My Favorite Cover

My Favorite Cover: 
 

National Geographic
“Gender Revolution,” January 2017

Emmet Smith, Designer
Robin Hammond, Photographer

"In January, we published a special issue on gender. To examine how the conversation about gender is rapidly shifting, we spoke to 80 nine-year-old children from around the world. One of them was Avery Jackson. She has lived as an openly transgender girl since age five. We loved this photo of Avery—strong and proud. In a glance, she sums up the concept of 'Gender Revolution.' Says photographer Robin Hammond, 'It is my hope that Avery’s pride and confidence can act as a message of hope for a community who have, for far too long, been misunderstood and marginalized.'”

Critique: I think this is a well compositioned photo overall. The scene potrays what it was meant to potray very well. It sends a message that LGBT+ (Specifically Trans people) are standing tall and making their voices heard. It also informs LGBT+ people that they have voices and are not alone and ARE a part of the conversation in the first place. I like the photo's composition overall. The photo is slightly dark but I think that was a choice made by the photographer to make the picture look more dramatic. The placement of Avery's head is appealing, and I think it has the same effect as the rule of thirds does. But, the placement of her hand at the bottom is a bit distracting. The designer did a pretty good job of shading the bottom and top of the photo to not distract from Avery, but I would've done something more to make the hanging hand less distracting. As for the lighting and environment of the scene, I think it was set up very well. It's overall a very dramatic and intense piece that tells quite a story and I admire it very much.