Abstract imagery - self-portrait

The aim of the shoot session was to produce images which demonstrate an abstract dimension of the portrait photography. 

Characteristics - for this project I chose to use digital camera over the film one. The choice was dictated by the necessity to use Photoshop later so that I can obtain abstract images. In preparation for this project I took some photos of myself in the studio and I also used photos of myself taken by others. The reason for including the photos of more than one authorship was connected with showing different photographers' perspectives, which would ultimately reflect various captures of abstract imagery. The photos of myself were taken in the home studio conditions, with the use of two soft-boxes. Their use allowed me to control the light direction and intensity and, as a result, enabled me to obtain the required exposure. Apart from the use of self-portrait, I also used other photos of my authorship for the background: these include images of clouds, windows and trees.

Pre-production - In preparation for the project, I have researched numerous photographers' contributions. One of those which influenced my project to a great degree is Michael Taylor's photography. In particular, I found his use of lights and white balance to highlight those parts of the image that is the main theme of the photo. Also, he used these two features quite effectively to keep the viewer absorbing the picture, e.g. by following the fluorescent lights.

Production Techniques - most of the self-portrait images were taken in the studio. A range of techniques was used. The possibility of using flash meant that I could use high aperture values to capture the detail of my face and its vivid colours. The lens choice was a 35mm Nikon f1/8. The bright lens meant that there were a lot of possibilities connected with exposure times. As for viewpoints, I included different ones to capture different face expressions, each one showing a different emotion. Finally, the production of the images involved the use of Photoshop which enabled me to add an abstract dimension to self-portrait images. 

The result of the planned photo shoot is the images below:

With the Photoshop software, I created abstract images which involve my self-portrait and backgrounds which have symbolic and abstract meaning. For example, a window (first and last image) stands for possibilities to which sometimes we are open and sometimes reluctant, which is why in one of the images, the window is open, while the on the image shows the closed one.  The sky means no limits and open space. Finally, the forest (trees and leaves) may stand for the dark side of human nature.

Most of the images were created with the use of Mask and Layer function in Photoshop. I used my textures as a layer. The use of these two Photoshop features allowed me to create compositions in a safe manner, i.e. without affecting each separate image. At the same time, the opacity feature allowed me to decrease the intensity of the layer. Moreover, the colour saturation (or de-saturation) provided me with a possibility of achieving a more moody and mysterious effect, as we can see in the first and the fifth image.

I think that experimenting with Photoshop effectively boosted my confidence and competence as far as image processing and manipulation is concerned. The use of Photoshop features (but also studio equipment) gave me an opportunity of learning how characteristics of a digital image can be used in order to highlight the theme/subject of the shoots. In a sense, this enabled me to keep parts of the images explicit and others implicit. While the former contributes to the subject of the images, the latter adds to a sense of a mystery and a wide range of interpretations.