Identity = the fact of being who or what a person or thing is.

Your identity can be defined by many different factors of your life, for example the way you dress, your culture, where you live, who you live with etc.

place – the place in which you are photograph can say a lot about your wealth, your lifestyle and your personality. For example if you are photographed in a buzzing city you are most likely to live in these urban areas, it can show that you enjoy the bus of people around you, making you a people person. On the other hand if you are photographed in a place like a farm, or the countryside, it can imply that you enjoy the small things in life. For example someone who lives in these rural areas are more likely to be less materialistic, have less money and enjoy the simpler things in life.

Clothing – clothing can say a lot about a persons wealth and status, and much about their culture. For example if someone is wearing a Berka, it is clear to see that they are muslim, and if someone is wearing a kippa they are likely to be jewish. If someone clothing is extravagant and covered in expensive brands, they are likely to have a lot of money and care much about their image. You can also see which climate someone is living in by their clothing. If their clothing is thin and minimal it is clear to see that they are living in hot conditions, whereas if their clothes are thick ad layered they are more likely to be battling the cold.

facial expression – facial expression and position of the subject can say a lot about how they view themselves. For example somebody who is confident may smirk or grin infrot of a camera, wanting to look their very best. However someone who is less comfortable around the camera, may be more self conscious, and prefer to be photographed when they aren’t posing and least expect it.

This image shows a lot about this women’s identity. The environment that she is standing or working in seems to be pretty rural, and away from ay modern buildings or equipment. This can imply that the women doesn’t have a lot of money, and looks as if she is working hard to bring food and materials back to her family. Her clothing can suggest that the climate she is living in is on the warmer side, and also indicates that she is a victim of poverty due to clothing looking like a big sheet she has wrapped around herself. In this image, the women doesn’t look or seem too happy, personally I think this is because she is exhausted from working in the heat to try and provide for her family or friends.

Claude Cahun

Claude Cahun, born Lucy Schwob, was a French photographer, sculptor, and writer. She is best known for her self-portraits in which she assumes a variety of personas, including dandy, weight lifter, aviator, and doll. In 1937 Cahun and half sister, and lover, originally known Suzanne Malherbe but by her pseudonym, Marcel Moore, settled in jersey. Theirs was a creative partnership, as well as romantic. Cahun is the more renowned of the pair. She used her work to challenge notions of identity and gender with androgynous self-portraits that bring to life an array of characters. In one, she’s a bodybuilder holding barbells and hearts drawn on their cheeks; in another, she’s a lady of the manor swathed in velvet. Her work is a playful clash of the masculine and feminine, but also a critique of the societal norms she spent her life refusing to adhere to.

Three years after their arrival, on June 30, 1940, the Germans invaded, many of jerseys population fled but Cahoon and more decided to stay. Together, the pair created a two-person resistance campaign, with the main focus being what they called their “traps”. Cahun would draft notes addressed to the German troops, which Moore would translate into German, signing them ‘Der Soldat Ohne Namen’ (‘The Soldier Without a Name’).  They would catch the bus into St Helier, disguised as old ladies to deliver the messages, placing them on parked cars and inside cigarette packets. They kept as quiet as they could about their resistance – not even their housekeeper suspected them. After four years of subversive activity, the pair were arrested by the Germans in 1944. Initially, the Nazi authorities couldn’t believe that the women carried it out by themselves, they believed that there must be a man involved. While waiting to be questioned, Cahun and Moore attempted suicide. They both took pills – barbiturates – which put them into a coma. Once they were well enough, they were sentenced to death for undermining the German forces. However before they could be sent to European camps, jersey was liberated. Cahun and moore did not see this as a blessing.

claude chooses to present her non-binary identity through self portraits such as :

in this photo, Claude is presenting there self the way in which they want to be seen by others, not as a female or a male. The idea of seeing two of her, one in front and one in the mirror, shows Claude’s two identities and how she can switch between the two depending on the day. having the image in black and white shows the idea of non-gendered as the colours she is wearing can not persuade her identity. The use of natural light shows that her natural, normal self is what she portrays in her photos, whether that being her dressed as a boy, a girl, or neither.
The photo is set in her house, which has a close, personal link to her and Moore.

Mihaela Ivanova

Mihaela graduated the new Bulgarian university, bachelors program visual arts, photography module in 2011. Mihaela prefers what she calls ‘the slow’ classic black and white photography. She is fascinated of working with analogue medium format cameras and the challenge of the traditional black and white developing. she says ‘my affinity to old times and classic and a good friend advice made me forget my digital camera.

Mihaela’s work fascinates me, her use of black and white takes away the focus on colours and saturation, but more on patterns, textures, facial expressions and smaller details enhanced by black and white. she explores identity much like how I have explored identity in the sense that she sees it as something we don’t know, and how it is altered by others in society.

