Holly Morris

Throughout the Better Lives unit, Contemporary Portrait Photography, I have learnt a wide array of new skills and developed on previously existing ones. Despite already having a background within photography itself, I have strengthened my knowledge on portraiture artists, technical skills and different ways to portray modern-day issues within my own work. In this sense, this specifically has developed my skills in relation to the Better Live’s theme of Social Responsibility.

One area I would like to highlight is that of the incredible lecturers we have had the opportunity to be taught by. Danny Treacy and Mark Kean are two photographers who have truly inspired me with their unique and original ideas, which are depicted throughout their photography work. One topic area that I was fascinated by was Danny Treacy’s ‘Them’ project; Treacy went into the river Thames in low tide to find items ranging from clothing to human bones from the Roman era. He then styled these garments on a plain dark background, with the model’s face covered. This project ‘investigates the precariousness and vulnerability of the forgotten and the voiceless while conjuring up images of the fantasized other, in other words, the monster… disappearing entirely under the assembled clothes, he relinquishes all form of individual representation in favour of haunting archetypal images.’ (Ref 1) To touch on this lightly, I found this very inventive and thought it linked rather well to the better lives’ themes of social responsibility and diversity, as the artist is bringing attention to the forgotten which includes clothing from all eras and backgrounds, thus making the finished outcome diverse. The sustainability aspect comes from the sourcing of the garments from the river Thames, as Treacy is fundamentally helping the environment by removing these items from the water and means that the cost of styling was little if not nothing.  

Mark Kean opened my eyes to film photography. Although I had a strong interest in this topic area, Kean educated us all on aperture, shutter speed and other technical aspects of film photography. In more depth, I was enlightened by his previous editorial work for key magazines such as interview magazine, the gentle woman etc. One project I draw inspiration from is a recent commission for Fantastic Man. Kean’s work here draws attention the way in which surroundings can alter the theme of an image or draw emphasis to certain stylistic features. 

I have found this course very eye-opening and it has most certainly changed the way I work. In my most recent self-portrait, I enlisted everything I had learned and am very pleased with the outcome. Due to the current covid-19 isolation situation, I found post-production very important; by exaggerating certain features such as the contrast from the blue tones to the orange hues, it made for a more pop-art effect which was my end goal. Also, the course has allowed me to make the most of surroundings and limited tools- this is brought to life through the final outcome as primarily all that was available was a small blue background, one orange and limited garments.  

Ref 1, Treacy, D., 2020. Essays – Danny Treacy. [online] Dannytreacy.com. Available at: <https://www.dannytreacy.com/writing/essays/> [Accessed 1 May 2020].

Prior to starting the Better Lives unit, I was aware of the three themes of diversity, social responsibility and sustainability, however this unit has expanded my knowledge on the three topics greatly. I am now more so aware of how each topic is applied within the fashion industry and how I can also relate this within my creative practice.My chosen course area is Contemporary portrait photography; the three better lives themes are of great significance within this creative practice. 

Diversity can of course be applied within all areas of photography, however I found it most interesting to look at representation behind the lens, at the photographers themselves. Upon a browse through various well-known magazines, it was made clear that (the majority of the time) only well-established photographers/artists are selected to be included within the outlet. This being said, I do believe that this is of course ever-changing, due to the fast-paced, modernised industry. Teleica Kirkland’s lecture on representation was an incredibly useful insight into this subject area; diversity within the fashion industry was scrutinised, which was eye-opening for me as it has made me more so aware of forced diversity rather than a natural effort to portray diversity within all creative areas. For this reason, it is of my opinion that creatives need to work alongside creative platforms e.g. zines, to ensure that in the future diversity within the fashion industry is not an area that needs to be improved, as everyone should have equal opportunity.

In terms of social responsibility within my practice, I am now more educated on the way in which fashion is uniquely placed to respond to the issues faced by society and the industry. In the most simplistic form, young creatives such as myself need to be deeply aware of the message that their work is relaying to their audience; the effect that a certain message can have amongst said audience could be extremely positive or have a negative impact. A key example of this is ‘The Beautys Inside’, a magazine established in 2012; the content is inspired by and designed for women prisoner readership. This magazine was a creative collaboration between LCF School of Media and Communication and HMP send. I find this a great example of how social responsibility should always be a key factor in any creative work, as not only can it be influential upon the consumer, it could also positively change the way creatives think. 

Sustainability is the final theme within the Better Lives unit. My immediate thoughts on how this is applied within portrait photography is through the styling. It is truly key for stylists to be aware of the negative impact fast fashion has; personally, I can understand the allure of various fast fashion brands due to the fact that I am a student with a low budget for shoots. However, this can be avoided through vintage shops, charity finds and of course reworking old clothes. For this reason, I have made it a personal challenge to rework old garments for an upcoming photoshoot, as due to the current lockdown this is a perfect time to do so.

To conclude, it is made evident that all of these themes are of key importance within the fashion industry and that in the future their significance will only grow stronger. 

Throughout the Better Lives lecture unit, every lecture has been of importance, yet I was able to identify the most with Jekaterina Rogaten’s lecture on Well-being. Primarily, I was fascinated by the way in which Psychological Well-being is applied in most aspects of life; as the lecture continued, it was made apparent that consumer’s/worker’s well-being is a key factor within the fashion industry. 

In this modern day, fast fashion takes a lead in this social media influenced consumer age. In many ways, well-being is the reasoning behind this. Through Rogaten’s lecture I became enlightened through learning of both Hedonic (subjective) and Eudaimonic (psychological) well-being. One subject area that stood out to me was the Paradox of Choice. It can be argued that by maximising your choices, you maximise your freedom whilst maximising your decision-making. This can be applied to several instances within the fashion industry; reflecting on this from a personal perspective, it can be applied to my wardrobe and shopping habits. Through the constant pressure to appear well-presented and ‘on-trend’, it could be argued that myself and others feel the need to purchase garments from fast-fashion brands. It has already been well-established that fast fashion has an incredibly negative effect on the environment, yet its effects have not necessarily been portrayed within personal lives. It is of my opinion that through the large quantity of clothing items I own, the number of choices I have to make in the day increases due to me choosing an outfit to wear in the morning. This should mean that as my decision-making has been maximised, my freedom should be as well; as previously mentioned, the constant evolving trends lead this to be incorrect, as now only a small selection of clothes are deemed ‘fashionable’ and ‘on-trend’. This could therefore lead to a depletion of happiness, as consumers are arguably reminded that their outfit is not complete without a new pair of shoes or a new jacket etc. 

To conclude, this particular lecture has allowed me to understand the power of choice and the effect that this choice has upon the fashion environment. Through self-acceptance and self-realisation, we as consumers have the power to change the fashion industry. Perhaps by becoming happy and content within ourselves, we do not have to purchase another garment or clothing item to feel accepted within the ever-changing and evolving trends of the modern day. In many ways, it could be argued that the fashion industry projects and enforces a level of toxic pressure amongst younger consumers; as we purchase a top for £4 alongside a year’s worth of next day delivery for £7- we as the sole consumers have to understand that this is not ethical, as we should educate ourselves and through this self-realization be aware that it surprisingly is more than ok to wear the same outfit twice.