Unit 3 Brief

For unit 3, I hope to create a series of images that explore different elements of photography
as a form of therapy and a means of escapism. I am going to research and experiment with
several techniques to decide which element is the most successful at aiding the therapeutic
elements to allow escapism for the person in need.
I am going to experiment with four different techniques to decipher which is the best at
aiding a person in distress, these techniques are going to include –

1. Camera techniques
 I am going to experiment with night photography and
using the camera settings and natural lighting to create
images of moving cars with their lights illuminating the
screen. I am going to play around with shutter speeds to
create some long exposure shots. This is to represent the
escapism that happens at night as I believe that the key
time for escapism to take place is at night as a person is
most vulnerable at night. – I am going to research and
explore which area is the best place to take photos like
this so that my idea can be portrayed properly

2. Darkroom Techniques
 Using a black and white film camera I am going to take portraiture images of
several people around me as a way to experiment with black and white
portraiture but also as a way to escape while in the darkroom. I find a sense of
calm when in the dark room and I think that it is one of the best places to
escape to by allowing yourself to almost get lost in the process of developing
images. I want to document the process of how I feel when in the darkroom
but also experiment with dodging, burning and overlaying images within a
film reel. For this experiment I am going to take photos of the people around
me that I use as a form of escapism because
they are incredibly comforting, and I want to
be able to represent the idea of using comfort
people as escapism.
3. Photoshop
 Quite like with the dark room, editing and
creating images on photoshop is a way for
someone to get lost in their work. I am going
to research how to take my editing skills
further by taking some basic images – a
mixture of portraiture and still life images and creating a piece on photoshop
to represent people’s different forms of escapism.
4. Studio Work
 I am going to experiment with the lighting fixtures and using them to
determine which position is the most effective when it comes to representing
 escapism. I am going to use a model and the
flash lights in the studio to experiment with
different placing of the model and the
lighting fixtures. I will use this lighting
guide and create images similar as a way to
determine how lighting can effect escapism.

I hope that the outcome of this project will provide insight into the complex and varied
psychological concepts that present themselves in different formats when it comes to the use
of photography as a form of therapy. This will hopefully aid me in creating a final piece in
unit 4 as I will be able to adapt and expand on the photographic techniques to provide a
timeline of a person taking part in art therapy