Dawoud Bey photographed a number of high school students in a classroom for his series Class Pictures. He discusses how the work that went into to this photoshoot. Bey mentions that he only had 45 minutes to work with the students so he had to compose his ideas in a timely manner. There wasn’t much use of natural light in these portraits. He used studio lights to create his preferred lighting. Looking at the portraits, you can see that most of them used broad light. He had one light that lit the subject and another to fill and harsh shadows.

Bey also observed the student’s gestures and used that compose the photo. Bey mentioned that there was a lot of directing that went into this series. I believe he wanted to capture different moods with different students to show their individuality. He wanted to students to be comfortable while conducting the photoshoot. Before starting the photo shoot, he would have them write for a bit and then start. Bey paid attention to what the student was wearing to see what background was most appropriate. Based on what the student was wearing, Bey would look around him to see what items would compliment the student’s attire as well as the emotion that he wanted to capture. Bey mentioned that there was a lot of directing that went into this series. I believe he wanted to capture different moods with different students to show their individuality.

It seems like Bey had to be really decisive about each portrait while considering time. One thing that I took away from this is to look around you to see what can be used when composing a photoshoot. Bey decided to bring items that were out of the frame into the picture to compliment his subject. I learned that it is okay to move things around and do whatever you think is best to get the most successful portrait. Lighting is also very important because you can manipulate light to capture emotions.