Final Images

In Comparison to Justine Kurland

This photoshoot relates to Justine Kurland’s images, because they have a similar wooded setting and are at a similar time of day, so the lighting is very similar. I have also made some similar photographs to the ones that Justine Kurland have made.

Both Kurland’s subject and my subject are stood up on a rock.

In Justine Kurland’s image she had her subjects wash their feet in the lake. However, in my image the subject was washing her hands.

In this image, I have pulled from the composition, by having a subject in the foreground, middle ground and background. I have also pulled from the setting, with the wooded area with the trees and the lake in the background.

Justine Kurland also displays the subjects in her work as runaways, so I experimented with the concept of runaways in my work, by having a subject scavenge through a bin for food.

However, I do not think this narrative of the runaway girls suits my themes of youth and identity and what I am trying to portray.

In Comparison to Jeff Wall

In this photoshoot I focussed on composition for one specific photo. I have used the composition of having a subject in the background, middle ground and foreground. This relates to Jeff Wall, because he also focusses on composition and has used this compositional technique before.

How does this relate to the themes of youth and identity?

This photoshoot relates to the theme of youth, specifically my youth, as I used to visit St Catherine’s woods a lot when I was younger, especially in lockdown during Covid. I would visit the woods a lot with my family, as we would always take my dog for walks here. This represents my identity during my youth, as this photoshoot represents an activity I enjoyed doing and still enjoyed doing during this photoshoot. It also represents a part of my identity, because it represents the people I enjoy going here with and the people I surround myself with represent who I am as a person.

Analysis of 1 Image

This photo has high levels of control, because I was able to manipulate the position and distance of not only my subjects, but myself as well. However, there was little control over the lighting, as natural daylight was used, rather than the lighting that can be found in a studio.

F Stop: f/ 4.5

Exposure time: 1/60 sec

ISO: ISO- 125

The colours in this image are not very bright, as the lighting in this image was quite dark. There are quite natural colours, such as the browns, green and blues, but the red and the yellow in the subjects jacket make the image pop slightly more, as they are quite a bit brighter and more vibrant. There is quite a lot of light tones in the top section of the frame, due to the sun, but throughout the rest of the image there is lots of dark tones, due to the shade caused by the trees. There is also a lot of texture in this photo, due to the ripples and current of the water, as well as the trees and muddy ground in the background. There is also a lot of line work in this image, which can be seen from the line of rocks in the lake and the path behind.

The composition of this subject is quite simple, as the main viewpoint is centre of the frame, and there is only one subject. However, the setting of this image makes it more interest due to the background and textures.

This image relates to my youth, because I used to visit St Catherine’s woods a lot when I was younger, especially in lockdown during Covid. I would visit the woods a lot with my family, as we would always take my dog for walks here. This represents my identity during my youth, as this photoshoot represents an activity I enjoyed doing and still enjoyed doing during this photoshoot. It also represents a part of my identity, because it represents the people I enjoy going here with and the people I surround myself with represent who I am as a person.

Photoshoot Conclusion

Overall, I think this photoshoot went well, as I was able to have a look at different compositional elements, such as the foreground, middle ground and background, like both Justine Kurland and Jeff Wall. I was also able to create a similar setting to the ones used in Justine Kurland’s work, with lots of similar visual elements, such as the texture.

However, some of the images were quite dark and had quite a blue tone, so next time I would adjust the exposure on my camera more to resolve this.

This photoshoot also presents the themes of youth and identity, in particular my youth and identity, as walking through these woods is an activity I used to love during my youth. This represents my identity, because it presents what I enjoy, which is part of what makes me who I am.

For this photoshoot, we visited St Catherine’s woods, because when I was younger, especially during covid, my family and I would go on walks here with our dog very regularly, so this setting relates to my youth and identity in particular.

Contact Sheet

The images which are highlighted green are the images I have chosen to edit, because they are my best images, with the best composition and layout. They also represent my themes of youth and identity the best.

Edits

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites and vibrancy, while decreasing the exposure, highlights, blacks and saturation. I did this, so that the image was slightly less exposed and had better lighting.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites and vibrancy, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks, so that the image had better lighting and was slightly more vibrant.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites and vibrancy, while decreasing the exposure, highlights, blacks and saturation. I did this, so that the image had better lighting, due to less exposure and so it was more vibrant.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image had better lighting.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites and vibrancy, while decreasing the exposure, highlights, blacks and saturation. I did this, so that the lighting was better.

