Lens Based Project
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Chosen Familyphoto series
photographed on a cyber shot sony camera August-September 2020 Exhibition TextChosen Family is a documentary photography series of youth culture, during the summer of 2020. The series consists of nine photos of me spending time with my group of friends, and us being our authentic selves. I wanted to highlight the development of the teenage identity and the expression of that through clothing, hobbies, and the way that individuals interact with one another. As a teenager myself, I simply wanted to photograph what it is like to be going through these life changes in the age of technology and show how that influences our next generation. The project also features a simple interview question that had a handwritten, photographed response. I am inspired by the work of Adrienne Salinger and Olivia Bee, two photographers who have used their skill with a camera to capture the essence of what it means to be young and to find your way.
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Planning
Inspiration
For this project, I researched a lot of different photographers that focus on documentary photography, as well as youth culture of the 1990s. Artists that really stood out to me while researching were Olivia Bee, and Adrienne Salinger. I was really inspired by the photographs by Salinger, and in particular her "Teenager" Series. From 1990-96, Salinger spent time meeting teenagers in shopping malls and restaurants in upstate New York, asking to photograph them in their room. The images are also paired with quotes from those in the images, talking about their life and their aspirations. She has an amazing understanding of balance shown in this photography series, and every part enables good eye movement across the image. Salinger was born in 1956 in Los Angeles, and graduated with a B.A at the University of Orgeon, and a M.F.A form Chicago Institute of Art.
My other inspiration, Olivia Bee, is a photographer who rose to international recognition very early into her career. At just 15, she was hired by Converse for an advertisement campaign. She was on Forbes' 30 under 30 list in 2016, and is an iconic artist who uses photography to share a unique perspective. She has described her photography as a form of diary, and her Kids In Love series from 2010-2014 is a beautiful set of photos, showcasing young people being themselves. I decided to draw inspiration from this series in particular because it is similar to the subject of my series as well. When researching for this project, I realized how many people have attempted to do youth culture justice, and how many artists want to accurately portray what it is like to be young. Since Bee is so young, she does a good job at documenting these experience because she has that same perspective. |
Planning SketchesThe first sketch that I did for the brainstorming of this photography project was to visualize the interactions I would be capturing on the camera. I knew that the project was going to focus on the identity off teenagers, as well as the way in which they interact with others. So in my first sketch, I wanted to focus on ways that people express themselves. I used markers to create simple, but contrasting clothing designs. I used dynamic and organic flow of posture through line to show the way the two figures interact in a natural way, and wrote some notes for myself to follow when taking the actual photo.
The second sketch in the development of this project is drawn from a polaroid photograph of myself and my friend, Giselle. The photo was taken in the backseat of my friend's car, and I thought it would be a good image to draw inspiration from in terms of the ways young people interact with each other. I thought the image did a good job showing how comfortable I am with Giselle and therefore I drew it, because it helped me visualize in my head possible techniques having to do with composition. When thinking of ways I wanted to take a picture, I wanted to ensure the sincerity of the picture. I didn't want the photos to turn out too unnatural and posed by the photographer, but as a realistic portrayal of being a young person. |
Process
Experimentation
Since this was my first time creating a photography series, I experimented a lot with how I edited my photos. In the beginning, I was unsure what software I would be able to use and what I wanted my photographs to look like in the final piece. Spending a bunch of money on an editing program was not something I really wanted to do just for this project, and so I explored the editing tools that I had more experience with. Once I had successfully imported the photos to my phone, I tried messing with Apple´s included editing features within their photo app. I did not want to change the look of the photos too drastically, because I had liked the way that the camera processed the light and color in each picture; I did, however, want to make the final photographs look more polished. I was unsatisfied with the way that my photos turned out using the tools in Apple's photo app, and moved on to the app VSCO. I have used VSCO to edit my photographs for years, whether it be to ultimately share them to my account there, or to post them on social media like Instagram. They have a selection of pre-determined ¨recipes¨ for photo editing, but for this project, I wanted to edit them myself. I really enjoyed the ease in which I was able to spruce up my photos on VSCO without having to spend money for essentially the same tools. |
Process
The first step of course was to decide where and when I would be taking these pictures. Since I wanted to adhere to documentary photography, all of the photos in this series were taken at random, when I was spending time with my friends. The decision to take a picture or to simply enjoy the moment was made based on critical thinking; I often asked myself, ¨Is this going to be an accurate portrayal of what teenagers do these days?¨, ¨Does this photo add variety to the selection of photos I have already chosen to include in my project?¨, and ¨What can I do to make this photo not only accurately portray what being a teenager is like in the 21st century, but to simply look good as well?¨. If I was able to give an answer to these questions I asked myself, then I would take the photo.
After taking the photo on the camera, I would import it to my computer through an SD card. This is when I would decide which pictures had the potential to be in my final photo series, and which I would not use because of a problem I had with how the photo had turned out. Things I looked for while evaluating the different pictures were clarity of the photo, color and lighting of the photo Since I did not have any computer software at my disposal to edit these photos, I would email them to myself and save them to my phone. Once this was done, I would add them to my photo library in the app VSCO. After this, it was then that I would email myself a final copy of the photo to be used in my project. During the end of this project, when I was wrapping everything up, I got a new computer. Because of this, I had to gain some basic knowledge skills with working a Mac book. When it was all said and done with the photos, however, I still needed my participants to complete one more task for me. The other half of this project was to complete a written response to the question, "how would you describe the things that shape your identity, and in what ways do you express that?". This writing was then scanned through the notes app and emailed to myself so that I could add it to the website. |
Compare and Contrast
Compare:
-The two above photos are very similar in terms of setting and proposed background behind each picture. From Bee's image title, we can infer that the boy in the photo is celebrating his birthday the day that the picture was taken. In my image, you see my friend Daniela and her carved pumpkin, from when we went up north together to celebrate my 18th birthday. The level of contrast, as well as relaxed expressions from both people in their respective images, allows the viewer to feel as though they are there behind the camera.
