Insecurities led me to cover most of my face, my eyes specifically, whenever I was photographed growing up. As I’ve grown, I have begun to accept and love the parts of myself that I once wanted to hide, and this transformation is something that I tried to portray through the visual transition between the photos.

-Khatiti

See more work from Khatiti

The infinite interpretations of a self portrait is becoming evident with each post shredding new light on this beautiful topic. You can find other Self-Portraits by our photographers here

Critiques 

Amanda: What a cool way to show your development over time & the contrast between the two! I would have preferred the new you to be layered on top rather than behind to symbolize that this new perspective dominates the old. The framing effects in my opinion detracted from the image – i would have preferred cleaner lines. Also hiding certain things in the background such as a doorknob would help to emphasize YOU as the subject & to remove any context clues that might distract from the image / meaning. Beautiful job!!

Beatrice: I can totally relate to your message. I am also working on being more comfortable in front of the camera – it’s a work in progress and it’s all about just being more comfortable with yourself! I’m not a huge fan of the faded out border – it’s a little distracting and doesn’t really add anything to the shot. The top edges of your two photos are also not directly aligned, and it would probably look cleaner if they were. I agree with Jessica that the transition could also be improved – maybe have less overlapping space. Then we could see more of your pretty face :)

Horn: I love the overlap between different pictures. This is a good way to show or not a part of your face.I also like the choice of black and white on one side and the other color. I feel joy, simplicity but the end result of your picture is positive. The style you use for this self portrait is very different from the other pictures, but it is quite successful

Jessica: It is so hard for us to admit our own insecurities and flaws, and even harder for us to overcome them as completely and evidently as you have. Your self-portrait definitely evoked in me a large sense of pride on your behalf.

That was a very disgustingly professional way of saying IM SO FREAKING PROUD OF YOU KHATITI!!!
I love the little details such as the arrangement of your hair and the position of your shades. However, I am going to disagree with the others and say that I wasn’t a big fan of the transition, because I felt like we lost 1/3 of the image.

Maya: Khatiti — I really enjoyed reading your artist’s statement for this project. I feel like it brought so much more depth and understanding to the photograph. I liked the complexity of the composition in that it had many parts to tell a story and a transition, but I wish that we could have seen more of each! I’m on the fence in the debate over the overlap, but as the photographer, I’m sure you have opinions of your own that we should all honor. I’m so glad that you are growing more comfortable with being photographed! It’s a real pleasure to go from behind the camera to in front of it, from time to time.

Stephen: You should show your eyes more often! A beautiful image on the right. The blended image has nice contrast and discolouring the left helps show the emotion that you used to struggle with. It would have been nice to bring the right most image forward to demonstrate a newer open self. It still hides a bit behind the blend. Lightening the image could have helped bring out the details within. Also it would have been nice to inverse the poses. Your open self being closer to the camera – to us – would have presented greater closeness with the audience. It was however really well executed on the left to shy yourself from the selfie.