Demonstration of technical and visual skills

Materials

• I intend to produce prints of these images and give a copy to the people who agreed to be photographed.

Techniques

• Technically I did not use any novel or unusual techniques; all the images were shot handheld without using flash. The most notable technique I did use was to ask people if I could take their photograph and explain my reasons for wanting to do so.

Observational skills, visual awareness, design & compositional skills –

• With this assignment I made a concerted effort to consider the background of the image in order to include some detail that would provide context for the viewer. Where I think I was less successful was in considering the lighting available as some of the images were spoilt by having uneven or unflattering top lighting.
• I recognised that in some images I was concentrating on the person in the image and not considering where they were in the frame and as a result some images have a lop-sided feel to them but overall I think the final five images I selected work well.

Quality of outcome

Content, application of knowledge, presentation, discernment, conceptualisation, communication of ideas –

• I am happy with the overall quality of the final five images I have selected, even though there are some technical issues that I would like to address if I had the opportunity.
• I am slightly unsure whether the objective of this assignment was do do with the end result or the process, moving out of ones ‘comfort zone’. I didn’t feel that asking to take people’s pictures was too challenging, by contrast trying to work quickly and efficiently in shops with poor or variable lighting was much more of a challenge.
• I made a conscious effort to take on board the learnings from the exercise looking at the work of August Sander and in particular his careful consideration of the background of a portrait.
• I think I have presented the images in a considered manner and the images themselves show a consistent style.
• I think I have demonstrated some of the challenges I initially encountered, and how this resulted in some images being unsuitable for consideration. Of those images I initially considered I have explained my reasons for excluding them from the final selection.
• I think all the images are in line with my initial concept, which was to shoot in a controlled, indoor environment where it would be possible to use the background to provide context. I also think that looking at the final images it would be possible to discern where the individual are and make a reasonable guess as to their line of work.

Demonstration of creativity

Imagination, experimentation & invention –

• I do not think any of the images were experimental or imaginative. This is in part due to the nature of a portrait and what I was trying to achieve in terms of providing information. It is also because I thought that it might have been off-putting for the individuals being photographed and may have resulted in them being less willing to take part.

Context

Reflection, research (learning logs)

• I have been keeping my learning log up-to-date and working through the exercises in this section. My main research was investigating the work of August Sander. Whilst taking the images for this assignment I went to the Central Library in Cambridge to look at The Americans by Robert Frank. Whilst this did not directly influence my approach I had not seen the complete series and I was interested to see this seminal work first hand. Having researched Robert Frank a bit further I was struck by the number of photographs he took whilst travelling across America taking images that would feature in the book. It reinforced the point that in order to take more good photographs, you need to take more photographs.