An intelligent ball head and a self-photographing method by using the same, the method comprises determining a position of the infrared emitter carried by a user; rotating the ball head to face the infrared emitter; carrying out face recognition in a view screen with the infrared emitter as a center; measuring a first distance from a human face recognized to the intelligent ball head; comparing the first distance with a second distance from the infrared emitter to the intelligent ball head so as to calculate out a distance difference; determining that the face belongs to the user when an absolute value of the distance difference is detected to be smaller than a predetermined value; controlling the photographing apparatus to focus on the human face for shooting. When a plurality of faces appear in one viewing frame, the faces may be distinguished from each other accurately and therefore achieving high-quality self-photographing.