Motherhood is nuanced, says Norman, Oklahoma-based conceptual photographer Alex Eischeid. It’s beautiful, invigorating, challenging, exhausting, lonely. Her motherhood-themed conceptual self-portraits, which she creates in her home often with her own family members, seek to assure mothers they’re not alone in their experiences, she says. “We can celebrate motherhood and laugh at all the absurdities it holds, but we can also talk about how difficult and isolating it is,” she says. “All of it can be true at the same time.”

Eischeid describes the making of her conceptual image “Groundhog Day” (above):

Inspiration: The image was inspired by the 1949 painting by Steven Dohanos titled, “After Dinner Dishes,” and draws from Eischeid’s “own voice and lived experience.”

Staging: To create the image, she had to photograph through two large rooms: her kitchen and formal dining room. “I wanted there to be a clear separation of space but paired with a feeling of chaos and tension,” she says. She chose primary colors for props that represent children not present in the photo.

Equipment: She made two images: one of herself sitting in the chair and one with the water running and PMI Smoke Ninja fog to create the look of hot steam. She used her Canon Camera Connect app on her phone to capture both images, which were made with her Canon EOS R6 Mark II and Sigma ART 50mm DG HSM lens at 1/125 second at f/16, ISO 640.

Lighting: She first set her exposure for the window light. “I like being able to see color and detail outside the window to give a sense of space and time,” she says. To light foreground, middle ground, and background, she used five Geekoto strobes, a MagnetMod Dome Gel 1/4 CTO gel, and two Geekoto continuous lights.

Post-production: First, she composited the two images together in Adobe Photoshop, taming down the glare on the appliances. She then took the image into Lightroom for global adjustments, color grading, and to add in a subtle grain. 

Amanda Arnold is a senior editor.