I edited this image by increasing contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this so the lighting was better. I also added a yellow tint to the image, because the image had a blue tint originally, due to the lighting and camera settings, so I wanted to cancel that out.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image was more vibrant and had better lighting. I also added a yellow tint to this image, to cancel out the original blue tint that the image had.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image has better lighting and was more vibrant. I also added a yellow tint to this image in order to cancel out the blue tint it originally had.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I also added a yellow tint to this image, to remove the blue tint and improve the lighting and make the image more vibrant.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so the image would have better lighting. I also added a yellow tint to this image, so I could remove the blue tint the original image has.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this to improve the lighting and make the image more vibrant. I also added a yellow tint to this image, so I could cancel out the slightly blue tint the original image had.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this to improve the lighting and make the image more vibrant.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, vibrancy and saturation while decreasing the highlights, whites and blacks. I did this to improve the lighting of this image.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the lighting was better and the image was more vibrant.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image was more vibrant.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, whites and vibrancy, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the lighting was better.

Final Images

In Comparison to Justine Kurland

Justine Kurland used some male subjects in her images, so I wanted to do a photoshoot where I also used male subjects, so that I would have a range in my work. I also wanted to present a more masculine activity, as Justine Kurland presented quite stereotypical masculine activities and I have so far only presented feminine ones in my work.

In Comparison to Jeff Wall

In this photoshoot I presented the same narrative, but I focused on changing my composition throughout this whole photoshoot. This relates to Jeff Wall, as he always focuses on his compositional elements, rather the narrative of his work itself.

I also focussed on other visual elements during my editing on Lightroom.

How does this Relate to the Themes of Youth and Identity?

These photos relate to the themes of youth and identity, specifically my youth and identity, because when I was younger I used to watch my uncle add things onto/ fix his cars. I also still now watch my friends do the same thing all these years later, so this presents that my identity hasn’t altered as much as I would have thought now that I am more grown up.

Analysis of 1 Image

There was a high level of control in this image, as I was able to manipulate the position and distance of not only my subjects, but myself as well. However, there was little control over the lighting, as natural daylight was used, rather than the lighting that can be found in a studio.

F stop- f/7.1

Exposure time- 1/200 sec

ISO Speed- ISO-800

The colours in this image are not very bright colours, but instead there is lots of neutral colours, blacks and dark blues. There is also lots of different dark and light tones throughout the image, due to the sun and the shade caused by the fence. There isn’t tons of texture throughout the image, but you can see a slight texture on the ground. There is lots of different shapes throughout this image, due to the tools and wheels etc.

The layout of this image causes the main viewpoint of this image to be the subject in the centre of the frame under the car. In this image the composition has a subject in the foreground on the left, the car in the middle ground and the subject under the car slightly further back in the background.

This image represents my youth, because I used to watch my uncle fix/ add things to his car when I was younger. This also represents my identity, because it presents how little my identity has changed from my youth, as this is still something I like to watch and now take photos of. This presents that my identity is still very similar to when I was younger, but now instead of watching my uncle, I watch my friends.

Photoshoot Conclusion

Overall, I don’t think this photoshoot is one of my strongest photoshoots, because I did not display a range of different narratives, but instead only presented one narrative. However, I was able to experiment with my compositional elements, as I was only focussed on my composition, rather than displaying different narratives. I was also able to present a more masculine activity/ narrative, just like how Justine Kurland presents more stereotypical masculine narratives. I was also able to experiment with male subjects in this photoshoot, rather than just using female subjects and activities, like in my other photoshoots.

In this photoshoot I wanted to take a more masculine approach, just how Justine Kurland had the girls be more masculine in her book. I took images of my friends fixing/ adding things to there cars. This also relates to my identity and my youth, because my uncle would do this all the time when I was younger and I would watch and try to help.

Contact Sheet

The images that are highlighted green are the images I have chosen to edit, because they have the best composition and lighting.

Edits

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image was slightly less exposed, as the lighting was slightly too harsh, due to the sun.

I edited this image, by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image has better lighting and is more vibrant.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the lighting was better in the image.

I edited this image, by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image was more vibrant.

I edited this image, by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image was vibrant and had better lighting.

I edited this image, by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image was slightly less exposed.

I edited this image, by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the lighting was better.

I edited this image, by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image is more vibrant.

I edited this image, by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image is slightly more exposed, so that the lighting is better.

I edited this image, by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the lighting is better and the image is more vibrant.

I edited this image, by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image was slightly more exposed.

I edited this image, by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image is slightly more exposed.

I edited this image, by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the lighting is better.

I edited this image, by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image is slightly less exposed, so that the lighting is better.

I edited this image, by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image is more vibrant.

I edited this image, by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the lighting is better.

I edited this image, by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image is slightly less exposed, so that the lighting is better.

I edited this image, by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image has better lighting.

I edited this image, by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image is more vibrant.

I edited this image, by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image has better lighting and is more vibrant.

I edited this image, by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image has better lighting.

I edited this image, by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image is slightly less exposed and is more vibrant.

