Self-Portrait
This self-portrait of me is more of a façade, I am trying to put forth an alternate persona. This was done intentionally was I wanted to illustrate how portraits that are taken out of their natural environment don’t show the real self. I’m quite a modest person but I wanted to see if I could change that through the use of self-portraiture. I intentionally got dressed up just to take my self-portrait. It was almost like acting, I’m directly addressing the camera with a certain pose and gesture on my face. This self-portrait was taken all by myself in a make-shift studio in my bedroom. I used a 3 meter sheet of black fabric and used ordinary household lamps. I had my camera on an automatic timer so that I had time to position myself and be ready for the photograph.
Friend Portrait
This is one of my favorite portraits of my friend Jo. I haven’t known Jo for a long time, in fact we met when I joined the gymnastics society. Jo is a third year Graphic Design student who studies at The University of Lincoln. It’s amazing that I’ve known her for less than a year and we’ve become such good friends. I’ve had to help Jo wither her photography work before, we both help each other out when it comes to creative work. Jo is incredibly photogenic, I find it fascinating that if I didn’t know her then I would have gotten a totally different outcome if I were to photograph her.
This photograph here has an interesting story behind it. One night I was out in town and I just happened to have my camera on me, lucky me, and I was just going for a late night walk when this homeless woman approached me. She seemed to be lost and panicked, why she came up to me I don’t know, but it was rather opportune. She asked me if I had any money on me as she was hungry, and responded with yes and I said that I would be more than happy to give her some money. I said to her that we could help each other out, I explained to her my photography project and she was happy to help me. It was a lovely moment because I started to talk to her when we were going to a location with suitable lighting. When she first came up to me she was sad and scared, but just by talking to here and saying that I would help I managed to capture a moment of happiness. I didn’t tell her how to act, I just told her where to stand and she reacted accordingly. I’m glad that I managed to help her.