I am absolutely obsessed with my set 2’s results. The portrait focuses on the main subject perfectly as the lines point at an angle towards the subject seen through the co-subject in the mirror as well as the mirror itself. My set 2 is called “Thoughts”, showing what happens after society has portrayed negative thoughts on one, and what results because of that. In this case, my subject thinks negatively of themselves which causes overthinking and anxiety. I think it’s a great physical representation of something going on inside many people’s heads. Through this piece of work, I wish to tell others to keep some negative thoughts about others to yourself, as sometimes it may cause more negative harm from them to themselves then from you to them.

My set 3 is called “tears.” These pictures show toxic masculinity as well as labels used on girls when they cry. I tried to use some ideas from Set 2 for my Set 3, as I wanted to show the toxicity of this world, though this time imprinted and projected on one’s face.  The final product didn’t turn out as well as I expected as the contrast of the images was different, and the lighting high on opposite sides. This gave the photo a very fake and 2d look. If I was to retake, I would make sure that the lighting was able to hit the face from all angles.  Something good about the projection of the words was that it clearly displayed comments used in toxic masculinity and labels towards girls during a vulnerable time. It can clearly show viewers about my project and ideas, as well as the story behind it which is that the fact the world judges and has so many opinions and labels for those during a vulnerable time. I don’t have a favorite or least favorite image as I think there is much to improve on this set. I have realized with the 2d-ness of this project, that lighting of the images im Blending must be well coordinated, or it will seem very off. I do like words that were projected on and the hint of vibrance it gives off, as the details bring your attention towards the words.

My images in set 2 represent Donald McCullin’s idea of capturing “human conflict”. McCullin is well known for his ability to capture those caught in conflict, as he looks to expose the underside of society in countries around the world, as well as “bear witness to the unacceptable” (Fine Art Photography Series). Adapting McCullin’s ideas into my own work, I want to capture the underside of society, and the negative effects causing conflict towards humans themselves. I want to capture how the society has caused many to have anxiety, and to overthink. I chose the images for blue (screenshot 1), because of the good composition. My blue photos were chosen from the contrast, good angles, as well the exposure, and depth of field.

My red photos are the ones with the red tag. The images had the perfect combo of contrast, angle, and exposure. Ontop of that, the focus was perfectly placed on the subjects. The final photo was chosen as a combo of my 2 red photos, as the photos combined brought attention to the subjects as the depth of field focused on the subjects in both photos. The photos tell the story of one who is often pressured by themselves, and begins to hate themself. Something I can further develop on can perhaps be the “action” of the photos. As the reaction of the “hatred” was still and lifeless. In times this may be an accurate reaction I would like, but as there was action on the subject “hating” – the hand moving, pointing fingers, the portrait may look better with action in the reacting subject.

The final portrait’s elements all support the subject. The contrast brings a gloomy look, giving a more depressing vibe. There were no distracting elements as there was nothing in the backdrop. There was meant to be focus on the mirror as the audience may realize that the person in the mirror looks to hate the subject infront of the mirror, which is themself. The audience often lays focus on the subject in the mirror first because the white is most vibrant in the portrait. The vision of the portrait is extremely clear as the sitting position suggests one that is “sad” and “depressing”, and the hang signals that are blurred out due to movement suggests hatred. The combo of this, as well as knowing the subject in the mirror and the one infront is the same, suggests that the subject perhaps overthinks and “hates”, or perhaps has negative thoughts towards themselves.

This is my Identity Set 1. I have chosen these images in the style of Richard Avedon as he focuses on style and fashion. This image is taken of his style of photography as his photos represent models frozen in time of fashion photography. In my portraits, I used fashion as well as a twist of humor to represent my daily with accessories I enjoy. Though, as I tried to get the look of “frozen in time” mid-action, it did not turn out well and I wish to enhance that in the future. I have chose my “green” choices (screenshot 2) as they have somewhat captured a mid action look, though with the twist of humor I had wished to add, were my photos highlighted green, which were my “red” images. Though, these photos did not caption action well. I do however like the sense of connection between the fashion accessories and the focus of my portraits, though, this was not a huge idea of Avedon’s. I wished to tell a story of connection between the cheese slippers and the subject in the portrait, which I think I was able to do, though Avedon’s ideas were not well represented in my work which I wish to work on with set 2 and 3. You can sense the connection of the subject and the slippers with the engagement between the two, such with the interactions. I think the strength within the portraits was the ability of focus on subjects. It was simple, covering the minimalistic ideas of Avedon’s. In my next set of images, I wish to use more of ideas inspired by other photographers, and be able to present them in my portraits well. I would think of the different strands needed in my portraits, and not just the story I focused on telling from the start.

My favorite image is the one of the subject blowing a kiss at the shoe. It’s minimalistic, simple, shows the relation between the subject and co-subject clearly, as well as focuses on the subject and co-subject well. In the photo, my eyes are immediately drawn to the slipper itself as multiple points of geometry points to the subject, some may include the direction and positioning of the face. My eyes are then drawn to the subject’s face, and their expression. This is where I want the attention to fall as the purpose of my portrait is to show the interaction within the subject and co-subject. There is no distracting elements as the subject’s physical features are from a considerably similar color scheme. The most detailed feature is the face, where it’s drawn to the emotion of the subject. The image’s exposure is correct as lighting falls onto the subjects to show true tones, as well as the vibrance of the co-subject, the slipper. The colors of the co-subject brings your attention of the only other subject in the photo, and brings reason to the cause of attention. The background is plane, the lightest part being the center which attracts the focus of the audience to fall on the subjects. The depth of field does suit the photo as the focus falls on the subjects. The story of the portraits can be well understood by the audience as many will focus on the particular relationship between the person and the slipper. The focus may result in different reactions such as understanding of the relation of something they possess, or perhaps disgust as slippers aren’t usually thought of as something that one tends to admire due to hygienic properties. This may also allow the audience to think of the backstory of the relation between the slipper and person.

