Introduction

Hi, my name is Emma Paige, and welcome to my portfolio presentation. Today I will be presenting two pieces that I have created over the span of my freestyle education. The first piece I will be showing, was the very first photo project I created in freestyle. And the second will be the very last photo project I ever created in freestyle. Below you will see the two sets of two images, also known as a diptych. I loved the creative process of both of these projects, and they sparked my interest in photography, which has led me to pursue my passion in college as USC Roski in the spring of 2017.

Diptych 1

For this project I was to create a diptych metaphor for two lines in a poem we created earlier in the year in English class. The lines I chose were “The euphoric rush feels like you're floating on cloud nine. We wear them to conceal our true identity.”

Both of these photos were shot with my nikon d5200 and a standard 18-55mm kit lens. I also shot these in my makeshift studio in my garage using desk lights as flood lights.

I chose feathers and water on the left to describe the feeling of floating, both having a buoyant property. The feathers being knocked down in cascading way created the idea of suspension. Then for the right side I chose to use a white cloth draped over my subject and then keeping a long exposure to make the image blurred thus creating a concealing effect.

Diptych 2

This second diptych was part of my final freestyle project known as the innovator project. For this project we were allowed to pursue what drives us the most, and for my that is EDM and photography. Everything about the loud music and bright lights attracts me, but then I had a thought, what if i could combine two of my greatest passions? Well, the Innovator project let me do that. I went around talking to various event companies and asking if I could shoot their shows, most said yes. I got booked for about 5 gigs during the span of this project, and now I’m up the the point where I am photographing 1-2 a week.

Now on to my diptych. For the two images I chose to present, they were captured at two different events, the first being Dack Janiels at the Catalyst (which was shot with a 35mm 1.8f lens with a SB 700 speedlight), and the right image being Oz featuring Darren Styles in Oakland (which was shot with a 11-16mm 2.8f lens with a SB 700 speedlight). I chose these two images, because they contrast each other so nicely. The first is dark and intense with high contrasting colors, while the second image is light and fun, almost reminding me of sugar and cotton candy, with a very faded effect. There were many more images that caught my eye that i took over the course of this project, but I believe that these two really show the two sides of underground music.

Reflection

In conclusion in choosing these two diptychs I wanted to illustrate my growth through out the two years at Freestyle, which I was very happy with the outcome. I feel as though freestyle has given me all the necessary tools to be prepared, and to flourish in the future being in the tech/creative industry. It has really driven me to go after my passion and pursue photography (and design) in the future as a career, because it is really what makes me happy. I want to thank all of my teachers at Freestyle for pushing me to grow at such a rapid rate like I did. I owe it all to them for giving me this, and preparing me so much for whats yet to come in the real working world.