Make the setup repeatable
Choose a stable camera position, a focus reference, and a reliable trigger. Test the framing before concentrating on expression. Technical predictability gives you room to experiment rather than check every exposure.
Give yourself an action
Read, turn, reach, or hold a meaningful object. Compare these gestures with a directly posed portrait. An action can reveal a relationship to the setting that a fixed expression leaves unexplained.
Edit with some distance
Wait before selecting and judge the images as compositions. Ask what a viewer can understand without knowing your intention. Keep several alternatives if the project explores changing versions of identity.