My work for this project is aimed at revealing emotions through portraiture in a non-studio setting. Each pairing of images consists of a portrait of a person, and an object that they have chosen with sentimental value. These are meant to be seen as diptychs and function in unison. In doing so my hope is that the two photographs will build off of each other to reveal meaning that would not be present without this relationship. While this series currently consists of 7 pairings (14 images total) I would like to expand on this in the future, photographing many more people and their chosen objects. To achieve the notion of emotion, I decided to photograph this series with a large format (4x5 tachihara) camera and 4x5 hp5 ilford (400 speed) film. In doing so, I believe that more details will be evident, especially printing on a larger scale such as 29x36. Following my formating decision, I had to decide on the subject matter and how the surrounding location would affect its meaning. Ultimately I decided to shoot the portraits in locations chosen by each individual person, to heighten their comfortability and remove the staged feel of the studio setting. For each portrait, I wore noise canceling headphones and asked each subject to speak about their object and the meaning behind it. I could not hear what they were saying, which removed bias from my side of the camera, as to how the photograph would be perceived. In having the people talk about their objects I hoped to evoke an emotion which would then sequentially be translated into the photograph (and hopefully be understood by the viewer). Originally I was thinking of having each person hold their object, but i decided against that given that I saw it to be slightly too cliche and “cheesy.” Thus, to incorporate the object, I decided to photograph it separately in a studio setting to remove any other implications to it other than the evident emotion on each of the people’s faces, and body languages. To ensure that the series worked not only on the level of each individual diptych, but as a whole, I used the same exposure for each of the objects, and attempted to recreate the lighting in the same way as well. Additionally, I titled each diptych according to the name of the person, followed by a title that they chose for their object. In doing so I hoped to add another level of personality and give the subjects more agency in the series. A large source of inspiration for this project was my initial photo project for this class. I felt as though there was much more to be said when it came to the field of portraiture, and I felt the need to revisit my initial attempt at it. To do this I researched artists that are well known for their portraiture. In this, I found a specific conversation helpful. It was between Catherine Opie and Ryan McGinley. It was in this conversation that I realized that I should not be taking the images of the people in a studio setting, which was (i believe) a huge improvement from my original idea. From this initial revision came many more. I realized that in order to portray each person in a realistic way, I had to make them as comfortable as I could, and almost remove my presence from the documentation as much as I could. I want each person’s voice to be heard, without making it overtly obvious by having the viewers actually know what the objects mean (through a written or video explanation). Overall I hope that each viewer is able to see the sincerity of emotion emulated in each individual photograph, and will be able to make the connection between the person and their expressive relation to the object beside them. Additionally, I hope to show growth from my initial project, and demonstrate a better understanding of the field of portraiture. In doing so, I want this project not to be about my method of creation and arrangement, but rather a demonstration of emotion and sentiment on the end of each person present in the show. Even without their actual presence in the room, I hope to represent them in the most accurate and personal manner. Artist Statement: Sentimental
 My work for this project is aimed at revealing emotions through portraiture in a non-studio setting. Each pairing of images consists of a portrait of a person, and an object that they have chosen with sentimental value. These are meant to be seen as diptychs and function in unison. In doing so my hope is that the two photographs will build off of each other to reveal meaning that would not be present without this relationship. While this series currently consists of 7 pairings (14 images total) I would like to expand on this in the future, photographing many more people and their chosen objects. To achieve the notion of emotion, I decided to photograph this series with a large format (4x5 tachihara) camera and 4x5 hp5 ilford (400 speed) film. In doing so, I believe that more details will be evident, especially printing on a larger scale such as 29x36. Following my formating decision, I had to decide on the subject matter and how the surrounding location would affect its meaning. Ultimately I decided to shoot the portraits in locations chosen by each individual person, to heighten their comfortability and remove the staged feel of the studio setting. For each portrait, I wore noise canceling headphones and asked each subject to speak about their object and the meaning behind it. I could not hear what they were saying, which removed bias from my side of the camera, as to how the photograph would be perceived. In having the people talk about their objects I hoped to evoke an emotion which would then sequentially be translated into the photograph (and hopefully be understood by the viewer). Originally I was thinking of having each person hold their object, but i decided against that given that I saw it to be slightly too cliche and “cheesy.” Thus, to incorporate the object, I decided to photograph it separately in a studio setting to remove any other implications to it other than the evident emotion on each of the people’s faces, and body languages. To ensure that the series worked not only on the level of each individual diptych, but as a whole, I used the same exposure for each of the objects, and attempted to recreate the lighting in the same way as well. Additionally, I titled each diptych according to the name of the person, followed by a title that they chose for their object. In doing so I hoped to add another level of personality and give the subjects more agency in the series. A large source of inspiration for this project was my initial photo project for this class. I felt as though there was much more to be said when it came to the field of portraiture, and I felt the need to revisit my initial attempt at it. To do this I researched artists that are well known for their portraiture. In this, I found a specific conversation helpful. It was between Catherine Opie and Ryan McGinley. It was in this conversation that I realized that I should not be taking the images of the people in a studio setting, which was (i believe) a huge improvement from my original idea. From this initial revision came many more. I realized that in order to portray each person in a realistic way, I had to make them as comfortable as I could, and almost remove my presence from the documentation as much as I could. I want each person’s voice to be heard, without making it overtly obvious by having the viewers actually know what the objects mean (through a written or video explanation). Overall I hope that each viewer is able to see the sincerity of emotion emulated in each individual photograph, and will be able to make the connection between the person and their expressive relation to the object beside them. Additionally, I hope to show growth from my initial project, and demonstrate a better understanding of the field of portraiture. In doing so, I want this project not to be about my method of creation and arrangement, but rather a demonstration of emotion and sentiment on the end of each person present in the show. Even without their actual presence in the room, I hope to represent them in the most accurate and personal manner. Artist Statement: Sentimental