A headshot is a tightly cropped photo of the face. The subject is camera aware — typically looking right in the lens. Years ago, headshots were reserved for actors and models. For talent, these images are in some ways more important than a resume.

Juxtaposition photography is where 2-3 pictures are taken of objects/people that contrast or link together, which can be used to show peoples identities through their cultures or interests, this is seen within photography through the use of either contrasting/similar lighting, forced perspectives/cropping or the use of props.

Examples –

Experimenting

Here are the photos which I chose to use, I chose a selection so that I could experiment in many different ways and not be limited with what I could use.

2 Photos juxtaposed –

Final result –

3 Photos juxtaposed –

Final result –

what is identity

is different aspects that make a person who they are and what makes them different to everyone else for example religion, culture, objects, hobbies, job, personality or even an environment.

what influences someone’s identity

environment: can influence a persons mood or even personality most cultures exert influence on their surroundings such as land forms and climate.

belongings: personal possessions can help others to understand a persons identity for the elderly belongings could show aspects of their past identity.

upbringing: can influence a persons identity as the relationships children are raised around can shape their views on their own identity later on in life. The way family members relate to each other and operate together can shape a child’s ability to perceive themselves later on.

how can we show identity

identity can be shown through many different physical attributes such as clothing, jewellery and even facial characteristics.

You can get an insight into a persons status, culture and favourite pass times through what articles of clothing they have on and how they look when photos are taken if the subject isn’t comfortable in their clothes they could lose their perception of them selves due to it being un-natural to them.

jewellery can show identity due to a similar reason however jewellery can show signs of ageing it can also have cultural and family meaning it could be an air loom that’s been passed down through generations or a one of a kind piece in someone’s collection.

facial characteristics show a persons identity as it gives an insight to a persons heritage and how they emote facial expressions can show how they see their own identity.

I enjoy the work of photographers who do not just use the images themselves to communicate their identity, instead taking the photos and editing them in some way to elevate their concept. For example Carolle Benitah is a French Moroccan photographer and artist who often weaves, writes or draws onto pictures, often from childhood. By doing this she can take the concepts of the original images and edit them to fulfil her own artistic vision.

Here Benitah uses gold foil to cover the faces and background of an old looking image of a large group of people. By covering their faces the viewer feels uneasy, unable to see the eyes or expressions of those shown and making them feel less human as there is nothing to emotionally connect to. The image is titled “Jamais Je Ne t’Oublierai” which translates from French to “I’ve loved you for a long time, I will never forget you.”. One could assume that the image is of a wedding and the couple in it are growing older, it could be interpreted that even as they are growing older and their memories of the exact details are lost, they will never stop loving each other.

Claude Cahun was a French Surrealist Photographer, Writer and Sculptor, also known by the name Lucy Schwob. Their work often explored their personal relationship with gender and sexuality, and they lived in Jersey with creative and romantic partner Suzanne Malherbe, who also went by the pseudonym Marcel Moore. Their work was incredibly ahead of it’s time and they did their best to push against societal norms, even after the island was occupied by Nazi forces.

Here Cahun really leans into the surrealist art they are most known for, fulfilling their intent of confusing and surprising the viewer with the images created. They are portraying a strongman while balancing masculine and feminine aspects of their presentation. The image is in black and white due to abilities of camera’s at the time, however it creates mystery as there are parts of the image the viewer will never get to see, creating a further sense of mystery and confusion.

the word ‘identity’ means the fact of being who or what a person or thing is. it is also been described ass, a person’s name and other facts about who they are. i would describe identity as everyones own individuality. characteristics of identity can include, race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, physical attributes, personality, political affiliations, religious beliefs, professional identities, and so on.

this image shows people expressing their own individuality as there identity through colourful clothing.

i was very interested in how Sam Contis explores identity in her own photography.

sam shows a lot of portraits that can show identity.

Personal identity is the way you perceive yourself, this may fall under many different categories. Someone’s identity can be recognised through their qualities, beliefs, personality, looks and expression. Identity can also be created and formed by the culture or place you have grown up in. Identities are not the fixed markers people assume them to be but are instead dynamically constructed in the moment. Choices that feel identity congruent in one situation do not necessarily feel identity-congruent in another situation. This flexibility is part of what makes the self useful.

We can understand parts of someone’s identity without being told. Documents such as passports can tell us small parts of a person such as where they are from, when they were born and where they live. Physical traits can also tell us things about a person, colourful hair and clothes may indicate that they are a fun and bubbly person.

Gender identity

Identity is fluid and interchangeable, gender identity is an individual’s personal sense of having a particular gender. Nowadays, it is normal for people to question they’re gender and change from one to another if they feel they identify with the opposite gender more than they’re born identity.

Cultural identity

Cultural identity refers to identification with, or sense of belonging to, a particular group based on various cultural categories, including nationality, ethnicity, race, gender, and religion

social identity

An individual’s social identity indicates who they are in terms of the groups to which they belong. Social identity groups are usually defined by some physical, social, and mental characteristics of individuals.

Geographical identity

An individual or group’s sense of attachment to the country, region, city, or village in which they live.

political identity

Identity politics is a political approach wherein people of a particular gender, religion, race, social background, social class or other identifying factors, develop political agendas that are based upon these identities.

