Week 12

Instagram Presentation

This is how it has turned out. I'm really happy with it. I think Instagram it is the perfect way for me to display my series. When I present to the class on Thursday I will ask them to search the account name @social.perfectionism on their own phones.

Updated Statement

The topic I am exploring is social perfectionism within the lens of social media. I am attempting to expose the images that we see on social media as unrealistic, half-truths. Believing the things we view online can be damaging and harmful to our self-worth, as we think that we need to be more than we already are to be accepted by society. My target audience is social media users, ranging from teenagers to young adults. I have chosen to present my work on Instagram as I believe that the people who need to see it the most are living on social media, not in the real world.

I am utilising digital manipulation to take my images completely over the top of truth and realism. My photographs are not intended to look genuine, the method of manipulation used was intended to illuminate through unrealistic edits how the ‘real’ images we see are also untruthful. The blue light emanating from the phones represents what the camera sees, and it is positioned perfectly to not capture any of the mess. The sourced imagery used is a mix of famous objects, and idealistic stock imagery. Both of these genres combined speaks to the world of advertising, which is basically what social media posts are now.

The setting was important as I wanted to show the realness in each of these people’s lives, which is contrasted by the impossibility of the manipulated components. The realness is portrayed by the mess, or general lived-in-ness of the lounge and the couches where each of these photographs take place. It shows that behind the screens we are all just ordinary people.

Word Count: 273.