Self Portrait

My Self Portrait is a highly personal, ongoing documentation of the people that have inspired me and influenced the way I think and act. They are my friends and family and are the most important things in my life. Together they make up who I am. I firmly believe that environment affects the development of individuals and that if I had known different people, I would also be a different person. These are, of course, by no means the only people that have affected me. I have photographed in Florida, Atlanta, Mobile, the Mississippi gulf coast, Columbus, GA, but it is nearly impossible to get everyone that I would like to. I am also constantly meeting new people who influence me, so it is a project that I will continue as long as there are people that continue to impact my life.

I shot the portraits against the same background, with the same subject-to-camera distance, and with as close to the same lighting as I could in an attempt to not have anyone seem elevated or more important than another. While some may have had more of an impact on my life, I don’t think that anyone is more important than another. If you were to take a piece of a puzzle away, no matter the size, it would still be incomplete. That is how I feel in regards to the people in my life.