"Portrait"

Composite Photograph

Project Overview

black and white sketch of composite photograph

The concept for this project began with a curious statement often made by Joseph So. As a composer and music producer, Joseph (sometimes adopting the handle 'The Spaceman') would say that he's a musician, whose instrument is 'the computer'. The goal with this project was, therefore, to create a piece that would show what that looks like, to make 'a portrait of the Spaceman'.

Tools Utilised

Fujifilm XT-3
Adobe Photoshop

Process — Photo Shoot

After initial ideation and sketching, a photoshoot was done to get the elements that I needed for the project. This included shots of Joseph's workstation, his hand-build 40% mechanical keyboard, and effects board, as well as 3 individual shots of Joseph himself to composite into the photo.

Computer monitor on a desk with a Macbook, Nintendo switch, mouse, and headphones nearby.

Effects pedals sitting on audio interfaces and used books.

Boy leaning over 2 mic stands, wearing a mask

Boy leaning over a blue pillow case on a mic stand

Boy lying on several chairs playing a game on his phone

Takeaways

Boy reaching out of monitor, with boy playing a mobile game, and boy looking at a video of himself nearby

This project taught me that while planning was important, being willing to pivot, and keep an open mind to better opportunities was also very important. While not exactly as initially sketched, by holding the idea that I wanted to portray in mind first, rather than the checklist of things to do, I was able to produce a true portrait as I had set out to do.

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