task three - teen obsessions!

brainstorm…

i made a brainstorm to prepare myself for the task, i also did it to put myself in order, and know where i am going with the project itself. i know that i have to end up with 5 final images but i didn’t know exactly what i’d want them to be on. so when making my brain storm, i had to figure out different areas of my specialism i could use as potiential ideas to cover and take photographs of. below you will see a picture of me making my brainstorm, aswell as a picture of the final piece.

why social documentary..

i have chosen social documentary photography for my specialism. this type of photography can be emotional, realistic, and is often focussed on small things aswell as worldwide issues. to me, the small things are what i’ll be pointing out. i’m going to take photographs of different emotions, and problems, the two will link by what the problems make the emotives like. the reason i choose to do social documentary is when researching the topic several ideas pondered into my head of aspects i could cover. aswell as the fact, when i looked at photographs produced by  social documentary photographers by using google’s search engine, i felt alot of them weren’t really my cup of tea, and several weren’t really to do with the 21st century, after figuring this out, i thought there seems to be a space in the genre where i could fill it. By thinking this, it made me more determined to make the pictures i take more related to the century we are now in. for example it made me consider taking extreme actions and focusing on things like smoking, drug abuse, and problematic issues that the younger generation face today, and that werent such a bad thing 30 odd years back. i thought by doing this i can in a way show how each generation changes, and show how the importance of an issue or a variety of them can become both minor and major in a short space of time.

i wanted to say there is a photographers who’s work i’m really keen on but i’d be lying if i said there was because the topics they have focused on aren’t really what would attract me to a photograph, i like deep, engaging images that make you intrigued and wonder what the story is behind the image.

creative thinking..

when thinking of what topic i will choose in the social documentary category, i thought about doing something that would appeal to me, after all i am the one creating the images and it’s important for me of all people to have a strong opinion on the topic as well as having a good feeling of the photographs i have captured.

i thought about several topics like anorexia, drugs, relationships, fashion, all the kind of things that are major issues and importance’s to a teenage audience. i know that the older generation feel that their sons/daughters/nephew/niece etc.. are too obsessed with their image, reputation, and the way their peers judge and perceive them. i know this isn’t just the case for younger people but the issue is higher for them than it is for adults, so i thought obsessions are a big thing. i came about the idea of doing it on teenage obsessions, things that we all love, but how would i figure out what teens care most about? i went around the college asking friends of both sexes and asking people i was unknown to, but as you can imagine people weren’t as freely spoken about they love to a complete stranger as i would have wanted them to be. after not much success, i searched google to find an answer. it came about that the new generation are ‘obsessed’ with drinking,  socialising, sex, drugs, music, makeup, and fashion etc.

after figuring out the areas in which road i will need to go down, i had to think creatively how i am going to make these obsessions be shown in a still image. for the likes of some of the loves it was much easier than others..

my magazine…

I have been hired by ’Sugar’ magazine to supply 3-5 images of teenage obsessions, whether they are good ones or bad. I have decided to take photographs of things i feel and other teens think they are obsessed with. my purpose of taking these photos is for me to then show them ‘Sugar’ magazine to make teens more aware of the problems obsessions have on us etc.. The context my photographs should cater for a teenage audience as the people who by ‘sugar’ our girls aged 11-18. Another reason my pictures will appear is to show what the younger generation feel like and get up to, aswell as make people aware that obsessions have a major impact on each individual in some way. And every obsession can have a minor/major effect on our emotional feelings and perspective of life.

test shot #1

i brought alphabet spaghetti from sainsburys & decided i would write some words that refer to a teenage audience on a piece of toast. i chose to take a picture like this as i thought it would be imaginative and original as it’s an unusual idea. i also decided to do a test shot like this as i thought it’d be fun to make which it was aswell as it would attract peoples attention because it is not a typical photo. the picture i feel show’s creativity. this is my test shot #1. i put my message across that being that sex, drugs and rock n roll sells to us teens, i thought by putting it on something so creative, the message would come across as funny aswell as relate to the people it is meant for, that being us youngsters.

