In Dawoud Bay’s series Class Pictures, high school students are captured in a natural essence to evoke sympathy in the viewer. He does this by isolating his subject in the frame. In many cases, he does this by using a shallow depth of field and using studio lights to subtly highlight them. The composition of his photos vary from student to student, but in all cases, the students occupy a majority of the frame, which further establishes them as the focal point. The overall mood of the portraits is a calm and sympathetic one. Dawoud Bey captures the student’s emotion in their posture and facial expressions. This allows the viewer to more easily relate to the subject. Dawoud also excels at creating calmness in the photo despite the calamity that might be taking place in the background. Even without the supporting copy, the students’ posture, outfit, expression give the viewer an idea of what the student may be feeling/thinking.

For today’s shoot, I would take inspiration from the above techniques he used, making sure to capture the subtle nuances that portray my subject’s mood and personality. In addition, I would also be mindful of the environment around my subject and how that might influence the mood I’m capturing. Most importantly I would be mindful of making sure that the photo seems natural and not stiff, staged or rigid.