<p>Adolescence is a critical period for self-concept development, during which individuals refine their sense of identity and undergo significant social-emotional development. Self-portraits provide a valuable lens into the evolving inner, social-emotional and social-cognitive experiences of adolescents. This longitudinal study investigates how adolescents depict themselves in self-portraits and examines the relations between self-portrait characteristics (e.g., size, placement, activity level) and self-reported measures of self-esteem, shame, perspective-taking, mindfulness, and empathy over time. Results indicate that key self-portrait elements are significantly associated with adolescents’ self-reported internal social and emotional experiences. Participants were Grade 8 students from rural Canadian schools.Data were collected across two waves. Wave 1 data collection occurred between January 2016 and December 2016, and Wave 2 data collection occurred between December 2016 and June 2018.Students completed a self-portrait drawing task depicting themselves in a leisure activity and completed validated self-report measures (SPPC, TOSCA, IRI, MAAS). Regression analyses indicated that larger self-figures at Time 1 predicted higher shame at Time 2 (<i>β</i> =  − .11, <i>p</i> = .037, <i>R</i>^<i>2</i> = .030) and lower self-esteem in a model including placement and size (<i>β</i> = .223, <i>p</i> = .021). At Time 1, non-front-facing self-portraits were associated with higher perspective-taking (β = .276, p = .005) and empathic concern (<i>β</i> = .270, <i>p</i> &lt; .001). Mindfulness at Time 1 was positively associated with activity level (<i>β</i> = .242, <i>p</i> = .004) and negatively associated with marginal placement (<i>β</i> =  − .216,<i> p</i> = .011). These findings contribute to the growing body of literature on adolescent self-representation and social-emotional development, underscoring the potential of self-portraits as a tool for assessing youth’s inner experiences.</p>