Self Portrait Photography Practice

After my first blog post I said I would properly plan a portrait photography shoot, the problem within this lies that if I have an idea I’m excited about I have to do it. I find when it comes to creative idea’s I get very compulsive, which is bizarre because I’m probably one of the least compulsive people I know. While it’s good to be aware of it this compulsiveness it is something that stopped me from having any idea’s to pitch in the 2nd week (that and I’m not used to being the creative lead of any kind). Other issues that arise from this is that I can jump to the next thing quiet quickly so my ideas can be forgotten or become a chore if I gain interest in something else. So on the Monday of the long weekend without a plan or a model, I decided to do a self-portrait shoot, as it would be great practice, good for my portfolio and possibly could be used for Project 2.

I have followed @ziqianqian for a while now on Instagram and I can only describe them as a magnificent self-portrait artist, I was heavily inspired by their use of mirrors. They follow a very minimalist, composed and designed shot, I don’t think I achieved this. I was instead playing a bit with the idea of photogenie and I feel like my end result captured the fluidity of tears within different emotions/contexts. I have been in love with the idea of water (tear’s, oceans, ect) and the power it has for quiet a while now. This is due to Margaret Atwood’s book “The Penelopiad” (which is a feminist telling of the story of Penelope who is Odysseus wife in the “Iliad And Odyssey”) A passage from her novel which has stuck with me for some time is

“Water does not resist. Water flows. When you plunge your hand into it, all you feel is a caress. Water is not a solid wall, it will not stop you. But water always goes where it wants to go, and nothing in the end can stand against it. Water is patient. Dripping water wears away a stone. Remember that, my child. Remember you are half water. If you can’t go through an obstacle, go around it. Water does.”

 

I did pitch using mirrors to my group and provided these photos as an example of how we could use mirrors within project 1 film, so even though they were impulsive they were of some help towards project 1.