Her images are typically about identity, and the challenge that modern social patterns take upon said identities, as you can see the photographs are very simplistic, resembling of her style. She wants to get a message across, not just provide a photograph for a viewer to look at and move on, she provides the viewer with something to go away and think about, in this set of images the theme and message could be that the modern social setting makes people believe that they should be looking like the models within magazines and that’s what the rip of the face from what looks like a magazine represents, the perfect person.

This image shows a sense of lost identity through gender stereotype, the person holding up the photo is a women and the person in the photo is a man. This could show that maybe this women wants to be portrayed more like a strong and brave man, or maybe she feels like she is expected to be more like a strong and brave man. The use of black and white, washing out identity through colour, shows that the women in the photograph is at a loss as to who she really is.

My Ideas

my idea is based on the idea that identity is controlled by society, and we are sectioned into numbers and codes, much like DNA coding, barcodes and fingerprints. The way in which our identity is constructed is influenced by those around us, for example if you hang around with people who are violent and live an unhealthy lifestyle, you are more likely to become someone like them. I am going to cerate a series of images that surround the idea of being controlled and categorized by society.

All of my images will be in black and white, with a few accent colours to portray the idea that identity is washed out by society, colours are a massive part of someone’s identity and show a lot about how confident and outgoing a person is, however what I am trying to do is show that freedom of expression is altered by the people we are surrounded by every day, to the point where ones own identity becomes a mystery to them.

plan –

portrait 1= eyes with a hypnotised reflection to show how what you see can influence how you act

portrait 2= a portrait of someone covering their ears and two people trying to pull their arms away from their ears to hear.

portrait 3= a portrait of someone hands being held up with strings much like a puppet

portrait 4= a portrait of someone putting lipstick on the subjects mouth to try and shape their identity

portrait 5= an arm with a barcode on it

portrait 6= a portrait with fingerprint instead of a head.

mood board

Identity is how a person defines and sees themselves and can be a result of several different factors including gender identity, social identity, geographical identity, political identity, loss or lack of identity, and how those around see them.

How important different factors are to identity is up to the individual as well as how and where they were raised.

I am planning on using this project to explore my cultural identity and heritage. I am from a multicultural family with my dad being from the UK and my mum being South African, but her family is originally from India. My racial identity is important to me and I do not often get a chance to properly explore it.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

A headshot is a tightly cropped photo of the face, from the shoulders up. The subject is camera aware — typically looking right in the lens. Years ago, headshots were reserved for actors and models. In today’s socially connected world, a modern headshot comes in handy for anyone looking to market themselves professionally.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Bruce Gilden

Bruce Gilden is to be considered substantially a self-taught photographer. He is an iconic street photographer with a unique style, his photographic style is defined by the dynamic accent of his pictures, his special graphic qualities, and his original and direct manner of shooting the faces of passers-by with a flash.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Right from childhood, Gilden has always been fascinated by the life on the streets and the complicated and fascinating motion it involves, and this was the spark that inspired his first long-term personal projects, photographing in Coney Island and then during Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

His first major project was of people at Coney Island. He has photographed people on the streets of New York, Japans yakuza mobsters, homeless people, prostitutes, and members of bike gangs between 1995 and 2000. According to Gilden, he was fascinated by the duality and double lives of the individuals he photographed. He has also photographed rural Ireland and horseracing there, as well as voodoo rituals in Haiti. Gilden has also produced projects in India, Russia, England, France and America.

Contact Sheets

• 

• 

I have done a few different photoshoots, which consists of me and my friends so that I can try and find the best way, angle and settings to take the best headshots. I have found that myself and other people prefer to be photographed in black and white as it tends to cover peoples ‘flaws’.

Editing

• 

• 

In most of my photos, I have only adjusted the exposure, contrast and highlights. In the top photo, I have slightly increased the exposure and decreased the contrast because it was too dark on one half of the face and blended too much in with her hair. In the bottom photo, it was overexposed so I have decreased the highlights and have adjusted the exposure making it darker, without lowering the exposure and highlights the face and background was too bright and made the photo look washed out.

Final Portraits

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

These are the six final images that I have chosen, each has good exposure and show the faces clearly. I like how the 5 lighter backgrounds contrast with the darker clothes and the one darker background contrasts with the lighter white in the clothing. I also like that all the photos look good in black and white, I chose to shoot in black and white because it made the models more comfortable and it helps to cover up ‘imperfections’.

A photo sequence is a group of photographs that go in a specific order to tell a story. Probably most popularly used by Duane Michals, the photo sequence can be a strong tool in communicating actions that happen over time in a still photograph.

• 

• 

• 

My Edits

• 

• 

• 

Diamond Cameo

A diamond cameo is when 4 oval-shaped portraits of the same person are taken and arranged into a diamond shape on a ‘carte de visite’, each portrait having the model in a different position/looking into a different direction. They were taken around 1864 onwards with a special camera that automatically moved the photos once they were taken so they could be printed in the diamond shape. Henry Mullins was a famous photographer in Jersey back in the 1840’s who took some diamond cameos, however, despite how interesting the diamond cameo looks, it wasn’t very popular as one bad photo would cause the whole cameo to be rejected and all 4 photos would have to be retaken, making it a time consuming and expensive process.

