Final thoughts

Using influences from Roland Barthes, I feel that my images will (hopefully) create an intense 'punctum' (the defining element of an image that 'pierces' the spectator) for the viewer. I cannot say what these punctums may be, as they are always subjective to each individual viewer. 

I feel that I've successfully captured subtle hints of Arlo's child innocence. I like the fact that the viewer can view the images in their own individual way, finding their own opinions of what makes each particular image relatable to childhood. As David Bate states 'the meanings of [images] are always corrupted by these processes of spectatorship, such that the viewer invests their meaning based on their relationship with the signifying element of the extant portrait'. This statement implies inherently with my project - I have created a set of images that viewers can view in their own individual way; I am not forcing them to think in any particular manner.

I hope my photographs will enable people to feel something - whether that be nostalgic, in awe, happy or sad - ultimately I have created something that everyone can relate to: childhood.

Favourite images comments

This image remains my favourite photo. I love everything about it - the shadows, his bright blue eyes, his positioning, how his monobrow creeps out below his fringe, his fringe, the small pink areas around his eyes, the introduction to his little button nose, and that fact that there's no background to distract away from him. The tones are exactly what I wanted to achieve, not too bright as to suggest an idealised view of childhood, but not too dark and dull to suggest morbidity or dullness. I love how his right eye is in complete focus, but his left eye is slightly blurred - my eyes are drawn towards his right eye, and I wonder what he's looking at or thinking. The image isn't too close up as to alienate the audience, they can clearly tell that it's a young child, and they are given glimpses of his traits. This is exactly what I wanted to achieve. In terms of child innocence, I wanted to capture his monobrow to show the fact that he doesn't care - he is too young to even notice, he doesn't have a sense of self consciousness yet, which is lovely. When he gets older he will probably hate this photo, hate his monobrow, but for now, his innocence shows his carelessness, which to me, is beautiful.

This image is very similar to the above image. This time, Arlo had had a haircut, which revealed his monobrow in full swing. I love how his fringe perfectly mimics the line of his monobrow. I love how the fringe is freshly cut, so I can see each strand, and how it isn't a complete block - the fringe is separated into parts. I like that he's looking at the camera willingly - I didn't, and never have, asked him to look at the camera, he was simply checking out what I was doing. His eyes seem a lot darker in this photo, which is strange as I hadn't edited his eyes in either photo - maybe the lighting had something to do with it? Similarly to the above image, his right eye is in focus and his left isn't. I like how the photo was taken on his eyeline - as a viewer, I feel that he's looking right at me, and that I'm on his level - I'm not to feel superior or inferior to him. The dark blue in the background on the left of the image is the only thing I do not like. I would have preferred to have gone in a little closer as to eliminate any background, however, I suppose it's not too distracting as it's one solid colour, as opposed to lots of objects or colours.

It took me a while to like this photo, and I'm still not 100% sold. My aim was to capture Arlo's dry skin around his mouth - he had a cold this day, but has also always had sensitive skin, so often has red patches or eczema. I wanted to capture this to suggest that most children get ill quite often, whether chicken pox, bugs, or allergies - it's the time when the immune system is really tested. In this photo, his dry skin is clearly agitating him as he's licking it with his tongue. He did this a few times whilst photographing him. I liked this photo best as not only is his tongue out to suggest that, but the lines and curves created on his chin interest me. I can't really explain why, nor do I know why. Maybe it mimics a funny face being pulled - I'm not sure, I supposed this is my own version of the punctum of the photo (a la Barthes). But I also like how he has a dimple in this image. Dimples are generally related to children - by him licking his rough skin, his chubby cheeks are forced upwards and a dimple is created. It's cute in an ironic way, and I like it. Once again, I'm not too keen on the background. I like how there is a subtle hint of his neck and tshirt, which I supposed couldn't be captured without some background, but as mentioned before, I would have preferred an even closer view.

I think this image represents child innocence very well. The main focus is Arlo's arm reached out, which is holding his grandma's hand. It sums up children quite well - they need to be looked after, but they also want to be looked after. He doesn't want to be alone, he needs us to look after him. The clasping of hands represents this - he is young, he is vulnerable, he needs help to grow. I also like that  he is snuggled into his coat hood, which also suggests his youth - his hood is too big for him, but he enjoys being inside as he feels safe. It is his cocoon, as is holding his grandma's hand. In terms of the photo as a whole, it doesn't abide by my "rule" of being close up. Yes, it is close, yes it doesn't show Arlo's whole face, but there is a lot of background. I suppose it would be hard to achieve a very close up image of them holding hands, with also a small amount of Arlo's face in the photo without there being some sort of background. However this is a photo I'd like to attempt again. But, the suggestions the image gives does relate well to my project as a whole.

I spent a long time with Arlo whilst he was playing. Trains are his utmost favourite things. If he could spend all day at a train station, he would. I knew I wanted to capture this obsession of his somehow. At first I found it quite hard, as he constantly moved around and it was very tricky to get a close up of him whilst playing with the toys, and to get the two things in the same shot. It was after a while that I managed to get this shot. Arlo had been playing for probably an hour, and I supposed he was tired or was slowing down, and put his head on the track to look through a tunnel which his train had just gone through. This photo was the outcome. I love how we view Arlo in close up, but through a train tunnel. His face is framed by this tunnel, and we are drawn to look through the tunnel at him. I like that there's little background, but I also like that we're able to tell that he's leaning on his hand to protect his head from the floor. I like that this photo is the most colourful, as he is playing, and generally play is colourful. It's probably the most important part of childhood.

