This image is from my mini topic of homelessness inspired by Anthony Dorman. Because it seemed unethical to take pictures of homeless people on the street, i decided to create my own by making my friends dress up in old clothing and roll around in mud. Although this shoot was fun to do, it still remains a serious topic when it comes to the final images. I believe that everyone should get a second chance, including the homeless, at life, and so i focused on 'hope for the homeless' rather than portraying them as something worthless which is what often happens. These images are highly edited, firstly by altering the colour to a brown to emphasis the dirt of living on the street, secondly i overlayed various textures to represent the idea of 'rough living'. I believe this photo was successful in portraying that. I also chose a mixed gender focus as it is important to note that women are also suffering on the streets, whereas it is stereotypically refered to as men.
I think that this is a really powerful image. I chose to do a close up of my male model, and have him stare deep into the camera, this makes the photo more personal and therefore empathic. I wanted this image to effect the viewer emotionallly as well as visually, as i aimed for the image to mean something to whoevers viewing it, as if it was a personal matter. The model has chapped lips and huge bags under his eyes to emphasise how tired and worn he felt. I decided to overlay a newspaper article about homeless people onto the image, and this worked to my advantage. I felt this made the image more powerful and solid, with no hidden meanings. Once again i altered the image to change the colour to a brown, to represent the dirty environment he was living in.
As well as focusing on models, i also wanted to try focusing on other objects or body features that could also powerfully display homelessness. I found hands to be quite good at doing so. This image is supposed to represent surviving on the bare minimum, and appreciating everything that you possess or call your own. I want people to look at this image and reflect on what they have in comparison, and hopefully this might tug on a few heart strings. I really wanted my mini topic of homelessness to effect viewers in this way, as it is not a topic to be taken lightly. I also textured this image using a seperate image of sand, and lowering the opacity so it just about shows on the hands. I also used the dodge tool to emphasise the shine on the coins, making them the center focus. If i could re-take this image i would ensure that the fingers at the front of the photo were more in focus, as i feel that this lets the image down.
Moving on on from homelessness, i then decided to focus on a subject that isnt often thought about in the UK, however it does happen. These next images are focusing on child prostitution partially inspired by Christopher Jobson, a huge issue that neglected children face all over the world. I really wanted these images to be extreme, and almost shocking so that they grab peoples attention. I used my 14 year old sister as the model for this shoot. I used dark make up to paint bruises onto her skin, and smudged make up under her eyes as if she's been crying. I also gave her a fake cigarette as this kind of act would particularly shock people. I really liked this image as it looks as if the model has been cornered, interpreting that she feels as if the worlds against her or turned its back on her. I positioned my camera so that it looks down on her, representing people looking down on her due to the state that she's in, as unfortuanetly this is the harsh reality of this issue and it does occur more often than you'd think.
This is the strongest image taken from this shoot. I favoured this image in particular as i really liked the angle and concept of the photo, as i feel that by pointing the camera up it creates more drama and intensity in the image. The models expressions displays a sense of longing and want for a better life. When editing this image i chose to make the colours dark and brown as this represents her rough life and the dirty conditions that she has to live in. I also overlayed a texture of bark on a tree, as i liked the scratches and roughness that it offered the image, as this made it more visually pleasing. If i could change the image i would edit out the hair thats above her head as it seems random and out of place
This image portrays a lot of emotion and personality. I attempted to make the model seem frustrated and in pain so that it would represent how she was feeling in her situation. I chose an image of scratched wood to overlay onto the image and i found this worked well as it helped portray the broken emotions she is feeling. Her facial expressions and particularly extreme and uncomfortable, which i aimed to relfect onto the viewer. I felt this shoot as whole was successful in portraying the issue of child prositution, i edited the photos to such an extreme to make them stand out and seem powerful and influential. I want these images to mean something to the viewer, as it is a huge issue that is continuely esculating out of our control.
This shoot represents that final issue i decided to look at; neglect. Although this isn't an issue that people would immediately think of when asked 'what are the major issues that we face today', however this issue is very personal and has affected people very close to my heart. This is something that everyone has felt/is feeling, and it can go from one extreme to the other. These next few images were inspired by Jenny Holzer through the idea of projecting words onto my models face, this reflects the models thoughts and feelings and i felt that this was an effective way of portraying the issue of neglect.
This is the text i projected onto the models face, it is a poem about child neglect:
She told her daughter she hated her and wished she was never born.
She didn't even seem to care that the child's heart was torn.
She blamed child for all of her heartache and pain.
Did she realize emotional abuse, can drive a child insane.
She said her child was the reason she never achieved her dreams.
Those words hurt her child more, than to her they may have seemed.
All her daughter wanted was her love and her affection.
But all she ever got was her mothers constant rejection.
Feeling like a lost child with no one to love.
She prayed to be taken away to the heavens above.
Not knowing why she just wasn't good enough.
Why when she needed gentleness she was treated so rough.
Wondering why her existence caused her mother so much pain.
Longing for her mother's love, she probably would never gain.
Wanting her mother to tell her she was a blessing.
That she was not the reason for her mother's stressing.
If there is a little girl out there that feels this way.
Just know you are one of GOD's Angels, and he loves you more each day.
She didn't even seem to care that the child's heart was torn.
She blamed child for all of her heartache and pain.
Did she realize emotional abuse, can drive a child insane.
She said her child was the reason she never achieved her dreams.
Those words hurt her child more, than to her they may have seemed.
All her daughter wanted was her love and her affection.
But all she ever got was her mothers constant rejection.
Feeling like a lost child with no one to love.
She prayed to be taken away to the heavens above.
Not knowing why she just wasn't good enough.
Why when she needed gentleness she was treated so rough.
Wondering why her existence caused her mother so much pain.
Longing for her mother's love, she probably would never gain.
Wanting her mother to tell her she was a blessing.
That she was not the reason for her mother's stressing.
If there is a little girl out there that feels this way.
Just know you are one of GOD's Angels, and he loves you more each day.
child abuse/neglect
child abuse/neglect
This image ended up being the image i used for my final exam. I felt that this was a powerful and effective photo of child suffering from neglect from her mother. I really liked the models eyes in the image as i felt that this makes the image more personal to the viewer, as she stares deep into the eyes of the audience. I chose a black background as i wanted this to reflect her dark past and the suffering she faced. When projecting the poem onto the models face, i wanted to make sure that important words such as 'childs heart' and 'never achieve' stood out, i did this by editing the image and using the burn tool to darken the lettering so that it stould out from the rest. Once again i chose the images to all be of dark shade of brown or grey, as i feel this best represents the mood and context of the photo.
