Project Image Bank

This image shows us a young boy and girl sat together outside whilst the girl smokes. I enjoy how this image captures an everyday, ordinary side of youth as they hang out together, yet still captures the stereotypical rebellious youth as the girl is smoking. This image could also symbolise relationships as it features a boy and a girl, however the girl's back is facing the boy and he is looking away from her so this could be negative.

This is an example of location portraiture featuring youth, which is something that I may explore throughout this project. This particular image features a young male pulling a cheesy smile. This represents him as carefree and slightly innocent, which reflects a gentler and less-represented side of youth.

Within this image we can see 7 different people, all of whom are youth. They all have different styles which can relate to their identity, and so this image shows us how unique everyone is and how young people represent and express themselves through their appearance. I like how this is against a black background so that the people in this image stand out even more.

In this image we see a group of young people hanging around with instruments. Without the instruments, a group of young people gathered around could be seen as negative and have connotations of gang culture. However, the addition of instruments and the happy expressions on their faces make this seem much more innocent and fun.

I enjoy this image as it shows two girls who appear to be dancing and having a fun time, yet there is not a crowd around so it is likely that this was a more relaxed and intimate scenario. As a result, this image can show what youth do in their spare time and show the stereotypical partying youth, yet it doesn't show an extreme/exaggerated version of this.

This shows an explicitly rebellious side of youth as we can not only see this boy smiling, but we can see that the walls around him are covered with graffiti. The surroundings seem messy and unorganised and so could connote how youth are lazy and are careless. It could also suggest that youth are creative and express this creativity through graffiti. 

The girl in this image is hanging over the side of a tall building, looking down at the street below. This image therefore holds connotations of adventure and a sense of being carefree as this could be quite a dangerous activity, yet she seems to be relaxed doing this. The way that she is looking down at the street could suggest that she is watching the world go by.

This image represents youth quite well as it shows everyone in this image having a fun time and letting loose - this was taken at a concert. As it was taken at a concert, it could connote how music can be used to escape reality and be free as everyone in this photo is having fun and doesn't appear to be caring about what anyone thinks as they are too into the music. 

Another example of location portraiture, this image features a boy who is sat on the floor with a moody expression on his face. This could connote how youth are rude and miserable. I enjoy how this image most focuses on the style of this young man as it captures what is fashionable for his generation.

We can tell that music is important to the girls in this image as the wall behind them is completely covered in posters of different bands. This gives the viewer an insight in to what bands are popular with the current younger generation. We can also see what styles are worn within youth as we can see the girl's outfits and the way that they style their hair. However, there are three girls in this image and so the posters only belong to one of them. This is what I find interesting about this image as we do not know which girl this room belongs to.

This image shows a girl who is stood with her arms straight out, staring at the camera with a deadpan look. The way that her arms are stretched outwards could suggest connotations of jesus on the cross, which could therefore imply that this girl is religious. Behind her we can see the bottom of what we can guess is a cross, furthermore proving the religious connotations of this image. 

The girl in this image both conforms to and rejects stereotypical femininity. On the first hand, we can see her looking into a mirror and applying make up which is typically a feminine activity. However, she has short cut hair which goes against the stereotype of being 'girly'. The girl in this image has clearly decided on her identity and is expressing it through her appearance, without fear of not looking 'feminine'.

Like in the image above, this girl also goes against the stereotype of being a 'girly girl' as she is wearing a baggy shirt, no make up and has her hair messily tied back. This could suggest that conformity to gender stereotypes is becoming less and less common and that people are beginning to dress however they wish. Therefore, youth are becoming more free.

This image shows two girls dressed up nicely, whilst they appear to be drinking slush puppies. The bright colours of the drinks contrast against their dark/monochromatic outfits, therefore creating contrast and making these colours pop. They also contrast against their outfits as the girls are dressed quite fancy, but are drinking slushies which could be considered a casual activity. This image is more editorial than the others on this image bank.

The boy in this image appears to be lighting a cigarette in his bedroom, and so this shows two rebellious acts taking place. The first is that he appears to be quite young and is smoking a cigarette and the second being that he is smoking inside, which is a very uncommon activity in todays society. Therefore, this represents the youth that are rebellious and also careless.

