Bey uses the expression and pose to show what these high schoolers have been through. For example, in the photograph with Shalanta, you see this girl who’s smiling and posing with a confidant look. It demonstrates that she is an outgoing girl who enjoys having fun and being around other people, which reaffirmed in the brief description next to the image. Another out example would be with Kevin, the pose he has give a sense of “up in your face” kind of look, possibly showing independence. The tone of his expression has a very serious look to it, giving off maturity, independence, and a loss of innocence. The lighting he uses is available light, which comes from the windows. The natural window light really lights up the room just enough and nicely, giving the feel of a somewhat calming vibe to photographs. From what I can tell, it looks like all if not all his shots seem to be broad light, like the portraits of Usha and Antoine. The background of the photos are set in a classroom area, I believe that this is meant to make the teens appear more sympathetic because it would remind the viewer that these are still young teenagers, hardly grown but have been through a lot or show how ambitious they are. It’s to basically remind people that these teens are still human beings, and not some self-entitled children who believe they deserve something. The way he frames the portraits is up close, you can see the expressions of the teens, the gestures and poses their upper bodies are in, and parts of the background. To me the reason why he frames it like this is because you get in depth look at the teenagers, to interpret their personalities, what they could have been through, and where they were during the shoot. Well lighting is something to consider, that can enhance the look and feel of the portrait. As well as the poses and expression of the model. I can take those into consideration when taking a portrait shot of someone.
Bey in the video mentions using lights. While Bey’s intention is for the photographs to look natural, window light doesn’t come into a room very far. It is just too dark to shoot without lights and get a high quality image.
And also, remember that to have broad light, the model’s face must be in a 3/4 view. If the model is looking straight forward, it cannot be either broad or short light.