"Amanda, this is a very thorough assignment where you have explored the pictorial side of things in a concise and exploratory manner. I think portrait photography is quite an underrated area of photography where so much is taken for granted. I’m not sure which photographers you looked at, but some interesting photographers that come to mind working in this genre and worth checking out are Diane Arbus, Joel Sternfeld, Joseph Karsh, August Sander, Thomas Ruff and Rineke Dijkstra. With the exception of Karsh, all of these photographers take photographic portraits of people within a certain environment, so it is good to see a variation of locations in your submission, as I think the sitter also has to adapt to a particular setting.
You may want to get credit for your hard work and achievements with the OCA by formally submitting your work for assessment at the end of the module. More and more people are taking the idea of lifelong learning seriously by submitting their work for assessment but it is entirely up to you. We are just as keen to support you whether you study for pleasure or to gain qualifications. Please consider whether you want to put your work forward for assessment and let me know your decision when you submit Assignment 2. I can then give you feedback on how well your work meets the assessment requirements.
Image #1
Derelict buildings are always good locations for photographs and you may also want to have a look at the work of Francesca Woodman who used the interiors of derelict buildings for her series of self-portraits. The viewer is drawn straightaway to Lloyd through the direct eye contact before examining the location in more detail. The doorway to the left caught my eye and wondered if you could have placed Lloyd in there whilst keeping a similar composition, the shadow area would have helped to create an interesting atmosphere within the frame.
Image #2
The high camera angle works well for this second image and the focal length is correct, a wider angle would have distorted the subject too much. Converting to monochrome also works well, although I would tend to keep to either colour or black & white for the rest of the assignments, mixing both in one assignment can be problematic because both mediums have different values that rarely combine well together.
Image #3
This image has quite a cluttered composition and I think could have worked better if you had concentrated on the left hand side of Lloyd (possibly a profile shot?), used a shallow depth of field so that the background was out of focus and converted to black & white. There is a little bit of lighting flare in the top left corner of he frame and I would suggest getting a lens hood that would really help with eliminating this. There is a good symmetry to the shot and you seem quite natural at being able to compose these kinds of images.
Image #4
This shot works really well and again the composition is very strong, sometimes these kinds of images can be too overpowering with the amount of colour and graphical elements going on, but here the mix is just right. The posture and pose of the model is good and he looks relaxed and at ease. Working with models can be quite difficult, it is the photographer’s job to make them feel relaxed and at ease otherwise the shots can be too tense and lack any intimacy.
Image #5
The close up shot of Lloyd highlights the intimacy that can be achieved in photography, most of the time the location is not so important with this style of imagery as the subject fills the majority of the frame. From the background we can see it is a sunny day and you have used the more subdued light to good effect.
Image #6
I think shooting at dusk provides a good atmosphere where colour can be at its most natural, yes it can make shutter speeds quite slow and it is always worth having a tripod at hand, but here the combination of Lloyds pose, the location and the light make for a very good shot. You could have cropped in closer to a ‘head & shoulders’ type of image just to simplify the composition, but as it is the image also works well.
Image #7
This shot is a little problematic as Lloyd’s head is out of proportion with his body, I’m not sure what focal length you used but for full-length shots such as this, at least 50mm is needed. The white backdrop of the lighthouse works well and you may want to have a look at Richard Avedon’s series American West, where he used a white backdrop and a large format 10 x 8 camera. Using this kind of camera requires the photographer to work differently, but the shots themselves are highly detailed and in some ways are like paintings.
Image #8
The final shot does indeed portray the ‘mean and moody’ aspect well, it is a bit of a clichéd image but nonetheless the viewer gets a good sense of the photographer’s intentions. These kinds of shots are always in demand from photo libraries and agencies as they work with people’s perceptions.
Your learning log/blog is coming along well, try and include examples of other photographers’ work in there (why you like the shots/ideas etc) and reviews/comments of any exhibitions or books. Its always worthwhile bringing other influences into it as well such as music, other art mediums, writing etc as these do inform your work on many different levels."
I am going to try to explore the main suggestions made by my tutor to see if I prefer the outcomes or if I am to keep by submission as it is.
# Image 1
My tutor felt that I could expand on the doorway present in the original shot and I had originally on shoot wanted to incorporate the doorway more. This was the very first image I took on location and agree the doorway does create an interesting atmosphere. I prefer the model pose in the originally submitted image, hence why I decided to include that for the assignment.
 |
| No Entry... |
# Image 2
I have not created an adjusted image here, I just wanted to add an explanation following the comment regarding the monochrome choice of this image. I included this as I really liked the pose and composition of the image and felt it was a strong portrait shot of Lloyd. However, this image was taken on my old camera phone and at the time I had alternated between colour and black and white shooting. As much as I like the black and white image, had I had a colour image I could've included that here as an adjustment, if i hadn't in the original submission. I do feel that the black and white adds to the feel of the image, with it being in a derelict porchway, but I do agree and have noted on the comment of mixing colour with black and white images in a single collection.
# Image 3
I really like this image and as stated by my tutor, it does look slightly 'busy'. As with the previous image, this too was taken on my old camera phone and as well as my personal favoritism with these two images, I also included them to show a portrait of Lloyd over a longer time scale. Without trying to sound like I am making excuses, if I had used more suitable equipment this image may have had a better composition but I have included as an adjustment a slightly different image taken during the same shoot which could possibly have scored slightly better feedback.
 |
| Rest in new rocks... |
# Image 6
My tutor felt that I could've simplified the original submission by cropping to a head and shoulders shot but after adjusting this image to include here, I really do prefer the original image. I feel that Lloyd seems a lot more relaxed with the inclusion of the clasped hands resting on his knees. Here is the adjustment for you to compare;
 |
| Taking a break... |
# Image 7
My tutor quite rightly said that this image is problematic as Lloyds head is out of proportion to his body. The focal length was at 60mm which is the first problem and the second is that I was standing a step down than Lloyd was so my camera angle was completely wrong as well. I have included here an alternative image that I would change to include in my assignment instead of the original. I think I originally overlooked this image as the pose looks slightly awkward but the composition is much better.
 |
| Looking fierce... |
So that concludes my first assignment. And looking at it now, I'm very proud of it. And of the feedback I have received for it. I will take on board the comments from my tutor and try to incorporate them into the rest of this course.
No comments:
Post a Comment