Mid term evaluation

As a whole, my main aim for this project was to use documentary photography to capture the "darkness" stereotypes of teenagers/ the youth subculture, however, after doing around two/ three shoots, I decided to extend my research into youth in general, in showing the comparison between the stereotypes and counter types. This way I found I could gain a better insight in the collective identities of youth culture because there would be different perspectives.

So far in my most successful shoot has been my fashion shoot, I was able to portray to my audience the raw form, this shoot wasn't set up. In order to achieve this I looked out for different people wearing different styles of clothing and then I asked them whether I could take their photo. This shoot links very well with the photographer Ali Seglins, by not including the face in the majority of my images within this shoot, my audience are left forming a personality of them based on their clothing. The reason I think this shoot was the most successful was because I didn't set out to take it all on one day, I took photos when ever I had access to the right "look"/ subject. This as a whole makes a more "realistic" form because I was at college on all these days, I was able to choose people who chose to wear that outfit that morning- something they generally wear. At the same time this shoot also interlinks with work of photographer Gavin Watson- with these images I have shown the skinhead era through clothing such as DMs. Finally, this fashion shoot includes an image which is inspired by photographer David Bailey who captured a similar image with Mick Jagger.

As my shoots continue, I do believe it would be better to experiment more within he studio as well, this way I can show experimentation through manipulation in photoshop- for example, I can use silhouettes to show the outline of youth and my audience would be left finding the stereotype of their "identity" through their silhouette which I think may be really symbolic. Another way I would like to further my extermination in my last shoot, would be to purely use computer experiments- through typography- taking photos of subjects and using their stereotype to fill their body. The reason I would like to use these is because I think I need to further improve my techniques of manipulation, the beginning of my shoots were purely documentation and through out I hope to move more the the manipulation side of it showing how youth has progressed it has slowly changed- in the way nowadays its hard to tell what the truth is within people and what is the lies.

However, even though I have taken shoots of the counter-stereotypes and find them really interesting in gaining a wider insight of youth culture as a whole, I find the most successful shoots are my stereotypical youth culture shoots, therefore from now on I believe it would be better to go back to my original plan of purely shooting the dark stereotypes of youths. This is because I find it much more intriguing. Notwithstanding this, I also believe that this way my final series of images would stand together much stronger. Additionally, I find this topic much easier to use documentary photography instead of set up photos.
Due to the success of my shoots such as the skateboarding and Leake Street Graffiti tunnel shoots, I hope to be able to reshoot these and experiment further into my project ideas.

Shoot Nine- Silhouettes Work Diary

For this shoot, the main aim was to experiment different ways to create a silhouette photo within a studio. Even though as already spoken about in my shoot analysis, this shoot differs from the other shoots, it was purely for experimentation purposes to see whether or not it would work because whilst researching I had came across many photos which included silhouettes and I really liked it- therefore I aimed to try it out.

The technique...

The first image here shows my first stage of experimenting with the studio lighting, I had one main light with a generic soft box of and I go my subject to stand in front of it and I connected it to my camera so when the photo took the light was set off, however as you can see in the first photo, it didn't work as a silhouette and rather highlighted the sides of my subject. You can still see what my subject really looks like- seeing their facial features. Therefore, I opted to try this technique with the standard light on without using the flash, this gained the technique of the image shown in the middle above. Even though this shows the technique coming into play; you cannot see my subjects features other than their actual body, it appears quite yellow/orange which I didn't really like. A way I therefore overcame this was by turning the power up on the studio lights so it was much brighter, this therefore created the effect as shown on the last image above- this is the stage what I mainly used however the images taken with the middle light settings were also used with the use of photoshop I was able to white-balance on the levels tool.

My favourite image from this shoot:

Even though the framing of this image shows the outside of the soft box, creating a dark line of the left side of the frame, this is still my favourite image in this shoot due to the body language of my subject. In this shoot (as shown on my straight images) I used a variety of different people to test who displayed the typical youth silhouette- I also wanted to show the difference in youth through the silhouettes, yet I found this one most successful in complying with my stereotypical youth portrayal. This is because my subject was just about to put up his hood, I got him to do this because I thought that photos with his hood up would be really interesting in showing the stereotypical youth hoodie culture, yet I have found that the stage of him putting up the hood looks better.

My least favourite image from this shoot:

This is my least favourite image in this shoot because I thought that this subject having her hood up would look quite good- this is the same subject I used in one of my technique shoots at the beginning of the year gaining an image which I liked. However in the context of silhouettes, I do not think it has worked very well because the fur on the hood doesn't look as effective than it does when you can actually see my subjects. 

Overall:

I have found this technique really successful when showing the stereotypical youth picture however, I do not think it fits very well with my other shoots, if I were to do all my shoots within the studio, then I believe it would work, however the way I have done all my other shoots on location and most as documentary form, I think it stands out too much.

