When I found out I’d have to complete a self-portrait series for my photography class, I wasn’t exactly thrilled. I’m not big on selfies to begin with, and this assignment meant that I would not only have to be in front of the camera, but that I would also have to come up with some sort of concept for the whole thing. But then my teacher explained that our self-portraits didn’t have to be so literal. We could present ourselves in a more abstract way, such as through objects. And as soon as I heard that, I knew exactly what I would do.
Anyone who knows me knows that I love books and would basically live off of cereal if it was socially acceptable. So I decided to shoot a self-portrait series using books that have meant something to me at different stages of my life and the cereal I was probably eating at the time.
This was really fun to plan out, not to mention shop for. I had all the books on my shelf already but I can’t tell you how excited I was to visit the grocery store and stock up on the sugary cereals I never let myself have anymore.
In case you’re wondering why the bowl next to The Bell Jar is empty, it was meant to represent my late teens when I would skip breakfast because I was trying to stay skinny. I was pretty happy with how these turned out. I was also pretty happy to have so much cereal on my kitchen counter after the photo shoot was over.