This photo journalism exhibition was created to accompany the ‘In Our Hands’  Paper presented to Cabinet which outlined the 10 steps requested  by young people of Wirral.

We started this project by thinking about how powerful documentary photography can be – the effect that The Falling Soldier 1936 and Napalm Girl 1972 had on a world that was not used to seeing the realities of war.  We looked at Dorothea Lange Migrant mother 1936 which captured the United States’ Great Depression and learnt how when this image was published it resulted in money and food being sent to the destitute and starving.

We considered and debated the ethics of the manipulation of scenes and set group ground rules about who and what was appropriate to photograph.

The next stage was workshops to identify how to capture images of young people of Wirral authentically. The group decided we needed to go to where young people go to – The Pyramids food court, McDonald’s, cinema, Council Youth Centres, parks, play schemes, Public transport, New Brighton, arcades and the beach.

Over six weeks, shooting at weekends and evenings, eight young women were assisted to photograph this impressive body of imaginative and technically skilled images. The high standard of work reflects their commitment and professional way they have approached the project.