Assignment 02

I had every intention of photographing strangers faces, but something happened that got me thinking.
My boyfriend had a study group over, so I asked if I could photograph them and 3 out of 4 said no. I wanted the photos, so to make them more comfortable while still getting my pictures I instead asked if they minded if I took pictures of their shoes instead.
I think that shoes can tell a lot about a person.
Are they clean? Have they traveled far? Do they look for comfort or style? Are they new or old?
A shoe tells not where you’re going, but where you’ve been.
I know this was a bit of an abstract approach to the assignment, but I thought it was interesting.

First attempt at getting portraits during a hockey game failed because a). it was cold, and b). it was COLD. So, I sat out in my hallway until some neighbors passing by were willing to participate.

In my experience, it was hard to find individuals who did not want their photos taken. In this age of social media, people are flattered when someone wants to take their picture. Also, I made sure to let them know that this was for an assignment, and because of that people felt safer having their image taken.

For this assignment I just wanted to take basic portraits – I wasn’t trying to go with anything fancy because I actually prefer a basic portrait over something more elaborate. One thing I found interested was that if someone was on their phone when I approached them, they were more likely to say no. If they were walking without headphones and looking up when they were walking, it was easier for them to see me coming and it was a better interaction. Regardless, it certainly forced me out of my comfort zone.

The following pictures are the strangers’ name, followed by a single word describing how they claimed to feel at that time. Each picture was quickly taken once, as to avoid being an inconvenience. Walking up to a stranger to ask for a picture was a very strange experience for me, but I think explaining my project made the situation a little easier. I think working the interaction into just casual conversation made it easier for me, and that’s how I determined each title, by asking how they felt that day.

Taken on Perkins Ave Old Town, I took a bag full of fun hats with me to have people wear if they wanted.