We decided to photograph Sofiya around UCL and SSEES as that is where she studies, reflecting both her heritage but also her current life. It was important for us to convey Sofiya in a way that is true to her current life and not to portray a stereotype of her culture. Sofia is a young person and the first thing you notice about her isn’t her culture or background, and it would therefore not be fair to depict her as such.
We photographed Sofiya smiling directly at the camera as this pose is what best showed off her personality: outgoing and bubbly from the moment we met her. We also decided to keep the pictures in colour and adjust the warmth and saturation to ensure that all the colours were strong and not faded. We felt that losing the colour would lead to a loss of warmth making Sofiya come across as less welcoming. We also made sure that the focus was always on Sofiya by making the background out of focus and blurry.
The photograph was taken in Gordon Square Park. We chose this location as Sofiya is currently completing a master’s degree at SSEES where she is focusing her studies on Ukraine. She is undeniably proud of her cultural heritage and seeing someone young wanting to show off their country with as much pride as Sofiya does, is not something that is always shown.
We also photographed Sofiya in Woburn Square where she suggested we take a “goofy” picture. Although we hadn’t initially thought this would be a good portrait, upon reflection we realised that actually it perfectly encapsulated her enthusiasm and personality.
Here is a short documentary about her experience as a Ukrainian living outside Ukraine:
European London 