22/01/2024
๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ'๐ ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ ๐๐ ๐๐ถ๐ป'๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐:
๐ฌ๐๐ฎ๐ป ๐ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐' ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐น๐ณ-๐ฃ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ ๐ฃ๐ต๐ผ๐๐ผ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ
๐๐ฎ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐จ๐๐จ ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ผ๐ง๐๐ช๐๐ฃ๐ค, ๐๐๐๐ฉ๐ค๐ง-๐๐ฃ-๐พ๐๐๐๐ ๐ค๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ ๐ค๐ก๐๐ง๐จ
Young artist , a Bachelor of Performing Arts Theater Student in Bicol University College of Arts and Letters (BUCAL), is a theater arts performer, filmmaker, and Vice-President of Ad Astra - Bicol University Film Society for the academic-year 2023-2024. also a well renowned Self-Portrait Photographer. Started from being the favorite one in his family to be photographed, to discovering his love for the craft of photography in his high school years, he still managed to keep on creating for the love of his craft. From having doubts to consider himself as an artist, to even the self-portrait photographs as an art itself, he overcame some of the hurdles he faced. He took me on the obstacles of journey from finding his distinctive niche, to the negative factors that he experienced in this digital age that he faced not just as a photographer but also as a creator.
๐๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ก๐ถ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ
โI usually create concept shoots, na minsan dark or minsan sa kung ano ang nararamdaman ko and โyun, dahil na rin sa research ko, dun ko na rin naintindihan na ay baka nga artist din pala ang tawag sa ganitong ginagawa koโ , Yuan said.
Finding his own niche was not as easy as it was, because of the stereotypical aspects of being a photographer. He questioned himself at the start since what he would capture is not the typical type of photographer that would capture landscapes, sceneries, and portraits of other people. But still, he continued to stick with capturing Self-Portraits because it is where he can express himself in a visual manner.
โNag focus na rin ako sa ganon, sa pagiging Self-Portrait Photographer kasi mas nae-express ko dun โyung sarili ko visuallyโ, Yuan stated.
Sorelle Amore, another Self-Portrait Photographer that he adores, quotated/said โDonโt compare yourself to othersโ. This is one of the lessons that he truly cherishes in maintaining a humble ground to his craft, because every artist has their own style in whatever craft theyโre in. In a way that he himself always innovates, such as not sticking to a specific angle for all of his photos to doing concepts that were based on the different experiences that heโd gone through such as being broken-hearted. In having a background as well in theater arts it made it easier for him to express those emotions like love and pain, in a type of art form in which if we would take a look at it, is not really directly implied.
๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ก๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ฆ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ
Of the several photo shoots that he did, one of the concepts that he was most proud of was when he created a concept shoot that he did during the pandemic. At that time, a series on Netflix was on trend on social media entitled โGirl From Nowhereโ, with a whole set of photos inspired from each episode of the series in which he only edited on the editing app โPicsartโ. However, it caught a lot of attention, after he posted it in his social media accounts, it received various compliments from netizens.It boosted his confidence to keep on creating self-portraits to edit the photos in an editing app on his phone; there were still people who loved seeing the works he posted.
โFeeling ko yun yung first ever photo shoot ko na nag boom na parang nag boost talaga sa confidence ko na okay, diba โPicsartโ editor lang ako, though self-portraits [lang] ako. May mga taong nagugustuhan ang mga works ko, so Iโll keep on creating more kasi bet nila. So nakaka-proud sya for me kasi that time, ano lang ako, for fun, wala naman akong ine-expect and parang gusto ko lang i-express rin ang sarili and nagandahan [lang] ako sa seriesโ.
This comes to say that his followers and reactors played a huge part in the confidence that he needed in still continuing his craft until now.
๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ฐ๐ต, '๐ง๐ถ๐น ๐๐ป๐๐ฝ๐ผ ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ด๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป
Every artist out there deals with creative burnouts from time to time may it be within weeks, months, and even some a year. With Yuan, his ritual in dealing with this is by eating and doing some of his favorite hobbies to do which is binge watching K-dramas, BL series and films, until new inspirations come up. Another thing that he does is scrolling through Pinterest. He would just take down notes of the different concepts that he would like to create in the near future.
โAnd also, Pinterest kung nawawalan ako ng idea, nagno-notes lang talaga ako, kahit โdi ko pa magagawa ngayon [like kung] ano ang balak ko in the future,โ Yuan added.
And when it comes to struggling with these creative burnouts, he said; โIt will just pass, since itโs also a process. It will not stay there forever, but it still depends on you as a person you need to move, you should not depend on the number of days, and even to other people. Because that is just the process of life, it will just flow, you just really have to move on at some point.โ
โIt will pass, proseso lang โyan eh, hindi ka naman mag i-stay forever, although ikaw din as a person you need to move, hindi ikaw pwede umasa sa panahon, โdi ka pwede umasa sa ibang tao. Though ano lang โyan process lang โyan ng buhay, dadaloy lang โyan. kailangan mo rin mag move talaga.โ
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ง๐ต๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐
With the soaring use of AI, this has been one of the biggest threats to every creator / artist out there. This trend made many people try AI by editing their photos into a 90โs version of themselves, it gave Yuan the inspiration to do a concept shoot entitled โDo you Think AI is Better?โBut this actually triggers him, that if this new kind of technology would go on in the future, this may lessen the value of him as a photographer as well as to the other creators like him.
โSo lugi ako, wala na akong trabaho in the future, pano โyung iba na โyun ang trabaho nila, โyung editors na nagka-cramming , nagpapakahirap mag-edit eh may AI lang pala so ano na silbi namin. So, parang it's also one of the problems sa ating mga artists, mga creators na, โyung technology natin is umuusbong na pero โ wag naman sana dumating sa point na pati โyung mga totoong tao na mga artists mapalitan na ng mga AI na ito.โ, Yuan expressed.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ก๐ฒ๐
๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ
โRight now hanggang sa end of December kasi may mga planned photoshoots na ako, Iโm just planning to create and create more hanggang sa ma-improve ko โyung craft ko kasi dumating din ako sa point na nagsawa din ako sa mga puro close up shots. So, starting 2023, nag-experiment ako sa whole body shots. Kung tripod lang kasi, โdi ko nakukuha ang tamang angle, gustong- gusto ko din kasi ang kitang-kita ang haba ng legs, eh โpag self -portraits, since mag isa ka lang, mahirap siyang makuha pero ngayon Iโm trying my best na makuha ang mga whole body shots and for more improvement, gusto ko din lumabas sa comfort zone ko na backdrop-backdrop, studio setupsโ, Yuan explained.
โMay mga gusto akong ilabas na emotions and alam ko kaya ko siya ilabas sa photography. Kasi, โyun naman ang best asset ko, โyun yung best weapon ko in releasing my emotion. And, I hope malabas ko โyun sa photoshoots ko para din ang mga tao, โyung mga viewers ko, mga reactors ko, is maramdaman din nila ang mga emotions na gusto ko iparamdam. And yun din kasi ang kagandahan ng photography, kasi kahit walang words, walang voice, picture lang, you can already depict an emotion, a story from that. And sana yun ang tumatak sa mga tao in the upcoming years sa mga photoshoots na ire-release ko. Sabi nga diba nga nila โA picture is worth a thousand words.โ, Yuan shared.
Nonetheless, with Yuanโ s dedication and perseverance, he is definitely a force to be reckoned with in the craft of Self-Portrait Photography.
๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฟ & ๐ฃ๐ต๐ผ๐๐ผ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ: Genesis Mark "Gen Arc" Arcueno
๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ: Joshua Lim Dayandante
๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐๐๐ถ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐: Sofia Jubel Amaranto
