Presentation

Below is my script for my presentation, and the coordinating slides with simple images to illustrate my points.

'Presentation Script.

1. Good morning/afternoon, I have chosen the editorial brief for the past six weeks and will be sharing with you what I’ve been up to. I chose this brief mainly to take more photos and build my on portfolio, but also to learn about the industry and how to get published. I hope you find some of what I say interesting and I don’t bore you to death!

2. The briefs we were set were very different to my usual style, forcing me to take an approach I perhaps wasn’t comfortable with. I never take photos of people and have done so for each mini brief we were set. Working to set briefs was difficult yet could happen very often within editorial publishing so I was happy to take on the challenge.

3. This series, which could be used to advertise the shop in Affleck’s Palace, was most challenging, as working with the public can be daunting for anyone. However I was pleased to have engaged with the theme as communicating with the public is a very important factor of working as a photographer.

4. This abstract portrait is based on the theme of anarchism, with the intention to provoke ideas of drug use and the glamorisation of it. I would aim for this image to be published in some form of newspaper or magazine article on a subject relating to this, and feel it could reach a wide range of publications.

5. Obviously at this level we have more creative freedom, so I managed to sneak an animal into a fashion based photograph(!), however when researching I came across publications that had very strict submission requirements, limiting the choices for the photographers, something I’m sure many of you may resent the thought of.

6. For example, this is a canon EOS based magazine, therefore understandably only accepting images taken on a canon EOS camera. An article by the technical editor stated that they are very specific when selecting images, due to the content of the publication and the audience, which is important to note when trying to get published.

7. Lindsay Alder, a fashion photographer who took this image, speaks in an article about the importance of planning when trying to get published. It is important to be individual and stand out as a photographer, yet fit into the magazines themes without repeating features within past issues. She also talks about when contacting a publication, the importance to know it well, along with its audience.

8. I bared this advice in mind when I took it upon myself to send emails to photographic editors of wildlife publications. I asked similar questions to all, about how they commission photographers, as I didn’t expect many replies and so thought it best to ask the same question to a few places.

9. Of the four I chose to email, by the very next day I had two replies. Surprisingly, one of these was from the BBC, who didn’t have a lot to answer my question with but supplied me with a link to a page on their website with information on how to try and get your images published for the BBC.

10. The other email was from Cheshire Wildlife Trust. I emailed them mainly because I am from Cheshire, but again didn’t expect a reply. However, choosing to email them turned out to be a good decision, as it may have opened doors for me. The editor who replied told me that they don’t currently commission photographers, for financial reasons, yet went on to say that they often carry features from those willing to work for free.

11. He then suggested that I contact him should I wish find out more about their features and potentially work for them, also asking to see my portfolio. He is a wildlife and conservation photographer himself and this is one of his images that I found on his website, tommarshallphoto.co.uk.

12. I have always been reserved about emailing people, and therefore have limited my own photographic opportunities. This experience demonstrated the importance of communication in the art world.  By simply putting ourselves out there we can develop professional relationships that can lead to published work and our names and images becoming more well known.

13. Another way of getting our images known is through stock photography, which can cover almost any photographic area. At first I thought that stock photography seemed to undermine a photographer’s creativity, due to its accessibility, yet it is so often used within publications that it is an important area to look into.

14. Although there is such a variety available on stock libraries, it is important to remember that there will always be gaps in the market. By keeping an eye on the stock market along with directly contacting publications, the opportunity to fill these gaps may arise. Again this reinforces the importance of communication within the photographic world.

15. I came across an article about how to get your images onto travel image libraries, which gave some tips that could come in helpful. They were quite obvious points such as ensuring to choose the right library and to be ruthless when selecting images, however the simple things can sometimes make the biggest difference.

16. Another thing I researched was photographer rates. It is hard to price ourselves as students, and it is important to gain none-paid work for experience. Yet it is also important not to be taken advantage of just because we are students. We should have set rates for paid work and stick to them.

17. There are cost factors for us all to include such as equipment costs and travel, with even more dependent on your area of specialism, for example if you need to hire models, studios etc. Pricing is obviously very different for everyone, as we all have individual finical needs. Whilst researching, I came across an article with tips on how to set pricing.

