Cerise Doucède is a French photographer widely known for her imaginative and surreal style, which brings the hidden corners of the mind to life. Originally trained in graphic design, she found her passion for photography and graduated from the Spéos Photographic Institute in 2010. Her background in design and her attention to detail shine through in her work, which often feels like a mix of fine art and storytelling.
Doucède gained widespread recognition in 2013 when she won the prestigious Prix HSBC pour la Photographie. Her award-winning series, Égarements (which translates to “Wanderings”), features people surrounded by suspended objects—like cups, books, or paper—seemingly frozen mid-air. These surreal scenes represent the inner thoughts, memories, or emotions of her subjects, giving a visual shape to the chaos and beauty of the mind. What makes her work especially captivating is that these images are not the result of digital manipulation; Doucède painstakingly builds her installations by hand, creating something real and tangible before photographing it.
Her book, Liens Intimes (“Intimate Connections”), published by Actes Sud, gathers four of her photographic series created between 2010 and 2013. It explores themes of human connection and the way people relate to their surroundings, continuing her exploration of perception and reality. Her work often walks the line between the everyday and the extraordinary, transforming familiar objects into something magical and thought-provoking.
What makes Doucède’s photography stand out is its craftsmanship and the dreamlike quality of her scenes. By avoiding digital editing and instead focusing on elaborate, handmade setups, she adds an authentic, tactile depth to her images. Her photos invite viewers into a world where imagination runs wild, and where the inner workings of the mind become a vivid, visual experience. Doucède’s work is both relatable and otherworldly, offering a fresh perspective on the way we see and interpret our own thoughts and emotions.
How she inspired me
This is what inspired me to create the images I created as I strongly agree with the sense of portraying what’s going on inside someone’s head on the outside. I also agree and enjoy the fact that you use physical items and try to set it up really focusing in on the depth of field and other important areas of photography
Masculinity is often viewed as a characteristic that highlights ambition, the pursuit of wealth, and distinct roles for different genders. On the other hand, femininity is associated with traits that focus on caring and nurturing, promoting equality in sexuality, being aware of environmental issues, and having more flexible gender roles.
Artist Analysis
Noemia Prada
“My Story
My name is Noémia Prada. I am a mother of two amazing children, they are the love of my life. I am an artist. I write, I paint, I take photos and I also like to be photographed. I’m a self-taught Painter/Photographer. My academic background is journalism and advertisement. I am a private person who loves to be at home. I like solitude but not loneliness. Another passion of mine is music. I need music to create, to remember, to laugh and to cry. My life has been a bit erratic. For the last 20 years, I have lived in five different countries: Poland, Croatia, Portugal, United States and Angola. Where did I feel the happiest? In Africa. I have the identity of an expat. That’s who am. I don’t get too attached to people or places. Everything is temporary and ephemeral, unfortunately, or not. There’s a positive side of it. I know different places, cultural backgrounds and languages. My art, my creation portrays what I feel at a certain moment and at a certain place. My style is who I am: diverse, multifaceted and eclectic.”
Some of her photos
Image Analysis
Technical – I’m certain that the lighting in this photo is almost all artificial lighting, there is most likely no natural lighting and it was probably taken in a studio. The aperture is most likely shallow, f/1.2 or f/1.4 and I think it would have been taken of a macro lens.. Moreover the shutter speed is probably fast, something 250 or above, this is because all the hands are in focus and there is no motion blur. The ISO would be something low, maybe 100, I think this because there is no visible noise in the images.
Visual – The colours in this photo are fairly monochrome, with just blacks, greys and whites and moreover a clash of dark and light tones. The textures are both rough and smooth, this is because the upper hand is more rough, likely an older, more worn and weathered person, and the lower hand is is a younger, more innocent person. The rule of thirds is closely followed in this photo, this is because there is negative space in the outer three squares each side and the subject is in the centre three.
Conceptual – The concept behind this image is too show how time effects a person and further more how weathering and how primary or secondary sector work can wear someone’s skin.
Photoshoot plan
Who – I’m going to photograph multiple family members, including my little brother, parents and grandparents.
What – I’m going to take close up, almost macro like, photos of their hands and contrast young and old hands.
Where – I’m going to use an inside, studio like setting, most likely my kitchen and ill turn all the lights off and only use a small, direct light.