originally the photo was like this^^, but the spaghetti juice made the toast all soggy so i have to move everything onto a new plate and not include so many bits of alphabet spaghetti.

test shot #2

this picture was originally three seperate photos as shown below. i edited the contrast and brightness on all three, added in unusual features to make the picture seem more dramatic, and spice things up. the image show’s individulaity, which i feel is something teenagers these days lack. when walking down the highstreet every teenage looks pretty much the same, whether everybody has caked on makeup, white foundation lips or similar clothes from popular retail shops. to me, this pictures show’s a way of standing out. if you look closely at the image you can see, one side of the face is suttle makeup, that including bronzer, clear lipgloss and a small amount of mascara, whereas the other side is much more dramatic as it has red lipstick, red cardigan, pink flower, and heavy eyeliner. i combined the images. the big flowers show confidence, something not many teenagers have much of in themselves. below are the three separate pictures that haven’t been edited and put together, you can see the difference photoshop makes;

this picture was the less dramatic side, it shows how we all come across everyday and how we never really think outside the box. the fashion side is grey as it shows how dull it can be seeing the same thing all the time.

this picture is bright, colourful and dramatic, it’s basically the opposite to the other photograph. it was made to show what a change a touch of makeup can do, and how a change of coloured clothing can tell alot more about someone. teens are so self concious on what other people think, but really everyone is out to outdo everyone elses style. bright colours show statements, a persons appearance can tell you alot about someone..

i personalized this image, added buttons onto the cardigans, and enhanced the makeup and jewellery that little more to show the difference in a wider scale. i did half the face natural looking with ample amount of makeup and then the other side with that little more and less suttle. the reason for doing this, is to show how teenage girls can hide behind makeup, and let it speak for them. it also shows what a big difference the little things in life can make.

test shot #3

below is the original, by looking at the before and after you can see how much of a difference editing a photo can do.

it is a well known fact that adolescence can be for many, a time of emotional turmoil and stress. in the pre teen years, boys and girls experience a huge surge in hormones, development of the major sexual characteristics that we associate with men and women and start the process of the final stage of separation from family and local neighborhood. it is for these and many other reasons that there has been an increase in the number of teenagers who engage in self cutting behaviors.

it is said that the reason this self harming behaviour happens is because it reduces their anxiety, to allowing them to feel a sense of control over their bodies when they feel they have no other kind of control over their lives. others state that it expresses emotional pain for which they have no words or that pain is better than feeling nothing. one of the most worrisome things about self injury is that it can become addictive.

i chose to do an image like this as it wasn’t until i was researching teen obsessions, that i saw how big this one is on the list. in ranked in about 5th place going up against, underage sex & drinking, music, fashion, weight etc. i made this photograph using ketchup and a knife. i adjusted the colour saturation to make the blood look more real and spookier.

test shot #4

i took this picture of my friend charlie. my reasons for doing a picture like this is because these days our laptops and computers are what us teens all live on. whether it’s social networking on facebook, twitter, myspace, or chatting to our friends on msn, it plays a big part in our daily lifes. i choose to take the picture with NME cuttings on his wall in the background as it makes it relate more to the target audience. i also chose to take it infront of the clothes in the background as it’s a typical teenage bedroom, and also shows him doing work.

test shot #5

my aim of doing this picture was to show how self concious girls are about their weight, most people see themselves as fat (right picture) whereas it’s all in their heads and they’re actually looking like skinny (left picture). some people have anerexia in their head.

test shot #6

i went by the little old river in thorley and saw all the mould and lime-scale on the chipped painted bricks and walls. i made my friend sit down by it and position her head as if she was sad and ready to jump off. i wanted to show that life has an effect on everyone and the things in it, whether it’s from a person to an object around a little river.

this picture has had several adjustments made to it, from sharpening to blurring to changing contrasts and curves. my main purpose of editing this photo was to really show the lime-scale, the sticks, and brightness of the girls hair against the background itself. i thought by brighting things up it would show a contrast of the colours.

what i’ve learnt;

theres three things that make a good picture, them being the lighting, the photographer, and without a doubt photoshop.