What a project! These are people from all walks of life. When I was first assigned this project, I wasn't sure what theme or subject to focus on. I brainstormed for a few days, looking at few artists, then it finally hit me. I was going to photograph homeless people. My strength diminished from when I was writing the proposal to when I actually had to drive and photograph these people. I started having negative thoughts running through my head, what if I get attacked? or what if one of them has a knife? and many more. Then I remembered, yes I do have to be careful like anyone would be meeting strangers but these are human beings just like me. So I decided to just conversations with each one, get their name, and try to understand them better before popping the question of , "May I please take a photo of you for a project?" This strategy worked better than I had imagined. I met the nicest people ever and who were so willing to be part of photography journey. I asked each person's consent and they all said yes.
My passion for cultural photography is what drove me to capture these photographs. I didn't want to capture the homeless characteristic, I wanted to capture the person. I didn't tell anyone of these people how to pose or smile or any of that, I captured them just the way they are. I tried to capture the moment they looked to me so I capture that "human" part within the eyes. I really wanted to focus on the eyes because they are so powerful, they are strong, telling, genuine, and so many more. I decided to work just the faces so I really just captured close-ups of their faces. My post-production work included a lot contrasting, brightening some of the photos, and making them black and white. Most of photos spoke for themselves and I didn't want to overdue them. My question to my audience is "What's the photo communicating to you?"
My passion for cultural photography is what drove me to capture these photographs. I didn't want to capture the homeless characteristic, I wanted to capture the person. I didn't tell anyone of these people how to pose or smile or any of that, I captured them just the way they are. I tried to capture the moment they looked to me so I capture that "human" part within the eyes. I really wanted to focus on the eyes because they are so powerful, they are strong, telling, genuine, and so many more. I decided to work just the faces so I really just captured close-ups of their faces. My post-production work included a lot contrasting, brightening some of the photos, and making them black and white. Most of photos spoke for themselves and I didn't want to overdue them. My question to my audience is "What's the photo communicating to you?"
A photograph is a beautiful thing but without light, it's nothing. For this project, I had the opportunity of working with light in portraits. I discovered that lighting is everything. A picture captured in the same place can convey different emotions based on the light position or angle of the photograph. Another thing that made this photoshoot a success was my relationship with the subject. Photographing someone you know or establishing a safe environment for your subject can help the photographs come to life!