Demonstration of technical and visual skills

Materials

• I will print the final images for assessment at the end of the course.

Techniques

• I used flash for a several of images, Responsibility, Informed and Love, and experimented with slow shutter speeds to give the movement in Responsbility. The biggest technical challenges were focusing and composition. For several of the shot I pre-focused manually and shot with a small aperture to give as larger a depth of field as possible to ensure I was in focus. In terms of composition it was a matter of trial and error to ensure that I was positioned in the correct part of the frame.

Observational skills, visual awareness, design & compositional skills –

• Given the limited number of places that I could shoot within my home I thought about trying to shoot in places where the background was simple so that the gestures and meanings I was trying to convey would not be obscured by elements in the background.
• For the image, Provider, I wanted to create something that had a passing reference to William Egglestone’s photographs of everday objects; although I was thinking more along the lines of his tricycle shot than his portrait of a supermarket worker.
• In all the shots I wanted to be present but not looking into the camera and so framed myself so that my face was out of the shot or it was obscured. Because of this, I think this assignment is the one where I have thought most about composition.

Quality of outcome

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

• I think the restrictions around coronavirus limited the options I had for this assignment but at the same time forced me to develop a concept that I would not ordinarily have done. In light of this I am relatively pleased with the final series but I think it might have been stronger if I had had more opportunites to shoot outside of my home.
• I felt that the research I did into photographers who had produced self-portraits did influence some of the decisions I made about how to photograph this assignment. Some of the knowledge I gained from the previous assignment I used again, e.g. when using flash for indoor shots.
• I have decided to present my images for this assignment on my blog with a border. I have recently displayed some prints at home and I think that incorporating a border to images makes them look more considered.
• Whilst working on this assignment I received my marks and feedback for my submission for Context and Narrative. The most relevant comment was the need to produce work that allowed the viewer to find their own interpretation. I have been mindful of this whilst shooting this assignment. I think there are a couple of images, Love and Informed where I have not suceeded and where the messaging is too obvious, but for the other images in the series I think I have produced images where the messaging is more subtle.

Demonstration of creativity

Imagination, experimentation & invention –

• Whilst I do not think the series is particularly imaginative, this is the first time I have really experimented with self-portraiture. In terms of portraiture it is the first time I have tried to create work where I have deliberately obscured the face and also the first time I have tried to create work that is trying to communicate meaning through the gestures in the images. It is also the first time I have experimented with introducing movement into an image by controlling lighting to give a slow shutter speed.

Context

Reflection, research (learning logs)

• Most of my research for this assignment has been looking at the work of photographers who have produced a body of work that includes a significant element of self-portraiture. This varies from Francesca Woodman and Keith Arnatt who produced work that was ambiguous and open to interpretation by the viewer, to more conventional work by Robert Mapplethorpe and Vivan Maier, which was more documentary in style. I have also looked at work by other, less well-known, photographers who produce self-portraits, namely Kyle Thompson and Rosie Hardy. Whilst Hardy’s work does not appeal to me I am impressed that she managed to create a self-portrait a day for a year. Thompson’s work I find much more appealling and enigmatic and his self-portaits where his face is not visible were an influence on my work for this assignment.
• Other photographers whose work I have looked at include Daniel Meadows, Dawoud Bey and Peter Dench. Although these photographers are not known for their self-portraiture, I came across them whilst researching and liked their work. For me, all of their work is marked by how they engage with their subjects.