Overall Comments
This was a challenging subject and you have some interesting images to
work with. You have tried to try a different style as a starting point (the
panoramic) which has the basis for development and this series of images would
have benefitted from more variety, for example some close-up still life shots
of some of the more interesting items which have been donated. You could also
have taken some architectural shots of the shop, perhaps first thing in the
morning or late at night, with different lighting conditions as currently it
feels a little bit similar looking from one shot to the next and may give the
impression that they were all just taken in one day (or within the space of a
few hours). It is usually customary to revisit a place several times in order
to get the strongest shots.
I am concerned that you
think I squeezed all the pictures I took into a few hours on one day. By checking the properties of each image you
would have seen that I went back several times from 31st October
until 17 November.
I didn’t include any more
pictures of customers as I thought you might think it was overkill but I have
many more images available. If you would like to see any more please let me
know and I could email them to you.
The social documentary style images have lots of potential, although
there are some basic technical issues which you should endeavor to try and
resolve in time for the next assignment. I am not sure you have fully dispelled
the myth that charity shops are full of little old ladies wearing pearls but
you are nearly there. More photography research needed as just a small reference
to Martin Parr isn’t enough for this level.
As I was dispelling the myth about little old
ladies running charity shops I only used a couple of pictures with
customers. I focused on the staff as
that seemed more appropriate as the myth was about running charity shops, not
who shopped in them. I took many more but felt they were inappropriate bearing
in mind the rationale.
Feedback on assignment
Demonstration
of technical and Visual Skills, Quality of Outcome, Demonstration of Creativity
Image 1 – Panoramic
First of all, never put text or titles on the border of your images. It
should be sufficient to just write or type on a sticker which you can then
discreetly affix to the back of the photograph. By putting the text underneath
each image in this instance, it could give the appearance of being rather a
basic use of description as well as stating the obvious. The text also detracts
from each image as the font size is so large. The panoramic shows you are adept
at variety in your style of working. The person in the centre appears to be a
little stretched although the whole scene is well balanced from left to right.
You have to revisit at various times of the day as it does not appear to be a
bustling town centre (not that many are nowadays) and the cars are rather
distracting from the interesting buildings and colours. The cone and the
roadwork remnants on the right hand side are not particularly aesthetically
pleasing. Nice bright sky.
I went back and took three version of this panorama but cars are a
feature of Broad Street in Lyme Regis and can’t be avoided however early or
late. The cones and road works are still
in place today so to avoid them was impossible.
Image 2 –
Good composition and strong colours. The photograph has a sense of
voyeurism around it, as the main subject is not looking into the camera and is
quite natural in what she is doing. Her hands are the main focal point and then
your eye wanders around the rest of the shop contents. Slight evidence of
movement mainly around the woman’s arm, possibly due to the setting not being
fast enough in conjunction with on-camera flash. Needs to be pin sharp.
I deliberately took this to get movement in the subject’s hands as
the manager of this shop is constantly on the go. I wanted to give the impression that she is
always busy working to support the shop and the charity.
Image 3 –
This image works well in portrait for the contents of the shop you have
photographed. You will need to play around with the settings on your camera a
little more. If you look at the face of the person featured, it is almost like
seeing double vision so may be due to the flash again. It is difficult to get a
point to focus on here as the shop is so cluttered but what makes it even more
difficult is the crane in the background. A very busy image.
I did say in my write up that I felt this subject was not my
strongest image. The recycle man comes
at 8.00 am once a week and I had to contend with all that was going on inside
and outside the shop at that point in time.
Image 4 –
Again, a little softness in the foreground although the customers appear
to be reasonably well in focus. It has become a stronger image because the
three people in the foreground are all looking in exactly the same direction
and it makes you question what has caught their eye. They do retain your
attention and your eye travels around to the person on the right and into the
distance to the gentleman browsing. Be careful of cropping too closely such as
the coat hangers on the right hand side are right to the edge of the frame.
Image 5 -
Good natural poses although double vision which may have been resolved
by a tripod due to the lighting conditions you are working in, however it is
difficult to be voyeuristic with a tripod so perhaps balance on something – a
rail – for example with a bean bag may resolve this.
Image 6 –
A strong image. Well composed and a sense of fun! There is movement in
this but it is exaggerated and therefore it is acceptable and works for this
pose.
Image 7 –
More steam would have made this a stronger image. May be worth a
re-shoot.
I did think about reshooting this picture but the subject was
working in the shop during his school holiday and wouldn’t be available again
for some weeks. The manager said that
she will ask her son if he will spare a couple of hours for me to take some
more pictures.
Image 8 –
Technically this image is weak. The woman’s face should be pin sharp.
Tripod and experiments with shallow depth of field may have helped this.
Image 9 –
Not very attractive to show someone with their mouth wide open, although
I appreciate this was a meeting. Woman on the left looks bored with her eyes
glazed over. Perhaps there could have been more variety within the images so
this could have been replaced by an interesting still life composition /
juxtaposition of items which come into the shop.
Space is at a premium in the staff area and it was difficult to get
to another angle to take this shot.
Image 10 –
Never photograph the back of someone.
I thought the shape the subject made when she was working in the
shop window justified her back view. I
could try to photograph her from outside the window but I feel that the effect
would be lost.
Image 11 -
Technically poor and the top of her head has been cropped off. If you
are to show movement, over-exaggerate it.
Accepted
Image 12 -
Well composed but technically weak.
Why was this technically weak?
Learning Logs or Blogs/Critical essays
Context
Your blog holds a sufficient level of background knowledge behind the
theory for your work, however it would have been beneficial to have seen some
contact sheets and images you have rejected and why (although you do make
reference to this regarding the steam image) which shows a little discernment.
I do not appear to have found much in the way of evidence regarding
primary research (for example, visiting a relevant exhibition) or photography
research, apart from a short reference to Martin Parr, which does not
particularly reflect your style of work. Apologies if there is far more artist
research than I have found (I checked your memory stick and blog so please let
me know if I have missed it). Some examples of other photographers’ work,
relevant to your style is important in order to start to develop your own
style.
Suggested reading/viewing
Context
There are a huge amount of photography exhibitions
in London at the moment:
I endeavor to visit London and exhibitions
in the local area regularly but being at the far end of Dorset makes the cost
prohibitive to London for more than once every couple of months. Personal circumstances have worked against me
since before Christmas but I will attempt to visit more shows here in the South
West.
You may also want to check out The Photography Show
in Birmingham which has visiting speakers (last year there was Rankin and Steve
McCurrie for example:
The
Photography Show 2015, NEC http://www.photographyshow.com/
21 – 24
March
Pointers for the next
assignment
- To experiment with settings including depth of field
- To have a bigger variety of images
- To use a tripod
- To research more photographers and take influence from them
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