My Edits

To create these edits I pasted some of my images, making sure they’re cropped into an oval shape, onto a background and placed them into a diamond shape in order to replicate the diamond cameo style.

— Edits 1 & 2: ——————

Adding Overlays

In order to make my diamond cameos look older/aged I added some overlays by using images of scrunched and yellowed paper on a separate layer and lowered the opacity, creating a vintage-esque filter.

I prefer these edits more than my original ones as it looks similar to Henry Mullins work.

— Edits 1 & 2: ——————

Sequence/Grid

A sequence/grid is when a group of photos are arranged in a particular way either to create a sequence/story or to present the images as a group, linking all the photos together through the visuals rather than relying on words. It also allows photographers to convey a message without relying on one single shot to express their feelings towards the topic they’re photographing.

A good example of a photographer that is well known for his use of sequences is Duane Michals. Although his images look good individually, he combines them together to create a sequence of successful photos that work together to create a story. His photos are imaginative, tackling topics such as mortality, memory and desire, with little changing from image to image which have led them to be compared to stills from a film. Michals particular style of sequences requires him taking multiple images at the same scene, causing them to look similar and ensuring the sequence will be successful.

Another photographer called Shannon O’Donnell also uses her photos to create a sequence. Her series ‘That’s not the way the river flows’ involves her taking a variety of portraits at different locations and with different angles, props etc. Her style of photography still creates a sequence despite them being taken hours to days apart due to the story/topic of masculinity and femininity and gender experience that she chose to portray throughout the series.

My Sequence/Grid

To create my sequence/grid, I carefully chose photos that I thought would go well together and arranged them to look coherent with one another.

— Edit 1: ——————

— Edit 2: ——————

Double Exposure

A double exposure allows two or more images to be seen at the same time and create one image, usually by one photo being more transparent as it lays on top of the other. There’s a variety of ways double exposures are created as any combination of images can be used. For example: portraits & portraits, portraits & still life, still life & landscapes etc.

My Edits

— Edit 1: ——————

— Edit 2: ——————

— Edit 3: ——————

— Edit 4: ——————

Juxtaposition happens when there are two or more elements in a scene that contrast with each other. Or one element contributes towards the other to create a theme. It’s all about making the viewer wonder why the photographer chose a certain viewpoint for the picture / combination of pictures.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

To create a point of juxtaposition, the picture or composition must contain at least two elements with strong visual weight. The viewer looks at both of these at the same time, coming to a conclusion about the purpose of each element.

Photographers create juxtapositions by placing two things side by side, to highlight their differences. Photographers often choose to create juxtapositions to showcase differences often in society such wealth and poverty, but also things like beauty and ugliness, or darkness and light. Furthermore, they can also be created with differences or similarities in shape, line and colour.

Michelle Sank – Editions Emile

• 

• 

• 

• 

Henry Mullins and Michelle Sank represent 165 years of the practice of photographic portraiture in Jersey. That period has seen the island undergo major social and economic changes. Through these photographers’ works, we examine those changes and the power structures that remain in place within this society. Between 1850-73, Henry Mullins made over 9000 “carte de visite” portraits of Jersey’s ruling elite and wealthy upper classes – The collection that exists of his work comes through his studio albums, in which he placed his clients in an ordered grid with reference to mid-nineteenth century social hierarchies.

Pairing his images with portraits made in 2013 by Michelle Sank as the inaugural Archisle International Photographer-in-Residence reflects upon a culturally diverse and more inclusive demographic of islanders as Jersey has evolved as a community supported primarily by an agricultural, maritime and emerging tourism economies to a contemporary international finance centre.

My Experiments

• 

• 

• 

Photomontage

A photomontage is the process of manipulating two or more images in order to create one final photo by splicing, cutting, sticking and more. This can be done digitally, like I’ve done, or through the use of many items such as paper, paint, tape, books pages etc.

——————–

I took inspiration from Russel C. Smith, a mixed-media artist who cuts/tears photographs and glues them down in a variety of different ways. Sometimes the order of the images are mixed up, occasionally part of the photo is enlarged and in colour, often newspaper/magazines are also cut up and placed throughout the montage. Although each piece follows the same structure, no piece looks the same

My Edits:

—-Edit 1:———-

—-Edit 2:———-

Here’s a small progression of how I got my final image:

—-Edit 3:———-

I began editing by increasing the brightness and adjusting the contrast of the original image along with increasing the vibrancy a little. From there, I copied and pasted a block of hair from a different image and pasted it on top of her eyes and erased around the fingers, making it appear as if the hair is underneath her fingers. Then, I pasted the block of hair again, this time on top of the mouth, and increased the brightness of it in order to make it appear different from the other block.

[I wasn’t sure which edit I liked best, even though both are very similar]