Projects requiring anonymity

[Gidi Morris]

Hi all,
I have finally, after weeks of searching, begging & bugging people, gotten permission to build a photography project on a youth rehabilitation center.
The center helps rehabilitate 14 to 18 year olds who have a criminal or violent history & the state has decided to separate them from their homes in order to get help.

The condition (one of) I must adhere to is this: no photos may show a recognizable face of a child. Their anonymity must be retained since they are underage..

The problem is- I have no experience at this kind of thing and I am really afraid of finding my self swimming in hoards of photos of children's backs.

So I thought I'd ask you guys for examples of projects of this kind you may have come across. The only one I have found as of yet is Kobi Wolf (http://www.kobiwolf.com/index.asp?currentPage=exhibitPhotos&theExhibit=2)'s project on the Ababrbanel psychiatric hospital in which he had the same limitation.
Do you guys know of any more like this?
Thanks.

[Quad]

The only specific advice I can give is don't use a swirl filter..


I think you are about to get some experience with it. You will have to use silhouette, low dof, motion, faces blocked by hands and such. Or be stuck with a lots of backs or faces blocked by blurr filters (not such a great option in my own view). My hunch is you will figure it out as you go along so don't fret too much. Not much help but I really do think once you are doing it the answer will be waiting for you.


ps I just had a quick look at your gallery, you are good to go.

[Gidi Morris]

Thanks Quad, I appreciate the advice & thoughts :)
I don't suppose you have ever come across a similar project I can look at?

[Quad]

Sadly not that I can think of but if I do you will be the first to hear.

[Gidi Morris]

:p thanks

[Robert_Lay]

Boils down to exactly what point the faces are required to be blurred. If you are allowed to have the original images on file before blurring, then it is only a questio n of how you process images for distribution.

Processing for distribution can be done quickly in Photoshop using a few tools, such as the blur tool and the ability to automate parts of that process.

If you are not even allowed to possess images in your files that violate the rule, then I cannot suggest anything.

[Gidi Morris]

I don't want to blur faces.
I want to find ways to use silhouettes, shadows & close crops to help hide facial features of the kids without having to use artificial "hiding" tools like blurring.

I know you guys can't give me ideas without actually seeing the photos- what I'm looking for is links to other projects photographers have done which have the same problem.
(such as the one to Kobi's project I included in the first post...)

[Skrim17]

Wolf's site took too long for me to see but you have to go to the center without a camera one day, bring a pad and paper and write down the shots you want, then go back to get them.

What is their daily routine and how can you show that without faces? Can you show the faces of the adults helping them?

Here are my thoughts:

group therapy, sallow DOF showing the group with focus over a shoulder on the therapist or even on any speakers hands/feet/clothing.

free-time play, focus on the ball/hoop/whatever instead of the person, or again on a body part.

Seated participants with their heads down

other things that involve their process for rehabilitation as well as good facilities and signage shots.

[neumanns]

Hmm...Selective focus with shallow DoF, for example.

If there laying in bed with a foot locker of there meager possesions focus on the foot locker and you will have an individual in unrecognizable bokeh but yet still tell a powerful story.

[FlyingPhotog]

One kind of "out of left field suggestion":

Once you've edited your photos, edited some more and final edited them...
Find another person to scrutinize the final edit. I guarentee they'll find a face or two that you missed. It's human nature to get the MEGO (My Eyes Glaze Over) effect from working on the same images for extended periods of time.

Sounds like a very interesting and challenging project. Good Luck

[Gidi Morris]

Haha, great tip Flyboy, thanks :D

[Roach711]

I used to work at a place similar to yours and had the same restrictions. When taking promotional photos we would ask the staff to bring in their kids as models. That way we could show faces while keeping the clients anonimity intact. These kids were also a bit more manageable and didn't tend to run off at the first opportunity. I'm sure you know what I mean.

Just plan your shots so you can get access to the areas you want to shoot in while your clients are away. Clients and models should never be in contact for obvious reasons.

You'll need parental signatures on model release forms, of course.

If you want actual shots of the clients expect a lot of hassle. Kids either REALLY want to be in the shot or definitely DO NOT want to be in the shot. Those not included tend to be very disruptive. Staff can be very helpful or be as big a problem as the clients. It's a total crapshoot. Do yourself a favor and either go the model route or find a few of the more cooperative clients to work with you. If you know these kids at all you'll know who they are. Absolutely avoid working with large groups because those can get out of hand quickly.

[FlyingPhotog]

Haha, great tip Flyboy, thanks :D

"Flyboy" ? :confused::p;)

[dandan]

I have to shoot like that all the time at charity concerts and such. Its the only time when i actively look at the photos after i shoot them to check real quick for faces showing, if it does i delete it right there. It takes a while to get used to shooting without faces, but one gets used to it. Try to be creative in the use of silloetes, i try to use fast primes whenever possable to attempt to blur out any faces that might be showing in the bg.

[Gidi Morris]

I used to work at a place similar to yours and had the same restrictions. When taking promotional photos we would ask the staff to bring in their kids as models. That way we could show faces while keeping the clients anonimity intact. These kids were also a bit more manageable and didn't tend to run off at the first opportunity. I'm sure you know what I mean.

Just plan your shots so you can get access to the areas you want to shoot in while your clients are away. Clients and models should never be in contact for obvious reasons.

You'll need parental signatures on model release forms, of course.

If you want actual shots of the clients expect a lot of hassle. Kids either REALLY want to be in the shot or definitely DO NOT want to be in the shot. Those not included tend to be very disruptive. Staff can be very helpful or be as big a problem as the clients. It's a total crapshoot. Do yourself a favor and either go the model route or find a few of the more cooperative clients to work with you. If you know these kids at all you'll know who they are. Absolutely avoid working with large groups because those can get out of hand quickly.

I think you miss understood the kind of photography I'm doing.
This is a documentary project, so there isn't any posing or anything like that.
And the whole point behind not being able to show there faces is because I could never get a model release for these- these kids "belong" to the state, not their parents, hence I could never get such a release.

Thanks for the comment though.

[stoolpidgeon]

Backlighting can help; it can create mood or it can cast a shadow over a face and shoulder and look quite natural.

And one last thing for thought: I know it's in photographer's artistic nature to capture emotion and feelings, and for that reason you could be tempted to take shots of heartache and depression etc. But don't rule out the shots that can be happy and hopeful as well.

You probably already knew that though.

[Gidi Morris]

There is a big difference between knowing something, and being aware of it. :D

Thanks for the tip.

[airfrogusmc]

I work in healthcare and have to deal with shooting people involved in dependency treatment, mental health and even things that involve just regular healthcare. You can focus on the people that are there to help them by shooting over shoulders, silhouettes anything that doesn't clearly show that group of people. I guess it boils down to what you are trying to document. If your documenting the treatment then put let that be your focus. If its bigger than just that like the system its self you can show the environment they're being treated in. First figure out the subject of the project then you can figure out your approach. There are several photographers that have worked in prisons. Danny Lyons comes to mind.

Heres are a couple that might give you some inspiration
http://www.geh.org/ne/mismi2/m197101600005_ful.html#topofimage

http://www.geh.org/ne/mismi2/m197101600004_ful.html#topofimage

http://www.geh.org/ne/mismi2/m197101600003_ful.html#topofimage

http://www.brown.edu/Facilities/David_Winton_Bell_Gallery/lyon_tattoos_zoom.html

http://www.brown.edu/Facilities/David_Winton_Bell_Gallery/lyon_line_zoom.html

[Gidi Morris]

Thanks airfrogusmc, thats very helpful!