All great artists have done a self portrait often many more. They often reflect the inner self or the  mood of a phase in the many transitions of  life. Digital imaging allows the artist the greatest range of possibilities for creating a self portrait.
Your self portrait will begin with a photograph or scanned sketch that will be imported into PhotoShop for rendering. Your image will not be made into a caricature, it will be a serious attempt to create a unique depiction of yourself.
Capture an image of yourself using one of our high resolution Sony Cameras or import your image from the class list. Remember to set your layers where you can see them
> layer styles box should be close by.
Remove
background using one of the select tools.
Set feather to around 5 to soften cutting edge. 		 
Create a new background
(this one has a gradient fill)
> another picture of a place you'd rather be etc.
> solid colour
>a graphic you have made		  
Don't forget to keep an original  image
around for starting over fresh if need be!		  
  IMAGE>mode>grayscale ENHANCE>brightness/contr.  
There are infinite number of filter options to render your images in an artistic manner.  
  Filter>brushstrokes>crosshatch Enhance>color>hue/saturation  
Desaturation sponge applied to half the image, saturation applied to other half
> background painted solid black.		 New background installed
> saturaion applied to whole portrait layer set to 100%
   
  Text additions can enhance meaning A gradient fill was used and an outer glow from the layer styles was applied to portrait  

Anything is possible, just experiment, and use your imagination
Now that you have several renditions of your portrait print
out several B/W proofs on the laser printer, and then colour print your favorite (to be evaluated) and laminate.


As usual make a preproduction plan and then start to work have fun experiment with the software options and get your work done earlier rather than later.