1. Define which techniques you tried and mastered? Struggled? This was the first self portrait I have done using photography. I have a bit of experience with portraits but have never had the experience of being blind to the composition. I posed a friend my height and manual focused using a 50prime and set a timer before taking her place. This process took well over an hour to get a shot that was focused, light balanced, and highlighted what I wanted. In editing I lost a lot of the detail of the riverbank behind me but I had to sacrifice it for detail on my skin. 2. How did you draw inspiration from other artists techniques or aesthetics in your work? In what ways did you derive meaning or gain historical perspectives from their work? Why these artists? One of my favorite photographers is Vaschelle André. She has away of showcasing the character of the individual she is photographing within compositions that are very much her own artistic property- something that intrigues me about portrait photography. 3. Describe the evolution of your piece. Decisions made. Compositional elements. This composition was intended to have heavy contrast. I took it at night to have the contrast of a darkroom shoot with the rawness of an outdoor shoot. The flowers were thought of to balance the blackness. I thought that my skin being sandwiched between red and black would entice the eye of the viewer. The negative space in the upper two thirds was a conscious choice to balance the composition. 4. If you could consider doing something over, explain why you would do this and what you would do next time? I would have tried to work with a light behind me to illuminate the embankment behind me. I think it could have been interesting to include that natural feature. It worked out wonderfully to create a truly black backdrop and with that I'm pleased. 5. Elaborate on how this piece links with your other pieces? What is the common thread? This piece is about self love. I think roses are beautiful and I think of the place I took the photo as beautiful so putting myself between the two served as a reinforcement of the idea of self love. The two common ideas between every piece in this body of work is love and healing. |