A Deadly Search for Euphoria: A Visual Essay on Drug Addiction and Adolescence

“When I R.I.P.” is based around the everyday experience of a drug addict. It is heavily inspired by the HBO series Euphoria, which is adapted from an Israeli show by the same name and director Sam Levinson’s own battle with drug addiction. The title of this project is borrowed from Labrinth, singer-songwriter and creator of the show’s score.

Euphoria follows a group of high schoolers navigating relationships amidst a social landscape overrun with drugs, sex, trauma, and social media.

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What I did

News about the opioid epidemic in the United States was widely broadcast in 2018 and 2019. But amidst the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the opioid crisis worsened in 2020, and there are no current signs that it is subsiding, according to Shanoor Servaai, Researcher, Writer, and Lead Podcast Producer at The Commonwealth Fund.

In this project, I focus on opioid addiction among the younger generations. Health Care Reporter at CNBC, Berkeley Lovelace, Jr., writes that young people are typically introduced to opioids via prescription drugs, looking to “relieve pain, relax, feel good, or get high.” In 2019, addiction among both Millenials and Gen Z was of particular concern.

My model, Maeve Denton and I had a conversation about our own struggles with mental health as well as how addiction has affected our generation, Gen Z.

I framed the story around a young woman struggling with her mental health who seeks solace in drugs as a form of escape, similar to the conflict of Euphoria’s protagonist Rue Bennett.

On the technical side, I used an 85mm f/1.2 lens, a ring light and RGB lights to help achieve a cinematic look and to match the show’s euphoric style.

What I Learned

I surprised myself with this shoot as well as in the edit. I learned much more about photoshop and about myself regarding my workflow.

I got very familiar with:

● Clone stamp tool

● Content-aware fill

● Patch tool

I am still working on being more efficient both when I’m shooting and when I’m sitting in front of the computer editing photos.

As expected, the larger edits took a longer time to complete because I used new tools in Photoshop, and I had to watch a few tutorials on YouTube in order to achieve my desired look.

What I Take Away from this Project

It was important to me that I treat this subject seriously, and I hope that comes across in this photoset. I will apply my newly-acquired photoshop skills as well as my improving framing and composition techniques to future projects.

While I have staged photo shoots before, this project was interesting to approach in this regard because I had limited resources at my disposal, such as other props and other people to model in some of the shots.