Stripped Session 7

 This was a hard session for both the subject and the photographer.  I actually stopped the session twice, once to ask Mayson if she wanted to proceed with the question I had asked and another point to give her a hug.  I think this is why I am drawn to this project.  To be real.  We live in a world where we post on social media what we want people to see and think about us and when someone is face to face and they ask "How are you?" our immediate response is "Good." when some of us might really want to say "I am having a hard time right now."

Mayson and I started chatting about her upcoming graduation which was 5 days away when we spoke.  We talked about her plans after graduation and where she sees herself after this summer.  As I was checking the framing of the camera, I asked her about her boyfriend.  I hadn't realized that they were no longer together.  If you take a look at the 15th photo of Mayson below, you can see the reaction and why I stopped to ask if she wanted to skip this topic.  She said she was ok to tell me about it.  She spoke about how they met, when they started dating all the way through the break up and now the aftermath.  

Teenagers have no idea the power of their words.  

When I steered the conversation to family and her upcoming graduation party, I didn't realize that I was going to steer us right into another emotional subject.  When she told me that her grandpa was coming from out of state, I said "Oh you must be excited to see him!" she nodded as tears swelled up again in her eyes.  Her grandpa has stage 4 lung cancer and this will most likely be the last time she sees him.  

Mayson's first 18 years have come with some hard life situations that most kids, heck most adults do not go through in their lifetime. Parents divorcing when she was at a young age and living with one parent for a little while to moving with the other parent for a short period and then back again is a roller coaster for a child that just wants to feel safe.

  One of the positive things that she does have in her life at this moment, are her friends.  When she spoke of these group of girls, she would light up.  "They know me.  They know what to say to me if I am having a hard time."  

This is Mayson stripped...

The camera is mounted on a tripod with a slow shutter speed to capture movement.