05 June 2017

FINAL PROJECT: BEYOND THE 'SELFIE' (A Project Of Self-Portraiture)

A NOTE BEFORE WE START: Due to the plebeian/dull/tedious "selfie" of modern times, if the photos produced resemble pictures like THESE (CLICK HERE) in any way, the work will not be considered for score.

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Robert Cornelius’ Self-Portrait. 1839. (Officially, the first photographic self-portrait.

DIRECTIONS:
REFER TO HANDOUT GIVEN IN CLASS.

REMINDERS:
1. If you will be holding the camera while taking photographs (aimed at yourself), focus first on an object that is the same distance away from you that the camera will be when you become the subject. For metering, face the direction where you will be and hold the back of your hand in the spot where your face will be. By doing this - and metering your camera to the skin tone of the back of your hand - your camera will measure the light reflected off the back of your hand, therefore, reflecting the same amount of light that your face will be reflecting.

2. If you are going to step out from behind the camera, place the camera on a sturdy surface (or tripod). While looking through the viewfinder, decide where you will place yourself. Put a chair (or something on which to focus) in the spot where you will be and focus your camera on that spot. Turn on your camera’s auto-timer, press the shutter button, and make a run for it…

FREE iPHONE self-timer. CLICK HERE.

FREE Android self-timer. CLICK HERE.

BEYOND THE SELFIE:

CLICK HERE for a few examples.

For this project, you will be turning the camera on yourself. But what makes this any different than the millions of "selfies" taken everyday by non-photographers? Let's look at the differences:

WHAT IS A SELFIE?
CLICK HERE for the truth.

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A SELFIE AND A SELF-PORTRAIT? Okay, sure. If someone whips out their camera phone and takes a picture of him/herself for the sake of taking a picture of him/hererself, that’s nothing more than a selfie.

Now, if that very same student whips out his/her camera phone and takes an identical picture of herself, but she does it for the sake of almost any other aesthetic purpose, then she can be considered an artist creating a self portrait.

The quality of the image is important, but so is the aesthetic intent of the person creating the image. A self portrait is art. (Not necessarily good art, but art nonetheless.) At best, a selfie is craft, and that’s the fundamental distinction.

The difference between craft and art is the difference between how and why. The how is obvious, but if the photographer can’t answer why he/she’s taking a picture of him/herself in a manner that isn’t self-referential, then he/she probably hasn’t earned the right to call it a self portrait.

If you will be holding the camera while taking photographs, first, focus on an object that is the same distance away from you that the camera will be when you become the subject. If you are going to step out from behind the camera, place the camera on a sturdy surface (or tripod). While looking through the viewfinder, decide where you will place yourself. Put a chair (or something on which to focus) in the spot where you will be and focus your camera on that spot (and light meter the ‘scene’). Turn on your camera’s auto-timer, press the shutter button, and make a run for it…

Before the "selfie", the SELF-PORTRAIT. CLICK HERE.

#Me: Instagram Narcissism And The Scourge Of The Selfie. CLICK HERE.

What turns a would-be self-portrait into an awful and stupid "selfie?" Let's look at some examples:
Example one. CLICK HERE.

WHAT DOES OUR SELFIE CULTURE SAY ABOUT US?
What does the "selfie" say about our society? CLICK HERE.
Selfies from around the world. CLICK HERE.

EXPANDING THE SELFIE'S HISTORICAL CONTEXT
CLICK HERE.

A couple teens with remarkable self-portraits:
Brendon Burton HERE.
Cristina Otero HERE.

IDEAS:
YOU: in a reflection...in a special place...doing something special...in character...as your alter-ego...laughing...crying...amongst strangers in a public place...outside...inside...upside-down...right-side-up...being boring...being strange...could answer the question, "Who am I?"..."Who do I want to be?"...

Standout student self-portraits from years past...