Visual Analysis of a Photo

http://www.instituteartist.com/exhibition-Girl-Culture-Lauren-Greenfield

     For my visual analysis, I chose the picture above as my subject. I thought this photo really portrayed how young women believed they should act as they mature, and how wrong it is of society to push these views onto young girls. 

     First of all, lets look at some visual strategies that Lauren Greenfield used. First, she made sure the angle of this photo was head-on, so we could see the personalities of each girl. They are all framed so one girl is not the center of the attention, but all of their facial expressions are on the same plane. We are supposed to be drawn to their faces, which is dominant in this picture. These girls are just about to go into eighth grade, yet some of them appear ready for high school. The balance feels thrown to the right, as we are drawn to the girl in lavender more because of her interesting choice of facial expressions. The contrast appears to come from the position of the girls and what their dress color is, as the darker colored dresses are on the outside. Everything in this picture appears to be on the same scale, as all the girls are roughly the same height

     Next, I will analyze the photograph itself. I found the most interesting aspect of this picture to be the fact that these girls are all the same age (roughly 13) yet they look like they are all different ages, and at different maturity levels. I believe this is what Lauren wants us to take away, the pressures of society are changing the way young girls who are transitioning into women act and feel about their bodies. I believe this is especially true, because Lauren makes a note to draw our eye to the girls' facial expressions, and especially the two girls on the right. The one in lavender appears 'more mature' than the rest. In contrast, the girl in a high necked, black dress appears offended by the facial expressions of this other girl, and you can see so in her face. The way the balance and framing of the photo plays out helps me determine how these girls are feeling, and how they feel about each other. We all had friends who were more like lavender girl; an early bloomer who believed she was the 'best' at everything. We also had friends that were like white stripe girl; girls who took longer to develop into women, and seemed displeased by this fact. I believe this photo could also be a claim to how puberty and what girls are exposed to during puberty could change the way they perceive and are perceived by other humans. Clearly, some girls get a more sexualized outlook of life, while other girls have a more innocent view on life.