In Design, I held my first photoshoot with a model and shot a portrait of my character in a way that shows her conflict and who she is as a person. I used props, costume, and lighting that would accurately portray my message regarding my character and photographed her in a position that would capture her in the middle of an important moment.

After I took many photos, I chose the best one in Design and then used Photoshop to edit it, mainly touching up on the lighting to focus the spotlight on my model, and touched up the background and aspects of the model.

My artist statement provides a more in-depth explanation of my portrait and its relation to my story:

In my narrative Cracks, I depict the experience of an appearance-obsessed, insecure teenage girl in a school bathroom that has a lasting impact on the way she views herself and those around her. Amy is just going about her normal routine, examining her flaws in the mirror and attempting to beautify herself to the standards demanded by the world around her. She soon discovers another girl trying to make herself throw up in the adjacent stall, none other than Stacy, the popular girl who Amy considers to be perfect in every way. She realizes that she is not alone in this struggle of manipulation of appearance to conform to society’s beauty norms. Nobody is perfect; everyone has cracks. My character portrait is a snapshot of Amy before this experience as she is self-evaluating and self-doubting as she gazes at a reflection that is only skin-deep. She is surrounded by objects that tell her what to look like and how she can improve herself, all collaborating in an effort to establish an impenetrable barrier between perfection and those longing for it.

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This was my first ever photoshoot, and was such a new experience. I thank Freestyle for providing me with the rare opportunity to do this! Not only did I learn about lighting strategies and everything that goes into setting up a photoshoot, but also about using more complex Photoshop methods to enhance it, including overlay lighting, blur, photo filters, and much more. Because it was only my first photoshoot, I still have much room to improve, but I thought it was an extremely valuable experience and am grateful for the photoshoot opportunity!