To take my project further I decided to experiment with self-portraiture. When analysing my chosen photographers work such as Kayleigh Von Grimm and Francesca Woodman, as well as other photographers such as Christian Hopkins and Claude Cahun who all focus on the subject of mental illness, they all use self-portraiture. They choose to use self-portraiture photography as a coping device for their own mental illnesses as they say it is calming and allows them to express their emotions and feelings that accompany their mental illnesses in a safe and creative way. Even though I don't personally have a mental health condition, I have decided to use self-portraiture to both incorporate the techniques of Francesca Woodman and Kayleigh Von Grimm, as well as to add a sincere, personal aspect to my work. Rather than photographing strangers and asking them to put on their emotions, I have now been able to use my real raw emotions and bring them out in my photography to create emotional captivating photographs.
This image shows three different figures all of the same person. The figures are in different positions and ay different levels creating a depth filled, interesting composition. One figure appears to be on the floor curled into themselves, with the other figure standing up with their arms wrapped protectively around themselves whilst looking down. The third figure is also standing up but standing with their side to the camera and their arms clutched to their head. The image is in black and white creating a large contrast between the figure and her black clothes as well as the black background.
I decided to take this image because I wanted to experiment with Kayleigh Von Grimm's style of photography using the bulb setting whilst experimenting with self-portraiture. To create this photograph I set my camera to the bulb setting allowing me to keep the shutter open for as long as I needed it to be open. I then blacked out the room so that it was in complete darkness and got into position. Using my shutter release I was able to keep the shutter open. Once I was in position I then manually flashed the flash and continued to do this for the other two positions. I chose to do these particular positions as I felt they communicated the distress I was aiming to portray. All three figures evoke emotions such as distress, sadness, loneliness, all of which are feelings that someone with a mental illness can often feel on a daily basis.
Movement
I then decided to experiment with movement using long shutter speeds to create abstract images. Still using self-portraiture I set my camera to a long shutter speed and used my shutter release to capture images of myself. I experimented with a variety of different positions moving different parts of my body to blur out certain parts of the body whilst keeping others in focus to create different interesting effects within the images.
This image portrays what is assumed to be a young girl crouched on the floor. Her face is blurred out as well as her arms. As a result of the blurred face there are no facial features creating an abstract feeling within the photograph. The image is black and white creating a high contrast between the figure and the background therefore allowing the figure to stand out in the image even more.
I think this image has been successful in incorporating movement within self-portraiture to express the emotions of mental illness. I decided to use this particular composition in which I am crouched on the floor with my arms wrapped around my legs with the camera looking down on my figure to create a sense of vulnerability to the image. My figure looks small in comparison to the rest of the frame which is taken up by the black background. The high contrast allows the figure to stand out, creating a powerful impact on the viewer. I think the experimentation with movement using long shutter speeds has been successful and so it is something that I am going to develop further in my project.
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