Shoot Nine- Silhouettes Straight Images

Camera Settings; 

Shutter Speed- 1/125

F.stop- 11

ISO- 200

For both of these images, I chose to use a stereotypical outfit of youth identity- a hoodie. For this image I asked someone who I know yet I haven't actually captured any photos of before so I wanted to try it out. I also wanted to highlight the hoodie with this subject so the way I done this was by getting my subject standing on their side and also the image on the right was taken without the knowing of the subject, he just so happened to be sorting out his hoodie yet I think the final result has worked really well. As its a silhouette I believe the idea of stereotype youth is conveyed really well in both these images because the audience are unable to form any other view of this subject other than what he is wearing more importantly the hoodie. 

Camera Settings;

Shutter Speed- 1/125

F.stop- 11

ISO- 200

Camera Settings;

Shutter Speed- 1/160

F.stop- 11

ISO-200

Camera Settings;

Shutter Speed- 1/125

F.stop- 11

ISO- 200

Camera Settings; 

Shutter Speed- 1/125

F.stop- 11

ISO- 200

Even though the rest of these images are not seen as the stereotypical youth I believe it can be seen as symbolic to the audience because it implies they want to keep their identity hidden perhaps due to be guilty. In terms of the media, when they want to protect someones identity, generally when they are a vunerable individual ie a young person, they use a silhouette so other people cannot track them and know who they exactly are. I think this technique is overall really successful in doing this. 

Shoot Nine- Silhouettes Contact Sheet

Shoot nine- Silhouettes Shoot Analysis

Even though most of my shoot are documentary style/ on location, I hope to experiment a different technique for this shoot, within the studio. The reason I have decided to do this is because I want to create a more "staged" creation of youth, just purely for experimentation reason to see whether or not it works.
For this shoot, I will be using the technique of silhouetting within the studio. Through researching, I have gained different ways in which I can experiment the creation of silhouettes. My subjects will be different people because I believe this way it should make different beliefs for my audience- giving them an outline of a person to gain a perspective on their personality rather than a lit up portrait of them.
The main photographer that has influenced this shoot is Darren Johnson who is a photographer who has experimented with silhouettes- on location, however I have chosen the studio setting because then I believe it will give me more control on my lighting.
The main aim for my work is to be able to gain at least one person who can create a stereotypical representation for my audience on youth. Furthermore, I hope to use work from my image bank to help inspire this shoot.

Shoot Eight- Graffiti Colour Straight Images.

Camera Settings;

Shutter Speed- 1/60

F.stop- 7.1

ISO- 200

What I found really interesting during this trip in Brick Lane, lots of the lamp posts, post boxes and even the electric boxes had these stickers on, even though this isn't the typical paint graffiti, I really find it really eye drawing. This is because the purpose of these stickers all around London is for advertisement purposes; yet at the same time with all the stickers put together it appears to be a sort of art. My reason behind the framing of this photo is that I wanted to have the lamppost on the right third line thus making it easier for me to also include the surrounding wall with both more stickers and the occasional graffiti. Another aspect of this photo which I believe works really well is the colouring, with the background being brown and the post being black and white outline stickers create a contrast making them stand out even more.  

Camera Settings;

Shutter Speed- 1/100

F.stop- 7.1

ISO- 200

Even though this image is more posed than my other photos, I found this a really interesting location, we were walking down an alley path and saw this door and found that it really stood around with all the graffiti massed around it. I find this symbolises youth really well in a fashion aspect. This is because I find that this image has created irony- the stereotypical use of graffiti covering the majority of the frame contrasted with the counter stereotype of what my subject is wearing. When picturing the stereotypical youth subject, the main factor which enters the persons mind is a hoddie and dark clothing, yet this subject I believe has created an opposite- for this reason, I believe this image captures the more fun and colourful side of youth. The context behind this image however shapes the more stereotypical youth context because all around this door, on the floor, there were broken bottles, alcohol, sick and even urine which I believe sums up really well the stereotypical youth of being reckless/ careless through drinking. 

Camera Settings;

Shutter Speed-1/100

F.stop- 7.1

ISO- 200

This image was taken on our way from the train station, I stepped back from my friends and looked how I could capture them, although they didn't realise I was taking this image I believe it works really well. The idea of graffiti can be taken 1 of 2 ways, it being vandalism or being art, yet I find it interesting how the person how done this graffiti, has wrote "Not Art", suggesting they are admitting the fact that it is vandalism yet they still have continued to do it. I know this because even though I haven't got more of the images anymore, around this location, there was lots of "Not art".

