Brooke Shaden

Here is an example of my thought process when creating a photo. The things I always think of. The things I look for when I admire other photographs. In my photo titled “How to Escape a Fire”, I wanted to explore the theme of a woman trapped in the “homemaker” lifestyle. But my thoughts were not only focused on how to portray the concept. I was also thinking more technically about how I could play up the symbolism of the shot.

My first thought was to shoot this straight on to the oven. However, I finally decided to shoot looking at the window. By seeing a window in the shot, it reminded me (or the potential viewer) that an outside world exists, and further that the subject in the photo is on the inside. By placing the fire in between the camera and the subject, I am blocking the viewer from getting a full view of the subject. This subject is untouchable because there is a fire that is not allowing her to be touched by anyone else. Another reason for choosing this angle was so that the lines of the counter and the cupboard would all point to the subject. The open drawer and the open cupboard added an air of mystery, while the dirty dishes reeked of neglect and despair. Her lack of clothes expressed a raw emotion that the subject was feeling. Not only is she exposed for everyone to see, she is also lacking in substance. She has nothing more to give, not even the clothes on her back. I manually focused the shot so that the subject was slightly out of focus in an attempt to enhance the emotion of neglect that I hoped the subject would portray. Finally, I wanted the subject’s pose to mimic the shape of the vase on the counter, as to say that the housewife is nothing more than a fixture in the kitchen.

Just a few of my thoughts that went into making this picture.