CO - The Inside Light

This project was a collaboration between Cinco Design and I. I had an idea of this double reflection where I would shoot models with descriptive words projected into their eyes using lightboxes. This idea was then expanded to showcase artists and their inspiration. The artists were selected by the staff at Cinco and me. Sean Barrett, Art Director, played a huge role in this project. We chose up and coming artist that we were impressed with, many of whom are multifaceted in their crafts. For instance, E*Rock runs a record label, performs and produces music, and creates visual arts. AC Dickson is a writer but also does performance art. We selected some of the freshest and most innovative artists in Portland for this project.

By collaborating with Cinco we expanded on this idea I had of reflected words to incorporate artist as the subject. This took the idea of crafting lighting to describe the craft of others. The project has an underlying theme of stronger together. With this collaboration we took my concept and made it stronger. While shooting this it was important to get the reflection in the right spot to be legible. The models had to hold very still and make the smallest movements; even breathing can shift the part of reflection out of the reflective surface..

Being self- Right now in photography there is a phrase that has become all too common: “let’s fix that in post”. This project is a throwback to when everything had to be done in camera. Why would you take the long road when there is a quick fix? Photoshop is a great tool but the little details tend to be overlooked. By building the word into the light source you produce subtle details like in eyeglasses you get a double reflection with different magnification depending on the prescription, or the small scratches in their creative tools that give the reflection a tactile feel. The eyes are a window to the soul, so with the word reflected in the eye you get a tangible view into their internal thoughts and creative inspiration. I also like that they are being illuminated solely by this thought / word as they emerge from this darkness. Cinco and Lee Schultz did a wonderful job of designing these fonts to emulate the styles of these artists. So for me, taking all these ideas and combining them into this one split second frame in time, solidifies this idea into reality.

Read Less