Thursday, October 14, 2010

Group Project Image - "Secret"

      As a group, we portrayed the word 'secret' through photographs. We worked well together, and I was especially glad that everyone in the group was responsible and did their share of work. In the photograph above, several concepts were used to help communicate its intended theme of 'secret'. 
      Firstly, the setting of the photograph helps strengthen the theme.  The photograph takes place in a corner, and the three girls are completely isolated. The setting emphasizes that the three individuals are discussing a topic that they do not want people to know publicly. Instead of a crowded area, the setting of this photograph in an empty corner helps create the theme of ‘secret’.                  
        Secondly, the point of view or perspective of this photograph highlights the atmosphere of mystery as well. Instead of taking a full-frontal shot, the photographer took this shot from a tilted angle, and the subjects of the photograph are seemingly unaware that someone is watching them. It is almost as if the photograph is taking the picture secretly – similar to a paparazzi shot.
      Moreover, the photograph is desaturated and has a sepia tone. This is done to emphasize the theme of the photograph. Instead of being transfixed on the bright colors of the girls’ clothing, the audience can focus on the human emotion and gestures of whispering captured in the photograph.
        Lastly and most importantly, the use of human emotions is significant to portraying the theme of the photograph. The girl in the middle of the group, who is receiving secrets through whispers by her friends, has a look of surprise and genuine interest. Her open mouth and wide eyes capture a certain feeling that a secret is being passed on to her, and that she knows something that she should not know. Essentially, the key component of this photograph is the use of human emotions, and how a particular look or expression captured in an image can convey its theme. To describe a theme, one can certainly use photographs of objects. However, with human emotions, audiences can almost always relate to the expression captured in the photograph. For example, the famous photograph of the Afhgan girl that was publicized through the cover of National Geographic in 1985 perfectly captured the look of suffering – the magazine states that in her eyes “you can read the tragedy of a land drained by war. “ Thus, as exemplified in these photographs, the use of human emotions can be extremely poignant to conveying a message.

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