Graphic Design, Web Design, and Branding | Middle Tennessee
Giggles
This series of portraits focuses on bold personal expression through both photography and graphic design. Each image highlights personality and emotion using color, pattern, and playful digital illustration layered behind and around the subject. The backgrounds combine abstract shapes, lines, and motifs that amplify the mood of each pose. After printing, the portraits were further transformed through bedazzling with rhinestones, adding a tactile and reflective element that makes the work stand out as both photographic and sculptural. The project blurs the line between traditional portraiture and mixed media art, showing individuality in a vibrant and unapologetic way.
Project Background
The project began as an exploration of how photography can move beyond capturing likeness to embodying a sense of character and identity. The goal was to create portraits that feel more like extensions of personality rather than static images. By integrating graphic overlays and then embellishing the prints with rhinestones, the work became layered and multidimensional. The sparkling details emphasized movement, laughter, and energy within the photos, turning each print into a personal statement piece. This process reflected the theme of self-expression, using photography not only as documentation but also as a foundation for creative experimentation.
