Shoot One - Work Diary

For the first shoot of my project, I decided to focus on two girls sitting together in a relaxed environment. By shooting in this scenario, it would show the real side of youth as it represents what they do in their everyday lives. My aim for this shoot was to capture more candid images rather than ones that seemed to posed as I didn't want to set anything up for my images - I wanted to get snapshots of genuine moments. I felt that I was successful in this as, for the majority of images, I did not ask the subjects in the images to pose for pictures or direct them in any way. In this sense, I feel that this shoot links very well to the work of Musa N. Nxumalo and I am pleased with this as I really enjoy his work and find a lot of inspiration from it. The few times I did direct the images, I was not a fan of the outcome in terms of what I was looking for and the style of photographs I wanted to take.

Camera settings: 1/125, ISO 400, f8

The image above is my favourite from the shoot. It is a raw moment of a girl looking through her belongings. We can see the mess around her on the floor which connotes a carefree attitude and suggests that she was perhaps too indulged in what she was doing to see what was around her. This image also suggests innocence and nostalgia as she is looking through her "memory box" and so is reconnecting with her childhood.

I did not like this image. I felt that it was too posed and did not fit the theme that I wanted for this shoot. I do not feel as though you can get a feel of her personality or who she is as a person as she is just sitting there drinking. I wanted my images to capture some form of genuine emotion but as this image was more posed than the others, it is not successful in this. 

Shoot One - Straight Images

In this image we can see two girls - one sat at a table, one on the floor. I think it is interesting how they are both dressed in dark clothing as, along with the black and white filter, it creates an extreme contrast between them and the rest of the room which really makes them pop and stand out in the image. We can see that the girl sat on the floor is drinking and so this image has connotations of drinking alcohol, therefore linking to the rebellious youth stereotype. 

I like how this image shows a more vulnerable side to youth as we can see the girl invested in looking through the box on her lap, and so she is being completely natural in front of the camera. This is a raw moment that happened during the shoot and so I feel that this image is possibly the most relatable. Not only this, but we can see clutter around her such as crisp packets, bottles of drink and bags which could connote how this girl does not care about mess.

I enjoy how this image is quite fun and quirky as the girl in the photo is posing for the camera whilst wearing sunglasses and holding a bottle of drink. This could imply that the girl is feeling completely comfortable infront of the camera and therefore is being silly and messing around. The punctum of the image is that she is wearing sunglasses as she is inside, and so it could be suggested that she put them on as a joke or specifically for this picture.

I find the use of tones interesting in this image as there is a high contrast which makes the darkness of the boots stand out. This then brings attention towards this area, making it the focal point. By doing this, it can show what is fashionable within youth and document their style. Not only this, but we can see cups of drinks on the floor which could imply alcohol consumption.

What I like about this image is how relaxed it looks as the girl is laying on the bed and using her phone, seemingly ignoring the camera. This could hold connotations of social media/technology and the influence it has on young people today as it could be argued that the girl is too invested in her phone to realised that the photograph is being taken.

This image also connotes how technology is an integral part of youth as the phone in her hand is the most focal point of this image. The way that the girl is covering her face with her hand could be in attempt to hide her face from the camera, which could suggest that she is camera shy or it could connote that she is trying to hide her true self.

I like how this image is different from the rest of this shoot as it was taken outside at nighttime. I also enjoy the grainy/blurred effect of this photograph as it makes it seem quite old and vintage, which could connote how youth and their culture does not really change over the years. I enjoy how there are lots of dark tones as it makes the image seem more gritty overall.

Shoot One - Contact Sheet