The self enhancement and self depletion phenomena originated from the beam coupling effect are observed in photochromic (Fe,Mn):LiNbO 3 nonvolatile holographic storage experiments. Based on this self diffraction effect,four kinds of recording and optical fixing procedures are set up. The experimental results show that the highest diffraction efficiency available from the self enhancement may be twice of the lowest one from the self depletion,both during the recording and fixing phases. Therefore,the use of the self enhancement is necessary for the practical applications.