Shooting a cliche

One of the fun things about art school is that a lot of it involves problem-solving, but some of it is simply assignments to see if you can think creatively. One of the assignments for my current class asked us to research a cliche and find images that portray the cliche (whether intentional or not). It was preferred that we find professionally composed images.

The cliche I chose to research was "all dressed up and nowhere to go". The paper discussed the history of social network sites like Myspace, Twitter, and Facebook. These sites spawned a new trend in photography: selfies. Some selfies are pretty interesting (like a person standing in front of the Big Buddha on vacation), but some selfies have endured harsh criticism (think bathroom selfies). Bathroom selfies, complete with duck lips and a disgusting lack of Pine Sol and a rag, is an amateur's version of my cliche.

I did go on to cite professional compositions that hit on the cliche, and got to spend the rest of the paper critiquing the professional's set, composition, camera angle, model, wardrobe, etc. I find that I get better at my own art when I critique a professional's work. It just makes sense.

The next night, I had to shoot a cliche. I didn't have to shoot the cliche I researched, so I shot "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade". Again, this set was built in my studio (this is nowhere near what my kitchen actually looks like). What are your thoughts?

When Life Gives You Lemons...

I really enjoy building sets for my shoots. Perhaps I've found my favorite genre of photography?