Final Images

In Comparison to Justine Kurland

These images relate to Justine Kurland’s work, as they have a similar outdoor and more cloudy weather, rather than a bright summers day. The setting of her images is important, as it sets the story of the runaway teens, so I have experimented with a similar setting to her. However, I have also experimented with more sunny images, because in my youth I did more activities when the weather was better, so I wanted it to fit my theme of my own personal youth.

I have also tried to take on board the concept of the ‘runaway’ girls by having a bag as a prop for one of my models to reach into. The bag is all she has and is and has the contents of what she uses in her everyday life.

In Justine Kurland’s images here you can see a suitcase and a backpack, which sets the scene of the runaway girls, which is what I have tried to replicate using the bag in my photograph and the setting of the photograph. The setting of the photograph looks like a place where homeless people would go to get shelter from the cold and rain, so I thought this setting would be a good place for me to try and recreate the runaway narrative.

I also wanted to include my dog in the photoshoot, just how Justine Kurland had dogs in a few of her images. I also wanted to use my own dog, as I have grown up with her and she has been a part of my youth and is therefore a part of my identity.

I also created a similar image to the photograph of the girls running down the road.

How does this relate to the themes of youth and identity?

This photoshoot relates to the themes of youth and identity, specifically my youth and identity, because my models and I visited the beach next to kiosk, which is a beach I used to go to a lot when I was younger. I also still go to the kiosk quite regularly now, so it was a great place for a photoshoot for this topic. I had my subjects pose sat on the bench on the slipway, as this is where we sit during summer, as well as up on the rocks. We also visited the shed that we used to go last summer, but it is now a lot more destroyed than it used to be, probably due to the storm, so we weren’t able to sit in their, but I did manage to get some images of us exploring it now. I also managed to get detail shots of the newspapers that were left there, that date back to 1900, which we all used to look at and found very interested during our youth.

In comparison to Jeff Wall

In this photoshoot I explored more simplistic narratives, similarly to Jeff Wall, such as just sitting on the beach, rather than having my subjects do more complex activities, like climbing trees etc. Instead of focusing on the narrative, I focused more on the visual elements in my photographs, just like Jeff Wall does. An example of a visual element that I focused on was texture. I displayed the texture in the photograph below by using the textured setting of the rocks. I also experimented with the tone and colour in this image as well, especially with my editing, by making it more vibrant.

Analysis of 1 Image

In this photograph there was two types of lighting used in this image, which was natural daylight, as well as the flash on my camera. I had to use two types of lighting, because it had started to get dark when these photographs were being taken. There were also high levels of control in this photo, as I manipulated my subjects, as well as the location and distance I was from my subjects. I did this in order to create the best composition I could. However, I had little control over the setting and the lighting, due to it being a natural environment. There are also a lot of darker tones in this image, due to the darker lighting, but because of the camera flash there were some lighter tones, especially in the clouds, which created contrast between the setting and the subjects.

There are also lots of neutral colours in this image, such as grey, blacks, white and beige, so this image isn’t very vibrant. There is also quite a bit of texture in this image, which can be seen in the shapes of the clouds and the footprints left in the sand, which gives the image a more 3D sense. The main viewpoint of this image is the two subjects in the centre of the frame in the foreground of the image.

F Stop: f/4

Exposure time: 1/60 sec

ISO: ISO-800

This image is similar to one of Justine Kurland’s images from ‘Girl Pictures,’ where two subjects are running down a road. My image relates to the themes of youth and identity, specifically my youth and identity, because I used to visit Kiosk beach and sometimes still do with my friends, which is where the setting of this image is, so this image presents my identity, because it presents a part of who I am and what I enjoy doing in my free time.

Photoshoot Conclusion

Overall, I think this photoshoot went well, because I was able to take images with my subjects, as well as being able to take landscape and detailed images, such as the images taken of the newspapers. This will allow me to be able to have a range of differing images in my photo book, so I can have a more aesthetic layout.

I was also able to explore more activities I did in my youth, or still do, which also allowed me to explore my identity during my youth and my identity and how it has changed now. I also got to experiment with my composition a little bit, by positioning and directing my subjects. However, I would like to experiment with that some more.

In this photoshoot I was also able to experiment with my camera skills, including adjusting my exposure, as it continues to get darker and experimenting with shutter speed to create movement in a few selected images.

In my next photoshoot, I would like to experiment with compositional elements a lot more, such as rule of thirds and more visual elements, such as tone and texture etc. I also want to include more compositional methods that Jeff Wall has used in some of his photographs. Next time, I would also prefer to take photographs earlier on in the day, so it is not as dark, so that the lighting is better in my photos, as I would not need to use the flash.

In this photoshoot I went to the beach near kiosk, because this was a beach I used to go to very often when I was younger, and even up until last Summer. I also go to kiosk quite often, so this setting and the activities presented here represent my identity very well. We also visited a shed that we used to go to in Summer, but it has a lot of damage now, so I took photos of the setting and us exploring.

