I used the mall architecture to frame the figures in the picture. It s balanced to create this space where figures are trapped in the middle, creating a visual tension, she explained, pointing out the escalator in the front and the mirror behind the girl and her grandmother. Janssen also used the surrounding space to emphasize the bigger issue she was after. I m interested in implicating corporate mentality with beauty pageant imagery. It s very obvious that it s a consumer space the neon signs.
Most people recognize that it s a mall.
These things aren t distracting to the piece, but layers of elements. One of the most important things I learned as a photographer was to use space not just to go for the jugular, she said. To have picked a close-up of the grandmother and the little girl would capture only one aspect of the situation, the familial pressures of the pageant industry on young girls. She explained that photographers must be aware enough to frame space quickly in a such a way that all the elements are relevant to the main focus. It takes time to develop observational skills and comfort with the camera to incorporate those things.