Every image portrays some form of Arlo's innocence and youth. The whole inspiration for this project was the fact that he was the only person I took a photo of in my family who didn't care - he didn't care that I was taking a photo of him, and ultimately, I put that down to his innocence. Generally people don't like having their photo taken because they are aware that it is not their photo - someone else will have a photo of them, whether they like it or not. As Barthes says, 'this disturbance is ultimately one of ownership'. It may be their portrait, but it isn't their image - their photo was taken. But Arlo is too young to understand this notion, therefore, he doesn't care. His carelessness and innocence is what inspired me to create a set of photographs aimed around him and his life, which I feel has been captured in a subtle but effective way.

How my project could progress

Although I have captured some decent images, there are ways that I could improve the project.

For example, my main aim was to produce images that relate to child innocence through close-up photographs. As I have previously mentioned, I wanted to capture these during Arlo's daily routine, as to not bother him and to capture as natural images as possible. Although I have achieved this, there are some images that I would re-do or spend more time on. For example, the images I wanted to capture of him with a messy mouth haven't turned out the way I initially expected - they aren't as close up as I wanted, show a lot of background (even though it's out of focus) and in this case, his face isn't quite as messy as I'd like. My original plan was to capture Arlo eating a yoghurt, which generally gets quite messy, however he was ill on the day and wasn't allowed to eat yoghurt. 

I would have also liked to have captured Arlo laughing - he is such a funny boy that I don't think I've captured that part of his personality very well within the images taken so far. 

Therefore, it is indeed best to look at this project as a 'work in progress'. Time is what is needed to progress - more time spent with Arlo to capture his life. However, having said that, I do believe my images portray not only his personality, but traits that relate to child innocence that many can identify with. Such as his soft, young skin; his button-nose; his blunt fringe; etc. 

As previously said, it's up to the viewers to put their own ideas upon my images. Whatever the audience may think or feel, ultimately they are looking into the world of a young boy, which hopefully will create a sense of nostalgia.

So, overall, the project could be improved by spending more time with Arlo to capture every possible moment, whilst also ensuring I take close-ups with minimal background as to not distract away from the main subject. But I think I'm on the right track so far.

Favourite overall photos

Below are my favourite images from all of my photo shoots.

Thoughts on photos

I'm quite pleased with my photos. I've managed to capture moments I hadn't ever thought about; following my nephew around really opened my eyes up into his little world. 

I think, in hindsight, it was quite ambitious of me to have sketched out exactly how I wanted my photos to turn out. There is no possible way I can force my nephew to pose in particular ways, particularly the "crying" idea I had (to literally capture my nephew crying), as firstly, he doesn't cry that often; and secondly, if he were to cry I would be the worst auntie ever to not console him, but instead smack a camera in his face! Although it would have been a good addition to the array of different ways that Arlo represents/expresses his child innocence, I don't think it's the end of the world. Besides, this is supposed to be a "work in progress" project, in that it can be explored further afterwards.

My thoughts generally turn to Arlo himself. The photos I've captured of him show him in so many different ways - his blunt fringe, his monobrow which he doesn't even know exists, his small, button nose, his super soft young skin, contrasted with his rough, dry, eczema around his mouth when he was ill, to his vulnerability in his massive coat, his silliness with his tongue out, and so much more. I think my photos represent child innocence, particularly Arlo's, in a subtle but interesting way - I haven't made it super obvious as to what the viewers need to be looking at, or should find - they will find it for themselves. Using Roland Barthes' terms, I give the audience a studium to look at (ie, they are faced with a young boy), but the way they view the images is up to them. Ultimately, the description, emotion or feeling they experience by viewing the photos is up to them. If they find a 'punctum' (something that "pierces" the viewer) within the image, it will be of their own subjective ideas. It may be the tuft in his mono brow that curls up, or his bright blue eyes, or the way his fringe sits perfectly adjacent to his eyebrows... anything. It's up to the viewer.

So, what I'm trying to say, is that my images came out slightly differently to what I had imagined and sketched. But this is not a bad thing. I am pleasantly surprised at the subtle nudges towards child innocence in my photographs. I like how the audience aren't forced to think something - they are given enough freedom to put their own thoughts and opinions on the photos.

Favourite photos

Below are a selection of my favourite photos taken from the last three shoots. I have edited them all because, as mentioned previously, I find it easier to know if I really like a photo post-edit.

Choosing the best photos

By shooting non-stop, as my nephew moves a lot, I have accumulated a LOT of photos. It takes a long time to narrow them down. 

Firstly, I look back at my contact sheets and write down which photos I like the look of and the ones that best fit my project brief.

I then go back through the contact sheets again, re-looking at the images I've jotted down, and pick my favourites from the favourites - usually these will be the best in terms of fitting my brief, and if I have any that I really personally like.

My next step is to then open each image on Photoshop, where I have a larger view of the photos, and then if I still like them, I'll edit them. 

After the edit, I'll decide if I think they're worthy of being used.

I will show my favourites in the next post.