When’s the last time you sat for a portrait?

Think about it. If you’re not in school, there are very few times when you sit still in front of a photographer and a tripod to have your picture taken. There’s virtually no reason to anymore.

“Now we have cameras in phones and we’re taking pictures of each other all the time, so the idea of sitting in front of a professional photographer is just sort of fading away,” said Nat May, executive director of Space in Portland. “So we wanted to take that idea of sitting for a portrait — like you might have done at Sears — and have some fun with it.”

What May did was organize an event at Space where a professional photographer and an artist team up to take photographic portraits, but with an artsy twist. People will sit for a portrait, but the backdrop might contain strange props or weird projected images.

“One team is going to have some kind of cabinet of curiosities with odd objects in it, and they’ll take the picture in such a way that your head looks like it’s on one of the shelves,” said May.

The event, called Shoot Your Face Off, will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, during the city’s First Friday Art Walk. There will be three teams taking photographs, with a photographer and artist on each team, and portraits will be done on the spot for $20 each.

But coming in to watch the process is free.

In the past, Space has hosted a similar event where people get their portraits drawn by an artist. Space also hosted a photo event like this once before, about two years ago.

Judging by how much people liked those experiences, May expects a big crowd on Friday. “People were getting their pictures done four or five times.”

One of the photographers who will be shooting Friday is Samuel Cousins of Portland, who will be teamed with artist Kimberly Convery. Their idea includes presenting portrait subjects with a variety of hand-drawn scenes from which to choose.

The image will then be projected — using an overhead projector — onto the person. The effect of the finished photograph will be that the person becomes part of the hand-drawn scene.

“The inspiration is the Coney Island stand-ups with cut-outs to stick your face through,” said Cousins.

Cousins, who works under the name Samuel Cousins Photography, wanted to be part of the event because “it’s something different from what I usually do.” He primarily photographs events, including concerts, parties and social functions.

So doing a portrait of someone and inserting them into a hand-drawn scene is certainly different.

May thinks Shoot Your Face Off might give people a little bit of the thrill of the old days, when sitting for a portrait was a big deal.

Plus, they’ll get to see themselves in a work of art.

And that’s still a big deal.

Staff Writer Ray Routhier can be contacted at 791-6454 or at rrouthier@pressherald.com

Twitter: RayRouthier