Today I had a second attempt at using visual rhetoric within my work. The aim of my session was to look at another rhetorical figure which could be used to communicate my current area of exploration within my work. I did decided to take a pathos approach again, as this is what comes naturally to me, however whereas previously I used one of Santos figures, this time I focused on figures of exchange as identified by Durand in 1987. In my image I wanted to communicate how outwardly appearance don’t always communicate internal emotions. To help me communicate this I felt the theory of Antilogy, a paradoxically connects two apparently opposite elements in the same proposition, would work well. In the images I would appear calm and relaxed, visibly OK, but then I would be covered with stickers that say ‘fragile’ implying I was anything but these thing.
I carried the shoot out at home using my studio lighting kit but was instantly faced with the usual issues of shooting in small spaces such as the subject (me) being too close to the backdrop so there was no depth to the shot. Also the lights were really close so there was no drop off causing everything to be lit up and strong shadows. To try and overcome these I dropped the power of the lights down, used a single soft box at the front and used a light low down behind the chair to create some depth to the image. I also used a shallow depth of field. However in doing this I made the ultimate school boy error of not ensuring the whole image was in focus! I’m not quite sure what I was thinking. I’m still learning about the technical aspects of doing self portraits and I am finding that ensuring the correct part of the image is in focus is my biggest problem. It’s extremely hard to focus the camera when the subject isn’t there. To overcome this I have either been using someone else to sit in while I set the scene up or resorting to placing an object in the scene to use as a focal point until I replace it. However, I am finding, this is not always successful, especially when using a very shallow depth of field. Aesthetically however I felt the shoot went well. With the person element my aim was to convey a feeling of being a mannequin or statue, as I wanted to represent the facade which people can put forward when faced with internal stress and anxiety. To do this I ensured I sat very upright and formal, trying to depict the ‘proper’ appearance of a lady. The teacup and saucer also allude to a time when emotions were not deemed suitable to be on show. This is then opposed by the bold red fragile stickers which are covering me, clearly labellings my internal emotional state. The stickers are also clearly meant for a parcels, therefore almost objectify me back to my statue status.
The next stage for me would be to try and develop this idea further with another shoot. Initially I’d like to re-shoot in focus(!), then I think I would like to play with the idea of objectifying people and their emotions. Firstly however I would like to show this images to my peers to get feedback and would certainly welcome any feedback from others viewing my post. I would then use this feedback to help steer my future ideas.
Lisa Holmes MA Photography 