Shoot 4

After the third shoot going so wrong, I was able to reorganise it with the same people, and managed to get all their photographs taken. This time, I had a metz with interchangeable brightness settings which meant I could position the subjects the usual 3 feet away from the camera.

The images were all taken in the same room apart from the one of the teenage boy. This creates a consistency of colour and context of location within the photographs, and by changing the whereabouts of the camera for each subject, each image remains individual. I feel that this also links the women together, forming some sort is visual communication between them all and it isn't hard to come to the conclusion that all of these women know each other; due to the homely setting it feels like a relaxed and friendly gathering.

The images of the older lady didn't work as well as I had hoped, especially as I really liked the image from the previous shoot if only it was closer. The two of the lady within this shoot, she has here eyes half closed and it looks like something medically dangerous is happening to her. Not quite the neutral facial expressions I had hoped for, and so I haven't printed these out large.

This image has a lot of texture, particularly in the skin of the subject due to her age. She's fairly central which means that the viewer can't really deter their eyes away from her, which is strengthened by the strong eye contact. I personally believe that because the woman is older, a viewer is more inclined to look her in the eyes out of respect. 

The radiator, curtains and the slight hint of a plaque or decoration gives the image a homely feel, which without, the subject could be seen as rather judgemental and even disapproving due to her facial expression having a slight smirk.

These features of the image, however, do not deter the focus from the woman due to the background being out of focus.

These images are shot in a style very similar to the works by Alberto Monteraz with the head and shoulders shot with a slightly out of focus background. A difference is, however, these images are shot indoors rather than outdoors. He, like me, doesn't use professional models which means that the expressions are often quite neural. The difference is I use people I know, whereas he uses complete strangers. I would be unable to do this because of social anxiety, and so I feel taking pictures of people I class as my non-biological family is more appropriate to me.

This image is of the woman above's daughter, playing with the theme of family. The image is a little dark, despite using the same settings as all the other images. While I did ask her to have a neutral expression, she appears to be slightly sad, however this could just be her normal resting face. the background has images of children that the viewer can slightly see, which enhances the theme of family.
Her skin shows some signs of ageing which further suggests that she has had many experiences in her life, which to me, as the photographer and being younger than her, is an interesting factor to this image. I have yet to overcome the difficulties that come with ageing.
The photograph has a good amount of headroom, which allows for the subject to fill the whole frame at a comfortable distance and composition.
like the image above, it has a homely feel to it. This is due to being hot in the same room, a living room with personal furnishings.

This image is again fairly similar to those above. The lighting seems brighter than the image above which makes her face a lot brighter. This is how I intended the light to look because it makes sure that the focus from a viewer is on the woman and not the background. The logo on her jumper indicates to the viewer a hint of her personality, which I don't mind since I have changed my idea and the theme is more about family and relationships rather than hiding an identity.  It states that the company is based outside, suggesting a country life for the woman. Her shoulders protrude from the edges of the image, however rather than making the image seem uneven it helps the viewer form an image of her by showing her body type in comparison the the other women, especially as the image was taken from the same distance as all the others. 

This image is my favourite from the shoot. It was taken an hour after the others and in his own bedroom, which suggests a lot about his personality. The blue walls show masculinity; a stereotypical 'male colour'. The colour works well this his grey jumper, blue eyes and cool toned skin, making the image feel whole. You can see a plate on the side of his chest of drawers which shows a slobbish personality, something also very stereotypical for boys of his age.

His body language tells us he doesn't really care for being photographed; his slouched shoulders and head pushed forwards rather than sitting with an upright posture makes the image have a very relaxed feel, with lack of care. This gives an insight to the boy's personality. 

His posture creates deep shadows in his neck particularly, which shows him growing into a teenager and into a man.

I feel that this is the strongest image because of these codes of masculinity.