Maria Sardari | unit22

Maria Sardari is a photographer who lives in the United States of America, she is 17 years old and studies in Florida attending high school. In 2010 she received a point and shoot camera as a gift. She started off her career by doing a 365-day project, which consisted of taking a photograph everyday of the year for one year. Throughout the year she progressed her photography skills and developed her own style. She had originally started with self portraiture and then started to incorporate other models, which allowed her to experiment more with composition and the surreal aspect of her photographs.

About Maria Sardari;

Maria Sardari

In this photograph Maria Sardari has created an action shot, capturing the fast movement of the girl falling. This is effective as it captures the observer’s eye. The bright red dress contrasts the brown and maroon dark background drawing the eye to the dress and her ginger hair. The subject has been placed near the middle of the photograph to enhance the action of the photograph. The surreal aspect of the photograph is not as obvious as other surreal photographs, this is because everything seems possible rather than impossible. However the surreal aspect comes from the fact that the photograph is out of the ordinary and does not look natural. This again is very effective and draws attention to the girl. The fact that the background is out of focus makes the subject stand out more, this is essential in this photograph as there is already a lot going on in the foreground, therefore, if the background was in focus it would draw attention away from the subject.

This photograph is a physical version of surrealism, unlike Sardari’s other one. This really draws attention to the impossible aspect of the photographs, immediately drawing in attention from the observer. The dull brick wall in contrast to her white dress and tights make her stand out. It looks as if she is in a prison, and her elevating juxtaposes the metaphorical meaning that a prison is boring, with not very much to do. This photograph obeys the rule of thirds, as the focus is her face, which is in the bottom left hand corner of the photograph. The shadows also create a mysterious and dark atmosphere in the photograph, this is effective as many questions are asked and the observer is made to think more deeply into the photograph. The dark gradient of the black shadows on the left to the right of the photograph lighten, creating an effective gradient, also leading us to her face which contrasts strongly against the dark shadows behind her.