Project: Tattoo Photography

Premise: Tattoos have meaning and tell stories. In other cultures, tattoos are looked at as a conduit for story telling, both on the personal and public levels. In our culture, not having a generic rubric of tattoo meanings, this type of storytelling is largely overlooked.

Purpose:

  • To show tattoos as a medium for storytelling and to document the stories told by participants’ ink.
  • To show the beauty, popularity and artistry of tattoos.
  • To show the breakdown of the gender barrier in the popularity and acceptance of tattoos.
  • To code and analyze meanings people attribute to their tattoos.

Scope and Description: This project will document tattoos and will show the diversity of looks and styles. I will take photographs of people with tattoos, both as close-ups and portraits. In addition, videotaped interviews will be required to capture descriptions of what the tattoos mean to the folks who have them, why they chose to have a tattoo, etc.

I have been asked a number of times if I will pay participants. Unfortunately, I cannot. Someday if tattoo photography turns into a profitable venture for me, we can discuss it then. This is what we call a TFCD arrangement, meaning Time for CD. You get a CD of your photos for your trouble. Usually I send these out a week or so after the photo shoot so I can have some time to edit the photos.

Please contact me if you are interested in taking part in this project. I look forward to meeting you.

Click here to see all the tattoo-related posts. You can also see the best tattoo photos here.

Examples: