Photographer Research - Lauren Greenfield

Lauren Greenfield is a photographer and filmmaker, who concentrates on youth culture, gender and consumerism. She has produced several projects, with most of them focused on some sort of culture, an example of one of her most known project is 'Girl Culture'. I have chosen this photographer because she captures society in a realistic and subtle way, through symbolism and the use of angles. Having her work regularly appearing in the New York Times Magazines, Time, GQ and American Photo, she has to keep up with her work and produce new images quite often. Despite this, Lauren is still successful when coming up with unique photographs to display society in. She has made use of a diversity of techniques, in order to allow her pictures to come out the best they can - different use of angles is seen clearly in her work as it progresses and the angles used in each picture helps Greenfield portray the stereotype or issue in that particular image and allows her to put emphasis on it.

This photography produced from Greenfield is very typical of her work; she uses symbolism to portray stereotypes and sad truths in society. The little girl in the picture is made to seem quite comfortable where she is through her body posture; by doing this, Lauren Greenfield has communicated to the viewer that the little girl is used to this scenery, implying that she is there often and feels safe there. The shoes in the background are very feminine and too big for the little girl, suggesting that she is waiting to be old enough to wear them. This is highlighted in her posture - she is sitting in a way that looks as if she is waiting, maybe for someone or maybe for something, or perhaps she is waiting for the time to come where she can fit into the shoes, showing that she will always be in this type of scenery 'waiting' until she is old enough, and this will eventually become who she grows up to be - into fashion and with the urge to look good and wear fancy shoes. The use of colour has been thought of as the shoes and the wooden stands have been selected and arranged in such a way that they match the couch, blending in with the whole scene. This shows a lack of diversity, symbolising that the little girl doesn't have much choice when she grows up - society doesn't let her choose who she would prefer to be and what she would prefer to wear.

The angle in which this picture was taken is a very interesting one; the viewer's view of the scene is very limited - they only see a small section which is repeated through the use of reflection. Greenfield is very good as choosing angles and capturing a photograph at the correct time. In this picture, the facial expressions of the girls are similar to each others, suggesting that they are feeling the same emotions. It is clear in this scene that the girls attending some sort of event that they should supposedly be excited about, however, they don't look very excited. Greenfield is trying to show the viewer that girls in society are forced to do things and wear certain clothing that they may not necessarily like. In the picture, Greenfield has included a 'behind the scenes' section to this whole image, it is evident that the adult subject is putting make up on the little girls at the back of the car. This highlights how girls are made to wear make up and have been brought up in a particular way that they start to think make up is part of everyday life. Lauren has chosen to include this but only in the corner of the photograph in order to represent how this bit in society is hidden and barely seen; this represents the way that girls are brought up from a young age, having make up put on them and making them think they need to keep putting it on as they grow up.

Lauren Greenfield has made this picture to be extremely symbolic. The young girls in the bathroom are exactly the same ladies in the doorway, this is shown through their clothing. The young girl in the black is portrayed to be obsessed with her weight and her appearance as she is wearing what seems to be a pearl necklace that may not even be hers. She is also wearing shoes as she is weighing herself, showing how young she still is, young enough not to understand that her shoes must be taken off before stepping onto the scale. By manipulating the scene in such a way, Greenfield is able to highlight the age of which girls start to be conscious of how they look to society - an age which is too young. The young girl sitting down is watching carefully as her friend weights herself, showing how behaviour is passed along and how girls all learn from each other. The older version of the girls in the doorway are still wearing the same clothing but the lady is the black is not wearing the pearl necklace anymore; this suggests that as she grew up, she realised how she must not be so obsessed with how she look and she is looking back on her younger years, wishing she felt the same when she was younger. On the other hand, the ambiguity in the picture could also lead to the viewer understanding that the lady in the black dress does not regret her younger days, she enjoyed it and misses how she used to look, reminiscing her youth.

This picture is an usual one from Lauren Greenfield; usually her pictures are taken in a naturalistic scene or a symbolic scene, unlike this photograph which is evidently staged. The element of colour is used hugely in order to show contrast and make the picture more colourful and attractive to the audience. The blue contrasts with the gold dress on the subject as well as compliments it. The whole picture is blue or green, except the girl who is in gold, even her skin tone is of a tanned colour. This creates a spotlight on the subject, immediately getting the viewer to focus on the subject as soon as they lay eyes on the image. Greenfield has to this to eliminate all the other nurses and doctors in the room as they do not catch the attention of the audience at all, they blend in with the room and seem unimportant, which is ironic as they are the people who are saving the girl. The use of lighting has been manipulated so that the main lighting is on the subject in the middle, enhancing the golden colour of her dress and her skin. This symbolises how she has been too obsessed with her looks and her appearance that she has not been realising that she was putting herself in danger. Lauren is showing how girls are going to extreme measures in order to change their looks as they believe they are not good enough and this is damaging to their health but they are too stuck in the idea of making themselves look 'perfect' that they are not realising what they are doing to their bodies.

This image focuses on boy culture and explores the stereotypes about boys, especially those who live on estates. I have used similar techniques from Greenfield's work, by highlighting the subject and making them the main focus of the picture, however, I have not shown my subject's face as it makes the viewer curious and guess how they are feeling without seeing their facial expressions.

In conclusion, I have chosen this photographer because her work is relevant to my project and I really enjoy how she portrays the different stereotypes on young girls in a surreal way, giving her work a touch of fantasy. I have been inspired by her work and would like to explore the different stereotypes in society. Consequently, I like how she always uses a range of techniques; by doing this, she makes every picture that she takes different from each other and keeps her work fresh. I have noticed that her use of colour is also very good - it makes her work very vibrant and attractive to her viewers. This is essential in her project as she is aiming to attract people to her work and force them to concentrate on the messages she is sending across.