When – I’m going to take all my photos over the Christmas school break, and ill be ready to edit and manipulate my photos when I come back in January.
Contact Sheet
Selection Process
My chosen photos
I picked these four photos because they are sharp and in focus while showing an interesting contrast between between young, male, innocent hands and older, woman’s, worn hands.
Editing
Photo 1
Further editing
Photo 2
Further editing
Photo 3
Further editing
Photo 4
Further editing
Final Edited photos
Final further edited photos
I decided to edit my photos like this because it more closely links to Noemia Prada’s style of photos.
Black and white
The black and white links my photos closely back to my artist references photos.
More Photos
I decided to go back to a similar setting, however instead of having young and old hands, I substituted the young hands for objects. By doing this it shows the persons identity more clearly and what hobbies they are into.
Editing
I edited my photos to have a black and white background while keeping the subject in colour to isolate the subject and allow it to stand out more.
My other photoshoots
Contact Sheet
Selection Process
My best photos
Editing
Black and white
Further experimentation
I have decided to further edit my photos like this because it allows them to link back to my first photoshoot further edits.
Composition Experiments
My final outcomes
Art Steps
Evaluation
I believe that this project went really well and was overall successful. My intentions where to create effective portraits and hand pictures to put together to form a final outcome, to some extent I did achieve this but went off course slightly when creating the grid of 6 photos, however I think they are still effective.
I think my photoshoot was successful, it was based on the photographer Clare Rae. I took a selection of photos, each one exploring different angles, lighting, and compositions. Out of those, I was able to narrow it down to 7 final pieces that I believe work well together and intertwine geometric structures with human form. As a group of photos, the diversity in the angles and shapes created by the human form and geometric shapes, creating a sense that these are human sculptures.
Clare Rae often discusses themes of being trapped in her work, and I was drawn to that concept as an inspiration for my own project. The idea of being trapped became a central theme in my photos, so I incorporated picture frames to symbolize this feeling of confinement as well as the idea of the human sculpture. By framing my model in various ways, I was able to visually represent the idea of entrapment, as if the frames themselves were a boundary the model was trying to escape.
For the editing process, I decided to convert the photos into black and white, as I wanted to emulate Clare Rae’s distinctive black-and-white identity photo style. The black and white removes any distractions on colour, putting more focus on the shape and form.
Looking back, if I were to do the photoshoot again, there are a few changes I’d consider making. I would experiment with a wider range of angles to capture more diverse perspectives. I think there’s potential to push the composition further and bring even more variety to the images and shapes. Additionally, I would encourage my model to experiment with a greater range of poses and shapes within the frames, exploring more dynamic and unexpected positions. This would add even more depth and complexity to the overall concept, helping to tell a more unique story about restriction, freedom and the geometric shape of the body with the frame.
Portraiture
I also printed out my environmental and studio portraiture photos along with my identity ones.
For my identity photoshoot, I explored stereotypes and juxtaposition between masculinity and femininity.
First Photoshoot Contact Sheet
Initial Selection
I chose these two photos to juxtapose them against each other, since there is a clear contrast between the stance and texture in each image – the feminine hand on the left is more relaxed and has smoother skin, unlike the masculine hand on the right which is clenched and has roughed knuckles with as well as hair and veins being visible. This is because stereotypically males are seen as the workers while females stereotypically are seen as housewives that only cook and clean, hence one hand being smoother and calmer whereas one is rougher and less relaxed.
These two photos relate to each other by taking place in the same environment (a stereotypic environment of women), as well as the fully black clothes showing restriction that when combined with the bleak expressions creating an uncomfortable atmosphere. I did this to show how stereotypes can shape someone’s identity and in these pictures it almost seems like she is being forced into a role which she doesn’t want to be in and it consequently affects her identity and self-perception, reinforced by the fully black dull clothing.
I picked these two photos to contrast against each other to show clear differences between physical appearance in females and males and how it presents your identity physically, my mum has much smoother skin compared to my dad but also in the picture her expression (despite only being able to see her eye) seems uncomfortable/worried, as if she is unhappy with physical appearance and identity. However, my dad has rougher skin and more distinguishable features but appears more relaxed and calm in contrast to the picture of my mum which I did intentionally to highlight how physical identity can affect how you perceive and feel about yourself.
