Diane Arbus

This photo is an attempt to emulate the photography style of photographer Diane Arbus, who's work takes ordinary and regular people and makes them extraordinary. Her photos essentially expose the awkwardness which can be found in everyone and support the ideology that there is no truly perfect being and that everyone has their own unique flaws. The young woman in this photo, Kayla Demoss, is a pretty girl with pretty features unique to her. However, following Arbus' style, even a beautiful young woman can be transformed to reveal someone who has the potential to be awkward in society. In order to ensure the awkwardness of this session, I requested the young woman to do things that were uncomfortable to her nature. I believe that awkwardness is derived from something artificial or in other words, I believe people have a tendency to become awkward when they do things that are not natural to their behavior. The girl in this photo said she never showed her teeth when she smiled because she truly believed it didn't suit her. Upon hearing this I immediately knew that showing her pearly whites in the picture is what would bring about the desired awkwardness. This session produced a successful photo.

Steve McCurry

First and foremost, the inspiration for these photos is derived from the work of world famous photographer Steve McCurry, who's work in the Middle Eastern sector of the world captures the very essence of people and things, and explores the many different cultures around the globe. In these photos, I try to emulate his work by exploring the personalities of different types of people and exposing their personas to the public eye. In McCurry's work, he captures a person's unguarded moment, hoping to reveal past experience and the inner soul. Although the young woman and young man in these pictures are posed, their positioning isn't entirely scripted. Before commencing the photo shoot, I had brief conversations with Eve and Josh respectively, so that I could get a glimpse of who they were as people. Then, when I had the basic foundations of their personalities, an insight into the very cores of their beings, I took the camera, told them to relax and shot. These pictures are the results of our slightly intimate session and I truly believe they are successful not only aesthetically but also metaphysically.