KANSAS CITY, Mo. — He has posted more than a dozen online photo albums. Most of them show off his style, from his flashy sneakers to his colorful T-shirts.

It might sound a little self-centered, but for Antjuan Hamby, self-portraits aren't about narcissism. They're about self-expression.

"I think that self-portraits symbolize how we feel about ourselves, who we think we are and how we feel at the time," says Hamby, 19, a MySpace and Facebook regular. "I love the camera."

Millions of Web users share his passion. Scroll through the pages of MySpace and Facebook. Check out a few blogs — profile pictures are often self-portraits.

It's the way of the Web — pictures of any and everything. Put them on MySpace and Facebook, upload them to Photobucket and Flickr, then make a slide show, blog about them or send picture mail on your cell.

People don't need photographers. They take matters into their own camera-loving hands. Like this: Extend one arm, hold the camera out in front of you and capture the moment. That's how the online community documents its lives.

For Hamby, it's all about keeping track of his style evolution.

"Fashion constantly changes, and I like seeing my style mature," says the sophomore fashion major at Penn Valley Community College. "I've always admired the different pieces I could put together, so I take a pic and post it. I like being able to look back at things I used to wear. I think that fashion is art — it belongs in a portrait."

Self-portraits change often online. Some people update monthly, some weekly, and addicts do it daily. And the pictures often convey a mood, a song, a new hairdo and all sorts of things in between.

And thanks to cell phones, Webcams and digital cameras, taking a picture of yourself or even cramming your friends into the frame is easier than ever. Countless MySpace users have mastered the art.

Turning a digital camera into a one-stop photo booth can be amusing. But I some like to keep photo albums private, so that only friends can see them.

For others, it's all about the sharing.

"Me and all my friends take pictures, and it's fun to share them," says Collette McCray, 20, who often sends out bulletins once or twice a month to let her friends know she's added pictures and updated her page.

"I always take quirky pictures that reflect my personality, and I try to do it in a unique way. It's something to do for fun or when I'm bored. It makes me feel pretty," says McCray, a junior at the Kansas City Art Institute.

"I think it can be a little narcissistic and conceited. But I think if we love ourselves, then that's a good thing. But there is such a thing as going overboard."