With these photos, I aim to fulfill my intent to convey the feelings and emotions that come with the cycle of procrastination: dread, frustration, numbness; but also the emotions when you force yourself back on the right track: determination, resolution, and anticipation. I seek to convey the feeling of losing control, of slipping away with no way to slip back, of fog enveloping your mind as time passes you by, but also the feeling of forcing yourself to face the things you’ve been avoiding, as you rise out of the dark and find your workflow again. I decided to portray my intent with a set of photos telling a narrative, so that I can show the process of how these emotions and feelings came to be.

Some ways I conveyed these emotions are through the lighting and the body language of the model, with intense red lighting for the more emotionally charged photos, dim red lighting for less intense but still emotional photos, and white light for less emotional moments. The red light is great for emphasizing the shadows, while the white light adds another layer of atmosphere. The model is also very expressive in their body language, which helped convey a lot of the messier emotions better.

Set 1: Stages of Procrastination

“Stage 1: Slipping Away”

This photo would be the first in the set, and the blurriness would create a sense of intrigue as the audience wonders why the model is out of focus. Meanwhile, their attention would be drawn to the puppet strings, which is an important symbol in these photos. This photo feels desolate, murky, and represents the first stage of the cycle of procrastination.

“Stage 2: Frustration”

Compared to the last photo, this image is bright, intense, and very high-contrast. I want this image to feel like a visual flashbang especially after the previous photo, and it will be the second image in the set. The contrast between the two would highlight the different emotions in both of them, and make them feel stronger to the audience. One thing that I particularly like about this image is how the tears on the mask blends into the background, making it seem as if the darkness is of the character’s own making.

“Stage 3: Numbness”

This is the third photo in the set, and as a middle ground between the two ends of the spectrum of the previous two photos, it would conclude the first arc of the photo set and create a segway into the start of the next set. This image is messy, defeated, tired, but still with its own level of intensity and emotion. It is the lack of emotion and too much emotion all at once, and I think that is a very powerful visual.

Set 2: Breaking Away

Turning Point

This image is very similar in visual hue and tone to the previous image, although with more dark elements than light. It also features a lot of negative space, drawing the attention to the model. This shows how the mind fog is clearing and giving way to clarity, especially compared to the messiness of the previous photos.

Unmasking

This is the first and only image in these two sets where the viewer makes eye contact with the model directly, and this short moment of connection helps get a lot of emotion across before the next image, which shows the model finally moving toward the light. The eye contact is brief and quickly passes by – just like time. One moment it’s there, the next moment, the world has already moved on.

Returning

This image serves as both a climax and conclusion to the set, where all the audience sees is the silhouette of the model emerging from the shadows into the light. This ending is ambiguous and vague but hopeful for a brighter future, despite the potential hardships the light may bring. It is not the triumphant victory at the end of the story, but merely the next step in a long staircase of growth.

Other strong images

These are some photos that I found particularly powerful, but couldn’t fit within the narrative of my photo sets.