The title of this project is “Layers of Identity.”

The societal/cultural issue I want to explore with my photographs is the pressure to conform to certain expectations while still trying to express an authentic sense of oneself. I want to demonstrate how people often shift between different versions of themselves, depending on their environment, culture, or social group.

I want my audience to feel a mix of empathy and curiosity—to recognize that identity is not a fixed thing, but rather a complex tapestry of multiple layers that can be bright, conflicted, hidden, or evolving. I will draw inspiration and develop my ideas by exploring different photographers who utilize dramatic lighting, saturation, and contrasts to highlight various aspects of personality and mood. I’m especially interested in images that use shadows to reveal a “hidden side” or a strong color saturation to show emotion or intensity. These visual elements will help me represent the internal conflict between how we want to present ourselves and how society expects us to behave.

Through this project, I aim to demonstrate that our identities are shaped by both cultural pressures and personal choices—and that these influences can coexist within the same person simultaneously.