Portrait Project Breakdown

Portrait Essay Assignment

Points: 200

Due Date: October 17th 

Six prints and one 1:00 video portrait piece. 

Subject: Pick someone whom you can revisit on multiple occasions. This will be a collaborative project between you and your subject. What story can you tell about this individual? With 6 heavily curated images, can you get to the core of the person, can you reveal their true selves? 

The subjects of your photographs, will fill the space of your photos and influence the mood or idea you’re trying to depict. The subject can determine whether or not your photos are considered interesting.

While subjects and their interest factors are, well, subjective, when considering your subjects, you should ask yourself about your audience. Do other people want to see this? Is my subject representative of the larger idea my photo essay is trying to convey? Your projects can involve people you know or people you’ve only just met.

Artist to look at Elin Hoyland, Elinor Carucci, Phil Toledo

Possibilities, discovery, and stories: these are some of the most effective elements of a photo essay. Collections of images can help produce a narrative, evoke emotion, and guide the viewer through one or more perspectives. A well-executed photo essay doesn’t rely on a title or any prior knowledge of its creator; it narrates on its own, moving viewers through sensations, lessons, and reactions.

Aim for a variety of images. You may like to choose a narrative structure and tell a story with a beginning, middle, and end. You want to look for three types of images; wide, medium, and close-up, or faceless detail shots. By shooting these image types you will build up a broader perspective on your subject. 

This doesn’t have to be constrained to a ‘documentary’ style project. We have the flexibility in a fine art class to stage or construct the portraits. Perhaps you want to mix some staged portraits in with some more ‘documentary-style’ images. It’s your choice.  

Advice: PLAN, PLAN, PLANEdit your photo selection.

Beyond post-production, the series of photos you select as your essay will determine whether you’ve executed your theme or narrative effectively. Can the photos stand-alone, without written words, and tell the story you set out to? Do they make sense together, in a logical sequence? The perfect photo essay will give your audience a full picture of the narrative, theme, or essence you’re looking to capture.

Let’s talk about the video piece. 30-45 seconds. I’m looking for how you depict your subject using video. Choices to consider include TIME and how you will distort time to affect your piece. This can be either a series of cuts or one a single long shot.