Masking our identity is a project, which embraces the idea of insecurities or hiding our identity. One of the most effective elements of the following series of images that I think is what has made them very successful is the lighting. It really extends the idea that we all hide our true selves and are always in the dark. The very harsh lighting represents society and humans when they look at us creating emphasis. The models instantly cover their self and their shadow creates daunting scenery, which allows the audience to also feel the fear that the individuals may be feeling.
The concept of 'masking our identity’ links back to the cultural and identity theme in a way that shows us through photographs how there are many people out there that don’t feel confident in their own skin and feel the need to use a mask in order to cover the face. Looking very closely at the images you cans see that the mask doesn’t cover their whole faces and this shows that they only want to cover their insecurities when being exposed under the strong lighting. Metaphorically, the light being shed onto the models symbolises the spotlight that we get put in when people are looking at us and how being in a dark area, where no one can notice us can feel more comfortable. The artists Seymour’s work is very interesting because of the shadows created in the dark atmosphere, I will use some of the inspiration from this photographers work and incorporate it in my own style by using very hard lighting and a dark background so the ace or the model can stand out.
The concept of 'masking our identity’ links back to the cultural and identity theme in a way that shows us through photographs how there are many people out there that don’t feel confident in their own skin and feel the need to use a mask in order to cover the face. Looking very closely at the images you cans see that the mask doesn’t cover their whole faces and this shows that they only want to cover their insecurities when being exposed under the strong lighting. Metaphorically, the light being shed onto the models symbolises the spotlight that we get put in when people are looking at us and how being in a dark area, where no one can notice us can feel more comfortable. The artists Seymour’s work is very interesting because of the shadows created in the dark atmosphere, I will use some of the inspiration from this photographers work and incorporate it in my own style by using very hard lighting and a dark background so the ace or the model can stand out.
Here is one of my successful responses created prior to Paige Seymour, I have gotten my model in a very dark location and used a black back drop. The props I used which acts as the subject on the image becaue it is what catches our attention as it stands out and makes us queston the image and what is happening. I tore out an eye image from my other model in black and white and used it as the cover up of the models real eyes. The torn effect on the eyes adds emphasis the thought that it's not hers but she desires to have it in a forceful way and the is shown through the way she has torn it our roughly. The white paper contorting against the black is what makes the image captivating. Because the place was dark and I had no strong lighting I used the flash to show what was infront of me and it was worked exceptionally well.
For the following image I used the same concept of concealing our full face with something and I have tried to do that with a cover up feature such as the eyes and now a glamours mask. The glammed mask shows how some people may hide behind something they're not but what they want to be. They think that they are either not beautiful enough because of their insecurities that they face or even they feel the need to reach the standards that society are setting for them. The model is holding the mask more forward than her face so it is closer to the camera lens at a slaughter angle so that we see some of her face but by placing the mask forward it creates shadow against the models face which I think is very effective because it makes the image look more dramatic.