For this project, I was to create a "Portraits with Purpose" campaign consisting of three portraits unified by purpose, cropping, composition and effects.  I was to use three portraits of different people, either capturing the photos myself or sourcing stock images (I opted for the latter).

Portrait #1.  Original photo (left) by Orione Conceição from Pexels

Once I had selected the three portraits, it was time to crop them.  The concept is that we cannot forget to breathe and relax during the Covid-19 pandemic.  Mental health is just as important as, and has strong effects on physical health.  I wanted to highlight this by presenting head-and-shoulders portraits of people taking the time to close their eyes and breathe.

Portrait #2.  Original photo (left) by lucas souza from Pexels

After cropping, there were a few little cleanup tasks to be completed, such as using Photoshop's Spot Healing Brush tool on Portrait #2, and using the same tool as well as a Gaussian Blur and a Smart Sharpen filter on Portrait #3.Additionally, I set each photo to have a smaller maximum dimension of 28 inches.

Portrait #3.  Original photo (left) by Isaac Taylor from Pexels

Next, it was on to the aforementioned effects.  I wanted to create a dreamlike, soothing feeling with these.  I first applied Photo Filter adjustment layers to each portrait, which created an almost colorized effect on the photos - I later reset these adjustment layers' blending modes to Lighten.  I next applied a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer to each, where I increased the saturation to really make everything pop.  Finally, I applied a Dark Strokes filter (from Photoshop's Filter Gallery) to each to polish them off.

I know that everything is crazy right now, and I am sure that college students such as myself are not the only ones trying to keep it together.  I think it is important to creatively express the need to destress.