Identity Unit Final Portraits

The Future Ahead (Color and Black & White)

Respite (Black & White)

Who I Am (Color and Black & White)

The intent of my photographs was to capture the future and dreams of high school students, and these images successfully answered it.

In the first picture, my subject is looking towards the distance, almost like towards the future. Although I wanted to use warm tones in the picture through color, I found the emphasis of the light and dark shadows with the black and white color scheme to be powerful as well. The shadow that lands on the face is sharp and has a high contrast, which interrupts the calm and serene surroundings of the photograph to remind the audience of a motivated student who is striving for their dreams and future goals.

In the second picture, the laugh seems to be frozen in time as it is captured by the picture, and it asserts a grounding tone that reminds the audience of the humanity and joy of a teenager despite the stress and pressures of school. It is like a moment of rest amidst the tight and stressful chaos of high school, and it is a very human side as well. Laughter is something very simple and easy to connect with, and this will help the audience feel more empathy for the message that I wanted to share in my statement of intent. Some people may have had a very different high school experience when they were growing up, and might have trouble relating to young people, but laughter is an universal language which occurs at all ages. For this portrait, I took a lot of inspiration from photographer Yousuf Karsh. In a lot of interviews, he would mention that it would be difficult for his subjects to open up to him and reveal their open selves, and sometimes his best portraits were taken when the subject least assumed it, and that is how I was able to get my picture.

In the third picture, the subject looks directly into the camera in an asserting way. I think this speaks to how my subject is confident and strong and is sure about their future dreams and aspirations, and is fully committed to chasing them. The way the eyes look directly into the camera is like a challenge to whatever life may throw at her, because she knows that she will stand strong and meet them head on.

To help me develop ideas for this project, Evelyn and I went and tried to do our own portraits during class time. At first, I had wanted to do my portraits in the studio, but after exploring the Performing Arts area and experimenting with some portraits, I realized that when the sunlight and shadows hit the face, it held a very empowering message that really resonated with me. It is why I decided to take pictures outside on a sunny day. I built on what I have done before with experience from taking pictures of still objects and architecture, specifically studying how the sunlight hit the building in different ways to create shapes, and then translating that to portraits. I think that Yousuf Karsh, my photographer of inspiration, played a large part in how my portraits turned out. Not only did I interpret techniques and methods from his photography, I think I also leaned into his philosophy of revealing the inner selves of his subjects, particularly through focus on the eyes and facial expressions, to express deeper ideas and evoke feelings from my audience.

Full Contact Sheet

Green/Yellow Photos

I chose these photos by first removing blurry and out of focus shots, as well as those that did not fit my vision or quality as a portrait.

Red Photos

I chose these photos for their deep depth of field and focus on the subject. I also liked how the sunlight and shadows played a part in these photos, and the gaze that my subject held.

Red Photos

I went with these final photos because I really liked the gaze and the communication through the eyes, which also played a major role in photographs of my inspiration photographer, Yousuf Karsh.

The artist of inspiration is Yousuf Karsh. The intent of his photographs were to capture the deepest parts of his subjects. He focused on their soul and their roles beyond what the public saw of them. This included showing their emotions, particularly through the focus on their eyes.

For example, in this portrait of singer Marian Anderson, Karsh reveals a side of the singer that is more than her songs and her shows. She is deeply connected with music and feels a passion for it that can be seen in her eyes and her posture. This shows that the intent of Karsh’s photographs is to capture the inner selves of his subjects, and he spends time researching and planning these shots so that they are more than just on the surface level.

 

Works Cited

The title of this project is Future and Dreams. The issue I want to explore with my photographs is the future and dreams of high school students, whether focused on universities or careers. The model or models will be students in this school, and I will take photos in the studio or outside. The photographs will highlight the aspirations of students. Students often feel overwhelmed by the prospect of the future, especially when they’re not sure where the journey will take them, so in my photographs I would like to contrast their goals with a more grounding image of themselves. I want my audience to feel inspired by the students’ dreams, while a more grounding and vulnerable image would portray the hard work they go through to achieve them. I will get inspiration and develop ideas my ideas by looking for photographs that can display both sides of the student (their dreams and their hard work), either in one photograph or two. I will also look for photographs that use long-exposure to emphasize movement, and warm color tones so that the audience feels at home when looking at the photographs, which can help them form connections with the students and truly feel the aspirations of the students. When considering the use of warm color tones, I could consider taking photos of subjects using natural lighting (sunlight) as well. Yousuf Karsh is on of my inspirational photographers. Although most of his work is shot in black and white, his lighting is soft and aims to reveal the character of the person he is photographing. This makes the photograph more powerful because it is focused on the humanity.

Updated Mood Board based on Statement of Intent:

IDENTITY CONCEPT

A concept of identity that I want to explore is the future. In a school where students have many dreams and goals for their futures, I think it’s a really applicable topic. As we are currently choosing courses and considering future studies and careers, students are discussing what their future might look like or how it will be shaped. It’s a concept of identity that I want to explore because parts of that identity have not been formed yet, and it’s like taking a picture of a small stem that will later bloom into a flower. As we are nearing the last few years of high school, our identities are forming in real-time, shaped by day-to-day experiences, and we have many more dreams to pursue.

Using props could convey what students imagine themselves doing in the future, or the juxtaposition of in-studio (gaze into the distance) versus out-of-studio (busy, constantly moving) could emphasize their dreams. For example, a writer could hold a pen, a scientist could be in the process of an experiment, or a musician with an instrument. Maybe a comparison between what it looks like still vs. in motion.

IMAGE INSPIRATIONS

Yousuf Karsh https://karsh.org/photographs/

MOOD BOARD

Works Cited

A photograph is a portrait if it features a person as the primary subject. Formal portraits are usually done with from the waist or shoulder up, and they are photographs that are carefully planned. Facial expressions and body language are the primary focuses of a portrait, although other aspects like clothing and location can also be of significance. In my opinion, there is anything that should or shouldn’t be included in a portrait, because each can contribute to the meaning of the photograph.

I think that selfies are portraits because they accomplish the basic idea of taking a photo of a subject. However they cannot be considered formal portraits because the angle will often be strange and different compared to somebody else taking the photo. Furthermore, selfies are usually taken on phones or other technologies that have a poorer quality front-facing camera. Photos taken by oneself are all portraits as long as the main subject is of a person, but a portrait taken with a phone by holding up a selfie-stick will be drastically different from a portrait using a professional camera, tripod, and the timer feature.

A good portrait should tell a story. There are many choices in the making of a portrait, and each decision can contribute to a certain kind of message. For example, choosing to have the eyes looking into the camera versus into the distance can change the meaning, with one feeling defiance while the other dreaming. Considering certain angles, props, or framing can significantly enhance the message and make it more apparent. They can help the audience feel stronger emotions.

I think that a portrait could consist of a small detail only, especially if it is displayed as a sequence of images. The hands of a chef might look different from one of a violinist, and a close-up photograph allows for these differences to stand out. I think that an abstracted representation only ceases to become a portrait if human details can no longer be told apart from everything else. Therefore, an arrangement of inanimate objects would not be considered a portrait.