Contact Sheet

The images which are highlighted green are the photos that I have chosen to edit, because they represent my themes of youth and identity the best, and they have the best compositions and lighting.

Edits

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image would slightly brighter and more vibrant.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, whites and vibrancy, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image would be slightly more exposed, as the lighting was not the best, as it had started to get darker.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the blacks. I did this, so that the image was slightly more exposed and slightly more vibrant.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image would be slightly less exposed, as I has used the flash, so the lighting was not the best. I also wanted it to be slightly more vibrant, so that the colour of the rocks would pop more.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I have done this, so that the image was less exposed, because the lighting was too harsh, due to me using the flash. I also wanted the colours of the rocks to be more vibrant.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, and vibrancy, while decreasing the highlights, saturation and blacks. I did this, so that the image was less exposed, because of the harsh lighting due to the flash being used.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this, because it was very dark, so I needed the image to be more exposed. I also added a yellow tint to the image, because there was a lot of blue tones throughout the image.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image was slightly more exposed.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image was more exposed and more vibrant.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the paper was less white and had more of a yellow tone, so that it would appear older.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the highlights and whites. I did this, so that the image was more exposed, so that the subjects flash was brighter and more could be seen.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image was more vibrant and saturated.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this, so that it is more vibrant.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image was slightly brighter and the paint splatters were more vibrant.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image had slightly warmer tones through it, rather than cool tones.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image was slightly brighter and the colours of the paint were more vibrant.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image was slightly brighter.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, whites and vibrancy, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this, so the image would be more exposed. I also added a yellow tint, because the image had lots of blue tones through it, so I wanted to cancel them out.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, whites and vibrancy, while decreasing the saturation, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image was more exposed. I also added a yellow tint, because the image had lots of blue tones through it, so I wanted to cancel them out.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows and vibrancy, while decreasing the whites, saturation, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that so the image would be more exposed. I also added a yellow tint to this image, because there were lots of blue tone throughout it.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows and vibrancy, while decreasing the whites, saturation, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image was slightly more exposed. I also added a yellow tint to this image to cancel out the blue tones in it.

Photoshoot Conclusion

Overall, I think this photoshoot went well, because I was able to create and present different narratives of activities I used to do when I was younger. I was also able to experiment with shutter speed in this photoshoot, so I could create movement in my photos.

However, I thought the still image walking down the lane was more visually pleasing, but I am glad I experimented.

I was also able to get detail shots, which would be good to use in my photobook to break up my images a bit.

However, next photoshoot I would need to go out a bit earlier, as it started getting dark very early, meaning I had to use the flash, which didn’t create the best lighting for the images.

Final Images

In comparison to Justine Kurland

For this photoshoot, I borrowed different ideas, concepts and compositions from Justine Kurland’s book ‘Girl Pictures.’ As seen below:

I took inspiration from the activity in this image, because I also used to climb trees with my friends during my youth. However, I had less models in my image and didn’t want to copy her image exactly, so I changed the layout in the image, by standing on the opposite side of the tree and arranging my models differently.

This is not an activity that I usually do, but I wanted to include this activity, as I feel like it is a more masculine activity. I included this, so I could use it to present a range of identities ranging from more masculine to feminine.

I took inspiration from this image, because I have done this quite often, especially in Photography in the past, so it was an easier photo to take and showed a more feminine identity.

I took inspiration from the activity in this image, because I also used to play at the park and play on the swings with my friends during my youth. However, I had less models in my image and the I chose to use the swings at St Ounes on the trees, because I thought it fit the setting of the urban woodslike areas. However, the lighting of this image wasn’t the best, as it was more of a sunny day, instead of a cloudy one.

I took inspiration from this image, as I also had two models run down a long road. However, my setting is more of a modern road, compared to the dirt road.

I took inspiration from this image, because I also used to climb trees in my youth, so these images display my identity.

I took inspiration from this image, because the setting suited the theme well and was a very similar setting to the setting Justine Kurland uses in her book ‘Girl Picture’ and the setting I want to achieve for my images.

How does this relate to my theme of youth and identity?

These images relate to the theme of youth and identity, in particular, my youth and identity. I have explored my youth in these images, because I had my models do the activities I used to do when I was younger, such as playing on the 100ft hill at the sandunes, playing on the swings at St Ounes and climbing trees. I used to do all these activities during my youth, so I wanted to explore that and present it through my work. In doing this, I also explored my identity during my youth, by reminiscing on what I enjoyed doing, what I didn’t enjoy doing and who I did these activities with. I was also then able to compare my identity now to my identity during my youth, because I was able to see if I still enjoyed doing these activities, and see if I still had these hobbies to this day, or not.