18. The main points on this article involved planning, as does every aspect of a photography career. Pricing your work and service takes a lot of thinking about as you take into account your expenses, whilst keeping in mind the audience of your work and the kind of clients you want to reach.

19. Before taking on this brief, I knew little about where I would go after University. All I knew was the kind of photography that I enjoy and that it is quite difficult to get into, which was understandably off-putting. However after this brief I have learnt enough to feel much more optimistic about my photographic career and how to started.

20. I will be looking further into contacting publications and will hopefully remain in contact with Tom Marshall from the Cheshire Wildlife Trust, and may even look into working more with portraiture. On that note, I hope I have shared something new and thank you all very much for listening.'

Presentation Research

We have been asked to present our findings to the group in a PechaKucha format. Below is some research I have done into this...

'PechaKucha Night was devised in Tokyo in February 2003 as an event for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public.

1. What is PechaKucha 20x20?

   PechaKucha 20x20 is a simple presentation format where you show 20 images, each for 20 seconds. The images advance automatically and you talk along to the images.

2. Who invented the format?

   The presentation format was devised by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham of Klein Dytham architecture. The first PechaKucha Night was held in Tokyo in their gallery/lounge/bar/club/creative kitchen, SuperDeluxe, in February, 2003. Klein Dytham architecture still organize and support the global PechaKucha Night network and organize PechaKucha Night Tokyo.

3. Why invent this format?

   Because architects talk too much! Give a microphone and some images to an architect -- or most creative people for that matter -- and they'll go on forever! Give PowerPoint to anyone else and they have the same problem.'
   
   
   

   
   
   'Pecha Kucha training bite'

   
   

http://www.pechakucha.org/

Final Image and Feedback

To today's feedback session I took in the following above images.
I wanted to show both a portrait and a landscape image, as the dreamcatcher and net canopy are shown more within the portrait image, yet I am drawn to the landscape and wanted to get feedback and other opinions.

As I had anticipated, the majority of the group favoured my landscape image. This was due to the positioning of the net, my pose and the general composition. I agree that I feel it is a much better image.

I was surprised to find what effect my choice to hide my face had upon peer members view of the images. One member said that it added mystery, as I had aimed to do, however she said it gave the image a much darker atmosphere than I had wanted. My work in the past has held quite dark undertones and it is interesting that even when attempting bridal fashion, my work can come across as slightly morbid!

However, I think that when in the right context, the use of hiding the face doesn't give such a bad impression. As I mentioned, there is a feeling of mystery, however, rather

I eventually chose this as my final image, as I feel it was overall the best from the shoot. The composition brings the eye towards the skirt as the main subject matter, with the rabbit and flowers as background extras, where some of the other images focused more on the rabbit. The lighting of this image is closest to what I was trying to achieve, with natural light coming in from the left side, the net canopy being draped over the left side of the bed accentuates this natural light. 

Edits

I have only slightly edited my images, to enhance the lighting or colours. Though as I used natural lighting I did not wish to edit too much. I will narrow this selection down to my favourite two and take them into the feedback session in order to select a final image.

Shoot Planning and Execution

The location: 
I chose to keep the location of my shoot within my bedroom, as I felt the set up would work perfectly for this shoot. My netted canopy hanging over my bed resembles a bridal veil, whilst also framing my bed nicely. I decided to turn my duvet over to hide the bold patterned side, allowing for a blank canvas to work with and to avoid any unnecessary distractions within the images.
My room is very small, with only just enough room for the tripod at the end of my bed. This made framing the image quite difficult and meant that I could not have my head cropped out of the top of the image as I had originally planned. However the small size of my room generally allows for good natural lighting, which I tried to use to my benefit.

