Document Type
Honors Project
First Advisor
Michael Hough
Degree Award Date
Spring 2009
Keywords
art, photography, portraits
Disciplines
Art and Design | Photography
Abstract
The twelve photographic portraits that comprise this honors project are grounded in the fact that human beings are extremely complex. They are multidimensional, being physical, mental, and spiritual all at once. Each dimension interacts with, and affects the others; and together they make up the total personality and describe who a person truly is. A good portrait photographer strives to capture that total personality and to translate it into a visual representation. She does not aim simply to make a beautiful image, but to portray her subject's very being, to give a glimpse into his or her reality. Over the years, artists have developed different methods of capturing this total personality. Some photographers try to completely recreate it using a more directorial approach, while others are more documentary, trying to catch a glimpse of the total personality in its natural setting. There is much debate on which of these methods provide the truest representation of who a person is, however, within my own experience I have found that both have merit.
Recommended Citation
Speed, Sara Ann, "Who We Are: Narrative Portraits" (2009). Honors Projects. 155.
https://digitalcommons.bridgewater.edu/honors_projects/155