A decent portrait usually follows a stale set of film stars’ poses, and portrait photographers seldom probe their lenses into gestures or facial expressions or, even further, social issues. But Dawoud Bey, a portrait photographer whose works are featured in museums across the world, has a different goal for his pictures, which capture the emotions of its subjects through portraits and recorded interviews.

“I want my works to be a force for good,” Bey said.

Bey’s unconventional method for portraiture is well-documented at Emory’s Visual Arts Building in his exhibit Class Pictures. The project is the result of 15 years of work; from 1992 to 2007, Bey documented high school students from around the country. Visual Arts Building Director Mary Catherine Johnson carefully selected a collection of about 25 pieces from Bey’s original work of 60 portraits, which are placed alongside quotes from the featured student about his or her life views. The exhibit, which opened last week, will run through March 4.

Video-recorded interviews with the students play in the building’s multimedia room, providing interested viewers an animated annotation to the pictures. Pamphlets of the students’ stories as well as printed media reviews are available in the doorway and by the entrance of the gallery, for references.

Picturing students from Florida to San Francisco, Class Pictures covers not only a broad geographical scope, but also a wide cultural scope. The pictures feature a group of different races and social classes but reveals their shared adolescent condition in the United States.

In an age of manipulative commercial images, Bey said he sees portrait photography, with its universal accessibility, a way to “surpass cultural boundaries.” Bey said portraiture is an effective way to decompose stereotyped assumption on certain groups, and reveal a complexity of personalities beyond fleeting observations.

Students pictured include Sarah, the daughter of an Iranian who asked her not to mention his nationality on her college applications. Sarah eventually did not include the information, but she was hesitant to leave such a part of her identity out of the application.

The caption next to her portrait details Sarah’s hesitancy: “I didn’t know whether or not to put it in ‘cause, you know, when he first told me not to ... it was like, of course I’m going to tell! It’s part of who I am!”

Another student, Kenneth, discussed the direction school provided in his life, especially after one of his friends was shot dead on the street.

“If it wasn’t for school, I don’t know where I’d be,” Kenneth’s caption reads. “I wish I could have my friend back ... that’s why I try to focus on other, more positive stuff.”

Kenneth went on to mention how his friend’s death motivated him to do well in school, and aim for goals like opening his own record label.

Bey used social science research methods, the photography concept of a “moment of precision” and elaborate composition to formulate Class Pictures. Bey tried to be as objective as possible when asking the students questions about their life views.

“In an empty classroom, I gave [the students] plenty of time to write the answers, and put those answers into a bag without looking at them,” Bey said.

The short commentaries written by the subjects — which later hung next to the photos in the gallery — address issues such as what secret they’ve never told anyone or what attributes they want others to see in them.

Post-interviews, Bey worked with four or five cameras simultaneously to produce the portraits.

The results grasp the students’ emotions and concerns in a natural and relaxed way, clearly capturing their facial expressions and body language.

Bey has focused on social change with his career in photography, which began in 1975 and initially focused on outdoor photography.

“I want to challenge the status quo, to contest the kinds of images that existed in popular culture, that staked out my own sense of who and what the subject matter was and why they’re important,” Bey said.

Bey was inspired by portrait photographers such as Michael Disfarmer, who paid special attention to the individuality of portrait subjects, and switched to indoor portraits.

But Bey’s concerns about social conditions didn’t fade, and resulted in projects focused on certain groups, such as the adolescents featured in Class Pictures, which was preceded by The Chicago Project, which featured students from Chicago.

The thoughtful pictures against the white walls of the Visual Arts gallery, in their forceful narrative art form, give viewers the chance to look beyond social misunderstandings and reflect on a snapshot of the American adolescent experience.

— Contact Chantal Yu