I picked the first photo because I like how it subtly explores female stereotypes with only a hand and a jar of flowers, and for editing I plan to manipulate the flowers to show how it shapes identity. The second photo is a more direct comparison of masculine vs feminine hands which I like, and I will edit it to make the background less distracting and amplify textures to further highlight these differences.
Initial Editing and Experimentation
I wanted to keep edits for these two images simple, so I made the textures in skin more noticeable to clearly contrast the two hands further and turned down the exposure on the background of the first image so the background’s darker tones juxtapose the second image’s lighter tones.
With this image I wanted to experiment with changing the flowers drastically to stand out from the female hand and create a bleak atmosphere, so I selected them manually using the masking tool in Lightroom and made them black and white as well as trying out different levels of intentional visual noise to see how it would affect the image. I then finally turned down the overall image’s exposure down slightly to help contribute to the dull mood it’s creating and found it was very effective.
To edit this image, I first selected the background using a mask tool and turned down the exposure and clarity to direct more focus towards the hands – I then increased texture and adjusted other options to make veins, wrinkles and other interesting features of each hand stand out.
In this image my goal was to place my mum in a stereotypical feminine environment (kitchen) and capture her looking uncomfortable/sad, so to help reinforce this in editing I selected her and made her fully black and white to contrast completely with the environment and portray how feminine identity can be shaped by societal norms and stereotypes and how it affects the individual.
Similarly to the last image, I wanted a gloomy/miserable atmosphere created by an environment which the subject doesn’t want to be in but feels like she has to be in due to the expectations set by society which consequently shape and restrict her identity. I did this by making the whole image except her and the flowers black and white and turning down the saturation on her and the flowers to set a dull mood, and by having the subject and flowers be the only things in colour it creates a connection between them and implies they are tied to her true identity – however, the fading colours further suggests that this identity is being restricted by what she is expected to do stereotypically.
With this photo, I wanted to explore identity in terms of age hence why I took a close up to focus closely on the looser skin and wrinkles. In editing I made it black and white since it gives it an older feeling which relates to my intention behind this image and adjusted texture and clarity to help highlight the wrinkles and skin texture.
Further Editing/Experimentation
For this image, I took 2 different images (half of my mum’s face and half of my dad’s) and put them side by side to make it look like one face. I then made them both black and white and took rectangular sections from the middle to make the images blend into each other a little. I then finally selected each face’s eye and swapped them around, creating a clear focal point.
For this image, I selected my mum as the subject and added motion blur which distorts her and alongside the lack of colour creates a sense of loss of identity, especially when considering the environment (a kitchen, which links to stereotypes) is also in black and white unlike the flowers which are vibrant and in full colour suggesting they have some sort of link to the subject which has been restricted by stereotypes and societal expectations.
I explored more aspects of loss of identity, editing this image to distort the face as well as fully making the subject black and white to create a sense of the subject being forced into this environment and consequently it making her lose her true identity.
Similarly to the last one, I turned down the saturation greatly for the background to make it seem more dull as well as selecting the subject and making her fully black and white as well as applying motion blur to the head to distort her features. I also added a subtle black and white outline around the subject which adds to the idea that this isn’t the subject’s desired environment and is instead forced into it, seeming out of place.
Photoshoot 2 Contact Sheet
Final Edits
For this image, I first made small tweaks in Lightroom develop to show more texture on the hand and ball.
I then made the hand black and white in Photoshop and took the image back to Lightroom, creating masks on the knuckles and increasing the texture on these masks to make the scuffed skin more noticeable. The skin alongside the football implies the subject has been playing football (stereotypic male sport), whilst the scuffed skin suggests it could be forced and it’s taking a toll on their identity leading to the loss of colour and therefore identity.
Firstly I made some small adjustments to the image.
In Photoshop I then made some of the graffiti black and white as well as applying motion blur, and then decreased the saturation of the background slightly. The slow shutter speed used captures the subject in a ghost-like manner, almost like his identity and consequently him are fading which can be seen further in the loss of colour in the background graffiti.
For this image, I enhanced the visibility of the water under the mask’s eye slit and then made any skin visible through the mask slits black and white and applied motion blur, as well as smudging the surroundings.
