Photographer Research - Christian Sampson

Christian Sampson 

Christian Sampson is a young photographer based in Indiana. His original work is full of portraiture, wedding and conceptual photography. However, it is a series of images he created for a advanced photography class back in 2014, titled "Visual Depiction of Mental Disorders" that interested me. This is a series of images that each identify a different mental disorder, such as Panic, Schizophrenia, Depression, Anorexia, Post-Traumatic Stress, Bipolar, Paranoia, Addiction, Insomnia, Dementia, Anxiety, OCD, Tourette's, Autism, Stutter and many more that he is in the process of making. Each of these images portray the feelings and thoughts caused by any of the mental disorders from the list above. For these images, Sampson researched into each type of Mental Disorder vigorously, so that he could portray the disorder and what it is like suffering with it, as accurately as possible. Sampson created dark and powerful images because he wanted to raise awareness for each of these disorders, but also to shock people into realising that people suffer with this every single day. Sampson's work is extreme, haunting but tells the truth about mental illnesses. 

This is the image depicting 'Addiction'. Within this image, there is a man who is blindfolded, using his entire body to pull away from strings which are wrapped around him holding him back. Each string is linked to an arm, which has a "Hi, My Name Is:" label. For instance, there is "Alcohol", "Sex", "Drugs" and "Porn". The man is tugging at these strings, and also appears to be screaming, although we cannot see his entire face. As the man is on the left side of the image, and the arms are to the right, the tangle of all the strings tying together and overlapping is in the centre. 

This photo is representing the feelings of 'Depression'. Within this photo, the model is 'drowning' under water. The model's hair is all over the place, and she is also screaming as well as holding her hands up wide spread, as to say stop. By portraying Depression like the feeling of drowning, Sampson has given his viewers a visual depiction of what certain mental illnesses can feel like. As Depression is heavy weight and draining, the feeling of drowning could mean that the individual is drowning under pressure, stress or from over thinking. 

This is the shot for 'Bipolar Disorder'. For this image, Sampson has combined two photographs so that here are two of the same model. The left side, is depicting happiness and laughter, whereas the other is screaming, showing fear and stress. This photo demonstrates the quick mood changes a person suffering with Bipolar can go through, one minute feeling fine and the next incredibly bad. Sampson has very cleverly put these two images together so that the model is sitting next to herself. The model is also hand-cuffed to herself which highlights that this is one complete person split into two. 

This image demonstrates 'Anorexia Nervosa' by using a female model who is wearing a sports bra so isn't completely covered up. The model also has lots of different tape measures wrapped around different parts of her body and overlapping, which is pulling the tape measures tighter around her body. The model is using her hands to tug at the tape measures as they are tightly wrapped around her neck and waist, but it isn't budging. This photo highlights that Anorexia makes it sufferers believe that they can always smaller. It also represents the idea and feeling of being trapped within a mental disorder. 

This is an image from my 'Mental Illness Studio' shoot, whereby I shot normal portraits so that I had a base to manipulate them within Photoshop, as well as this, I used a slow shutter speed to create a blurred effect. This is one of the images where I used a slow shutter speed, and this blurred the image so that the model looks as though they have two heads. I wanted to create an image like this to show that some people who suffer with certain mental illnesses, almost have two different identities/personalities. These images were inspired by Sampson's work because I wanted to create images that were relatable and told a story about mental disorders and how they can make people feel. 

This is one of the portraits in the same shoot that I manipulated within Photoshop. I edited this image so that it looks like my model is fading away/disintegrating. This is because, mental illnesses can often take a toll on those who suffer with them, and therefore, parts of their identity and personalities start to fade away, because they have to think about their illness. Personally, before I suffered with mental illness, I was a completely different person to who I am now. Therefore, this image portrays the feelings of losing yourself. Again, Sampson was a big influence for this shoot as a whole as I knew I wanted to create powerful images that made people think. 

In summary, Sampson's work is planned and researched thoroughly, so that he can creatively depict each Mental Disorder as correctly as he can. Sampson has created powerful and strong images that are thought provoking and meaningful. Each photo created by Sampson tells a story, and this is the influence that I have taken from him. I want to be able to create stories and messages within my images so that people can think and learn from them.