get to this level. I’m someone who prefers to learn by doing rather than theoretically, and I still feel like I’m winging it each time because if I had to take a photography test quizzing me on what ISO or aperture means, I don’t even know I can say. But I can confidently say I’ve mastered self-photography. Looking so beautiful while also having to learn the technicalities of a high-tech camera, finding the right lighting, making sure everything is well-lit, and doing it all live, when there’s distractions like people, bugs, wind (potentially knocking down expensive gear — I’ve been there, trust me), definitely a repeatedly practiced skillset.
Anyways, since Oscar Wilde is no longer apart of this world, I wonder what others might say about life serendipitously coinciding with art. Is that still life imitating art, or something else?
xx, vt
Photos were taken March 2026. Post rough drafted in April 2026. Post finally updated June 24, 2026.
Tags // Vivian Tang self portrait photography model houston texas golden hour senior portrait ideas pinterest, self written (no AI used), modeling tips, poses for pictures, pinterest
