Work Diary - Eleventh Shoot - James Cant

For this session, I focused on the work of James Cant and decided to use the same techniques as him to produce similar images. This connects with my project of society as it looks at identity and concentrates on the different identities that an individual in society can have - showing a good and bad side to my subjects. This is done through scenery, facial expression and editing. Similarly to Cant's images, I have used a straight angle when showing the subject as an innocent and happy individual but a side angle when showing a rougher side, this is so that the viewer can connect with the subject and automatically understand what I am trying to achieve.

This image is my favourite from the shoot - I like how the first image is a huge contrast to the second. The first picture is very bright and emphasises the innocence of my subject, he also has a happy facial expression to further highlight his personality. On the other hand, the second image is rougher looking and I used a different background to match it with the subject's facial expression.

However, this picture has a similar background - this affects the image as the contrast between the two images is reduced. I could have also edited the second image better so that the subject looks more dangerous.

Work Diary - Fifth Shoot - Potter Street

This was my last shoot focusing on residential areas and distinguishing between different social classes and comparing them in terms of housing. I shot in a wealthy area for this session, allowing me to capture the types of houses and cars that the middle class may own. This can be compared to my other residential shoots, especially with estate shoot I did, which is a huge contrast to the houses in this shoot. At the beginning of the shoot, I had an idea of what I needed to capture but I was worried that the images would be very similar to all my other residential shoots, making my work boring and repetitive. However, as the shoot went on, I noticed that by changing angles, I was able to add diversity to my work and stop my images from being repetitive. 

I really like this image from the shoot, mostly because of the crooked angle. As this was in a posh area, the angle makes it seem rough and dodgy - I enjoyed experimenting with this as it shows connotations of danger; the bushes also hide most of the front garden, which further emphasises this. I also used a lower aperture here so that less light would be picked up, making the image look dark and mysterious.

This image from the shoot could have been framed better - the lamppost on the left looks out of place and ruins the image. The bottom of the picture is leo very dark and is unclear to the viewer, this also ruins the picture and make it unexciting.

Work Diary - Tenth Shoot - Lee Jeffries (Studio)

For my last shoot, I focused on Lee Jeffries techniques in order to explore identities and portray my subjects in a vulnerable light. By using a black background, I was able to make my subjects stand out, which is similar to his work. At first, I was unsure about the shadows - I experimented with the lights and kept manipulating them until I found the best light to capture my subject in; I wanted the shadows to put emphasis on my subject's facial expressions and highlighting their facial features, which I further highlighted when editing the images on Photoshop. 

This is my favourite image from the whole shoot. I like how the shadow on the side of her face has created a big focus on the left side, forcing the viewer to focus on her facial features and her expression, connecting her with the viewer. The black background contrasts with her white jumper, once again, forcing the viewer to pay attention to my subject rather than the surroundings.

I also like this image; I think by covering my subject's face, it makes her look even more vulnerable and prevents the viewer from bonding with her, which makes them pay more attention to the image and find other clues on the subject. Having her hair tied up allows me to show her face and the shadows created.

Work Diary - Ninth Shoot - Personality/Identity (Studio)

For this shoot, I wanted to use the technique of multiple imagery to show one subject but with different emotions; this is so I can portray identity in society and emphasise on how an individual can have a diversity of emotions or feelings, some hidden. By using this technique, I can portray my subjects in different lights with different personalities, engaging the viewer and forcing them to look at each image and connect with the subjects differently. At first, I wasn't sure how I was going to put emphasis on my subject's face and the facial expressions, which I wanted to highlight. However, as I progressed with my shoot, I found that a close up angle was the best way to do this - it focuses only on the subject's face and by using a dark background, I created a big contrast between the surroundings and my subjects, once again, allowing my subjects to stand out from the images and be highlighted.

Out of my shoot, I think this image came out really good. I like how my subject really contrasts with the dark background and how the light has been directly focused on her, lighting up her face, giving her a glowing skin tone. This further highlights the theme of identity and ensures she is the centre of attention in the whole image.

I like this image but I think it could have been better; I could have experimented with the lighting to make my subject brighter, which would have allowed her to stand out from the image. However, I like how the background from each image has a vignette effect - this ensures the viewer is focusing on the subject rather than the background.

In the future, I would like to work and experiment with close up angles; this will allow me to manipulate the subject and use lighting more, giving me a better idea on how to manipulate the lighting.

