Photo Essay
For my photo essay, I chose to focus on silhouettes as my subject. I took several photos throughout the day in my house and other places, using light and windows as the unifying element of composition throughout the essay. Each photo is a self portrait created with either reflection, shadow or both. I wanted the focus of my essay to be about identity and I think shadows convey a strong message about identity since we don't always know who we are even if we're looking at our reflection in the window. I ordered the photos by contrast and complexity. The photos toward the end have a higher contrast between the silhouette and the background, which I think is essential to the essay's story of knowing one's identity. The photos also become more complex with layered photographs toward the end, which reflects that as time goes on, who we are becomes clearer and at the same time more complex. Identity isn't solely one characteristic but several that overlap to create who we are.