Blog post 3 – Project Outcome Reflection

My time on contemporary photography has taught me copious amounts about how much power photography has to emit a message which is particularly fitting for the times we are in right now.

Our brief was ‘Photography and the Family’ as well as being asked to capture 1) a self – portrait 2) someone in the home 3) an absent picture. I thought to do more of a spontaneous shoot in contrast to a planned, organised scene. This was to express the feelings and emotions that are flaring up during this period of self – isolation as a family.

This module has enabled me to start considering other aspects of photography that I was not aware of prior to starting; more related the technical issues such as settings on the camera, aperture etc. From where I was at the beginning of the unit to where I am now, I have realised I am now focusing more specifically on other important aspects in shooting such as conducting a ..

All of these have respectively found a comfortable part in allowing me to a reach a developed final outcome – a series of portraits seemingly encapsulating the zeitgeist of the odd times we currently residing in.

However, I did not want my work to focus and relay isolating as a fundamentally ‘negative’ experience. Although it has been unprecedented I can say with certainty that many good things have come from this period. In particular, a sense of closeness in relatives that we have not ever had the chance to explore in this context before.

I demonstrated this by shooting natural photos of my father and sister embracing each other under the washing line. I chose this location as it is a traditionally staple piece of domestic living in the household and can be identified amongst many other cultures around the world as a domiciliary item that transcends wealth, race, culture etc.

This allows this shoot to have a more timeless aura as it does not covertly enable anyone to feel excluded from feeling a sense of resonance to the pictures as their an no explicit signs of anything that can be seen as a divide. This was a decision I made with intent because I desired my shoot to have somewhat of a familiarity to the main themes of the Better Lives unit; pushing myself in this way would permit me to actually utilize what I have learnt into this work and also my future endeavors.

In particular, Social Responsibility, as it did not feel right to be ignorant to the times we are in right now and conduct a shoot that felt superficial and ill-mannered in response to the situation. Therefore, I felt for my work to progress in a way that exemplifies the concepts and themes I have learnt in this unit, I must address this in a way that is polite and uplifting.

In contrast to how many creatives have operated in the past by simply ignoring many issues and continuing to work in a very surface level way.