Straight Images - Tenth Shoot - Lee Jeffries (Studio)

Contact Sheets - Tenth Shoot - Lee Jeffries (Studio)

Overall Project Evaluation

We have now finished this project and I have enjoyed it from the beginning. At first, I was a bit confused an unsure on where this topic was going to take me but after doing a couple of shoots, I started heading towards a documentary-style project, allowing me to portray society and highlight some social issues in our community. As my shoots progressed, I explored more cultures and started comparing them in my work, this allowed me to be analytical and critical of my own work, enabling me to find what to improve in future shoots. This has helped me develop my Photography and plan my shoots ahead so I knew what I was meant to do in particular shoots. Furthermore, I have become more familiar with the aperture settings on my camera, as I experimented on my shoots in order to find out which aperture was best for particular images, I began to see the difference this made to my work, allowing me to manipulate the brightness and the lighting as much as I wanted to, so that it suited my images. Although, I didn't spend much time on Photoshop as my images didn't need much editing, apart from my James Russell Cant shoot, I spent some time on the computer experiments, which meant I could practice my Photoshop skills and discover new tools - I also came across some new ways of editing with my James Russell Cant shoot, as I had to learn how to add scanning lines to my images, so they look like they've been taken from CCTV footage. Overall, this project has made me more critical of my work and has forced my to plan my shoots so I knew what I was doing - in the future, I will be more organised so that my shoots are done at their best. If I had the chance to do this project again, I would have spent more time in the studio, allowing me to concentrate some more on emotions and personalities found in our society.

Society Essay - Bibliography

https://memory.loc.gov/ammem/awhhtml/awpnp6/migrant_mother.html

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/society

http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/60602/roger-fenton-valley-of-the-shadow-of-death-english-april-23-1855/

http://time.com/3793028/joel-meyerowitz-taking-his-time/

http://thewildmagazine.com/blog/lee-jeffries-street-photography/

https://iso.500px.com/lee-jeffries-favorite-photos-on-500px/

http://www.photoworkshopadventures.com/Team-Seymour-Templar.html

http://sallymann.com/

http://www.dontcallmeurban.com/

Straight Images - Eleventh Shoot - James Cant

Straight Images - Fifth Shoot - Potter Street

Contact Sheets - Eleventh Shoot - James Cant

Contact Sheets - Fifth Shoot - Potter Street

Straight Images - Ninth Shoot - Personality/Identity (Studio)

Contact Sheets - Ninth Shoot - Personality/Identity (Studio)

Contact Sheets - Twelfth Shoot - Photojoiner

Work Diary - Eighth Shoot - Chinatown

For this session, I went to Chinatown aiming to capture the Asian culture that is found in that particular area. At first, I found this fairly easy as I had done some culture shoots before and I knew how to adjust the aperture for each picture so that the correct amount of light enters the lens, however, as the shoot progressed, I began running out of ideas of images to photograph. After walking around the area, I decided to try and focus on the buildings as I thought this could show culture in some way; most shops had their titled translated into another language on top of their entrances, I found this very interesting as this area was in Central London, yet consisted of a whole other culture, where individuals would speak a completely different languages and have different traditions. I also tried capturing this through the architecture found in Chinatown as most of their buildings had a roof with a kind of upturned "artichoke leaf" design, which is normally associated with Chinese culture. In addition to this, I also tried capturing people more, allowing me to show specific individuals in society and match them with the area I was photographing.

I think this picture is one of my favourites from this shoot; the angle was very well thought of and planned carefully before the image was shot. I was aiming to capture a Chinese archway in front of a British-like building. I positioned the camera in such a way that the archway was not included completely but just enough so that the viewer can see what I was trying to achieve. I also like how some shadows are present on the front of the archway, restricting the viewer from seeing some of the designs and writings on it, however, they can still see the writings on the side of the archway so they are still able to see what I want them too whilst still keeping some sort of mystery, making the viewer wonder. Furthermore, the buildings in the back add the element of colour to my picture as they contrast with the colours of the archway, creating diversity and making my image more attractive.

I really like this image, however I should have composed the picture better because the green extension is blocking some of the view, which would have made the picture brighter and clearer for the viewer to imagine. I could also have used a better angle in order to show how people in society see different cultures on a daily basis but think of it as normal, highlighting how cultures can easily adapt to societies and fit in.

In the future, I would like to focus more on individuals in society. By photographing them, I will be able to portray their feelings and emotions, as well as their personality and highlight the different types of personalities that can be found in one society.

