More work from Editorial and Advertising Photography First Years Molly Harmson and Alex Everleigh and their respondonse to the one hour Portrait Brief
13th October 2021
Jasmine Morris by Molly Harmson
When talking with Jasmine, I discovered that she is vegan, and has a love for plant-based food. During lockdown, Jasmine created an Instagram page documenting her recipes and growth with veganism and this inspired me to want to show that part of her life in the portrait.
I decided that surrounding Jasmine in nature would show the warmth and life being vegan brings to her and I incorporated her Instagram name and overlayed an image of some of her posts, giving a personal feel to my image. Her passion for nature and her social media really pushed me to think about the people I’m photographing, and I wanted that to show across in the final portrait by incorporating lots of elements of this throughout my outcome
Beth Cole by Alex Everleigh
While talking with Beth, we discussed her experience moving to uni and how she was copping with it. She informed me that it has been stressful for her, and she has had a lot to deal with in the short amount of time that she has been here. After hearing her story, I wanted to create a juxtaposition of visual elements to demonstrate the internal conflict she was feeling.
Beth was wearing simple, clean, and well-kept cloths. She spent time styling her hair and selected jewellery to match her style. Despite her inner conflict she is clearly still placing importance on appearance and how she presents to the outside world. To juxtapose this look I placed Beth in front of a slightly derelict, overgrown building that is no longer in use. This represents her inner, unseen turmoil that lurks behind her. I instructed Beth to look of into the distance. This was to give the sense that she was lost in thought, not entirely in the moment as she focuses on more important things. Using a shallow depth of field on Beth’s face allows the background to fall out of focus, which serves two purposes.
Firstly, it creates a sense of disconnection between her and the background which represents her thoughts, demonstrating that an outside viewer will not be able to fully appreciate what she is feeling. Secondly, it simplifies the background and draws attention to Beth. This reduces the visual clutter in the photograph, allowing the viewer to pick a clear point of focus without overloading their senses. The frame of this photograph was made with the intention of allowing room for text in the frame without covering key points. The circular structure above Beth’s head serves to draw the viewers eyes upwards to the free space where a title would be located.