Challenge 5: Create a Symmetrical Image

Creative Challenge 5:  Create a Symmetrical Image

The fifth Creative 52 weekly challenge involved symmetry. I had so many ideas for this challenge and ended up home sick for the majority of the week. By Sunday I had resigned myself to the realization that I would have to be my own model again (forcing me back to my week three goal of getting more comfortable in front of the camera).  I was especially challenged with me as a model as I am far from symmetrical. My eyes are incredibly different in size, my lips are crooked, I have moles on one side of my face that are not present on the other and even my nostrils don't seem to be the same shape! I was not hopeful about this! I wrapped my non-symmetrical hair in a scarf and was determined to use posing and lighting to attempt to make me look more symmetrical and was not beyond the assistance of photo shop if I could get an image that was close. I knew I wanted to shut my eyes and they seem to appear closer to the same size that way. So I put the self timer on my camera and repeatedly put myself in front of my camera and tried to compose myself for the shot in my 10 second window. I took shot after shot and was not happy with any of them. I only seemed to see how far from symmetrical each of my images appeared. Preparing for one shot I must have hit my focus button (which would have focused on nothing since I was not in the image) and was surprised when I cam across this completely out of focus image. The more I scrolled through my images for a final shot the more I was drawn to this one for this challenge. Because our minds are always seeking symmetry I was able to find symmetry in this image that lacked the amount of detail necessary to prove my eyes and brain wrong. While in real life my eyes are still incredibly different in size, my lips are crooked and my nostrils are not the same shape, in this moment, in this photo I don't notice any of that. My brain sees symmetry. So while this is not the image I imagined in my head, this image taught me a very valuable lesson about perception that I can take forward with me in my photography journey!

Until next week, keep challenging yourself and stay creative!