I also took inspiration from Justine Kurland’s work and borrowed ideas, concepts and compositions from her to create a wider range of activities to show case. These images relate to the theme if youth, because I have borrowed other activities that Justine Kurland presents as youth to her. I have also used my friends as models in these images, and they are still in their youth, so they present this theme of youth. These images also explore identity, because they portray more feminine and more masculine activities, so this presents to the viewer that they can be whatever they wish to be, no matter if it doesn’t follow social norms. I also presented a range of activities, so that I could present a range of different identities, even though I have used the same models. I have also only used female models in these photos, similarly to Justine Kurland, so that I could explore this concepts of girlhood just how she has in her book, because I relate to this theme of girlhood, because I am living my girlhood right now so I want to present this through my work.

Analyses of 1 Image

In this photograph the lighting used was natural daylight, but there is also a lot of shade in this image, due to the tree blocking the sun. This has caused high levels of contrast, due to the darker tones from the shade, contrasting the highlights, where the sun is coming in through the tree branches. There are high levels of control in this image, as I manipulated the positioning, distance and location of my subjects, as well as myself, in order to create the best composition I possibly could. There are also lots of vibrant colours in this image, including green, brown, blue etc, which creates a range of different warm and cool tones, which creates more contrast throughout the image. The colours are also very complimentary to each other as well, which makes the photograph visually aesthetic.

There is also lots of texture throughout this image, coming from the branches, the texture of the muddy floor and the grass which pulls the viewer into the image even more. The composition of this image has the subjects on the right hand side of the frame. The centre of the tree is in the centre of the image, with the subject sat on the tree slightly off centre and is the main viewpoint of the image.

F Stop: f/11

Exposure time: 1/60 sec

ISO: ISO-100

The narrative of this image is two young girls climbing trees, during their youth. This relates to the themes of youth and identity, specifically my youth and identity, which is what I am exploring through my work, because this is an activity I used to do in my youth. Therefore, this narrative presents my identity during my youth, by presenting what I used to do and therefore who I used to be. This also relates to the work of Justine Kurland, as she also explores the themes of youth and identity, especially in her book ‘Girl Pictures.’ She also created a very similar image of her subjects sitting/ climbing a tree, as she presents the same narrative that I have presented. However, she had quite a few more subjects than me.

Photoshoot Conclusion

I think this photoshoot went quite well, as I was able to explore my youth by presenting different activities I used to do, or still do. I also explored a range of other activities, some similar to the ones Justine Kurland presented in ‘Girl Pictures.’ I was also able to explore the theme of identity, while doing this, because I was able to present my identity during this work, as I displayed the activities I enjoy and what makes me myself.

However, it was the wrong time of day when these photos were taken as it was about 2 o’clock in the afternoon, so the lighting was not how I wanted it to be. Next time, I will aim the take photos at about 4 o’clock in the afternoon instead, so that I can attain a less exposed lighting where the sun is not shining so bright. I want to achieve this lighting, because I think it will best suit my images, but also because this is the lighting Justine Kurland used in her ‘Girl Pictures,’ and it worked extremely well.

I would also like to display more masculine activities in my next photoshoot, so that I can strongly portray that female stereotypes aren’t the only identity choice and that during girlhood my models are ‘trying on boy,’ like in Justine Kurland’s work where she explores a range of different identities. However, I would also like to display more feminine activities just as much, so that I can present a range of identities through my work, so that I can spread the message to the viewers that they can chose whatever identity they wish.

I also experimented with my composition during this photoshoot, by using things such as being in the centre or to the side, or being in the foreground, middle ground and background. However, I do think I could improve my composition for my next photoshoot, by taking inspiration from other photographers and artists, as well as using other compositional tools, such as the rule of thirds, or just using the same compositional tools but better. I also want to experiment more with visual elements, such as texture, colour, tone, light, shape, form, line, pattern and space.

For this photoshoot, I visited the sandunes. I recreated some of the activities presented in Justine Kurland’s book ‘Girl Pictures,’ as well as creating images doing some activities that I used to do in my own youth. The plan was to sledge down the 100 foot sand hill, because that is what I used to do in my youth quite a lot, but now there are signs up saying it is not allowed, so we couldn’t do that. Instead, we decided to climb up it and run down it, not only so that the trip here was not wasted, but because this is something I also used to do while I was at the sandunes when I was younger.

Contact Sheet

The images that are highlighted green are the images I have decided to edit, because they are my best images, with the best composition and explore the theme of youth and identity the best.

