Through My Lens
A study in how the world sees me and how I choose to see back.
Mixed Media
2022
Vision, Identity, Resistance
This work explores the duality of being both the observer and the observed how identity can be framed, distorted, or defined by others, and how reclaiming your own narrative is a radical act. Whether through cultural perception, gendered gaze, or generational pressure, this piece reflects the tension of visibility. Looking outward and inward at the same time this is not just a self-portrait, it’s a reclamation of the frame.
“This piece didn’t begin with a camera it began with a feeling. A discomfort with how I was being seen. Or not seen. I needed to look at myself differently, and photography became the tool that helped me do that.”
Process/Development
I started with mirrors and soft lighting building a controlled space where I could observe myself honestly. I wasn’t looking for perfection; I was looking for truth. I played with angles that made me feel vulnerable, not necessarily “beautiful.” I wanted to challenge the idea that self-portraits need to be flattering to be worthy. As I reviewed each image, I noticed how my gaze shifted depending on where the lens was. Some shots felt defiant. Some felt guarded. Some quietly powerful. That’s when I realized this project wasn’t about how I looked. It was about how I felt about being seen.
I curated the final images with intention. Some show only fragments an eye, a hand, a partial face echoing the way the world sometimes sees only parts of us. Others show me holding the camera, looking directly at the viewer. That was the moment I claimed authorship. I made a choice not just to be the subject, but the storyteller. Every shadow, every crop, every frame is deliberate. The act of photographing myself became a way to challenge the gaze placed on me and to create one that was mine.
Final Outcome/Reflections
I started with mirrors and soft lighting building a controlled space where I could observe myself honestly. I wasn’t looking for perfection; I was looking for truth. I played with angles that made me feel vulnerable, not necessarily “beautiful.” I wanted to challenge the idea that self-portraits need to be flattering to be worthy. As I reviewed each image, I noticed how my gaze shifted depending on where the lens was. Some shots felt defiant. Some felt guarded. Some quietly powerful. That’s when I realized this project wasn’t about how I looked. It was about how I felt about being seen.
I curated the final images with intention. Some show only fragments an eye, a hand, a partial face echoing the way the world sometimes sees only parts of us. Others show me holding the camera, looking directly at the viewer. That was the moment I claimed authorship. I made a choice not just to be the subject, but the storyteller. Every shadow, every crop, every frame is deliberate. The act of photographing myself became a way to challenge the gaze placed on me and to create one that was mine.