I took this image straight into Photoshop since I was happy with how it was, and there I made the skin visible through holes in the mask black and white as well as applying motion blur and using the smudge tool around the edges. Finally, I made the glint in the coloured eye slightly more noticeable and made the hand holding the mask black and white. This image is trying to show how stereotypically women are more vulnerable (seen by the eye in colour being wet, almost like she’s crying and not hiding it) but also how their identity can still be masked (shown by the black and white skin being mostly hidden behind the mask).
For this image, I took it straight into Photoshop and distorted the face using the elliptical marquee tool, selecting circle shapes in the face and then rotating them. I then smudged this using the smudge tool and finished by making the subject black and white and greatly toning down the saturation of the background. I will crop it to make it portrait when it comes to exporting.
For this image, I selected the flowers and vase and made them black and white as well as increasing texture to clearly contrast them from the hand. The fading colours from the flowers which are usually vibrant and beautiful represent identity loss.
For this image, I increased the contrast between the subject and the doll by making the subject black and white and increasing texture and clarity on the doll to amplify the plastic texture. The juxtaposition of the doll’s smile and colour compared to the subject’s blank gaze and lack of colour shows how the subject has lost her identity due to being confined to stereotypes (since stereotypically little girls play with dolls).
In Photoshop, I made the arm and hand black and white, applied motion blur and then smudged the area surrounding the subject’s arm to show how the doll (stereotypic little girl’s toy) is causing her to lose her colour and identity, since it is being restricted by stereotypes which links to the previous image too.
For this image, I made it black and white and applied slight motion blur to show loss of identity which could be caused by the surrounding environment (kitchen, linking to stereotypes).
Applied the same as the previous image to this one so I can present them side by side.
For my studio portraiture, I decided to use this multi-exposure portrait.
I will present these two alongside my multi-exposure portrait in a triptych.
Evaluation
Overall, I think my edits were successful since they help to amplify the meaning/intentions behind the picture.
Technical – I used a low aperture to focus solely on the subject and blur the background, alongside a low ISO to minimise visual noise. This was taken outside so natural lighting was used which helps add to the quality of the photo since there aren’t any overly harsh artificial lights.
Visual – In editing, I made all skin seen in slits of the mask black and white as well as applying motion blur which was done to show identity loss and emotions being concealed behind a facade. I also made the water under the eye slit in the mask more noticeable which directs the viewer’s attention towards it, as well as contrasting nicely with the more serious other half of the face.
Contextual/Conceptual – My idea behind this image was to show how stereotypically men are expected to be tough and emotionless, hence why in the image the side of the subject’s face that isn’t covered is completely blank whereas on the masked side what looks to be tears can be seen soaking the paper underneath the eye linking to the stereotypic saying ‘boys don’t cry’.
Here is a range of Wes Naman’s images where he uses vast materials (like cellotape and rubber bands/ string) to shape the subjects face and make them look unrecognisable. The idea behind this is to prove that looks aren’t important, and they don’t define you as a person (which closely relates to your identity and how you see yourself).
Technical
The image uses a fast shutter speed, as the subject looks still and in focus. The lighting is artificial, as the viewer can tell they are using a backdrop with strong white lights (which would not happen with natural light), and it seems like it is very intense, as you can notice the outside edges of the top are a lot darker, meaning the photographer has used a strong light on the subject. The image has a good ISO, as there is no grainy elements that are visible.
Visual
The middle-aged man looks unrecognisable as he has rubber bands wrapping his face, giving him a new look. He has a sort of confused and hurt look on his face, which could suggest he is shocked with the feeling. The navy background gives a cool tone, which could represent sorrow and sadness towards the pain of the rubber bands.
Contextual
A common belief is that beauty is everything, so by taking away that view in these images, it leaves the subject wondering who they actually are, and what their identity really is. The history of beauty is been around for centuries, so to counter act the beauty stereotype Wes Naman had his subjects distort their faces.
Conceptual
I believe the reason behind this image is to show the suffering people go through to accept themselves, when they shouldn’t need to. I also have the idea that it links to the appearance of yourself, and by manipulating the face into a different shape, it causes you to wonder what your identity is if you don’t have your looks (which is a common link for identity).
Noor+
Noor+ is a unknown photographer, who writes on the subjects face to show their identity and what they associate with. I liked this idea as I thought that it is a great way to demonstrate you as a person, and the ideas you think you are. Unfortunately, the words aren’t in English, so for my photoshoot, I will base it off of identity. This is also the only image I could find of this photographer, so I cannot create a mood board of his work.
