DNTM5

#DNTM5 I want to start by saying I knew when I submitted this photo not everyone would get it, and the judges may not appreciate the risk I took here especially if they don't see the metaphor, but I told myself if I played all stars I wanted to take risks and deliver AI art that I was proud of, that told better stories, and that pushed the boundaries of the game. This is still my favorite ever concept I have done. I shouldn't need to explain, but the photo is not a literal interpretation as most editorials are not literal. The theme asked us to tell a story of the morning after a big party, so instead of going the solo cup/confetti route which to me doesn't read like a luxury party, I decided to tell the story of the true consequences of the wild night. The model wakes up, heads to the bathroom remembering all the mistakes he made the night before. As the sun comes into the room and he goes to get ready for the day, he looks into the mirror but all he sees is the inner monster he feels like. Vampires often symbolize addiction given the whole 'can't control their thirst/impulses' which is something I have had to deal with with a lot of folks in my life. So he looks into the mirror and sees this monster who can't control his impulses and regrets the sex/drinking/indulging he did last night, but life must go on and he has to go get ready for the day. It is not a literal reflection. And if you notice there is no actual blood outside of the reflection. The reflection is the metaphor and everything outside of that is the 'real life' part of the shot. Top model had a lot of these types of photos where the models would have to pose for two or more separate shots that were then cut together in production to make the photo. We haven't really done that in DNTM so I wanted to push the boundary. No matter what the judges think of the photo I am proud of it because I worked hard on it, and I think the story is pretty compelling.