Kevin the Crab: A Narrative Character Portrait by Harrison Miller (2015)

My character's name is Kevin. He is a crab who is very insecure and afraid of everything. In a series of unfortunate events, Kevin loses the only thing that gives him security and peace of mind, his rock. Kevin's greatest fear is the vast ocean, and as he sees his rock get taken by it, he feels helpless. My story is about the events of Kevin losing his rock, and his journey in finding a new one. During his journey, he learns how to deal with his fears and how to overcome them. In my photograph I captured the moment when Kevin had to let go of his rock before it got swept out into the ocean. That moment was pivotal in my story because it shows Kevin's insecurities.

The shot was not taken at an angle, but instead straight on. I had my model, conveniently named Kevin, to look down and act submissive. I told him to point his chest at the left camera, so his chest would not be facing the camera head on. This made it appear that he was shying away from the camera. The props I brought were my red hoodie and rock. I wanted Kevin to wear a hoodie as it would put more emphasis on his cowardly behavior. He held the rock gently, with signifies how much he cares for his rock. The most challenging part about this project was figuring out how to set up the photoshoot, and how to properly get the right lighting. I took several photos before my real shot just to see what the lighting looked like. More than half of my shots were experimental, just to see what they would look like.