Barnardo’s makes it clear it is futures like these which they aim to save. They do this by raising money by the public and with this aid, help thousands of children and their families, at home, school and the local community.
In order to raise this financial aid in the first place, Barnardo’s very cleverly creates advertisements such as this which all have an underlying message. This one in particular has a little caption next to the child on the edge of the building saying ‘Martin Ward/Age 29’.
This will come as a big shock to the public having looked at this photo as it uncovers the veil between their lifestyle and how bad other people’s domestic problems can be. It makes them realise how fortunate they are and makes them feel they have to do something about it.
If there was a 29 year old man in the photo, it won’t have the same appeal as there isn’t anything you can do whereas the fact that there is a little child there, it makes you think there’s still time to do something about it to change his future.
Barnardo’s very carefully takes the shot in the way that it’s pointing down diagonally towards the child, being the focal point. This is to show just how high up he is which effectively emphasises the sheer drop that is before him.
In terms of production work, the image is very dark, maybe to reflect how his childhood has been. Light is shining from the top of the photo onto the child’s back. This is effective in the way that the light could represent his deliverance. However, his back is turned on it while he is facing the darkness at the bottom of the drop. This too, places shock upon the reader.
However, the most shocking thing is the way the child is standing on the edge of a building. This has been achieved by CGI technology.
In terms of props, the baby is wearing very large clothes. His t-shirt for instance is reaching his wrist and his shorts are nearly by his ankles. It is as if he’s wearing a 29 year olds clothes which makes this photo even more distressing.
Also, if you compare the child with the baby in Barnardo’s logo, they are in complete contrast with each other. The baby in the logo is obviously having great fun and as the support of two adults, both physically and metaphorically whereas the child in the photo has no support at all. This shows that words can’t describe what he must have been through to think that jumping of the building is the better way through all this.