HIGH SCHOOL

Nicole C., Passing Over, grade ten. Regional Scholastic Silver Key winner.

Deanna Sortino

What makes Meatyard’s photos so poignant is the silence in them, and how people are in the frame together, just staring at the camera and not interacting.

When we think of scary photographs, we often envision fake blood or a person creeping up behind another. I believe what makes Meatyard’s photos so poignant is the silence in them, and how people are in the frame together, just staring at the camera and not interacting. It’s like they all know a secret but they aren’t sharing it. According to Meatyard, his photographs were supposed to invoke a feeling of  “being not quite of this world.”

Amanda L., Demons Seen, grade nine. 

Meatyard has said the reason he photographed family and friends wearing masks was to represent the masks we all wear for the camera. It’s a question I always pose to my students: “What are some of the masks that you personally wear for the camera?” By hiding the model’s hands in his photographs, he further obscures the identity and age of the masked individual.

According to Meatyard, the dolls in his photographs were supposed to represent a physical human presence. The ability to use dolls is also a great thing for students who might not have people who can model for them.

Kevin D., Meatyard, grade eleven. Regional Scholastic Gold Key winner. 

As you look even deeper, you will notice the framing used throughout Meatyard’s photographs. As I teach this lesson, I break down framing into three categories and show examples within Meatyard’s photographs. We talk about architectural framing (windows, doorways, anything human-made), natural framing (bushes, trees, leaves, anything from nature), and human framing (where a subject is framed by other humans or body parts). Finally, the last thing you’ll notice in some of his photographs are blurred figures—which I believe indicate dreamlike entities or ghosts.

Mia K., Meatyard Mask, grade nine. 

I begin this lesson with a slideshow presentation on Meatyard’s work and break down the lesson and his photographs, showing patterns within his work and asking students what they see. I also purchase masks the week after Halloween at a discounted price and get dolls at thrift stores so students can use them for the photo shoot. Below you’ll find the requirements for my assignment.

Adrian M., Misunderstood, grade eleven. Regional Scholastic Gold Key winner.

1. Take twelve photos where framing is obvious (architectural, natural, human). You can use a masked individual or a doll in the frame.
2. Take three photos where the model is blurred using a slow shutter speed (¼ second to 2 seconds).
3. Take nine photos about relationships. You don’t have to use framing. Include:

• a masked person alone (or a mask or a doll by itself).
• a masked person interacting with another masked person or a doll.
• a masked person or a doll in a scene where everyone else is in “normal” clothes (staged or not staged).

1. Choose an environment. It can be anything from a creepy abandoned building to your kitchen table or backyard.
2. Don’t photograph “fake, creepy” things. Remember, having people not interact can be just as scary.
3. Hide the subject’s hands.
4. If you can’t get anyone to model for you, use dolls.

Students turn in a contact sheet and I circle my five favorite images. As far as edits, students use Adobe Photoshop and do a texture overlay on top of the photo using Blending Modes > Overlay. They also add a vignette to their image. For the additional four edits, students use free online photo-editing software including fotor, befunky, and ipiccy.

Deanna Sortino teaches photography at Niles West High School in Skokie, Illinois.
deasor@d219.org
Dolls and Masks