This image shows a group of youths in the back of a car, climbing over each other and having a laugh. Whilst this shows youth having fun and being carefree, it could also show them as being dangerous and careless as they are throwing themselves around in a car, which could be distracting the driver. This could connote how they are living in the moment and not caring or thinking about future consequences. 

This image shows a young girl in her bedroom - taken in the 80s. This lets us not only get a feel of who this girl is by her clothing, but also by seeing the way she decorates her surroundings and expresses herself in this way. The fact that this image was taken in the 1980s gives us a historical document into fashion and what was popular with youth in this time. It captures the girl's life as a teenager and her identity just in this snapshot.

This image was taken within a store and so was in a relaxed and calm environment. The girl in the image is holding a bunch of hula hoops around her, which could show how youth try to find fun in the simplest of places. It could also have connotations of youth and childhood as these are typically toys that children play with. We can also get a sense of this girls identity as the jumper she is wearing is covered in artwork, and so we can assume this is an interest of her. 

Within this image we can see how technology is a big aspect of today's youth. The group of young people in this image are posing for a picture - or 'selfie' - on one of the girl's phones. This is a big phenomenon within the younger generation of today and so this image represents that well. We can see different ethnicities within this image as well, which shows that issues such as racism have been overcome and are not so prominent within youth.

This image shows a hand sticking up their middle finger. This could show an aggressive and rude youth as this is quite an aggressive action. We can see the reflection of a male in the bottom right, and so this could conform to the male stereotype of being abrupt and 'macho'. 

The young woman in this image is curled up with her face hidden behind her legs/arms, which could connote that she is shy and perhaps trying to hide herself. However, she is making eye contact with the camera which makes the viewer feel like they are making eye contact with her as well. Therefore, it may not be that she is shy but that she is mysterious. 

The girl in this image appears to be carefree and relaxed as she is sat on top of a counter. The black and white effect of this image makes it seem softer and therefore makes the whole image feel calm. The way that the tones of the woman are darker than the rest of the room makes her stand out even more against the rest of the image. 

This image shows a young woman laying on her bed, looking at her phone. This image as a whole conforms to the stereotype of femininity as it uses pastel colours such as pink, green and white and the girl is wearing a feminine outfit of a skirt and vest top. In a sense, this image is overly feminine and so could have been set up purposefully to connote this.

In this image there is a group of young people sat in a row on the wall. The two people we can see in full view are male, and both have very different appearances and body language. The boy on the left seems cool and relaxed, and is styled in a way that - at the time - would be quite popular at the time. The boy on the right, however, seems to be younger and is hunched up in a ball, which could suggest that he is shyer and perhaps more reserved.

The purpose of this image seems to be to showcase this boy's personal style and to show how unique each individual is as this look is personal to him. Although the image is in black and white and so we cannot see the colours of his outfit, we can still clearly see the style of clothing he is wearing and so we can get a sense of his personality through this.

The two boys in this photo are very chilled out as they sit together on a sofa. We can see that the boy on the left is smoking, which could be seen as a rebellious act and therefore conform to the antisocial/rebellious stereotype associated particularly with young males. However, the two boys do not seem to be rebellious or aggressive as they are simply sitting together on the sofa and so this could simply be a habit of the boy rather than him acting out.

The girl in this image is laughing into her hand as she sits in the back of a car, holding a drink. As it is night time and the girl appears to be having fun, it can be assumed that the drink is alcoholic as drinking alcohol is widespread within youth culture. Looking at this girls style, we can see that she conforms to the feminine stereotype of liking pink as she is almost entirely wearing this colour. 

In this image we can see a boy stood in front of a hedge of flowers, wearing two jackets over his head. The use of a narrow depth of field brings the viewers attention entirely to the boy, and the fact that he has two coats over his head could be argued to be the punctum of this image. People often pull their jackets over their heads to protect them from rain, and so this action could be conducted to hide or protect him.

Like one of the previous images, this features a girl stood in her bedroom. This image was taken at a long shot so that the girl was entirely in frame, and so that we could see more of her room. The state of her room is messy and unkempt with barely any decoration, and so this could be a reflection of her life in that it is perhaps busy and cluttered.

Whilst she is not doing anything out of the ordinary or rebellious, we can get a sense that the girl in this image does not conform to social norms as she has heavy dark make up and is wearing  black jacket with a skull on the back. Not only does this give her a dark look, but it definitely goes against any female stereotypes.