Learning Agreement

Portraits Project - Learning Agreement

For this assignment I have decided to focus on incorporating a cultural aspect into my photography and producing portraits (head and shoulder shots) of Asian women in traditional clothing.  In order to portray this appropriately I have decided to use a digital camera and use colour photography to display the bold colours that are generally used in Asian clothes with a brightly coloured background.

The idea has stemmed from my own cultural background and experience as a British Asian women and I would like to develop this idea further and capture images of Asian women living in Britain today.

I was born and brought up in the UK and in my own experience people react differently depending on how I am dressed at the time.  In the past when I have worn Asian clothes people have perceived that I either don’t speak English or don’t have the knowledge to challenge something that I feel isn’t right purely based on how I look.

This project also relates to my work as a Multicultural Centre Manager where I work directly with people from different communities to address inequalities and issues that people face on a daily basis either because of the way they look or because they lack the confidence to deal with enquires or challenge an organization.

Dress sense plays a big part in our lives and portrays whom we are and what we are comfortable with and leaves the viewer forming an opinion based purely on what they see and I will be interested in getting feedback from other people on what they think the lifestyles of the models in the photographs are and whether we tend to stereotype people based on their looks.

The photographs that I want to produce will be of a similar style and all have the same background and display portraits of different aged Asian women covering their heads with a traditional scarf (dupatta/veil as it called) as they would normally for a religious or festive occasion.  In total four images will be produced and printed to 8”x10” size.

Professional photographers and their styles that have inspired me include Steve McCurry and Senol Zorlu as their work contains strong portraits with a cultural aspect which says more about the person and their background rather than just a studio portrait which is just about the person in general.  Also the colours that are used are also important in reflecting a person’s personality and culture.