AS 3.2 First Series | photography

Image Analysis

The theme of my first series is figure/potrait images portraying the idea of the mental illness dissociation and how it feels to experience a dissociative episode.

Image 1:

I chose this image for my first series because I like the tonality of the image and how I used the rule of thirds to place the hands.

The subject was asked to place their hands in this position because it is as if they are holding an object, their identity.

The harsh studio side lighting is taken from my artist model Jerry Ulsemann. But it is also symbolic as half of the hands are in light, the other in shadow it brings up ideas of the internal conflict the sufferer of this mental illness may feel.

Image 2:

I have used back lighting for this image covered by a sheet to make it look as if the hands are trapped behind something like a block in their mind as this can be experienced whilst in a dissociative episode the feeling of being a passenger in your own mind and not being in control of your body.

Because of the harsh LED light it makes it look as though they are in a hospital or medical setting which ties into the idea of the subject being insane.

I have used high contrast in this image to further draw the eye to the subject.

Image 3:

In this Image I have chosen to use a shallow pictorial space in order to bring more attention to the hands covering the subjects face allowing them to become the focal point of the image by making her face and hair slightly out of focus. This means the eye is naturally guided to her hands perceiving the face and hair as almost part of the background.

I have also centered the subject on the image in order to bring more attention and impact to the subject as they are the first thing you see when you look at the image.

The lighting I have used in this image is harsh studio side lighting inspired by my artist model Jerry Ulsemann. It accentuates the contrast between the black background and the subject. again drawing attention to the hands as they are the most highlighted section of the image.

The use of hands is also tied to my artist model who used hands in many of his photographs.

Idea behind the photograph:

During a dissociative period it is common for a person to experience a dissconnection to their body and identity as if their body is not their own or as though they are just a passenger looking through someone elses eyes experiencng them living their life. The symbolism of the hands over the face is used to show how the subject has lost connection with their identity as eyes are often viewed as the window to the soul this is emphasised through the words "who am I" which is written on her hands. The line beneath the words passes through her mouth hinting at the subjects inability to speak out about the turmoil they feel inside.

Image 4

Contrast is an important part of this image. The black and white colouring allows you to see the contrast between the subjects face, this is accentuated by the studio side lighting which makes one side of the subjects face bathed in light and the other with shadow this is symbolc of the subjects internal coflict about her identity. The question mark on her forehead hints at the disconnection between her mind and identity emphasised by her eys being closed similar to the last image where her hands covered her face the eyes are closed to again symbolise her loss of idenitity. also similar to the last image the subject is positioned in the centre of the image to create impact and draw the eye straight to the subject.