What We Wear Photo Essay by Gabbie Ciarlante
Introduction As an education major I am expected to look profession out in the field (in the classroom) and of course I
wearing clothes that are extremely tight. In both environments I am conscious of the image I am portraying.
do, but what I see inside the classroom is sometimes
Through my photos I want to show how clothes and
opposite of what I see outside of the classroom from my
gesture can affect the image you are portraying. Every
peers; professional in class and sometimes unrecognizable
photo shares the where the person being photographed
outside. I feel as though there is a disconnect between the
works. Knowing the person’s place of work will affect how
clothes people wear in a professional setting and what they
we view their dress and their personality. I chose to only
wear during their leisure time or out in social environment.
photograph the person’s clothes because showing the face
Speaking for myself, I believe there is a certain
will reveal too much about the person and the emphasis is
standard and attire set for educators and I would like to
on the clothes we choose to wear.
hold myself accountable for upholding that standard. I
Gesture in these photos is also important because it
enjoy looking professional in front of my peers and future
shows where the person is most comfortable. Are we more
colleagues, but it is not always the most comfortable of
comfortable in work attire or in attire meant for our
attire. My attire that I wear out in social events is not the
friends? One question I ask you to think about while
complete opposite of what I wear inside the classroom
viewing the photographs is where are we most comfortable
because for me I want to maintain a certain professional
and do we feel this way because of the conformity to dress
image. I don’t feel comfortable showing a lot of skin or
in one attire rather than another?
Marketing Intern
Social Media/Networking Intern
Education Major
Dance Instructor
Kindergarten Teacher
Office Supervisor
Reasons Why For this assignment I have chosen to photograph
straight by their side or on their hips. Most of them were
women, who are mainly college students, in two different
standing straight up and their hips in line. For the second
sets of clothing. I asked them each to pick an outfit they
outfit, “going out”, I received all different poses. Hips
would wear to work, or dress for where they think they will
cocked, hands on hips, and I even received the finger
be working after college, and one outfit for “going out.” I did
signaling “I don’t really care.” Through these different types
not say where they were going for the night, I simply said if
of clothing and poses or gestures made by my subjects I
you were going out for the night what would you wear.
relate to the words of Angela Kelly, author of Self Image, as
When photographing them in each outfit I asked them
she states “Photography is used to show ‘life’ as literal
when in their work attire to stand professionally, or how
record, ignoring the problem of distortion inherent within
they feel suits their outfit and for the second outfit I said
the medium itself in using photography to make statements
they could stand however they choose, again saying
of facts, ‘objective truths’” (412). What viewers get from the
however you feel this outfit represents you. I asked them to
photographs are objective in that we don’t know the
stand this way because of my own feelings toward the
subjects, in fact we don’t even see their faces.
subject. I feel as though in professional attire you are conforming to what the job requires of you where as the night time attire is a representation of yourself. In feeling this way, I also received similar feelings from subjects as they felt relief in standing or posing however they felt in their second change of clothes. As example of this in the professional outfits I received simple poses such as arms
I choose to crop out the faces of the subjects because I wanted the focus to be on the clothing and the expression of clothing rather than on the subject themselves. The person’s face would possibly be too telling of their personality and take away from what they were wearing. I wanted the clothes to speak for their personality or the
image they want to portray in each scenario I wanted them
than the camera on a phone or a disposable because I
to be in.
wanted to have the highest quality is photography with. I
Lastly, I choose to photograph with a Sony Cybershot camera. If you are unfamiliar with this camera, it is your basic digital camera. This was the highest quality camera I owned/was able to get a hold of. I used this rather
wanted the pictures to be clear with nothing in the backgrounds or any blur/focus to solely focus on the clothing. After reviewing the photos I think this was the best option.
Closer Look at the Education Major The photo, or photos because in my photo essay I
is her counter picture. Flipping the camera off is a clear
am comparing two images, I have chosen to examine is the
message of “I don’t care.” Education majors are told they
third image of the “Education Major.” In the first photo my
must maintain an image inside and outside the classroom,
subject is wearing black pants, white collared, buttoned
but this second picture clearly states that she will dress
shirt, black cardigan, black heels, and a watch. The outfit is
how she sees fit. She feels comfortable in showing skin and
professional in that she is not exposing any skin, the color
likes it.
of her clothes is neutral, and is typically what is expected of teachers to be wearing. Her posture however is what tells the story about this person. Her posture is what says she might not be hundred percent comfortable in this outfit or that she doesn’t care. You can understand this from the way she has her hands placed on her hips. They are on her hips but not pressed all the way in because if you look at her shoulders they are slightly raised signaling she is holding
The judgment comes from others and what they think of these photos. Is her attire appropriate for work, or is or night out outfit not appropriate or vice versa. Is she in the right profession if she wants to dress this way? The answers to these questions and more are the point of my essay that viewers of the photographs need to answer. As I shot the photos I was thinking about making the
her arms up and away. This is what I think says she is fully
clothes the focus. Making them the focus I placed them in
comfortable in her clothing because she isn’t fully
the center of the photo. This however does not follow one
comfortable in the way she is standing. What identifies her
of the important rules of composition such as “Rule of
as not caring is the way she is standing. She is not as
Thirds”; I am truly breaking this rule altogether, but
upright as the others in their professional attire as she is
according to the article 10 Ways to Take Stunning Portraits
slightly bent outward. What also identifies her as not caring
by Darren Rowse, sometimes you have to break the rules of
composition to get the image just right. I think I made the
The last element that works in this photo is the
right decision by breaking the rule and placing my subjects
semiotic theory stereotype. I specifically labelled my photos
in the forefront to bring clear focus.
to give the viewer a little understanding of the person. Also
The next element that is successful in this photo is the background of the photo. The subjects are all places against walls of a single color with no distractions. Relating to the semiotics theory, I am eliminating noise from my photos. There is nothing to look at in the photo other than my subjects. Someone looking at the essay only has the option to look at the subjects pose, posture, gesture, and most importantly the clothing. Eliminating noise people can focus not just on the clothes but can really interpret what the clothes signify.
each profession or college major as a certain stigma surrounding it. This photo shows an education major. The stereotype of a teacher is orderly, well dressed, and conservatively dressed. The second photo contradicts this stereotype of teachers or people in the educational setting. This is one of my reasons for this essay. Should we be judging people on their clothing? Or should we judge them on their personality and ability to do their job?
Works Cited Kelly, A. (1979, 2003). Self image. In A. Wells (Ed.), The photography reader (pp. 410 – 416). New York, NY: Routledge. Rowse, Darren. "10 Ways to Take Stunning Portraits - Digital Photography School." Digital Photography School RSS. N.p., 09 July 2008.