Looking for a new photo project? Need an idea for a school assignment? Got photographer’s block?
Anthropomorphic photography just might be your solution. Watch out for people! As humans, we are hard wired in our brain structure to seek patterns in our surroundings. This is essential to identifying threats; “I have seen that tiger thing before, it is dangerous, I must flee”, for example.
One of the greatest threats we face is, well, other people. And as such, we tend to seek the patterns of human appearance in our environment, even to the point of putting a human face on something far from actually human.
The term for this is anthropomorphism, meaning: to put human characteristics, motivations, or behaviors on something that isn’t human.
This is a built-in art skill that we all have. Use it. Find the face or human form in your world.
The easy pattern to look for is the 2 eyes and a mouth triangle. It doesn’t have to be a ‘perfect’ triangle, but merely the suggestion of these essential components of a face.
Quick hint: Look for things in two’s.
You can even make or arrange objects to mimic faces, or human forms, for fun and profit!
Remember, in art, there are no rules. But have some fun is a good suggestion.