Mary
This shoot was very spontaneous; it wasn't until that day that I properly met this individual and decided to take her picture. We had not met prior to our meeting, nor spoken previous to me taking her picture. I felt that this really helped to start off my project as it meant that I did not have time to plan anything (which usually leads me to overthinking things), this meant that I went with the flow and used what little materials I had to 'play' with in order to make this a success. The reason why I chose this individual was not so much because of the way that she looked, nor that there was anything noticeably different about her; it was more about the story which I was about to be told.
Mary (pictured above) is a 29 year old individual from India, previously studying a degree in Bournemouth, she made the decision to take a trip to Plymouth; it was during this time that she explored the sights that Plymouth had to offer, including the vast culture of the town as well as the seaside views, as well as the choice of shops. It was also during this time that Mary decided to get her first ever tattoo. The design itself was simple but beautiful and was full of meaning; a small aeroplane inside of an ink nib, symbolising both her love for writing as well as travelling. The only biggest decision was the positioning. Usually people consider the positioning based on where it looks best, where it will be seen fully. But not in Mary's case, hers needed to be discreet; somewhere where her parents would not easily see it. Coming from an Indian family, they do not approve of body modifications, such as tattooing, and so as a result knew that her parents would not be happy if they saw it. She made the decision to have it placed under her left arm; somewhere where a simple cropped sleeved t-shirt would easily cover it.
When first entering the tattoo studio, Mary went through many different emotions, including excitement, nervousness and slight fear. This is something that I felt was really important to capture within my work. Asking the permission of the tattooist first, I went about taking images of her whilst she was having her tattoo done. Initially she was very nervous sat in the chair whilst the tattooist was setting up, when the process began there was a mixture of slight fear and experiencing the pain of it being done. Overall the process only took approximately 15 minutes, but for Mary it probably felt like forever. Once the process was finished she was allowed to go and few her tattoo; it was at this moment that she began posing in front of the mirror, examining every aspect of her new design.
The image that I best like is the one pictured above. They say a picture says a thousand words and for this I feel it is the case, for in that moment, Mary felt not only relieve that it was finally over, but also happiness and a sense of achievement at having finally had it done. For some people this may seem like such a simple process, but for Mary it was a challenge and took a lot of courage for her to have this done. I feel that the images shown in the next post display this story perfectly.
Mary (pictured above) is a 29 year old individual from India, previously studying a degree in Bournemouth, she made the decision to take a trip to Plymouth; it was during this time that she explored the sights that Plymouth had to offer, including the vast culture of the town as well as the seaside views, as well as the choice of shops. It was also during this time that Mary decided to get her first ever tattoo. The design itself was simple but beautiful and was full of meaning; a small aeroplane inside of an ink nib, symbolising both her love for writing as well as travelling. The only biggest decision was the positioning. Usually people consider the positioning based on where it looks best, where it will be seen fully. But not in Mary's case, hers needed to be discreet; somewhere where her parents would not easily see it. Coming from an Indian family, they do not approve of body modifications, such as tattooing, and so as a result knew that her parents would not be happy if they saw it. She made the decision to have it placed under her left arm; somewhere where a simple cropped sleeved t-shirt would easily cover it.
When first entering the tattoo studio, Mary went through many different emotions, including excitement, nervousness and slight fear. This is something that I felt was really important to capture within my work. Asking the permission of the tattooist first, I went about taking images of her whilst she was having her tattoo done. Initially she was very nervous sat in the chair whilst the tattooist was setting up, when the process began there was a mixture of slight fear and experiencing the pain of it being done. Overall the process only took approximately 15 minutes, but for Mary it probably felt like forever. Once the process was finished she was allowed to go and few her tattoo; it was at this moment that she began posing in front of the mirror, examining every aspect of her new design.
The image that I best like is the one pictured above. They say a picture says a thousand words and for this I feel it is the case, for in that moment, Mary felt not only relieve that it was finally over, but also happiness and a sense of achievement at having finally had it done. For some people this may seem like such a simple process, but for Mary it was a challenge and took a lot of courage for her to have this done. I feel that the images shown in the next post display this story perfectly.
