Learning to Love: A Junior Design Student Conceptual Project by Katherine Bousse (2017)

I am exploring the feeling of embarrassment through the experience of learning to love.

My photograph features a gray prom dress strewn on a bed, surrounded by crumpled tissues. There are flowers laying across the dress, with some petals from trampled and wilted daisies scattered over the bed sheet. Lying next to the dress is an empty carton of ice cream, with a spoon sticking out. The dress is further back in the shot, lying messily on the bed with the other objects covering it, as if it was taken off in frustration. The lighting of the picture is dark, only illuminated by a light source to the right of the bed. I shot the photo inside so there wouldn’t be any natural light, because I wanted to make the viewer feel like it was late at night. Also, I shot the photo from a more upward angle so the dress is visible, and isn’t obscured by the tissues or flowers.

This picture creates a atmosphere that disappointment and sadness that exemplifies my concept statement. The prom dress and bouquet of flowers show the original anticipation of a wonderful evening, while the crumpled petals, tissues, and empty ice cream container show how that evening went wrong in the end. The prom dress shows that the subject of the photo is young, and therefore inexperienced in love. The flowers, which are normally given from one person to another, are crushed and broken, give the feeling of rejection, as do the used tissues. Ice cream, which is often eaten in sadness after a breakup or rejection, is also used to create that atmosphere. The messiness and very personal nature of the photo give an embarrassing glance into this person’s experience with being rejected, while also showing their naivety with relationships.

In Photoshop, we learned how to edit our pictures by using filters, masks, and selections. We also learned how to use certain tools, like the Healing Brush tool, to change small imperfections. I started altered the lighting of the picture in Camera Raw. First, I changed the exposure of the picture so objects farther away from the lamp, like the dress, were easier to see. Then, I changed the shadow and highlights of the photo so the light source was more obvious, and it felt like the rest of the room was dark besides the light. I added a vignette and, finally, I used the Healing Brush tool to take away a few minor spots that I didn’t feel fit with the rest of the picture.