Body Image

1. Body Image The Way We are

2. Concept My chosen topic is photojournalism and the social issue I have chosen to represent is ‘Body Image’. I have decide to do body image because everyone is or has suffered from poor body image/confidence. It’s something we can all relate to one way or another. Weight, skin, wrinkles, scars, stretch marks, cellulite and the list goes on. We are all insecure about something on our bodies. I will be capturing everything that we as humans try to hide on our bodies.

3. Imagery I will be publishing my photoshoot on my photography Instagram page, photobook and on my Wix website under a new project. I want my work to be accessed by everyone because I believe everyone could use more body confidence and encouragement in their life. This project will be called ‘The Way We Are’ 20-30 Images There is a lot to capture and I don’t think limiting myself to 20 shots is going to give the impact to my viewers that I want.

4. Target Audience My survey was answered by 5 boys and 5 girls with the ages of 16/17 years old. I want my survey to be answered by the same amount of boys to girls to be able to compare the two genders. Are you happy with your body and why? This was interesting because I wanted to see if the boys had the same insecurities as the girls. All the boys said they didn't like their bodies or some parts of it. Whereas out of the five girls one said "Personally I don’t care what other people think about me, even though I may want certain flaws about myself to be gone. But love yourself before others". What I did notice was that the boys were more reluctant to give a reason why but the girls had no problem explaining what they didn't like about their bodies. What do you think makes people want to have 'perfect' bodies? 9/10 answers mentioned social media, social standard, celebrity influence, models and advertising were also mentioned. It's interesting to see that both girls and boys agreed and can identify the problem. Look up to people no? The Rock? Unrealistic? When asked how they feel when they aren't confident most of them said it made them feel sad overall. Others feel ashamed, anxious and "pressured to look a certain way". It was good to note that no one said they felt paranoid or angry about their bodies. 16-25 years old However I want my work to have an impact on everyone of all ages, gender and socials status’ etc. Everyone has something they don’t like about their body. Social media has massive impact on younger generations

5. Audience Profile

6. Inspiration My images are going to be in black and white. This is inspired by Sally Man: One of America’s most renowned photographers In 2001 Time Magazine named Sally Mann “America’s Best Photographer” Awards: NEA, NEH and Guggenheim Foundation grants. Multiple books published Blood Ties (1994)- documentary about her work- was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2008 I aim to use her images as inspiration by looking closely at the exposure, shadows and light. I will need to consider all of this to get the result I want out of my images.

7. Inspiration I was also inspired by Little Mix, their music video ‘Strip’ had the four singers and women with all body types dancing and being who they are. This lead me to look into the photographer/director that took part behind the scenes of ‘Strip’. Rankin Rankin is a very talented and well known photographer, publisher ad film director. His portfolio is bursting at the seems with work ranging from portraiture to documentary: with shots of David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, Kate Moss, Kendall Jenner and the Queen They stripped off the trolls comments and all of the criticism they have endured since starting their journey.

8. Mina Gerges Model and activist who is challenging traditional male beauty standards and promoting body diversity/confidence . Bullied about his eating disorder, has since helped men with theirs's. Kelvin Davis Signed with Bridge Modelling agency London One of few plus-sized male models Notoriously Dapper- blog Zach Miko First plus sized male to be signed onto a major modelling agency (IMG) Vogue Positive social media posts Megan Crabbe Megan is an inspirational body confidence blogger who is very well known for her Instagram account bodyposipanda. Over 1.1 million Instagram followers. Inspiration Ashley Graham Famous plus-size model First curvy model to be on the cover of Sports Illustration 2016 Iskra Lawerence Normal or curvy model Heavily criticised L'Oréal BBC’s 100 most influential women Sierra Shcultzzie YouTuber with following over 700k Creates content for YouTube and Instagram, she focuses on fashion, body positivity, and experimenting with different styles to promote confidence Created movement of women called curvy crew

9. Inspiration Yumna Al- Arashi Photographer and filmmaker based in London Yumna's work has been displayed in exhibitions, screened, sold and published worldwide. Clients include, Apple, Barneys New York, NOWNESS, National Geographic's, ASOS, Topic, Warner-Bros. Kitra Cahana Documentary photographer, photojournalist, videographer and TED speaker. Kitra explores important social, anthropological and spiritual themes. She is a contributing photographer to National Geographic Magazine. Her work for NGM includes images taken on assignment to feature on the teenage brain and culture in the United States.

10. Key Conclusion All together I looked into 12 people who inspired me, this included a range of different people with different jobs. Models, girl group, male models, influencers, youtubers and photographers. If I had more time I would look into more male influencers who promote body confidence, this was harder to find than women. I would have also liked to researched deeply into Jameela Jamil, actress you set up ‘I weigh’. And Victoria secret models. My photography will use all of these inspirations to create images that viewers can relate to. After doing a lot of research into what affects people perceptions of their body I am 100% convinced that social media has a huge role to play. I also looked into barbie and compared new Barbie to when I was younger. They are much more diverse. It was very insightful to research so deeply into body image and realise that males were suffering badly but not as much recognition was happening. I also liked that I could compare causes to poor body image to my childhood and what I grew up playing with and the stereotypes girls and boys were told were acceptable.

11. Schedule