The outfit:

- Pippa lace elasticated maxi skirt in 'nude' from Boohoo.com
http://www.boohoo.com/day-skirts/pippa-lace-elasticated-maxi-skirt/invt/azz53410
- simple skin coloured vest top from Primark
- old lace top in a pink/white colour, also Primark

I chose these items to create a bridal-esque outfit, with light, delicate shades and lace. I wanted to keep the outfit very feminine and romantic, yet without being over the top with something such as a gown. I much prefer the laid back, boho approach to bridal wear and also felt this fitted in with current high street fashion for spring. The resulting outfit resembled a lace maxi dress, which is currently found often within high street fashion. I kept my hair natural, almost unkempt, to add to the boho/hippy effect and so that it would cover my face well.

The props: 

- dreamcatcher. I chose to use my large dream catcher within the background of the image, as it added more detail and emphasised the hippy effect I was trying to achieve. It is a neutral coloured item, and therefore I thought it would not distract too much from the foreground, whilst adding some interest to the background.

- net canopy.  As described above, the net canopy was a large reason for my choice in location due to the bridal connotations and framing benefits. I also wanted the main colours within my image to be white, wish reddish tones throughout and the netting added to the white dramatically.
- flowers. 
I wanted to use flowers to represent a bridal bouquet, along with the idea of spring. I chose a small and simple arrangement of flowers, including mainly white/yellow flowers to represent spring, along with only two red toned flowers as to compliment the reds within the rest of the image.

The most important 'prop'...

- pet rabbit. I chose to borrow my friends pet rabbit for this shoot, for many reasons. The initial idea behind including a rabbit in this shoot was the theme of spring fashion. Rabbits are a recognised symbol for the season of spring, along with baby animals born in this time of year such as chicks and lambs. 'In some magical traditions, the wild rabbit is associated with the deities of spring.' They are known to represent new beginnings and new life, reinforcing their connection to the Christian holiday of Easter, held within Spring. 

This idea of new life brings us to the rabbit being a symbol of fertility and sex, which I personally feel is an odd connection for a seemingly innocent and naturally 'cute' animal. However when paired with the idea of marriage, we see the connection to sex in a different light. The innocence of the rabbit mirrors the traditional idea of young bride, therefore making the connections to fertility and sex much more appropriate.

The decision to include the rabbit also lead to my choices in colour throughout the shoot... 
As previously mentioned, I kept the main colour scheme of the shoot along the lines of whites, and tones of red.
This was partially due to the aesthetic qualities of the rabbit, as both he and myself share red coloured hair. However red is a colour strongly connected to ideas of passion, love and sex.
Therefore red tones, matched with the innocence of whites, helps me to create an image that holds connotations of innocence, love and femininity, with more subtle undertones of passion, sex and fertility.  

http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/ostaramagic/a/RabbitFolklore.htm

Shooting:
As this is my first ever fashion shoot and attempt at self portraits, I decided to enlist the help of an assistant. This was also due to the use of the rabbit, as I anticipated it would be very difficult to keep him safely on the bed whilst focusing on everything else for the shoot. This in mind, I set up my shoot alone before getting the rabbit, simply for ease. I took a few test shots to see how I would have to position myself and the props, I didn't think a test shoot was needed as for the small framed location and I was wary of the rabbits welfare, not wanting to keep him used as a prop for too long (I could only borrow him for the one day).

Once set up, test shots were taken and I had picked up the rabbit from my friends house, I tried a few images with self timer, simply having my assistant nearby should the rabbit try to run off. This deemed quite difficult as I was rushing back and forth from the camera, in my small room, and the rabbit would be disturbed by me getting on and off of the bed. I therefore decided it would be easier and more productive to have the assistant press the shutter-release button for me. As the camera was already set up, it was simply a case of composition and trying to get the rabbit to co-operate, therefore asking my assistant to press the button when requested allowed for me to focus on these other factors. Any adjustments to the camera/positioning etc were made by me, whilst my assistant helped with the capturing of the image and any positioning of props, along with helping with the rabbit.  


Images:
There was a number of elements important to consider when composing my images. I chose to place myself on the left hand side, so that my left hand wasn't exposed. This was simply due to the fact it is a bridal shoot and I own no appropriate rings! It also leads to the image being more open to a wider audience, as it could be a before or after marriage shot, or even a bridesmaid outfit.

Below are my images from the shoot...