Connecting Essay Two

I found this image on the internet when looking for inspiration for my shoots. The photographer has used possessions so portray the whole idea of journey as well as try and communicate to the viewers about the subject's possessions. From this image, the viewer can imply that the subject has been to India and America but is a British Citizen, evident from the passport. The compass is ambiguous; it could suggest that the subject is a male as a compass is normally associated with males, especially those who hitchhike and camp a lot. This gives the viewer an idea of the subject's personality and hobbies without actually including them in the image. The whole image shows contrast through the colour of the notes, as the passport and the compass are quite dark compared to the rest of the image. By doing this, the photographer ensures that the viewer immediately focuses on the passport and then the compass, before focusing on the rest of the notes and trying to work out the context. This is done through the use of colour, where the photograph places the object with the darkest colour where he/she wants the viewer to focus first. This is a smart technique which allows him/her to manipulate the image is such a way that  they can control where the viewer pays attention in the photograph when they first look at it.

This is my image from my shoot, where I focused on possessions/objects, which show the theme of journey. I have used the element of colour a lot here, in order to make the image more attractive and makes it seem as if there are a lot of objects present. I placed the brightest objects closer to the camera and the darkest ones further away, this is so that I can focus on the brighter image and blur the background in order to create depth and give out a 3-dimensional feel from my image. There are also some objects in the background that have quite bright colours - I have done this so that the viewer pays attention to the whole image rather than just the parts on focus. Although the objects in the background are not associated with the theme of journey, I have still included them so that the image looks less staged and more realistic so that it allows the viewer to connect with the subject more, as they can see the environment that the subject is in rather than just the objects portraying the theme of travel. The sunglasses imply that the subject is a female and from the watch, the viewer can understand that the subject is stylish and travelling with other people, due to the fact that there are 2 passports.

In summary, both images use colour as a way of manipulating the picture and control what the viewer pays attention to when first looking at the image. Despite this, the angles in which the photographs were taken are not the same but they still achieve the same techniques. The picture from the internet has an angle which allows the viewer to see the objects clearly and judge the subject from this, deciding on their personality. On the other hand, in my picture, the angle has allowed me to blur out some objects, which enables me to prioritise some and prevent the viewer from working out too much about the subject. For example, from the first picture, it can be implied that the subject is a British Citizen through the passport. On the contrary, in my picture, the passports are not clear enough for the viewer to find out where the subject is from.