In my 'Study of Portraits' series, I reflect on the emotional vulnerability I experience towards revealing my sexuality. I explore connections between identity and disclosure by using portrait photography. The weight of my own guilt and anxiety is demonstrated as I suppress my emotions within a box or through another man’s figure. The work developed is greatly inspired by Irish-born painter Francis Bacon who is well known for his use of raw and unsettling imagery. Bacon expressed his homosexuality within portraits of his companions, John Edwards, and George Dyer. Within these paintings, Bacon exploited oval circles or geometric shapes to paint boxes to resemble a cage surrounding the figure. I imagine this symbolises a reflection of his life filled with tension and emotional fragility. I draw a great amount of inspiration from Bacons painting style and the complicated relationships he had with his sitters. As a painter and photographer, I wanted to create a work that used cameras to investigate the link between the two mediums. During this three-part series, I experimented with several photographic techniques such as the use of long exposure, studio lighting and using a darkroom to convey the qualities of a painting. I believe visualising portrait photography as traditional paintings widens an understanding of each piece. Familiarising and questioning the subject introduces a more intimate relationship with the viewer. Each piece functions as a mirror to capture attention to the beauty of aesthetics, reflections, lighting, and geometric shapes found beyond the frames which involve the viewer and their surroundings.