Analysis:

This is an entirely new idea that I tried for the first time, and I think that it turned out to be pretty successful. This photo’s best elements are its lighting and the subject’s facial expressions. First of all, the facial expression of the subject is very expressive and exaggerated, reflecting her craze and fear caused from her restrictive mindset. In addition, lighting is also specially designed in order to bring the focus of the audience to her face, highlighting her expressions and creating interesting shadows. Furthermore, her hands also contribute to the general aura of dread and fear by being cupped around her face, showing her helpless inner self.

 

Analysis:

This photo’s main highlights are the subject’s fingers and closed eyes. The eyes are closed, signally unawareness and an inability to perceive the truth. In addition, the hands of the subject are clasped around her head, forming a shape that resembles a cage, as though that she had trapped herself within. This way, audiences would be able to elaborate by themselves of how trapped and helpless my subject is. This is also a completely new photo idea. I thought that simply using the same cage I used in my first set of a student would be too boring and repetitive, so I settled on simply using the subject’s hands to replace it. This way, not only will it be a bit more interesting, the audience can also perceive a sense of connection between the “Cage “(hand) and the person.

 

 

This photograph is also very interesting. By improvising on my old photos of a classmate,  I incorporated the blindfold to be specifically designed to convey my theme by printing the words “Truth” on it. This element, combined with the gesture of the subject, would create a stronger sense of ignorance than my last photo shoot. In addition, due to the fact that this is a photo of a much older person, I toggled the editing software in order to show the skin as course and uneven as I can. This way, there would be an emphasis on what detriments ignorance has brought to her.

 

Theme: Ignorance and self-Limitation

Analysis:

This photograph includes many great features that give it a gloomy and depressing aura. First of all, the lighting is very intricately designed, casting shadows on his face and the blindfold that he is wearing, emphasizing the textures and his hand gestures. In addition, a props such as a blindfold and specially designed hand gestures express that he is unaware to his surroundings and that he does not want to believe in the truth. All of this helps to support my overall theme.

 

Analysis:

This photograph depicts my subject trapped by his mentality, shown by the cage around his head. What is most interesting is his hand gestures, which shows that he is trapped and unable to get out. In addition, using specially designed lighting, his face is hidden by shadows, which further emphasizes his despair and inability to free himself. However, even though the props and lighting help to support my theme, his clothing does not. It looks way too normal, giving away that this is a photoshoot, thus not making it real enough. To correct this, I will have my subject wear darker and more foreboding clothing to support my theme.

Analysis:

The most interesting in this photo is the choice in props. The subject is shown with a bird in his hand while he is trapped inside a cage. However, it is presumed that the bird should be trapped, not him. This creates an image that shows but not tells. In addition, his facial expressions shows despair and loneliness, showing how helpless he is in his restricted mentality.

 

 

In this test set of conceptual portrait photography, i have addressed the notion of self-limitation and ignorance by using lighting, props, and body language. In my photographs, I have of used lighting to express the depressing and shadowy theme, body language to display the inner world of the subject, and props to aid the audience in perceiving the said above. However, after closer inspection, they can all be improved.

The lighting, although expressive, is quite lacking in some areas. For example, the location that I photographed this offers very little lighting differentiation, which impedes depth. In addition, it is also a bit too bright, forcing me to artificially lower the brightness, thus decreasing clearness of the pixels after artificial alteration. To improve this, I will adjust lighting in a more concise manner, and find better places to shoot.

The body language can also be made better. Although they do show the feelings of the subject, they feel a bit forced and unnatural. For example, when my test subject’s finger was held above his lips in the gesture of “quiet”, it can be easily seen that it is not natural and fluid enough. I can improve this by conveying the mindset that I am trying to express to my subject, which will result in them understanding and making a more real act.

Furthermore, more props can be used to support my photographs. For example, when I tried to show that my subject’s hands were bound behind his back, instead of just letting him put his hand behind his back I could also use a thick rope to tie them. This would create a more stunning result.

 

Title: Truth

The societal issue that I want to address is self-limitation and not being able to think outside the box. Many suffer from this in our society, sometimes unknowingly. There are many ways one can interpret something, and as this is a big world, there are countless interpretations. One can only some into contact with the “Truth” behind this world if he or she has an open and perceptive mind that thinks freely and is ready to believe in something that may not necessarily be what he or she likes to believe.

I would like to provide examples of said problem to my audience through portrait photography. Many cases of ignorance and self-limitation is our society are dismissed easily, and to counter that I aim to be able to warn viewers of this state of mind and what it could lead to by visually presenting them trhough photographs. Through this, my audience will be able to be reminded the importance of individual and critical thinking about the world that they live in.

To develop my ideas further, I will get inspiration on other conceptual portraits that show similar themes. This way, I would be able to formulate better ways of presenting my own ideas.

 

 

Photos by unknown photographers:

This photograph is the what that initially inspired me to develop my theme. It depicts a man with a blindfold, on it written “Truth”. His gestures suggest that he is trying to hide something from the audience, and coupled with the dark environment gives a foreboding and mysterious atmosphere. From these visual clues, the audience can derive that the image is trying to tell us that the Truth is right in front of his eyes, but cannot be seen simply because one does not want to. In other words, the thing that is stopping a person from realizing reality is himself. This reflects upon my theme of choice.

 

This is another example. The women depicted wears a cage around her face while the bird in her hand remains free. This further supports the idea of “Self-Limitation”. We restrict ourselves while thinking otherwise. We may think that a bird is trapped and helpless, but in reality it is us in the cage all along.

 

Navid Sanati:

Navid Sanati is a photographer and movie producer that focuses on concepts and inner worlds.

This photograph is a great representation. It depicts a man bounded at the hand with a cage on his head. Unlike other similar images attempting this genre, he goes one step further by replacing the head altogether. This creates a stronger impact on the audience, as the idea of suppression of thought and limitation is more directly visual.

Conceptual Portraits: 

My album would be focused on the notion of “self-restriction and limitation” 

The Closed Jar Thinking Method: Flees are placed in a closed jar and learn to jump lower to avoid hitting the jar lid. Over time, they forget that they can jump higher, and even though the lid is removed, they cannot jump to their freedom. Their impaired mindset has caused them to forget freedom and the possibility just out of their reach. 

This can also apply to humans. Contrary to common belief, the way we perceive events and think are not controlled by us but by other larger, more influential bodies such as the greater majority that may mislead and confuse us into thinking in an impaired and narrow way. This is why it is important to keep our minds open and perceptive, and to be ready to embrace the truth rather than what you want to believe 

I hope that my album will remind others to maintain an open mind set free of self-imposed boundaries. Always be actively thinking to avoid being falsely manipulated into believing something that is untrue.