Abby Keefe

Abstract photography - the perfect blend between creativity, beauty, and complexity. This style of photography instantly caught my interest and ideas once I was first exposed to it. However, it always leaves me wondering, what is the truth behind these images? Who are these people, and are they being accurately depicted through these images?

For my final photography project, I found it only fitting to try and answer this question through my own photographs and experience. To do so, I decided to photograph some of the people I know best, my family. Through shooting an array of images, I was able to capture and create both abstract images and classical portraits.

To create the abstract images, I used an editing style called cubism. This effect is created by overlaying many different images to create an unusual effect. It is heightened by using pictures from different angles, exposures, or subjects. Once edited together, it creates a collage of images and emotions, which differs between each.

After creating these images, I was left asking myself the same question I ask when looking at other abstract portraits, how did these people feel or what were they thinking in this moment?

To answer this nagging question, I reviewed all the images I had taken of each member of my family. I found one photo for each person that portrays how they felt when I was taking photos of them, to summarize all the images and emotions into one. When viewing the abstract image next to the classical portrait of each person, it provides a new perspective. It allows you to understand the emotion behind it, and try to decode the abstract image further.

In the future, I would love to continue this project and continue answering this question to a deeper level, perhaps expanding my models to friends or strangers, to maximize the ability of understanding people's emotions through classical and abstract photographs.