Claude Cahun

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Cahun

Claude Cahun’s real name is Lucy Renee Mathilde Schwob, she was born in the 25th of October in 1894 and died 8th of December 1954. she was a French surrealist photographer, sculptor and writer. Cahun is best known for her self portraits which are highly staged, they are generally only headshots from the shoulder up. Her shots always removed all gender indicators such as hair by shaving her head and eyebrows. A great belief of Cahun was gender neutrality meaning people should not have a specific gender rather a neutral gender that suits the needs of the moment. During WWII Cahan and her step sister Marcel Moore settled in Jersey during the Germans occupation of the island. The two became activists against wars. They worked exclusively creating anti German flyers and pamphlets. they would go on to spread these throughout the island placing them in specific locations to ensure they got the attention of the people and more importantly the Germans. they would attend German military events all dressed up and place their flyers in the pockets of German solider, on seats and in cigarette boxes to ensure they Germans saw them. Lastly they would crumple their papers into a ball and throw them into cars and windows. “Masculine? Feminine?” she wrote in her book “Aveux non Avenus,” published in English as “Disavowals.” “It depends on the situation. Neuter is the only gender that always suits me.” – New York Times

Image Analysis

This image was taken by Claude Cahun in the early 1900. It uses multi exposure to create an image where the model was photographed twice and layered over one another to give the effect of multiple people. Due to the image being in black and white the colour pallet is very small. However there is a high contrast between the model’s heads which have been made to look very pale and the darker background.

Kensuke Koike

https://www.kensukekoike.com/

Kensuke Koike is a Japanese visual artist who’s photographs relate to Cahun’s with the idea of uncertainty in identity. Koike creates his work by cutting, ripping, jumbling, disassembling then reassembling photographs. This gives the impression of mixed identity and undecided identity. Koike takes images and uses them to create photographs with their own lives and meanings with no relation to the stories of the previous images. During an interview on Instagram Koike said “Everything I touch is transformed therefore I think of myself as an alchemist.” i think this is a really powerful statement as it seems to be very accurate to his style of work and presents him not as a photographer but as a editor. Koike is not known for his photographs in fact he doesn’t even take them but rather takes other peoples photographs and edits them for his final pieces.

Image Analysis

This Image was created by Kensuke Koike however like all of his pieces of work the photograph was not taken by him but rather found by him online and manipulated. This image is one of Kensuke Koike’s more complex creations. Koike created this image using a physical copy of the image and editing and manipulating it by cutting as sticking the image back together rather than using photoshop or other editing software. As the images is on black and white the contrast is quite low between each section of the image.

Statement of intent

My intentions for the controlled condition are to explore the theme of identity using my heritage to discover how it has shaped who I am today. As I am on the theme of heritage I am going to explore my ancestry on jersey going back to my great grandad on my mums side. I am going to base my posts on a family tree. This links well into my reference photographers, It links to Claude Cahun because she worked during the first and second world wars in jersey which is where my great grandfather worked his farm during WWII and the German Occupation along side his wife while raising three kids. It also links to my other reference photographer Kensuke Koike. His Photography represents how two people from two different upbringings are brought together to continue a family. I intend to take pictures of old photographs I have of my ancestors to allow me to edit and manipulate them. I will create images in the style of Kensuke Koike. i will create some using printed pictures and using a knife to keep to the old fashion techniques of Kensuke Koike.

Double Exposure

A double exposure is a combination of two exposures in one image to produce evocative results. You could use two portraits or a portrait and a landscape to create these images.

original image edit

Final Edit

I edited these images on photoshop by copying multiple layers and changing how opaque they would be to create a sense of depth in these images I liked how they contrasted each other as one is dark and the other has a lighter and colourful look.

Diamond Cameo

What is it ? a diamond cameo is a series of 4 oval portraits of one subject one straight on, both side profiles of the face and a higher or lower angle.

Juxtaposition

Juxtaposition in photography happens when two or more people or objects are compared side by side, creating an interesting contrast in colours, shapes, lines. It’s a very significant way to describe two contrasting effects of objects, ideas, people, images, and animals in a single photo or a sequence of images.

Photomontage

Photomontage is the process and the result of making a composite photograph by cutting, gluing, rearranging and overlapping two or more photographs into a new image.

What is Identity?

“the fact of being who or what a person or thing is”

A persons identity reviles around the question “Who am I?”. Every person goes through the difficult challenge at some point in their lives of answering this vital and important question of which has no correct answer and no two answers the same. Our identity is shaped and crafted throughout our life’s by the people we surround ourselves with and the experiences we have. An identity never stops changing and growing at any point in a persons life, new experiences change who a person is at all points in throughout their life.

People can overly concern themselves with the impression they make can have a much harder time figuring out who they are whereas people who don’t care usually have a much easier time discovering who they are.

The largest part of a persons identity in modern society is sexuality and gender. Many people have a hard time discovering who they are as they are yet to discover their sexuality and once they figure it out nowadays even though much more acceptable than in the 20th century society still makes it every difficult for a person to reveal them true selves.