These first few weeks have been really beneficial for experimenting with ideas. The subject research has helped lead this project as I now have a good understanding of people in their 20’s and what comes with it. This has helped me photograph not just as a photographer documenting a scene but also with empathy to their situation. From visual research I have experimented with techniques and I now understand what doesn’t work. The theoretical research has showed that I need to look deeper in these photos and the way I am shooting to really engage with the viewer.
At the start, my shoots lacked much context. My idea was simply to shoot people in their 20’s. In the last shoot taken of a group of girls living in a university house it worked better as they were in their own environment and therefore a lot more comfortable but the lack of engagement between me and them makes them lack any emotional value.
So my next steps are to focus on portraits of people in their own environments. My theoretical research about environmental portraits inspired me to experiment more with this idea. The places people are and the items that surround them will add this context my work needs. I can shoot im their bedrooms, workplace or just places they feel most comfortable. I also have thought more about the age I am shooting. The differences from someone aged 20 to someone who is 29 is obviously going to be significant. That is almost a 10 year age gap so it is very expected that these people will be living different lives. Instead I am going to start to focus on people from ages 23- 26. It is a smaller age gap but from experience there is still a lot of changes in their lifestyles. This is also the age of people who have recently left university which from research I think is important to include as it is a difficult stage of life.
Lucy Davis 