How to take a nice self-portrait

nice portrait, no photoshop

I don't have a glamorous lifestyle with lots of opportunity for candid portraits, so when I get bored with my profile picture, I shoot a new one. [I am not here to talk about how amazing I look in my new picture but I'm a good enough photographer and self-critic to know what looks good. I would have uploaded a no-makeup picture but they've all been deleted. Au naturale, I have uneven skin tone, acne, and unruly hair.]
Here is a quick tutorial on taking a quick seated self portrait.

Preproduction

Before we get started with the photography, take a minute to consider your grooming. Don't imagine you can photoshop flaws out later - it's easier and more honest to deal with your appearance before you shoot a frame.

• Attend to facial hair and blemishes, moisturize skin.
• Style hair (For me: wash, blow dry, flat iron, using setting cream and hair spray)
• Touch up the face: For most women, at a minimum use eyeliner, powder in the center of the face, and lipcolor to offset the effect of the powder. Men should apply clear balm to the lips and use blotting papers on shine. (For me: full makeup including foundation, blush, brozer, powder, eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, brow fill, and lip color.)
• Choose the right garment: a solid color is the safest bet. Don't clash with your background.
• Accessorize: the right earrings or coat will make you feel nice without being overdressed.

Setup: You will need

1. Digital camera with timer, flash, and tripod mount.
2. Tripod.
3. Plain background such as a curtain or unadorned wall.

Here is a diagram of how I set up my portraits. Men and people with thin faces may be satisfied with the camera at eye level rather than higher. Do not have the camera below your face.
Women look cuter when the camera is higher because it makes the male viewer think he's tall and masculine in comparison. Don't question the logic if you have any kind of double chin.
I shot these pictures inside on a rainy day; the only light source in these photos is on-camera flash. If you have found a nice wall outdoors you can certainly use the same setup but consider external light sources. The sun should be low or the sky overcast. All shadows on the subject and the wall must be considered.

Shooting

On most digital camera you are going to want to use two or three different setting tweaks to make this good. Take your time and shoot a lot of frames, stopping to check your framing, exposure, and expression. If your room is large you can move the camera back and zoom in. Take care to have excellent posture and experiment with different shoulder positions. Avoid the "mug shot" angle of facing the camera directly with face and shoulders.

The photo we're aiming for is a vertical or square portrait. The human face is generally a long oval so shoot with the camera positioned vertically.

Shoulders too square; Hunching

• Use an appropriately high quality picture setting
• Set the flash to "on," and decrease the intensity if necessary
• Use the timer (or a remote)
• Use the multiple-frame option, for more shots per pose
• Consider setting the manual focus to an appropriate distance.

flash too bright

Finishing

Crop the photos of extraneous background and torso. Crop before uploading or utilize the tools of your photo service: facebook, flickr, and many other websites allow you to rotate and crop.

arm's length portraits rarely have a clear background

If you have long hair it doesn't have to all be in the frame. If you background is long, include more torso if you'd like, but full length glamour shots are a different story altogether :)

I ran across this article on babble.com: 15 Women Photographers Share Their Self-Portraits and Photo Tips. Lots of examples of different poses and types of portraits.