An old saying: “Pictures are worth a thousand words.” Although it sounds cliché, it is true in the context of photography. Photos are used to convey messages to the audience in a non-textual fashion. However, photos can be made stronger when certain words are added. These words can give the audience an interpretation of the photo they never expected. Using Barbara Kruger as inspiration, I took a total of 22 studio photos. 22 may seem like a limited amount, but each studio photo is taken after detailed posing directions.
There are three differently colored selections. The green selection: photos that are not aesthetic or hard to express a message. The blue selection: photos that are decent but could be stronger in expressing a message. The red selection: photos that have good aesthetics and can strongly convey a message.
Green photos are photos that would definitely not be considered for the final presenting part of this project. They are photos with no subjects. They are photos with failed or blurry poses. There are 5 green photos out of the 22 photos.
The blue photos are good photos, but they are not the best in exemplifying my starting point of signs and messages. The poses of the subject might be relevant to the message in mind, but they are not the most convincing. There are 8 blue photos out of the 22 photos.
The red photos are the best photos because they have good aesthetics and lighting/tone. The poses of the subject are to the point and accurately convey the message I am trying to communicate. I will consider these photos for my final presentation project. There are 9 red photos in total. There are so many red photos because each photo belongs to a collection of similar photos. For example, the first 3 red photos looking down from the top of the contact sheet belong to 1 collection. Red photos 4-8 looking down from the top are also a part of 1 collection. After selecting photos from the red selection, I decided to edit my photos based on my starting point: signs and messages. In total, I have three different photo collections.
- High PH
Sometimes, we experience a moment that can be represented in a single color. This photo collection focuses on the color pink. The main elements that were focused on are color, form, and depth. Color is the main aspect of this photo collection since the entire photo collection is based on one color. Aside from the pink background, the most interesting aspect of the photo is the subject in the middle of each photo. They give the photo more character as opposed to just a pink background. Noticeably, the subject in each photo has a different opacity or depth. In the photos at the side, the opacity is low, while in the middle photo, the opacity is high. This emphasizes the middle photo. In addition, each photo has a single word with an exclamation mark, giving each word a little bit more excitement. However, the photo collection only makes sense when photos are put together side in a particular order so the individual words form a sentence. This photo collection relates to my starting point of signs and messages because it conveys a specific emotion and message to the audience. It relates to my inspiration for Barbara Kruger because it has text captions, something you will rarely see in photography. These photos were taken with a Nikon D750 in the studio at ISB. I named this photo collection “High PH” because the photo collection looks like a PH-level testing paper when placed in acid, which turns pink. This is very applicable because the audience of these photographs is most likely going to be students. So, they will need prior knowledge in order to understand how the name of this photo collection correlates with its visual appearance.
2. Reality Show!
Using photography, we can communicate issues in our society with fewer repercussions than if we were to communicate them verbally. Out of the three photo collections, this one is the most prominent because its messages are heavy in nature and make the audience think critically. The main elements used in this set are color, form, and shape. The color of all of the photos is black and white. This was a stylistic choice since brightly colored photos would allow the audience to be distracted from the messages. There, the black and white color was used to highlight textual messages. The form is very important in these photos since it is what gives each photo a story. The characters in each photo have a distinct poses. These poses help convey the message in each photo. Characters’ positions/actions in each photo are symbolic of certain events that happen in reality. However, when accompanied by the black-and-white tone and critical text caption, these everyday events seem all the less ordinary. They become somewhat surreal. Furthermore, the shape is an important part of this photo collection because it is how the form of the subjects relates to the text captions. Randomly putting text captions on the photo will make the photos lose their aesthetic appeal. Therefore I decided to place text captions at a place on each photo that looks the most cohesive. For example, I put text captions vertically in photos with a portrait or square frame. I put text captions horizontally in photos with a landscape frame. Overall, these photos are the most representative of Barbara Kruger’s style since they have a black-and-white tone with red and white captions. They connect to my starting point because they convey messages about society and psychology. As a result, I decided to call this photo collection the Reality Show!
3. Only human
For this photo collection, there is only one main subject. I decided to take photos of him while he showed different facial emotions. To accompany his emotions, I used different color filters that were available to me. For example, the first on the left has the subject showing a neutral expression. In this photo, he is wearing a mask, so his facial experience is even more indistinguishable. In the middle, he is showing a hearty expression. This can be interpreted in many ways, but this photo’s main purpose is to show that the subject has the ability to show emotions. Also, the subject is not wearing a mask in this one, so the audience can see their facial expression. Lastly, the photo on the right shows the subject’s angry face. This is supposed to represent a human’s ability to express strong emotions, something that essentially makes us human. I believe color, form, and line are elements that play a big role in this photo collection. The color is important because it emphasizes the emotion being conveyed in each photo. The subject’s facial expression and position have everything to do with form, so therefore it is also an important part. Finally, line plays a role in the cohesiveness of the photos because the text caption is aligned directly above the subject’s head. This photo collection relates to my starting point because it conveys the message that all humans have the ability to feel emotions at different levels. The inspiration that was used when taking these photos is Barbara Kruger’s use of text captions.