Camera Settings; 

Shutter Speed- 1/60

F.stop- 7.1

ISO- 200

I find this image very similar to the second image in this blog post, yet its somewhere else. Again this is a very staged image because I told my subject to stand there, the reason for this shoot including staged images was because I wanted to experiment within this shoot whether or not my images would work if they were staged and if it was successful I would carry on doing so. Yet even though I find both this image and the other image very successful in showing youth and the stereotypes I believe the best way to achieve a documentary series would be for the subject unknown awareness to be captured.

Camera Settings;

Shutter Speed- 1/125

F.stop- 7.1

ISO- 200

For this image, although it may appear to be staged, it just happened that I crossed the road behind them without them noticing and they were just stood there reading a sign and talking so I captured this photo. I find this really interesting because there is irony that I have been able to capture. This is because there is a sign which reads "controlled zone", which suggests it is monitored, yet behind it lies a whole wall spread of graffiti which in this context can be considered as vandalism on private property. I find this a really interesting image approach for the representation of the stereotypical youth because it implies that they would have seen the sign, knowing that it is controlled, yet continued to do the graffiti anyway.  

Shoot Eight- Graffiti Colour- Contact Sheet

Shoot Eight- Graffiti Colour- Shoot Analysis

For this shoot, I intend to go to Brick Lane with my friends and experiment different ways to use youth with the combination graffiti.
In order to achieve this shoot, I hope for to just walk around and about Brick Lane in order to capture different locations with the same people. The friends I will be taking all have different dress sense which I think will be useful in my final products. The reason I have aimed for this to be a purely coloured graffiti shoot is so I can experiment between the different editing- later on this project I hope to create a black and white shoot.

I do not think most of this photos will result in showing documentary/ candid because I will set most of these images up, however in some cases I do think I should be able to gain candid photography.

The main technique I will use in this shoot Depth of field. This shoot is purely a trial shoot so later on in the project I will be able to build on this shoot to improve on it- using more techniques.
Personally, I do not think this shoot will be aimed purely at a photographer I have researched however the ideas I have gathered for this shoot are shown in both my 30 Image Bank for this whole project but also the image bank for this individual shoot.

Shoot Seven- Destruction within Youth culture- Work Diary

For this shoot my main aim was to show the destruction that youth commit, as shown in my Image bank, through researching the London Riots, I wanted to gain a set of images involving bold fire being the main factor in the photo. To complete this shoot, I decided to invite a couple friends round my house on Bonfire night- 5th November to have a bonfire and take photos of them.

My favourite image from this shoot:

I find this image really interesting because the main focus is the fire- the way I wanted yet either side of the frame we see the arms of my subjects which I really like. The reason I wanted to frame the "over the shoulder" shot in this sense because the audience can see my subjects watching the flames- watching the destruction they have created (it was my mum who actually done the fire yet without context the audience would be unable to tell this. Another aspect I like about this photo is the glare on the subjects fur of her hood. Furthermore the subject on the right has patches on her coat which I find interesting because it counter stereotypes the meaning behind this shoot- destruction is associated with the "typical" youth/ teenager, someone looking for trouble yet this view stems an image in the audience mind of a hooded youth, however through the use of a patch shows how it isn't just "hooded Louts" who cause this. Another reason I have chosen this photo for my strongest image in this shoot is because the camera setting I used (a long shutter speed) created the strong strip of flame across the centre of the image- showing the small sparks that come out connected into a line.

My least favourite image from this shoot:

This photo was taken very early on in the evening- the fire had only just recently started so the glare of flames is limited. Even though the audience are still aware that this is fire; it would have been a better photo if the flames were more visual. Furthermore, this image shows my subejcts, yet they do not appear to be happy in being there- them standing far away from eachother suggests a lack of friendship which isn't what I wanted for this shoot. Furthermore, I find this one of my weakest images due to the camera settings resulting in a darker photo- even though you can make out the subjects, it is hard to see them as it's dark.

Overall:

Overall with this shoot i am not really happy with it as I do not think it work as well as I had hoped it to. I do not think the view of a stereotypical youth culture representation. I think to improve this shoot it would have been better with a tripod because then I would have been able to control my camera settings.

Shoot Seven- Destruction Straight Images

Camera settings...

As a whole there is a running theme across all my images in this shoot regarding the camera settings I decided to use, for example a long shutter speed; this enabled me to capture the movement of the flames exaggerating the flames state. I also used a dramatically high ISO this is partly for the fact that this shoot was done at night so it was quite dark but also for the fact that a high ISO ensures grain in my photos which I thought would have helped with a "grungey" impact on this series of images. 

Camera Settings;

Shutter Speed- 1/12

F.stop- 4

ISO- 6400

Even though I had aimed to capture subjects within this shoot, I still thought it would be really interesting to capture photos of the fire on its own. This is because it meant I could show the damage with out the subjects being present within my photo. Even though it's just some fire within a bin, I find this image really interesting because the longer shutter speed enabled me to capture more of the movement of the flames which I think is really intriguing. Additionally, the holes at the bottom of the bin is also really interesting because it shows the damage the fire is doing to the bin.

