This is an image from the most recent shoot I did for an FIU graduate. Because I was conducting the shoot for someone else, I took into consideration the style that the client wanted to go for. After discussing the overall style for the images, I decided to do some research into what the client was asking for. I decided to take a more modern approach. I decided to play around with the whole body of the subject instead of just the face. In order to incorporate a whole body into a shoot, I found that it was best to work with your surroundings and have the model interact with the environment around them. Because I usually focus on a subjects face rather than the surroundings, this was a challenge for me at first, but soon resulted in new forms of me challenging my photography skills. 

 One big idea that I have always been very interested in was mental health. Through my own struggles, I wanted to portray how I was feeling when I wasn't able to verbally express it. One big theme that is found throughout my work is the feeling of anxiety and depersonalization. I wanted to be able to find a way to express the feelings, so in order to brainstorm I usually do some research into what it is I want to try to achieve and write it in my sketch book (seen below). I eventually came up with this image that I felt encompassed one aspect of anxiety and feeling unreal. The idea of drowning and coming up from the water for a breath accurately depicted the way that anxiety often times feels claustrophobic and intense. 

 

In 2018, I was working on creating a portfolio for my AP art class. Although I had my main area of concentration, I also had to create a separate area to show case my other works. Most of the shooting I did in 2018 was deliberately planned out. I created a sketch book for myself in which I brainstormed ideas and planned out how my shoots would go. In the image below, I had create a 2 page spread focusing on these colorful movie posters I found in a magazine. I had pasted them all onto two pages and wanted to create an image that had a similar color scheme as the original cut outs had. Through this two page spread, I eventually came up with the image that is showcased above!

 In high school, I actively engaged within my schools photography club. During my junior year, our photo club had planned a trip to an exhibition taking place in Miami at the time. We went to visit Daniel Lismore's limited time art exhibition. At the time, I wasn't aware of just how impactful his work was. The whole exhibit centered around his designs. Each model in the room was sculpted after himself. I actually forgot to bring my camera that day, and ended up shooting this image from my phone which I later edited. 

From a young age, I always searched for a creative outlet to navigate the world in which I lived. During my teenage years, I found photography as a fun and almost therapeutic way of expressing myself. At 14, I found film photography. In an age where technology is constantly advancing, film photography challenged my skills as a photographer, and introduced me to a whole new world. In the double exposure above, I took two separate images and combined it into one. Taking a profile shot of my younger brother at a restaurant and a separate image of some leaves outside, I had the idea of overlapping the images onto each other. Even though this is one of my older pieces, I've always loved film photography and the look of simplicity that it gives.