Artwork 08: Self Portrait Photography

Self Portrait, Jubilee Tai, 2012, Photography

If you saw my previous post on candid shots, you'd probably understand the portrayal of my artwork even more. I really find that true beauty lies in shots and moments which went unplanned or rather appear unplanned in this case of my self-portraits. I feel that the whole magic of the self-portraits especially through photography is in the rawness of the moment, and this is what I have tried to capture in essence.

Self-Portrait (laidback), Jubilee Tai, 2012, Photography

Fine, so maybe candidacy doesn't really have a direct statement smile at the camera, but I still find the candid magic in the shots as they have an informal feel to it, as if it were just in the turn of a head, rather than true glamourous posing. And yes my crazy hair adds to the candidacy of the shots. 

As for the composition, it was not really planned but certainly with the DSLR camera in portrait mode, I had to place myself more centrally lest the focus be off my face, and it would turn out to be a blur shot instead. 

For the first self-portrait, I put it in black-and-white as it would give a more formal feeling to it, despite the candidacy. Also, it would bring more focus to the expression rather than the features. In colour, more attention would go to the features instead.

For the second self-portrait, I felt that a coloured shot would be more appropriate to give a more relaxed mood and laidback feel to it. 

Lastly, I chose not to edit or photoshop my face at all so as to give the candid feeling: raw, makeup-less and just in-your-face.

Beauty in the Unplanned

You know how in pictures people always pose and try to look glamorous, but trust me I do that too. But then again, I have to say I love the beauty of candidness in photography. I was scrolling through Vogue's albums on Facebook and they really have such selective taste in their albums. But anyway about the candidness it's why sometimes I really like all the backstage photos in magazines rather than the adverts or the glorious fashion spread featuring supermodels and stars in their idealised states of beauty. I guess I like seeing how the less glorious appeal in a way so fascinating, that such beauty can even exist in something previously unplanned. 

Taken from: Vogue's 2012 Couture Part One and 2012 Couture Part Two albums

Don't you see it? Just raw, unplanned beauty.

I think sometimes that's where the beauty of photography lies: capturing that one moment which is just there in its glory, unplanned and just precious.