Edits

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, texture and vibrancy, while decreasing the exposure, highlights, blacks and vibrancy. I did this, so that I could add more warm tones and vibrancy to the grass. I also wanted to add more texture to the grass to make it more of an interesting photo, by using the visual elements.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, texture, clarity, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, whites, blacks and highlights. I did this, so that the image has less of a white overcast on it, due to the lighting and time of day these images were taken. I also wanted to make the grass and sky more vibrant, to add more colour to the image.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the highlights, whites and blacks. I did this, so that the image was more vibrant, and so that there was contrast between the dark tree branches and the bright white like sky.

I edited this image, by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the blacks, highlights and whites. I did this for a similar reason as the image above. I wanted to increase the vibrancy, so the grass around would be more bright. I also wanted to create a contrast between the darker coloured tree branches and the bright white like sky.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, whites, texture, clarity, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image would be brighter and more exposed, because it was quite dark due to the shade from the tree. I also wanted to add contrast and texture to the photo.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, white, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image was less exposed, because of the time of day the images were shot and the lighting there was a white cast on the image. I also wanted to make the image more vibrant, so the colours stood out more.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I also added a yellow tint to the image, so that the sand was more yellow, rather than more pale, so that the angel was more visible.

I editing this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, white, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the blacks and highlights. I also added a yellow tint to the image, for the same reason above.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, white and vibrancy, while decreasing the highlights, blacks and saturation. I also added a yellow tint. I edited this image in this way, so that the image was more exposed and was more warm.

I edited this by increasing the contrast, shadows and vibrancy, while decreasing the exposure, highlights, blacks, whites and saturation. I also added a yellow tint to this image. I did this, so that the image would be more warm and so the contrast between the shadows and highlights were more visible.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, texture, clarity, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I also added a yellow tint to this image. I did this, so that the image was more warm, so it almost looked like it was taken at sunset instead of midday. I also wanted to make the sand a darker yellow colour and add texture to it.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, white, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the blacks and highlights. I also added a yellow tint to this image. I did this so the image would be more exposed and so the sand would be brighter.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, blacks and highlights. I also added a yellow tint to the image. I did this, so that the sand would be darker, so the texture of the footprint were more prominent.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, white, texture, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the blacks and highlights. I also added a yellow tint to this image. I did this, so that the image would be more exposed and more vibrant.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows and vibrancy, while decreasing the exposure, highlights, blacks, saturation and whites. I did this, so that the colours in the image are more vibrant and there’s less of a white cast on the left.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, white, shadows, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image is more vibrant.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy, texture and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image was slightly less exposed, so that the lighting was better.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, texture, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing highlights, whites and blacks. I did this, so that the image was slightly more exposed, so it was a bit brighter.

I edited these images by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the images would be more vibrant.

Intention

My intention with this photoshoot is to explore the female identity and my own identity through this photoshoot as well, just how Justine Kurland found her own identity through her work. I am going to explore the female identity and present all different female identities through my work. I want to present that the female identity isn’t just what is stereotyped, but it can be whatever you want it to be. In ‘Girl Pictures,’ Justine Kurland states that, ‘Cowboys, sailors, pirates, hitchhikers, hobos, train hoppers, explorers, catchers in the rye, lords of the flies- you name it…’ She is stating that the girls in her book were all these things. She has done this, so that she can present to the viewers that they too can be whatever identity they wish to be, no matter how different or not socially acceptable it may be. I also want to present this in my work, so that I can portray to my viewers that identity is just what you make it, instead of it being what makes you.

Through this work I also want to investigate into different stereotypes and present images that oppose these stereotypical ‘norms.’ Justine Kurland presented these girls ‘in the dominion of boys’ and ‘they were trying on a version of themselves that the world has thus far shown them was boy.’ She did this, so that she could combat against female stereotypes, so that she could present to the viewers that these stereotypical ‘norms’ aren’t just what we should be allowed to be and do, but instead girls should also be able to do anything a boy can do and act in a way that a boy would. I think this is a really important message and I want to display this message well in my work, by presenting the young girls in a more rambunctious, ‘boy like’ manor, combating these stereotypical ‘norms.’

However, I want to make a twist on Justine Kurland’s work, for my own work, and I intend on doing this, by showing a larger spectrum of stereotypes, and showing stereotypes, that are not being combated. For example, I want to display these young girls following these female stereotypical norms, because I want to display to the viewers, and to all other young girls that may see these images, that your identity can be anything you make it, and you don’t have to feel like you have to oppose these stereotypical ‘norms’, if that is who you truly are and what your identity truly is.

I also want to explore youth through my work, just like Justine Kurland did in her ‘Girl Pictures.’ As I said I also wanted to explore my identity through this project, so to explore these two things I am going to be looking back into my youth, or my ‘Girlhood’ and replicating some of the activities I used to do in my teenage years. This will help me explore youth, especially my youth and it will help me explore my identity, to see what stereotypical ‘norms’ I followed, or didn’t when I was younger. This will also help me compare my identity back then, to it now. I think youth is also a really important aspect to explore, because Justine Kurland’s whole book was based off this idea of youth and ‘girlhood,’ so to also put a twist on her work, I am making my work more internal to me, by making it relative to my youth, ‘girlhood’ and my life. I also think that youth is a very important development stage, which helps to build your identity, so I also think it would be interesting to compare my youth, to the youth shown in Justine Kurland’s book, ‘Girl Pictures.’