Work Diary - Fourth Shoot - Elmar Road

This session consisted of a shoot in Tottenham, where I was aiming to capture the rough, working class side of the whole residential theme I am exploring. I started off my shoot in a local park, where I manipulated the angles in each picture to make it look dodgy and unsafe, which is ironic as it was a children's park. I think this added symbolism to my work as it showed that although one would normally expect children to be safe in a park, they are not due to society and the individuals who make up that society. I tried showing this by using a small aperture, such as F11 so that the pictures come out dark and dim, emphasising on the danger that can occur. As I continued with the shoot, I moved on to a street with houses, where I was still trying to experiment with angles, allowing me to include exactly what I wanted in my images and omit what I didn't want. I found that by using angles that weren't straight, I was able to give out a bad impression of the street within the first few seconds that the viewer looks at the picture - this is because the angle makes the area look unstable, suggesting it is very risky and dangerous.

Out of the whole shoot, I think this picture is my favourite - the white wall is almost right in the middle of the picture, acting as a line cutting the image in half. I find this interesting because the half of the picture where the sofa has been left looks dodgy, whereas the other half looks like a normal, safe, clean street. This is exactly what I was trying to achieve with this image; the connotations of this is that society can be very diverse and although something may look a certain way, it may not necessarily be that way. In this case, the street looks dodgy because of the abandoned couch but it is clear to the viewer that if this particular item was not present, this image would have portrayed a perfectly safe street, with no signs of danger.

Originally, I was aiming to create a blurred effect with this image so that the viewer can concentrate more on the colours and their connotations, such as the dark green mould on the ground, showing that the park has not been looked after for a while and how it is very unhygienic due to the rubbish that is found all over the picture, but this did not quite work out as the image does not look very exciting. I think by making the image sharper, I could have made it more attractive to the viewer by allowing them to see a more sharp, crisp dark green colour on the ground, which will get them to understand what is going on in the picture.

In the future, I would like to add more symbolism to my images when shooting on location in parks around residential areas. This will give my work more meaning and allow the viewer to explore the content even more and pick our certain ideas or connotations from them. I am finding this hard as parks are very repetitive and I am focusing more on the residential area rather than the park itself. This can be overcome by framing my shot better, allowing me to include what I want to and use an angle in which I can show a specific idea and try to imply something to the viewer.

Work Diary - Sixth Shoot - Camden (Day)

For this shoot, I shot Camden during the day. The reason why I decided on Camden is due to the fact that there are a diversity of cultures that can be found in that particular area. My original aim was to capture the market and compare it to the one in Southall so that the differences as well as similarities between the two are shown. However, I soon realised that cultures could be shown in other ways, like in Southall. When I got there, I decided to walk around for a while before beginning my shoot, this allowed me to figure out what I wanted to picture other than the market and I started getting ideas on how I was going to capture these images. The second time I walked around, I started shooting and by using a variety of angles, I found this to be a good way of making my pictures look very different from each other; almost like they were taken on different shoots on different locations. By doing this, I am able to produce unique pictures that are very different from each other. I also tried including more people in this shoot as I noticed that I have not really captured individuals in society for my previous shoots - this means I can show the viewer what kind of people go to the specific area that I am photographing and I can portray their emotions along with their feelings through facial expressions. It was fairly easy to capture people and I decided not to let them know at first so that my pictures can be a true snapshot of society at that particular time.

Personally, I really like this picture from my shoot. This is because of the element of light that has been portrayed through the lamp shades hanging from the ceiling; this also shows elements of pattern and repetition as the designs on each lamp shade is emphasised by the lights. I also like the use of colour - I angled the camera in such a way that I could capture the lights from the lamp shades but omit other light sources, hence why they are at the corner of the picture. When a viewer first look at the picture, they automatically focus on the lights, allowing them to explore the picture gradually, the lights act as a guide, forcing the viewer to focus on that bit of the image before moving on to another part.

I think this picture came out really well due to the lighting, I used a small aperture at around F12 in order to create this effect. However, I think I should have used a bigger aperture (around F8) so that the security guard can be seen a bit more - this will give more excitement to my picture and allow the scene to look slightly more dangerous. I could also have edited this image better on Photoshop and made the security guard brighter in that way, whilst keeping the rest of the image dark, further emphasising the danger of the area, making it look even more dodgy.

In the future, I would like to experiment more with aperture, before taking the picture I desire, I need to find the correct aperture so that the image can come out exactly like I want it to. By experimenting, I will also allow myself to gain a deeper knowledge on aperture and shutter speed, enabling me to produce a more variety of pictures.

Straight Images - Eighth Shoot - Chinatown