'The idea behind my project is to showcase and highlight the experiences of young people living and growing up in the Highlands. And to do this I am using fashion photography. My project therefore combines and blurs the lines between documentary work and fashion.'
Alongside photographing the young people, during this project, I am also hosting workshops/activities. So far these have ranged from making project mood boards to photographing each other in a makeshift studio. These workshops have been such a fun way to get to know the young people more and hopefully provide something exciting and new for them to do outside school. It's something I really enjoy doing and will carry on throughout the project.
Workshop One: The Mood Board
I was so nervous for the first workshop and had no idea what to do. I thought about photography projects and what I do in the beginning when planning them. I knew I wanted to have the young people's input into the project so thought it could be fun to have them create a mood board.
We used old magazines (not going to lie it hurt to see them cut up vogue) and they cut out everything that they liked and that inspired them. We also added drawings and words. It was a really fun evening and we now keep the mood board at the youth club where we meet. This way we can look at it before and after shoots and other workshops.
Workshop Two: Photographer vs Model
Now that we had a vision for the project I wanted the girls to have fun and also learn more about photography. So I decided to put them in pairs and have them take turns being the photographer and the model.
This made them more confident in front of the camera and gave them basic camera skills. I took a bunch of coats, blazers accessories etc for them to dress up in and we made a makeshift studio in the youth club building.
Workshop Three: Hair & Makeup
The most recent workshop I've done with them was all about hair and makeup. I went into Boots and got some fun eyeliners, lipsticks and hair products for the girls to experiment and play with. Also bought a lot of makeup remover! I saved some inspiration photos onto my phone and they spent some time trying to recreate them.
They put makeup on themselves and each other, it was so nice to see them helping each other. I would love to in the future have a local makeup artist come in and do a tutorial for them! If you know anyone message me!!! ᵕ̈
Other Workshop Plans
As of right now, I have a few ideas of what I would like to do and what I think could be fun. I especially want to focus a lot on their experiences and chat with them individually about how they feel about growing up where they do. The information I get from that will then inform the project further and the images I'm taking. So that's the next step.
Thanks for reading! love always,
Lily Skye x
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