A big smile can make all the difference as it can alter the mood of the photograph entirely. The smile of innocent children especially can light up even the darkest backgrounds as their smiles are so innocent and pure. The children in the photographs above are the perfect example of how a smile can change the entire mood of a photograph. The children seem to come from poor backgrounds as they aren't clothed well and their feet are bare. And even though they are all poor and seem to be living tough lives, two are smiling while the other two are expressing resentment towards the camera. Clearly in these photographs, smile played the biggest factor in altering the overall mood of these photographs as the power of a smile can make a huge impact on photographs.
In the photograph on the left, the background is a barren land with sand covering the entire vicinity which was captured by the camera. Therefore, the climate seems to be arid and unpleasant and this suggests almost a Dust Bowl like setting. Then there are the children in the center of the photograph who are expressing clear resentment towards the camera. While one on the left is glaring, the one on the right is frowning. Their skin are very dark and their hair are messy. Then there is also the negative body language as the girl on the right as her arms are tucked behind her back and the girl on the left is just standing by herself. This almost makes me wonder if they are even close friends at all. With all these physical features and negative facial expression along with the negative body language, this photograph exhibits a dark, negative mood overall as these children are not only living in harsh living conditions but displaying very negative emotions and body language.
In the photograph on the right, the background is some urban area as the ground is paved with bricks, and the wall they are leaning against are also layered with bricks. This sort of background almost reminds the viewers of a European city with all the bricks below and around the children. Then there are the children in the center of the photograph who are smiling at the camera. They are both giving big smiles and they are displaying positive body language as they have their arms around each other's shoulders. They seem to be very close friends and most importantly, they seem happy and innocent just like children in an ideal world should be. Although they are poorly clothed and their feet are bare, this lack of materialistic elements do not seem to matter to these children much as they are smiling and posing happily for the photograph. This sends out a positive message to the viewers as this photograph is lit up by the two big smiles of the children in the center.
If these two photographs go head to head, one can notice a similarity. All four of these children are from poor families. Three out of the four children are bare feet and their clothes seem very cheap. However, this is as far as their similarity goes as these children seem to be living very different lives. The children in the left photograph are displaying all sorts of negative facial expression and body language while the children in the right photograph are exhibiting nothing short of euphoria. What is even more ironic is that the children in the left photograph seem to have more expensive clothing as their dresses have patterns while the girls in the right photograph seem to be just wearing some basic cotton dress without any fancy elements. Also, the girl to the left of the glaring girl in the left photograph even has shoes which suggests that she is from a richer family out of all the children in these photographs. So the lack of materialistic things is clearly not the biggest reason why these children seem to be living such different lives. The biggest thing to take from this is that despite coming from poor backgrounds, two children are expressing resentment and anger while the other two are expressing joy. And all of this deduction came from just one factor, the smile.
The power of smile is undeniable in photographs. With all the similar backgrounds and living conditions, the smile made all the difference when it came to these two photographs as one displayed just absolute resentment and negativity while the other displayed joy and euphoria. The irony of the children in the right photograph being even poorer than the children in the left photograph shows us that poor background is not what ultimately decided their state of emotion. If the girls in the left photograph smiled while the girls in the right photograph frowned, then the message from the photographs would have been very different as the photograph on the left would have exhibited a positive, light mood while the one on the right exhibit negative, dark mood. Smile can change everything in a photograph.
No comments:
Post a Comment