So, as soon will be depicted, I've fallen into some relatively slothful habits. Lots of doing nothing and not much of doing everything else.
Self portraits? That was my first inclination. But really. Seriously. I wouldn't do that to you. I like you all way to much to subject you to 52 pictures of my dumb ass making silly faces. I know you all, and you are kind and patient enough friends to support me even if I were to undertake such a venture. All the more reason why I'm NOT doing that to you. As I said, I like you all way too much to do that.
Lighting is my passion, something about it really excites me. The ability to take an otherwise mundane environment and turn it into something fantastic. The ability to take your everyday average Joe off the street and make him look like a total badass or a rockstar or a villain. What's more is you can use light to expose someone's true nature, to show in a single image what they're about and what they do. This is why I decided to do 52 portraits in a year. A different subject for each, showing a different aspect of a different person in (hopefully) a different environment each time. The following are my stated goals:
The portrait must be lit
I love lighting. I think it can be used (to a greater or lesser extent) to improve the vast majority of photos taken. I want to get better at it, and use it to help with my second goal:
The portrait must somehow reflect the subject
I could get all post modern and speak about how none of us have any "true" nature, or how the idea of "truth" is ridiculous in the first place. Screw that, that's not what this is about. I want to attempt to reveal something about the nature of the subject, who they are, and what they do in each photo. It can be fun to play dress up, and sometimes I may take the "true nature" thing more literally than others, but it's important to the concept of the project that I try to incorporate it in each one. This is to be done through light design, environment, and posing of the subject.
One a week
Not one posted per week, one shoot and one finished product per week. I'm allowing myself no exceptions.
That's it. Should be simple, given effort on my part. Thanks for "joining" me on this "journey" (should you make the perilous decision to choose so). The first shoot is already complete, the corresponding post to come soon.