I also want to explore and experiment with different compositions during this topic, because both Justine Kurland and Jeff Wall borrowed compositions, ideas and concepts from famous painting, such as Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe, which they both took inspiration from. I also would like to take inspiration from this painting, so I can create similar images to both Justine Kurland and Jeff Wall, but with my own spin on it. I also want to borrow compositions, ideas and concepts from both Justine Kurland’s and Jeff Wall’s images, as well as other famous historical paintings. The reason I would like to do this, is so I can pull ideas from other great pieces of art, so that I can improve my work. I also want to focus on improving my compositions on my photos and I feel this will really help me do that, as I will be able to grasp a better understanding of composition, and the features that make a good composition.

Ideas

During my review and reflect of all my previous blog posts and topics, I discovered that I much preferred taking pictures of people rather than landscapes, whether that was portraits, tableaux images, or street photography. However, I think portraiture is my biggest strength and what I enjoy the most.

I also found the topic femininity and masculinity a really interesting topic that I found I could write a lot about. I find researching and creating different stereotypes in my photographs the most interesting part, and I really enjoyed making my images fight against these different gender stereotypes. I really enjoyed this topic, because as a women stereotypes is something I hear and see a lot of and I feel like I could do a lot for this topic and write a lot about it, because it is so internal to me and my identity. I also enjoyed how in this topic Claude Cahun for example explored her identity, by becoming a more masculine version of herself and I feel like if I were to do something related to this topic I would also be able to explore my identity.

Artist Research Thoughts

I enjoy how Justine Kurland’s images are of young girls, because I am myself a young girl, so this is something I really relate to and is internal to me, so I feel like it would be easier for me to gather my friends to create similar images. I also feel like I could produce better images, as the topic of ‘girlhood’ is so much more internal to me, as I am experiencing my girlhood right now. I also like how she also fights against stereotypes, b getting the girls to ‘try on boy,’ which I feel like I would be able to do and create up to standard images. I am also going to explore female stereotypes, as well as opposing female stereotypes, because this is how I am going to put a twist on my photos, compared to Justine Kurland’s.

I am also going to be using the same photographic technique as Justine Kurland and Jeff Wall, which is producing tableaux images, that look like candid images. I am going to create these tableaux images in scenic outdoor environments and capture normal social interactions, that I would do in my youth. I am also going to pull ideas from the activities and the settings used in Justine Kurland’s ‘Girl Pictures.’

For my photoshoot, I am going to use Justine Kurland for my main inspiration, but I am also going to pull ideas, concepts and compositions from Jeff Wall and other Historical paintings. I am doing this, because both Jeff Wall and Justine Kurland pulled compositions, ideas and concepts from famous paintings.

I am going to pull composition ideas, such as the fore ground, middle ground and background, as well as using the rule of thirds and other compositional ideas, because Jeff Wall and Justine Kurland have used these compositional ideas, and I think they have worked very well. I am also going to use similar visual elements, such as tone, shape, patterns etc. that they have both used.

Photoshoot Plan

Justine Kurland- Girl Pictures

Examples of my youth:

During my teenage years, I went out with my friends a lot. Some of the outdoor places we would go, would include:

• Harve Des Pas Beach
• FB Fields
• Fort Regent
• St Brelades Bay
• Frigate
• People’s Park
• St Ouens Beach
• La Marrais
• Town
• In my car
• Georgia’s shed
• Campfire

The reason I am only choosing places which are outdoors, is because during my youth, I had more fun and did more things, while I was outdoors, instead of inside. I also wanted to keep the setting of my images still quite similar to Justine Kurland, because I think the images will relate to ‘Girl Pictures’ more, and will come out of a better standard visually.

