For this midterm assignment I chose to use a verse from the song “Beautiful” by

Eminem. I chose this song because I can relate to it on a personal level and in a way it

actually tells a story. This made choosing an aesthetic for the project very easy. I

attempted to put together pictures that followed the songs story chronologically and

creatively. When I first started working on the project I knew immediately that I would

need one person in my photographs. After I found a volunteer I worked out a very simple

wardrobe consisting of jeans, a baseball hat and a plain hooded sweatshirt that could be

pulled over the hat in the pictures. Another aesthetic I wanted to use was that you could

never completely see the face of who I was taking pictures of. This was because I wanted

others to be able to see that person as themselves and not associate it with any particular

person. I also took all pictures at nighttime, again due to the mood of the song. Sunlight

would have symbolized a happier tone. Darkness only seemed appropriate. One other

idea I had for a photograph was a deck of cards with all cards face-down on the table,

with the exception of the joker card because that is typically an unlucky card to be dealt

in card games if it is even used and the song references dealing with the cards that you

are dealt. That photograph I centered the joker card to reveal its individual importance.

My next picture shows a man with his head down appearing to be deep in thought,

seemingly depressed. There is also an empty seat beside him to show that he is all on his

own. The following photograph shows him walking in the middle of the street, under the

streetlight showing that he is overcoming his depression and walking towards change.

The next photo is very similar to my second one, with the exception that I decided to

shoot outdoors and include his entire body in the picture. This is the opposite of the

previous photograph, showing that this character in the song had two options. He could

have sat on his porch with his bags packed waiting for his father who would never come,

or he could hit the road and start being proactive. The final photograph I actually had to

set the camera on the ground to shoot. I also had to diagonally align the shoes so that it

was possible to see all the different pairs. I included shoes from various types of people.

I found girls shoes, construction shoes, skating shoes, dress shoes, as many different

types as I could because the song is about looking at another persons struggles from their

point of view regardless of who they are.

Nobody asked for life to deal us what these bullshit hands we’re dealt/ we gotta take these cards ourselves and flip ‘em don’t expect no help/ now I could have either just sat on my ass and pissed and moaned/ or take this situation in which I’m placed in and get up and get my own/ I was never the type of kid to wait by the door and pack his bags/ and sat on the porch and hoped and prayed for a dad to show up who never did/ I just wanted to fit in every single place, every school I went/ I dreamed of being that cool kid even if it meant acting stupid/ Aunt Edna always told me keep making that face it’ll get stuck like that/ meanwhile I’m just standing there holding my tongue tryin’ to talk like this/ ‘till I stuck my tongue on that frozen stop sign pole at 8 years old/ I learned my lesson then cause I wasn’t tryin’ to impress my friends no more/ but I already told you my whole life story, not just based on my description/ cause where your sittin’ it’s probably 110% different/ I guess we would have to walk a mile in each others shoes at least/ what size you wear? I wear 10’s, lets see if you can fit your feet…

The visual aesthetic I was aiming for in my project was one of realism. I wanted to use different angles and things that may not be a perfect fit for everyday life yet still things you would see on a daily basis. I did not want extraordinary photographs of beautiful buildings that you could only think of in your wildest dreams. I wanted my photographs to show life as it really is, and use representations of ideas to help tell the story. Ethan Tobman was my main source of inspiration. He recently won an award as an artistic director for the music video “Not Afraid” by Eminem. Although I do not have access to the type of equipment someone of his stature does, I tried my best to show reality, and representative photographs that require a higher degree of understanding.

Artistic Director Ethan Tobman