For this project, I took two photoshoots (one consisted of 201 images and the other had 106) to showcase the idea behind identity. I planned the first photoshoot by implementing Wes Naman’s ideas into my images. The reason I took these photos are because I think your looks don’t define you as a person, and Wes Naman does a brilliant job at distorting your face to make you look unrecognisable (to prove it doesn’t change you as a person).
I used many different materials, like clingfilm, masking tape, cellotape, and string to recreate his images, as he uses a lot of similar materials.
After I uploaded all my images to Lightroom, I scrolled through every image from the 201 photos to select my favourites. As shown, I would say there is quite an even amount of every colour in this image selection. Although I was being picky, a lot of these images really linked to Wes Naman closely, and accurately represented his work.
For this photoshoot, I was hugely inspired by Noor+, an unknown photographer on Pinterest, who draws on the body to show Identity. I ended up taking 106 images, from different angles to different lighting and different poses.
I planned this photoshoot by buying the equipment I would need (like the washable pens and some wipes) and planning whereabouts I would do the photoshoot. I thought that I wanted to have natural lighting for my images so I planned to go outside and take these images.
Once I uploaded my images to Lightroom, I went through each individual photo and analysed it to decide which images were the best. However, a lot of my images turned too bright or too dark due to the ISO, which made me colour them red. In comparison, the images highlighted in yellow and green are good images, but I like to be more specific with the ones I like.
Here is one of my final outcomes, where I selected my 4 best images and tweaked them to improve the quality of them. Luckily, I had 4 different subjects so the final presentation works well as you don’t have many of the same person, like Naman who also has various subjects. When I finished editing them, I put them into Powerpoint to make show the idea I want to have.
I then also decided to do another final outcome using the Wes Naman inspired images, to experiment and create different versions. I decided to choose a diptych styled presentation, where instead of multiple images, I only have two, which helps you to see the specific details linked into these images from the editing.
Noor+
Lastly, for my Identity project, I also decided to use my other photoshoot where I wrote on area’s of my subjects body to show that no two are the same. I chose to place three of my best images into a triptych, to give the illusion of a story, and a meaning behind the different words placed on the different parts.
Creative Portraits
I wanted to include my final images from my creative portraiture, as I wanted to imagine the layout of them. For my first presentation, I only selected three images as I didn’t want to over crowd the layout I already thought of, and these were my best images from that specific artist.
For my other presentation of Creative Portraiture, I decided to only use one image as I really like the unique and artsy side to this edit, and I didn’t want to draw the attention away by including more.
Studio Portraiture
This is my final presentation of Studio Portraiture, where I used the three different lighting methods to showcase my knowledge.
Environmental Portraiture
Lastly, this is my environmental portraiture, and I incorporated three images as well but I decided to lay them vertically instead of horizontally like the rest as it creates diversity.
This is my contact sheet. I went through and rated all of my images from the photoshoot on a star scale from 1-5. 1 being the poorest and 5 being the best. I rated them depending on important qualities such as the lighting and making sure everything is in focus. A big factor in this photoshoot was trying to manage to see the full depth of field.
Editing: As these pictures were taken with a relatively high iso, they required a high amount of editing. Also what I did was on Photoshop make layers of the blueberries and then duplicate them and enhance the saturations to make them pop more as they become more blue
Final Pictures:
My Annotation
In this photo, a woman stands in a kitchen with her hands on a blender, which contains fresh blueberries. Surrounding her head, blueberries appear to float in mid-air, adding an unexpected and magical element to the scene. The soft, natural lighting creates a warm and inviting atmosphere, enhancing the overall feeling of comfort and homeliness. The woman’s calm, focused expression contrasts with the playful movement of the suspended berries, bringing a sense of balance to the image. The photo is inspired by the work of Cerise Doucede, who often blends elements of everyday life with surreal, whimsical touches. Here, the kitchen—a place typically associated with routine—becomes a canvas for creativity, where ordinary objects take on a new, fantastical life. The floating blueberries add a sense of wonder and movement, transforming a simple moment into something extraordinary. The combination of vibrant colours and the surreal composition creates an enchanting feeling, inviting the viewer to see the magic hidden in the everyday.
within in these photos it gives off a dramatic scene to it, which in the way the subject has been edited it shows a timeless effect. which these photos will be presented as A5.
another print layout to go with the previous print layout.
