Intention

My photograph collection “A peek into…” discusses the societal issue of mental health, which is delivered through the theme of music. In this collection, I want my audience to understand the diversity of music from two aspects: the creator and the listener. In real life, everyone carries their own weight and pressure as they go about their days. Music is a cure for that burden for many; it can be a way out, a form of expression, or a release of that packed negative energy. Music connects people in some ways, and it is a suitable medium to draw attention to mental health issues that exist at different ages and levels.

In this photoshoot, I am exploring the listener’s perspective…

For many, music is a break from the overloading pressure of work, an uplift from a depressing stage of emotion, or a rush of entertainment during leisure time. It connects people on an emotional level. A listener experiences joy, pain, sorrow, and anger from the beats of the track and lyrics sung by the singer. They resonate with the song and the story of the songwriter, no matter if it is because of a similar experience or aligned belief. And, again, songs connect people. It is a peek inside the songwriter’s life; it is also a peek inside the listener’s heart.

Inspiration (Lindsay Adler)

Like set one, I got my inspiration from a photographer called Lindsay Adler. In her words, her style is “So very clean, bold, graphic, geometric and colorful.” Again, most noticeably, she utilizes colorful and eye-catching lighting; there is always bright and contrasting lighting cast on the subject’s face. By doing this, she is able to direct the audience’s attention to an intended part of the model’s face, add visually appealing elements to capture viewers’ eyes, and give a complex, mysterious mood to her work. One example is that she often photographs women by exploring the strength and power inside them. To do this, Adler often uses bright red lighting, which she believes is a natural attention grabber, demanding attention from the viewers.

As mentioned in photo set one, I experimented with Lindsay Adler’s way of lighting by utilizing intense and contrasting lighting, which established my intended atmosphere and mood. After the experimenting stage and photoing the first set, I’m more familiar with the studio’s equipment, which makes it easier for me to do the second photo set.

 

Photograph collection: A Peek Into…

Stage one: FUN

The first stage for listeners is “FUN”. This is when a person comes across a work that deeply attracts them because of its unique style or any other elements. Because of this, that person is going to spend time listening to that piece of music. For the first time, they tend to listen to the song in general, paying attention to the overall structure of the piece. In this stage, the listener is listening for fun. After a day of work, this is their relaxation, where they can enjoy something without thinking about the burden they may have to bear in the day.

Take photograph one as an example. The lighting of this work is a lot more settled compared to the first photo set. This decrease in intensity is deliberately made to make the work appear more visually attractive and to represent a detached feeling. In the first set, I use light to convey feelings and establish mood. Therefore, it represents the emotion of the listener. In this case, if we are capturing the listener’s perspective, then the emotion at this stage is apparently less intense and strong than the songwriter. Thus, I decided to lower the intensity of the lighting in the second photo set. Additionally, I intentionally made the color of the light in both sets the same for every stage. This is done to match each stage between the sets and draw the connection between the two sets. Likewise, the paper that the model held in her hands is the same prop (lyrics on paper) as the first photo set–what the songwriter used. This indicates the point that the listener is examining the work of the songwriter who is currently in the creative stage. The pink and yellow light shows the bright and lively mood the song has brought to the listener. On top of that, the smile on the listener’s face adds to the joyful atmosphere established.

 

Stage two: Underneath

The second stage for the listener is the stage “underneath.” As stated in the title, this is when the listeners move from the surface level and start to explore and analyze the lyrics of a song. In this stage, they are diving deeper into the meaning and feeling underneath the obvious. There, underneath the surface, is where the true meaning hides; it is often more ambiguous and profound. Sometimes, it is hard to understand, but it is the part that often touches the listener’s heart and evokes a stronger emotion in the listener.

Similar to stage one, I use slightly less intense lighting compared to set one, and for the same reason. Looking at photograph two, we can see a change in lighting from pink and yellow to a combination of blue and yellow. This is the same mix of color for set one, stage two, where the songwriter is experiencing the stage of expression. In this case, the yellow and blue symbolize the mix of emotions a listener can experience when they listen to a piece of song. The further they explore a work, the more complex the emotion gets; the more they learn about the piece, the more they feel close to that piece. To show this closeness compared to stage one, FUN, I decided to capture this in close-ups. As my viewer gets closer to the model, it creates a visually less distant feeling, which corresponds to what the listener is experiencing with the song. In addition, the warm light cast on the model’s face also directs the viewer’s eyes to the face of the model. Along with the use of a dark background, the model’s expression is emphasized–a serious look like she is trying to interpret that music piece.

 

Stage three: connection

The third stage for the listeners is connection. In this stage, the listener is done with the analysis part of the song and enters the reflection state. This is when the listener feels the most close to a piece or the person who wrote it. Upon reflection, the listener may find similarities between the song and themselves; this similarity may derive from personal experience or observation from peers around them. This made them resonate with the songwriter–the creation of a natural bond between two strangers (in this case, it is a connection between a high schooler and an adult).

For this stage, I used the same lighting technique to reinforce and maintain the theme. The red light is largely decreased in intensity compared to the red light in set one, stage three. On the left side of the photograph, there is light casting on the wall, shaping like a window. This window represents the idea of “peek into…”, where the listener is peeking into the world of the songwriter from studying their song and peek into their own inner world from the emotion triggered by the piece. In the photo, we can see the model has placed down the lyrics, signaling they are done with emanating the lyrics. The mix of color and light implies the complex emotion that is happening inside the listener, although they may appear peaceful from appearance. These strong feelings brought by the song may prompt them to reflect on their own life, and often, after that self-reflection, there is peace.