The title of my photo is Forced Beauty, based off the subtopic in module five that focuses on the consequences of unrealistic beauty standards on adolescent girls. I had the pleasure of accompanying my cousin to her photoshoot this past week and I captured a moment where she looked completely unhappy while her photos were being taken. The more I stared at the picture I had just taken of the scene in front of me, I was able to start relating things back to the techniques I had just learned about. The first thing I realized was that the photographer had certain beauty standards he wanted shown in the photos, but it wasn’t how my cousin wanted to be seen.
In the photo, you will see the girl laying on top of a white sheet, surrounding her are a few flowers and a candle. The white sheet was meant to represent pureness; however, the girl is wearing a black shirt which contradicts how she’ll be perceived in the photo. The first creative techniques I used was symbolism and color. I wanted to show how something as simple as the color of a shirt could change the way a picture is perceived. The next creative technique I used is angles. At the top of the photo, you will see the photographer towering over the girl trying to take her picture. Instead of her looking at the camera, she is looking in another direction and is not smiling. Instead, on her face is a look of discomfort and unhappiness. This is the key point of the photo. I was trying to capture the importance of the photographer taking her photo in that position.
The photographer placed flowers around her head with hopes that it would show a more vulnerable side of her. I believe he chose that angle so that a sense of defenselessness would be shown in the picture. She was asked to wear red lipstick after being told to take off the brown lipstick she had on at first. This red lipstick clashes with the bright red roses she was given to pose with. Red can be seen as a color of beauty, but in this case only one person felt like there was beauty being shown. My cousin having to change the way she looked for the photographer’s standards is the biggest consequence. Having to change lowered her confidence in how she looked and it was reflected in the moment I captured.
1 comment:
From: Abbey
The message in this photo is quite clear. Adolescent girls in the United States are challenged with unreasonable beauty standards that are almost impossible to accomplish. Young girls are always forced to conform to society’s view on what a girl should look like, or what is considered “feminine.” This can have devastating consequences, particularly at the expense of their mental and physical well-being. I like your use of symbolism and color in the photo, I think the color red can be seen as a symbol of beauty, but it can also be used to represent a symbol of maturity that adolescent girls should not have to show, but do anyway because they feel forced to. The angle used to show the photographer standing over your cousin represents the power he (or the “Male Gaze” in general) has over her in that moment. He can make her look however he wants, even if it does not align with what your cousin wants to look like. Lowered confidence and the feeling of helplessness is probably one of the most damaging consequences that occur due to the unrealistic and unattainable beauty standards society places on our adolescent girls. The title “Forced Beauty” is accurate because it represents what most girls have to go through on a daily basis, even if on a smaller scale. Most girls spend long amounts of time and use countless beauty products to make themselves more “appealing” or attractive to those around them. Adolescent girls only feel the need to do this because society has told them they are ugly if they don’t do those things.
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