When you think you have no ideas, don’t ask questions. Forget everything and go. The end result is always good. How far can we go for photography ? Can it make us crazy ?

Horn

Critiques

Aaron: In light of your statement, this is actually pretty funny. What I imagine to be frustration with a lack of inspiration shows through and makes me read the images much differently than I would have otherwise. I think it’s a feeling any creative person can relate to and your expression gives it a humorous twist.

Amanda: Your portraits are very cheeky! I particularly like your second one which has the photographs exploding from your head. I actually think it would have been very interesting to see one image which combined the concepts of both photographs – perhaps instead of a blank expression in the second one, your expression could be the one you used in the first with squeezed shut eyes. That would certainly convey the photographs exploding from your head. There are a few things here and there which I think could add to the level of intentionality behind your photos – for example making sure the photographs stuck to the wall are laid flat or hiding things in your room to make the backdrop look more planned. Sometimes the fewer clues a viewer has of the setting, the better!

Jacquelyn: I loved your approach on taking “crazy about photography” so literally. Both of your photos took this theme to the extreme, whether it was trying to cram the camera into your head or contain the endless flow of ideas streaming out of your mind. I really liked how both of your photos were taken with cameras as props; not only did they make me ask myself, “So how did he actually take this photo?” but it also emphasized how you see yourself as incomplete without your camera. I also thought that you chose your lighting very well; the shadows created from the face-on lighting emphasized you as the sole subject matter, while creating depth in the background.

Khatiti: I really enjoyed your photos, and I feel like they shared a lot about your love for photography. It is interesting to think about the frustration that many of us face when it comes to a lack of ideas, when, as your second photo showed, there are often many of them if we are willing to just let them out. My only criticism would have been to have the photos more flush with the wall in the second image.

Mary: I’m not crazy about these photos as photographs, but I do like the ideas that they seem to represent. I like the idea of having the photographer’s version of writer’s block and not knowing how to work through it. I’m pretty sure I’ve held my camera to my head in desperation a number of times. I also like, in the second photograph, where it shows that the photographer is in between the camera and the product. People often feel like it’s the camera that makes a good photo. It’s the expensive lens or it’s the fancy software. But this photo shows that the step between ‘no photograph’ and ‘photograph’ isn’t the tool, it’s the photographer. In terms of technique, these are both very straight-forward. I understand the second photograph needed to be from a very specific perpsective. In the future, consider other ways to arrange the shot–different angles, perspective. Also consider how other aspects of the photograph will influence the feeling or the message you want to portray. How is the lighting helping or hurting? Are there distracting elements in the background, or do I need additional props, etc.