“Masked”
My final presentation for the Identity unit, entitled “Masked,” was made through the combination of my three red photographs by manually masking them using editing software, then combining them in one photo. Justification in regard to some elements in the final presentation has been mentioned in the Red Photo Evaluation, where one of the three Red Photos was analyzed.
For this project, I have made the decision to manually mask all three photos by tracing the outline of each one and eliminating the original background of any pictures. Although this could have been done in a much less pain-staking way by utilizing selection tools, I have decided to mask the photos by hand because it allows me to crop out certain undesirable portions of some of the photographs in addition to some of the fraying of the hoodie, which could be seen in the original red photos. For example, a bit of lifted fabric at the bottom-right of the white image distracted from the overall presentation, which I have cut out in the masking process to reflect a more clean and sharp look.
In the editing process, I could have also used feathering to minimize the sharp cuts that were used in the manual masking process, blurring the edges to allow it to blend in more with the background. Although this would have been desirable for me, I have ultimately decided to neglect this tool since this could limit the sharpness of the original image, which I want to retain due to how it is effective in concentrating attention on the central subject (white photo).
I have used opacity for the red and blue photos to blend both of the photos into the background. Because the main focus of this presentation is that all three photos are interconnected, with the blue and red photos indicating internal extensions of one’s external personality (that being represented by the white photo), the focus of attention should be on the central, white photo predominantly. In this presentation, the white photo represents the overall being and the two other photos, although also part of oneself, are more inherent and internalized compared to the subject.
I have decided to use these three colors (blue, red, and white) due to their symbolism and relationship to one another. Because white is one of the fundamental colors, it is used to represent the primary or external representation of a person. Blue and red, both of them contrasting with each other, blend well with the original, white hoodie in addition to how it is representative of the overall, external person. The black background was chosen because it contrasts with all other colors, allowing for the subject of the photo to be emphasized.