PARTY ART
Kat Wilson’s series of Habitats portraits explore the lives and experience of the subjects they depict through elaborate orchestrations of possessions that make up their everyday environments. Many of us are spending unprecedented time at home during the coronavirus pandemic and Wilson is inviting people to participate in the series by creating their own Quarantine Habitat portrait to serve as a record of this moment. Here’s how:
1. Choose your space.
Choose a space that represents what this time is like for you. Where are you spending your time at home?
2. Choose your objects.
Pick 10+ objects that represent your quarantine habitat. Think about the iconography of these objects and have a rationale for including each one. For example, curtains might represent hiding from the world.
3. Compose your setting.
Set up your objects in a rough triangle. Step away and think about what objects stand out to create a triangle. You’ll pose at the top of the triangle in the center.
4. Set up your lighting.
Set up dramatic lighting, directed at where you’ll be sitting. Bonus points if the lighting comes in at a 45 degree angle.
5. Set up your camera and pose.
Set your camera up so it’s directed at where you’ll be sitting and make your way to the top of the triangle. Your pose should be stoic and proud, like a member of a royal court.
Tips:
• You can use any camera, from your phone to professional equipment. If you have a non-phone camera, the shutter speed should be 1/200 and the aperture should be at 8.0.
• If you don’t have a way to take the photo and can leave the habitat set up, Wilson will come to your home after social restrictions are lifted and photograph your habitat herself.
Katwilsonartist.com