Final

I chose mountains and rocks to represent strength and the value I place on it, with the background being more visible through the shadows on my face to show its greater effect on me.

This portrait is meant to have a darker tone, but the background shows through better on my face than either of the other portraits. The light from a streetlight is meant to represent hope and change, which stands out starkly against a dark background. This quality motivates me and has shaped me more than the other qualities, though they are very important as well. I tried to show this by making the background the most visible through the shadows on my face and what meshes together best with me in the photo. My warmer eyes and subtle, but interested expression are meant to convey  a deeper meaning to me.



This is the first time that I've done a work like this and I'll admit it was challenging and a little overwhelming trying to create and find the images that expressed exactly what I wanted to say. I think I still need to improve on being more specific in my message and become more familiar with Photoshop. One thing that I find very satisfying about the finished product is the way that the black and white and colorful backgrounds work together to create a completed image and I also really like the concept behind my self portrait. Some frustrating things about the project were the uneven erased patches in the beams of light that I would accidentally create and I'm still not completely satisfied aesthetically with the color of my eyes, as well. I think that I met the requirements of the project in that I revealed something of myself in the pictures, they are certainly not vapid selfies, and I applied skills I learned throughout the semester to this project. One way that I did not necessarily meet the requirements of the project is the way that I revealed some very general and basic details about myself, instead of specific feelings or interests. In my next revision I would work on refining the slight imperfections in the background of the piece and edit the pictures further to more clearly portray my message. If I could redo the entire piece I would definitely work on my facial expressions more in the initial portrait taking phase.