The Participant’s Tasks

Each participant was asked to describe the answer to <insert> with one word, and one word only.   They then were asked to pick an image from a collection of 12 photos shot in different styles.  This was a challenge for several of them, who found it difficult to summarize their being into a single concept – it required some introspection.  Each session was 30 minutes per person, with only a little discussion about their word. The shoot itself was roughly 20 minutes.  

The Photographer’s View

We see people we don’t know almost everyday – in real life, on socials, in the media and entertainment, virtually everywhere. How much do we really know about the people we see walking down the street or sitting in a coffee shop? We see how they are dressed, their shape, how they are acting, their expression and perhaps hear their words. This is highly varied, depending on the situation.  A person walking a dog may not even be aware of you.  An artist or entertainer wants to control your impression.  And, whether consciously or unconsciously, we form an opinion, even if fleeting.   

So these images were created, based only on the word they provided, the style they picked, and how they dressed and acted during the session, informed by my own reality mapped on top of it.  It was a huge challenge for me, to try to express what I sensed and use all of my technical and artistic skills under pressure. Whether I hit the mark is less important – the project was created to provoke thought and awareness.