Methodology

In her photographic process, Lauren Greenfield always begins by following her intuition. In the case of Fast Forward, she began by exploring the familiar place of her former high school in Los Angeles, Crossroads. Then, by meeting and interacting with the current students and later exploring their experiences, she discovered the theme of a “loss of innocence.” She later expanded to other areas of Los Angeles and to different age groups of children, but her theme is still present in every single one of her photographs.

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©Lauren Greenfield
Adam, 13, and a go-go dancer at a bar mitzvah party at the Whisky A Go Go Nightclub, Hollywood.

Lauren Greenfield’s documentary style and process of discovery are the methods that I plan to emulate in my photographic process. I also plan to focus on the central ideas of Fast Forward, which are children and teenagers growing up too fast and attempting to replicate the “Hollywood” lifestyle. As Greenfield did, I plan to generate a deeper meaning for my subjects by getting to know them and following them around in their everyday lives. Greenfield captures kids in all aspects of their lives: at school, in their neighborhood, dancing at a bar mitzvah, relaxing after getting a nose job, at their senior prom, and in many other scenarios. In replicating Greenfield’s photographic style, I plan to capture their social interactions, poses, and gestures, which I hope will illustrate the same concepts as the photographs in Fast Forward.

©Lauren Greenfield
Lindsey at a Fourth of July party three days after her surgery, Calabasas.

Being a student at The University of Michigan, I feel that some of the best places to capture these types of images will be at social events such as fraternity parties, sorority mixers, dates, meals, and in classes. I plan to shoot in color and by using a digital camera because color and light seem to be major attributes to Greenfield’s photography. She uses details, different perspectives, and coloring to capture her subjects in unique ways. I also plan on using flash for the majority of my photographs in order to highlight the colors and replicate Greenfield’s style as well as possible. My methodology in trying to photograph similarly to Lauren Greenfield mostly consists of staying true to the theme of Fast Forward by bringing to light the issue of a “loss of innocence” and how that has transcended from the children of Los Angeles to the young adults at The University of Michigan who come from all over the country and the children of Miami and Los Angeles that I have been exposed to. My view for my photographs though is more segregated then Greenfield’s, because I plan to focus on photographing the wealthy in an attempt to show how wealth has had a major influence on kids ideas about growing up quickly and replicating adults. The goal of my photobook is to be a modern adaptation of Fast Forward.

@Lauren Greenfield
Commencement ceremony, Crossroads School, Santa Monica.

@Lauren Greenfield
Enrique, 17, Hollywood High School senior class president, pays for a limousine outside his prom date’s home, South Central Los Angeles.