Sophie Calle, french conceptual artist, captures ideas of identity within the subjects in her photos. People have placed her with the roles of stalker, spy, and thief, as it was how they saw towards her understanding of others’ physical and emotional backgrounds, this being her form of art. Within her pieces, they all use different techniques. This includes placement of subject, as well as the use of color to add onto the mood within the pieces. I chose her because I really liked how her photos as I was able to picture a story for each photo. Her photos had the power of symbolizing a whole series of events by itself. This includes making me think of what setting each subject belongs in, and combing them with the time placement to create a grand visualization. I really want to tell a story using simple subjects within my photographs, as objects as well as color can tell alot of one’s physical and emotional being.

My favorite image is the last image, “La Coupole”. There are many subjects within this photograph, including what seems like a coffee cup, a tie, and breakfast plates. The setting of this image is on a collared shirt ontop of a bed. The collared shirt seems messy which suggests that it was recently worn. The main subject of this photo is a person that is unseen in the photograph. The coffee, collared shirt, bow tie, and what seems to be notes of something, suggests that this person is a businessman. They seemed to be busy but organized, as the notes suggest perfection in writing, as well as the stacked plates. Though there are visible stains on the shirt which suggests that they were in a hurry.

From the photographer’s point of view, they may have seen someone who was in a hurry as there was coffee spilt. My eye was first drawn to the stacked plates as there was visible shapes of circles. My eyes were also drawn to the bow tie as the vibrance of red from the bow stood out to me. The color of the photograph seems very light, as most of the items were shades of white and yellows and browns.

The photograph makes me feel messy because of the colors of yellows and oranges standing out on the clean shades of white. I think the photograph was to tell us the story of the main subject, the person, that these objects belong to. I think the photographer have achieved this as I was able to visualize a story with the side subjects within the portrait.

A photo becomes a portrait when the environment of the photograph allows the audience to have a sense of connection with the subject within the photo, to tell the story of the subject within the photo.  A selfie is not always a type of portrait because sometimes I have no sense of connection with the subject within the photo. A portrait could contain anything, though a good portrait draws attention to the subject in the photograph. This may be achieved using contrast between the subject and the background. Yes you can represent a person without them being present within the photos, as the mood and the subjects within the photo may represent the person themselves. I think this may still be called a portrait as a portrait is a photograph that allows the audience to have a sense of connection within the subject within the photo, and if the subjects within the photo may provide that for the singular subject, then it may be a portrait. A sequence of photos may also be a portrait, as long as the pictures are able to tell a story together, and describe a singular perhaps multiple, but importantly, the same subject.

An idea I have for my portrait, is perhaps someone on a daily basis vs someone when the holidays are around. I really want to do something around the “holiday” idea as Christmas is coming around. Another idea may perhaps be someone that everyone sees them as vs who they really are. This is one of my favorites as the media really projects what people want others to see of themselves, and not who they really are. I think that a portrait idea based around sexual assault can also be a very interesting project, as it help tell the audience that it’s okay to ask for help, and that your friends or someone you care deeply about is going through such a traumatizing experience.

For the first idea about the holidays, the title would be “Holidays Hit”. I’m really inspired from Richard Avedon’s photographs as his portraits, in my opinion, really expresses the stories of one. They often experiment with the way the subjects dress, and the place that the photographs are taken. The background subjects in the photos also tell alot of the subject’s story. I think using minimal subjects and a good setting as well as a choice of wear can really tell a story of the holidays. Or perhaps only showing objects can also tell a story of a subject that isn’t displayed in the photo. I want the audience to feel that disappointment when the Holidays are over. I want An idea may be the one below:

For the second idea on media expression of one’s true self vs their media representation, I want it to be titled, “Expect the Unexpected”. I want to do an idea of “How I look in my photos” vs “Me replying to the comments”, or perhaps school life vs social life. This may include me having messy hair, the unfiltered version of myself. I think I want to play around with Steve Mccurry’s photography styles for this project as he plays alot with color as part of his expression. I think it’ll be fun to use more vibrant and fun colors as the media self and perhaps black and white or dull/minimal color in the unfiltered version of myself. I want the audience to understand that people only post or display what they want to be shown, usually the positives in their life, their achievements, so don’t compare yourself to what they show you, what is portrayed of them. An idea may be the one below: (Something like that just better)

For the third idea on fighting for victims of sexual assault or sexual abuse, the title would be “Don’t Assume”. I want to use ideas portrayed by Richard Battye. Battye plays with lighting and the use of projectors within his photographs. I think it would be a good project that tells the audience what is not okay. I want the audience to understand that the comments and “little things” they say actually adds up and can mean alot. They don’t know what has happened, they have no right to talk. This may include verbal or physical abuse. An idea may be the one below: