A Sense of Self || Constructing Identity Through Photography

To illustrate yourself you see yourself as you imagine others see you. I think a photographer can construct a portrait of themselves through several means: metaphorically, a series of images that reflect the photographers ideals. beliefs, likes and dislikes, emotions, expressions, and everything else that goes into ones character. They could also create a more literal portrait, a self portrait. I take self portraits all the time, though it seems like none ever reflect me in my entirety. I would say the great deal of the photos that i take of myself are just me being weird at the camera. 

Here is an example:

Based on this you would get that I like cats, hoodies, bright lights, stars, and globes.......that is if you read into it. To set the record straight I do like all those things. The one thing that these portraits don't do justice to are the eyes, personally I think the eyes are the most expressive part of any photograph, or portrait, they show a lot more of the story than is captured in the image, and as humans I think we are instinctively tuned in to read peoples eyes. 

So can identity be constructed through photography? Absolutely, but not in a single image, since that is only a snapshot of someones identity.