-Both artists are closer to the thematic matter they pursue: I myself am a teenager, documenting the teenage experience in Milwaukee of 2020. At the time of the Kids in Love series, Olivia Bee was a young person as well. This translates well into both photo series because it adds another layer of authenticity to the work.
Contrast:
-There is a significant time difference between the creation of both series. Bee's series consists of photos from the early 2010s, whereas my series is taken during the summer of 2020. This is important because the culture and interests of teenagers during the past decade has drastically changed, and this is reflected through fashion and beauty choices, as well as the things that people do for fun these days.
-The two above photos are very similar in terms of setting and proposed background behind each picture. From Bee's image title, we can infer that the boy in the photo is celebrating his birthday the day that the picture was taken. In my image, you see my friend Daniela and her carved pumpkin, from when we went up north together to celebrate my 18th birthday. The level of contrast, as well as relaxed expressions from both people in their respective images, allows the viewer to feel as though they are there behind the camera.
-Both artists are closer to the thematic matter they pursue: I myself am a teenager, documenting the teenage experience in Milwaukee of 2020. At the time of the Kids in Love series, Olivia Bee was a young person as well. This translates well into both photo series because it adds another layer of authenticity to the work.
Contrast:
-There is a significant time difference between the creation of both series. Bee's series consists of photos from the early 2010s, whereas my series is taken during the summer of 2020. This is important because the culture and interests of teenagers during the past decade has drastically changed, and this is reflected through fashion and beauty choices, as well as the things that people do for fun these days.
Reflection
I am overall satisfied with the outcome of this project, despite my inexperience working with the medium. This is the first time that I had ever seriously partaken in photography as an artistic medium; I have been taking pictures for years on my phone but it was mainly as a general hobby and for myself. When doing it for a real project, I was amazed to learn about the significance of photography in the art world and the way that people can so easily express themselves through the lense. Artists like Adrienne Salinger and Olivia Bee are such an inspiration in connection to this project because they draw attention to youth culture and what it is like to be a teenager. Since I am one myself, I of course am going to feel as though my experiences during adolescence are most important in life, because I am experiencing everything for the first time. Being a teenager is all about making mistakes and enjoying the little things, and falling in love and falling out with loved ones. It is the time where people set the tone for the rest of the story that is their life, and I wanted chosen family to be a hallmark of my experiences specifically as a teenager. Of course I am not as professional in the way that I take my pictures and the way I edit them, but I believe that my work is authentic and is true to the teenage spirit.
ACT Reflection
1. Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon you art work:
My photography series is similar to that of the Olivia Bee series, Kids in Love, in the way that it explores the dynamics and relationships of young people by using different levels of contrast and styles in composition.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Adrienne Salinger wanted to illustrate the identify of young person in its most vulnerable state, and so she photographed people in their bedrooms.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I can conclude that the capturing of the essence of youth has become a very popular theme in a lot of artistic work, but that artists like Olivia Bee, who is an actual young person, are some of the few who accurately portray the experiences teenagers go through.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The main thing that I focused on while conducting research for this project was to learn more about documentary photography and the essence of youth.
5. What references did you make while reading your research?
I can infer that Olivia Bee's young age whilst creating the Kids in Love series helped her capture a more authentic view of teenagers.
My photography series is similar to that of the Olivia Bee series, Kids in Love, in the way that it explores the dynamics and relationships of young people by using different levels of contrast and styles in composition.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Adrienne Salinger wanted to illustrate the identify of young person in its most vulnerable state, and so she photographed people in their bedrooms.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I can conclude that the capturing of the essence of youth has become a very popular theme in a lot of artistic work, but that artists like Olivia Bee, who is an actual young person, are some of the few who accurately portray the experiences teenagers go through.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The main thing that I focused on while conducting research for this project was to learn more about documentary photography and the essence of youth.
5. What references did you make while reading your research?
I can infer that Olivia Bee's young age whilst creating the Kids in Love series helped her capture a more authentic view of teenagers.
Bibliography
-https://www.huckmag.com/art-and-culture/photography-2/olivia-bee-spent-teenage-years-capturing-spirit-youth/
-https://www.anatomyfilms.com/adrienne-salinger-real-teens/
-https://www.icp.org/browse/archive/constituents/larry-clark?all/all/all/all/0
-https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-these-8-photographers-captured-the-youth-culture-of-the-90s
-http://adriennesalinger.net/
-https://art.unm.edu/profile/adrienne-salinger/
-https://aperture.org/exhibition/olivia-bee-kid-in-love/
-http://oliviabee.com/kids-in-love/kids-in-love-2/
-https://www.anatomyfilms.com/adrienne-salinger-real-teens/
-https://www.icp.org/browse/archive/constituents/larry-clark?all/all/all/all/0
-https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-these-8-photographers-captured-the-youth-culture-of-the-90s
-http://adriennesalinger.net/
-https://art.unm.edu/profile/adrienne-salinger/
-https://aperture.org/exhibition/olivia-bee-kid-in-love/
-http://oliviabee.com/kids-in-love/kids-in-love-2/