During my youth I did many different activities including:

• Jumping off the Lido at Harve Des Pas
• Swimming in the sea
• Wave surfing at St Ouens
• Playing hide and seek at La Marrais
• Camping at St Ouens
• Have BBQ at the beach, or in gardens
• Picnic
• Get a snack/ meal
• Tan/ chill with a book
• Make a campfire

Other place ideas:

I also wanted to include settings that were used in ‘Girl Pictures,’ because I think they are visually pleasing settings, and they really help display the combat against stereotypical norms, because a dirty woods is not usually associated with femininity. Some places I have decided to include are:

• Street
• Public Bathroom
• Field
• Woods
• Barn/ shed
• Lakes/ rivers/ pond
• Mountains/ cliffs
• Walkway path
• Sandunes
• Roadside
• Under a Bridge
• Reservoir
• Rocky coast

Similar Places in Jersey:

• Cycling path along the avenue
• Snow hill, St Ounes etc.
• Field- nans garden
• St Catherines woods
• Georgia’s shed
• Sandunes
• Underground bit at harbour
• Resoviour
• Cliff paths St Brelade
• Beach
• Fort Regent park
• St Brelades campfire

Stereotype Ideas:

Female Stereotypes-

• Use of makeup in my images
• Doing hair
• Emotional shots eg. crying
• Using colours such as pink

Male Stereotypes-

• Strong eg. use of weights
• colours such as blue
• Emotional shots eg. anger and violence
• Messing around

To fight against these stereotypes, I will have girls do these male stereotypes, so that I can present girls acting like boys, as well as girls presenting as more feminine, because these were some activities I did in my youth and they just happen to be more feminine.

Narrative of different Image Ideas:

• Playing on swings in a park
• Running down the street
• Getting ready/ washing in a public bathroom
• camping
• smoking
• eating ice cream/ other snacks
• Making fires
• Shooting glass bottles
• swimming
• playing catch
• Fighting/ boxing
• Hula hooping
• Playing an instrument eg. Guitar
• Blowing bubbles
• Catching sweets in mouth
• Reading books
• Walking a dog
• Climbing trees
• Washing feet in a river
• Picking flowers
• Fixing a car
• Roadtrip
• Sand castles/ lying at the beach
• Roasting marshemellows
• Climbing fences
• Sledging down the sandunes

Tools/ props needed:

• Make up
• Perfume
• Hair brush
• Soap
• Cigerettes
• Snacks
• BBQ
• Glass bottle
• Toy gun
• Balls
• Hula Hoop
• Instrument
• Bubbles
• Books
• Car
• Bucket and spade
• Marshmellows
• Sledges

Composition

Different compositions that Justine Kurland and Jeff Wall used included compositions from famous paintings, so I am also going to pull ideas from famous historical paintings to create some of my photos. I am also going to pull ideas, concepts and compositions from Justine Kurland’s work and Jeff Wall’s work.

Some example of historical paintings that I am going to pull ideas, concepts and compositions from are below:

Andrew Wyeth, Christina’s world 1948.

I want to take inspiration from these paintings, not only because they have a good composition, but because they also tell a story, which I could tell through my photographs, but make it applicable to modern times, and to the subject of identity and youth, because that is what I’m exploring.

Pascal-Adolphe-Jean Dagnan-Bouveret, The Burial of Manon Lescaut.

For this historical painting, I am going to take a picture of the same composition and actions. I am going to have one of my friends lying down being buried, like the women in this image, and have another friend burring her, but the concept behind my photograph is going to be different to the concept of the painting. In the painting the man is burring the women after she has died, but in my photograph I am going to make a modern version of this painting, and I am going to relate this photograph to my theme of youth. I am going to do this, by having the concept of my image being too young girls playing at the beach instead, because this is something I used to do when I was younger.

Andrew Wyeth, Christina’s world 1948.

For this historical painting I am going to use the same composition and setting as this historical painting and I am going to position my model in the same way. However, I am going to try and find a daisy field, so that she could be picking daisies in my photograph, instead of the concept of the painting. In the painting, she is looking into the distance at a faraway farmstead and a cluster of structures, and she is portrays the artist’s neighbor, who was unable to walk due to polio, so she would drag herself around.

For another photograph, I am going to take inspiration from Edouard Manet’s painting above, as well as the photographs Jeff Wall and Justine Kurland have made by pulling concepts, ideas, and compositions from Edouard Manet. I am going to do this, by creating a similar setting and composition as they all have. I am going to do this, by going to a scenic outdoor area that is similar to the settings they have used, such as a woods, and I am going to use the same compositional method that they have all used, with a person in the foreground, middle ground and background.

To take inspiration from these images in the best and easiest way, I am going to print off these historical paintings and my chosen artists photos, so that I can visualise what I am trying to create while I am out on my photoshoot, and so I can see them side by side.

I am also going to be focusing on my composition quite a lot throughout all my photoshoots, as I am taking inspiration from Jeff Wall, Justine Kurland and famous historical paintings. Some examples of compositional tools I use are the foreground, middle ground, background, rule of thirds etc..

I am also going to be focusing on the visual elements that I can present in my photographs, and the visual elements that are being used in the historical painting, as well as Jeff Wall’s work and Justine Kurland’s work.

List of Visual Elements:

• Colour
• Tone (light & dark)
• Texture (surface)
• Shape (2D, flat)
• Form (3D)
• Pattern (repetition)
• Line
• Space (3D concept)