For our first assignment, self-portraits were a good place for me to start because that's exactly kind of the type of photography I am most comfortable with. I have some previous experience with shooting self portraits and doing photoshoots, as I have modeled for other photographers for fun for a while and I also have a fashion blog which I model for myself. For this assignment, I wanted to push myself to do something a little different than my typical (and kind of boring) full-body shots to show off my outfit. I wanted to work not only with working various angles and moving my body around in interesting ways as a model, but also to work with my surroundings and integrate myself into my setting.
I conducted two separate photoshoots for this project. The first one was at school in a bathroom of all places, which resulted in perhaps my favorite photo, the one above where I am looking into a mirror. I wanted to really play with tricking the viewer's eye so that the real me vs. the reflection of me was kind of unclear. I further pushed the photo into a "fantasy" world by editing the colors, reflecting the pink color of the bathroom in the background in the color in my hair.
I conducted two separate photoshoots for this project. The first one was at school in a bathroom of all places, which resulted in perhaps my favorite photo, the one above where I am looking into a mirror. I wanted to really play with tricking the viewer's eye so that the real me vs. the reflection of me was kind of unclear. I further pushed the photo into a "fantasy" world by editing the colors, reflecting the pink color of the bathroom in the background in the color in my hair.
I also shot outside, which I'm very familiar with because I love taking photos outside and hiking. I found this really cool spot in Waterford when I was driving by one day, where there were some super cool bridges over the Erie canal. I took a couple of closer-up shots which I thought also give a more personal, direct look because they're head on shots where I'm looking directly into the camera. I think photos like this are meaningful in that they allow the viewer to look directly into the models eyes. I like the one with my hands on my head, because the gesture is interesting in that it typically insinuates distress, but my face is calm and the angles of my arms are very strong and triangular and kind of mimic the triangular shape of the bridge in the background.
I also liked the photo (in the header) of me sitting on the bridge with my arms out, another way I tried to integrate myself into my surroundings. Once again, I was going for a message of strength and support, making myself almost a part of the strong architectural structure. I also thought it was nice that the foreground was a zoomed in focus on the bridge, but the other side of the bridge repeated this pattern in the background behind me.
I also liked the photo (in the header) of me sitting on the bridge with my arms out, another way I tried to integrate myself into my surroundings. Once again, I was going for a message of strength and support, making myself almost a part of the strong architectural structure. I also thought it was nice that the foreground was a zoomed in focus on the bridge, but the other side of the bridge repeated this pattern in the background behind me.
Another indoor shot is the one against the white wall, in which I also played along with the angles of my body and limbs to create a more interesting and strong composition. I'm looking off into the distance, and it looks like I'm really thinking about something or in a stance of thought/reflection. I hoped to make the viewer question my thoughts or what I was doing at the time the photo was shot. It was also nice to shoot with a white background because this focuses the viewer entirely on myself rather than on anything going on around me. I like the rawness of this photo--my skin isn't completely even, my hair is unbrushed and a little messy (as usual), and my jeans are ripped up. I like the contrast of the "perfection" of the blank white wall to the imperfections of myself.
I like this shot a lot because it definitely shows my more adventurous side, sitting on the edge of the water with mountains and bridges in the background. I liked how it was kind of candid opposed to my other clearly posed photos, with me quickly glancing over at the camera and my hair blowing in my face. I also like the layers of water, the mountains, and the bridge created in the image and also the balance of my darker figure in the foreground against the nearly-white water. I really like the contrast that a lot of aspects of this image create and I think its really representative of me, too.
other favorite shots
(what happens when you shoot way too many photos and can't choose)