Work Diary - Shoot 9: Signs

Evaluation 

For this shoot, I used the influence of Gillian Wearing’s "Signs That Say What You Want Them To Say" series, as well as her masked/family dress up series of images whereby she dresses and uses masks to look like her family members. I have combined the two by using signs that say depressing/negative statements, but also cover the person's face so that their identity is anonymous as the signs are meant to express something 'personal' (obviously for the sake of the shoot, they are extremely negative and exaggerated). Therefore, I set up my camera on a tripod, and changed the settings to ISO 200, F22 and a shutter speed of 1/125, and asked different models to write a negative statement on a piece of paper, and hold it over there face for the photo. Although Wearing made sure the people with the signs faces' are shown, I decided to combine her two techniques together so that my models are unidentifiable, but yet the only thing we know about them is what they wrote on the page. I also kept these images black and white to reflect the negative vibe of the statements on the signs. 

This shot was actually a self-portrait whereby I put my camera on a self-timer and covered my face with the sign. I wrote, "I'M SAD" to express a negative and depressing mood in the image, and by not showing my face shows that I do not want to be identified. I made sure I held tightly to the paper, as this would reflect my anxiety and frustration - linking to what is written on the sign. Using a black and white effect allows the full negative emotion to be felt. 

In this image, my model is holding a sign that says “I HATE MY LIFE” but in this shot it is backwards. Although this was accidental, I believe it achieves an affect on the image, as in the image, the model has effortlessly pushed the page up onto their face, and by the writing being backwards - but yet we can still read it, it emphasizes their boredom and frustration with life. Again, the black and white effect signifies the negative emotion that comes with the image. 

Progression 

For my next shoot, I plan to develop this idea of no identity, or even multiple identities through the use of different camera techniques as well as editing skills within Photoshop. If I were to reshoot these Signs images, I think I would also include photos of people holding signs, whilst showing their faces just as Gillian Wearing does, but I'd also include happy messages written on the signs too.