Peer Visual Review: Sophia Garcia Portrait Series

Peer: Sophia Garcia

Blog Post: https://sg4334a.wixsite.com/mysite-1/post/humans-of-visual-literacy-michael

For her visual review, Sophia Garcia chose to photograph her younger brother, Michael. Throughout her portrait series, she incorporates a variety of angles. While most of the photos are taken at a conversational distance apart, Garcia gets up high, low, and center to photograph her subject. This change in angle allows us to see the subject, Michael, from many different perspectives.

Garcia also employs an incredible range of colors. The blue sky contrasts the white buildings and dark hair of the subject but also complements the blue shirt and pants he wears. The use of color, as well as light and shadow, give many complexities to the first two photos. The background is of a building bathed in light and almost matches the skin tone of the subject. This continuity allows other features of the subject to pop out, such as his hair and outfit. It also allows us to take in the shadows, which appear on the body of the subject, showing us how integrated the subject is in the environment.

Garcia also captures her subject in a wide variety of facial expressions and positions. There are some photos of him sitting and standing, facing the camera, and turning away. These different compositions allow us to visualize the multiple sides of a person, much like Garcia describes her subject.

Garcia’s text continues to add strength to her photo series. It is clear that she and Michael share a special bond that not all siblings have. She discusses their routines of ice lattes and sunrises or sunsets on the top of parking garages. By knowing the significance of this setting, we can see how important it is that Garcia’s series takes place on top of a parking garage at what appears to be the golden hour at the end of the day. This setting is a special place for her and her subject, demonstrating their complex and special relationship as siblings.