Photographer Research: David Shama -

Photographer Research - 

Name: David Shama
Born: 3 February 1977

Death: N/A

Birthplace: Lausanne, Switzerland
Occupation: Fashion photographer

(7Eleven)

Connotation: The connotations from this image and from the series as a whole appears to be an exploration of youth culture and the stereotypes of youth such as sexuality. The trio of subjects appear to be very close and almost as if they are in a polyamorous relationship or are simply best friends. They are depicted as going on a road trip that could be a metaphor for the journey and missing sense of belonging that youth face as they are neither a child nor an adult.

Denotation: The image seen above is medium close shot with three subjects in a landscape orientation with a simple colour scheme that mimics the aesthetic of disposable film cameras.

Context: The photograph was captured by Shama who describes himself as a "documentary photographer" who is all about "storytelling" and creates a narrative for his characters but then allows them to act almost freely for a more realistic aesthetic. To achieve this, Shama employed the female lead and asked her to choose her companions in which she chose her boyfriend and best friend; he said in an interview that "I found them through her as I wanted people as close as possible to her. I wanted to feel how intimate they are and their very real friendship". Additionally, Shama has said that  inspiration was derived from 90s movies that have a youth coming of age atmosphere and also depicts the American Dream. 

(Flaunt)

Connotation: This image appears to depict the nihilistic nature of youth and the close relationships established during the turmoil of young years. The two subjects shown are the main protagonists of a fictional story line created through photographs and captions. The girls are said to be on a road trip and the narrative is from the perspective of one of the girls, right, through the use of captions, they make multiple references to "the game" which could refer to the rat trap of every day life or is also used as a euphemism for prostitution. Moreover is the references to "bleeding gums" which could be connotative of drug usage further linking to the nihilism shown in Shama's work. 

Denotation: This photograph is a medium close shot with two subjects. The orientation is landscape which is employed for the majority of Shama's work with only a few being in portrait layout. Additionally, the colours are somewhat muted due to the desired aesthetic often featured in Shama's work. 

Context: This photograph is created as a personal project, opposed to a series for a magazine or company, and as such conveys a large amount of Shama and his aesthetics and photographic beliefs. Shama is a photographer within the realm of "fashion photography and photojournalism" as narratives are loosely constructed through the documentary-like images. Despite this, Shama has said, on his website, that "sometimes the simplest portrait can tell more than a very constructed scenario. I'm trying to convey something that can tickles someone else's imagination" and as such the connotations can vary widely for each audience member. 

(7Eleven)

Connotation: This photograph is another from the series 7Eleven which follows three subjects, a female protagonist, her partner and her best friend. This photograph places the three subjects in a close up shot which increases the intimacy of the situation and is also in black and white which creates a nostalgic atmosphere for the photograph as a whole. Moreover, the female subject is in the central third with the two males on either side in relation to the rule of thirds grid composition; this could imply that she serves as a link between the three and their close relationship. The polyamorous relationship is inferred further as the subject on the far left is making eye contact and physical contact with the subject on the right which usually implies a sense of a close relationship. 

Denotation: There are three subjects who are almost balanced within the rule of thirds compositional technique which could relate to the implied sense of reliance and unity. The image is in black and white meaning it was either edited post-production or shot on black and white film.

Context: This series began when Shama hired the female lead protagonist and asked her to choose her two closest friends, one her boyfriend and one her best friend, so that the intimate relationship of their real life would transfer to the fictional faux documentary style of the series. The story is meant to depict the fact that it drew inspiration from 90s movies about youth which is a common theme throughout Shama's work but also in that it tells a story of the subjects as much as it does the photographer. 

(Flaunt)

Connotation: The above photograph shows one of the lead characters sat by the pool smoking a cigarette whilst wearing an American flag swimming costume and looking into the distance. The swimming pool serves as a background in the image whilst the swimming costume appear to infer a misguided sense of the American dream and what it is to be free and live life on the road as told through the series focusing on a road trip. The cigarette symbol features strongly within Shama's body of work and is often used as a metaphor for rebellion and nihilism which are all features of youth depiction in media, as told by Ann Gould, and this is reinforced by the fact that Shama draws inspiration from 90s media films about youth and other such subjects. 

Denotation: This photograph is of a landscape orientation with one subject in the central third of the image who is staring off into the distance. There is a consideration of depth in the placement of the subject opposed to using a small depth of field. The colours are more prominent but are still somewhat muted as if the photographs were captured on a film camera instead of a modern DSLR. 

Context: There are two main characters in this photographic series given the nicknames of "Milkshake" and "Fries". Milkshake is played by Kasimira Mosich-Miller who is a model and Fries is depicted by Chelsea Schuchman who is a model and actress. The series tells a loose narrative through the order of the photographs captured by Shama and the captions of the travel journey wrote by the novelist and columnist John-Paul Pryor who features within the series as a minor character. 

Influence - 

This image has influenced me in that the style is reminiscent of amateur nostalgic photography that uses a film camera or polaroid camera. Furthermore, the use of colour is clever in that usually the colours are either muted or in black and white which places more significance on the subject shown in the photograph than the aesthetic. Moreover, the idea of being close, both compositionally and metaphorically, to the people in the photographs and establishing some loose narrative through intimacy between the subjects, camera and photography are all ideas I have drawn upon. I have also studied the theme of youth in at least two of my own photographic shoots which is a common feature of Shama's work and is an element of my life as a teenager. 

Summary - 

The above photograph shows how I have been influenced by David Shama in relation to technical composition in the positioning of the subjects and also how I was inspired in relation to the concept of youth behaviour. For example, the idea of studying multiple subjects and their close relationships is exemplified in both of the above analysed shoots "7Eleven" and "Flaunt". Also, the colourisation is similar in some respects to Shama's body of work in that there is a less saturated main hue employed as a focal point of the image; for this photograph it is the green wall whilst in the above "Flaunt" image it is the blue of the swimming pool. Despite this, this was not intended to be a pastiche of Shama's work but instead show how my own aesthetics have been shaped by others.