The more I've been asked to shoot portraits, the more I've realized the need for an assistant to come along. There's nothing worse than struggling to carry your gear on a hot summer day in DC and arriving to meet your subject in an air-conditioned government office out of breath and covered in sweat. But in looking over some jobs I shot in the past year, I'm reminded of the times when there wasn't any room in the budget for an assistant and hauling the equipment was left to me.

With that, here is a small selection of self portraits from a year in portrait photography.