I am not a creative person. If anything, I am only creative about 15% of the time. The other 85% is all technical.
This is why photography is a medium that works for me. I create my images predominantly using technical skills: knowledge of how a camera works, how light behaves, body language, colour theory, and a very good understanding of what Photoshop can do.
The creative side of photography is what drew me to it, but it is the technical side that allows me to produce anything with it.
30 second video showing the build up of all the layers that created this image.
Why Self Portraits?
I first started doing self portraits to help me learn posing and thus how to pose other people.
Now I do them because I would shoot far less if I didn't and.. well, for the most part, it's just easier.
Easier and more comfortable than trying to explain my darker concepts (my personal experiences and emotions) to people who may not fully understand them or what I want them to convey.
(I also just feel weird asking people to do the weird s*** I do by myself.)
However, there are definitely limitations to what I can do just by myself, and this does frustrate me. I acknowledge too there is also more inspiration that can come from working with other people (the right people) so I am more than willing to do that but only for my less personal concepts.
History: Cosplay Photography
I like to believe that I focused on cosplay photography after completing my Photoimaging Diploma because it resonated with my love for stories (i.e. escapism into fantasy) and sparked my creativity. (I have always been in awe of those amazing composites and cinematic special effect images others have produced.)
But while these things are true, if I'm to be deeply honest, it was more likely because of my lack of confidence particularly because of my own lack of creativity.
Cosplay photography is the avenue that helped me to gain that confidence, allowed me to comfortably practice photographing people, and properly developed my skills for compositing images together.
Without cosplay photography, I would not be as far along on this path as I am today.
Future Direction
I am wandering away from cosplay photography now because I prefer to create my own original works with deeper purpose and meaning behind them. In a world full of imagery and short on time, I do not have any desire to produce "just another pretty photo", especially not from someone else's IP.
I want my images to tell their own stories, and to reveal those deeper emotions left unspoken inside all of us.