Camera Settings;

Shutter Speed- 1/30

F.stop- 5.6

ISO- 6400

For this photo, I had planned to capture the emotion of my subjects through the glare of the flames. I think this image is really interesting because it shows a lack of care to the fire, they do not care they are in the presence/ creating something with the power of strength which can create a mass of damage. I find this helps symbolise the stereotypes of youth because it suggests they do not care that their actions can have a massive impact upon some one else. 

Camera Settings; 

Shutter Speed- 1/30

F.stop- 4.5

ISO- 6400

This is an image I had planned to take of just the fire, however I had accidentally also included my subject, however, I decided to still include this photo in my straight images because I find the atmosphere of this photo really interesting for my audience to read in to it. 

Camera Settings;

Shutter Speed- 1/5

F.stop- 4.5

ISO- 6400

I decided capture an "over the shoulder" shot of  my subjects because I thought this was an interesting approach in displaying to my audience the counter stereotype view of youth, in this photo alone, you are unable to who my subjects really are, it is as if the audience are with my subjects standing there watching the fire- as if this photo breaks the forth wall which I find is really interesting. Another aspect of this image which is really interesting is the way the subject on the right has a patch on their arm which could have a connotation for my audience that they are part of a youth culture, these patches were highly popular in the Mod era where being part of a youth "gang" was massively important.

Camera Settings;

Shutter Speed- 1/30

F.stop- 4.5

ISO- 6400

The main reason I find this photo so interesting is due to me having a long shutter speed on my camera, it mean that I was able to capture the movement of the flames but also the sparks coming off the flames- moving around the garden. Also, I really find interesting the position I have captured my subjects, my audience may read symbolically into this photo.

Shoot Seven- Destruction- contact sheet

Shoot Seven- Destruction- Image Bank

As already spoken about within my shoot analysis for shoot seven, I have chosen this shoot upon the mediation of the London riots. Teenagers were looked down upon during these riots negatively by the middle class, without the input of "yobs" themselves as an attempt to make teenagers appear worse than they really are. Therefore, even though I know full well that all youths do not behave in this manner, I hope to extend this stereotype by using the main factor within all the images shown above- fire. In all my image Banks, I generally talk about each individual photo separately, however, for this I have decided to talk about them all together due to the linking between them all. Even though it is clear I would be unable to recreate these images exactly because I wouldn't be able to go back in time to these London riots/ wouldn't be able to visit any riots in time for the end of this project.

The most interesting parts of this photos are the ones that include silhouettes because it means the audience are unable to work out who is who/ cannot see their identity. I also find these photos intriguing because the camera has been focused onto the light of the fire rather than the subjects making the flames look even more intense. The first image in this image bank is of the police defending part of London which I find really intriguing because it shows the attempt of protection yet fire is still there- the police aren't stopped the damage- just trying to protect any more. I find this interesting because all of these images shown above were gathered from news resources showing that the media wanted the audience to find this as distressing as possible- in order to form the stereotype of youths because no good and untrustworthy.

Shoot Seven- Destruction- Shoot Analysis

Within this shoot, I intend to explore ways to display to my audience the destruction the youth culture can cause. Due to a lack of access, I wouldn't be able to capture factors which I would want to such as the destruction caused by graffiti- darker images shown on my image bank. However one fact I can gain access to is fire. Within my image bank, I have discovered different photographers who show youth through silhouettes created by fire which I find really interesting.

Darren Johnson as shown in my research log is the main inspiration for this shoot because he shows different settings as backgrounds with youth silhouettes in the foreground which I find really interesting. Another photographer which has inspired this shoot is the work of Richard Sandler (also shown on my research log), even though the photographer takes images differently, the use of editing is really interesting which I can take from.

The techniques I hope to use in this shoot is the use of movement in the flames and also depth of field, showing the fire in the foreground and the subjects in the background. Even though the fire will be set up, I will have my subjects standing around but won't tell them when I will take the photo.

The main inspiration for this shoot is the news coverage of 2011 London Riots. Mediation formed a huge stereotype upon "Yobs" during these riots as a form of ideology of protection, an attempt of scaring families in order to keep their children at home and "tamed". As shown in the newspaper front cover on this blog, you can see the destruction that is being caused and the implication that the subject is the one who created this fire. Even though I do not have access to take photos of the riots- obviously as it has already occurred and also I can't take photos within a riot due to lack of access but all danger. So I hope to take the factor of fire to create a negative view of youths within my audience. The reason I have chosen this for this shoot is because even though these specific riots occurred in 2011, the view of youths being destructive (as the ones in the riots newspaper coverage) is still relevant today.