My Reflective Journal: November 2015

Guest Lecturers

My Initial inspiration for my work was the word voyeur, and how I could connect to this after recently moving into NUA Halls All Saints Green; where I felt that me and my flat mates were very exposed in our living areas and lacked privacy from the outside world due to having such large windows, where at night, when lights are on and its dark, there is nothing stopping anyone who looks to see a completely open view of anyone in the room.

My research took me to look into Shizuka Yokomizo and her images of people stood at windows, where the subject can be seen from looking from the outside, in. She inspired me to take photographs from across the road to capture a whole window in the frame. In her images she made sure she was a total stranger. I wanted to achieve this and took photographs from buildings opposite All Saints Green looking into the big windows which we live behind, however a parallel between my work and the work of Yokomizo is that I didn't want any engagement between myself and anyone I was photographing. This lack of engagement is a concept which I kept consistent throughout my whole project, something which I felt was very important to achieve the authenticity of voyeurism.

I felt anonymity was key in portraying this true voyeuristic feel in my photography; Steven Klein’s editorial of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie inspired my work of my flatmates in their own environment, but with no acknowledgement of the photographers presence with the camera.

A point made by Solomon Godeau really stood out to me when I went to a hotel across the road to photograph these images. ‘The camera is a passport’. To take these images I simply strolled into a hotel and went to the desk and asked if I could photograph from their building, and they let me straight in. No questions asked. I did this on a total of four separate occasions and on every occasion no one questioned my motives. which really got me thinking to the extent in which this could be taken.

Then my research looked into Arne Svenson and his images which experiment with focal length and how this has an effect on the image, also the use of window frames into the composition of an image. I have experimented with various focal lengths and using different lenses to achieve these effects. Even though my preferred focal length for these images wasn't the same style as Svenson’s work, his practice lead me to experiment with variations of this and had a big impact on my final image. In addition to Svenson, the visual boundaries used by Gail Albert Halaban and ‘Joy’ inspired me to experiment with incorporating such boundaries and also taking images from different angles and times of day.

Although my favourite photograph from this project is my large landscape, I believe the shoots of my flatmates which I took from inside reflect myself as a photographer. The mood and tones for these images were drawn from the work of Todd Hido and Philip Lorca Dicorcia, who's images are dependant on the light for the feel of their photographs to be as desired. This project has really made me focus on light; whether it has been the bright illuminated windows which draw the eye to so many different places and feel so open, or the intimate spotlight lighting my model from a cooker hood, I have manipulated the feel of an image successfully by altering the lighting.

Anne Laure Maison and Andreas Gursky were the main two influences for my final printed image; illuminated windows similar to that of Maison’s were going to be my final image however It didn't relate to my flat mates which is what i wanted my final image to be about; as my building was the very first piece to the puzzle in this project. I went back to my mock example and decided to upscale it in mass proportions which was inspired by Gurskys vast repetitive landscapes of commercial buildings. I brought these two ideas together with my theme of flat mates to create my final print.

I chose to name my final print ‘Flat Mates’ I believe this indirect approach positions me from the outsider and fits accordingly to my image. This objective name I gained inspiration from ‘Joy’ who's visual diary of her time in Amsterdam was titled by the days in which she photographed, and is a lot more impersonal than if I named it ‘My Flat Mates’ as this ties myself up with the photograph, something which, as the outsider, I didn't want to do.

After looking at the ikea advertising I wanted to bring something different to my image that wasn't totally mundane, I had the idea of portraying many stories and lives in one image, with the concept that even though we may seem small, we are part of something big and all our individual stories come together to form one big picture; this is my print.

So I decided to have someone look for me. I told my friend I was outside and that I could see her, nothing else, no clue as to where I was. I watched her as she came to her window and looked out; Of course, she looked straight ahead. I photographed her looking out of the window, as a small bridge between myself, the photographer, and my subject. I didn't want there to be any direct engagement however my subject in my finished image isn't just her, it isn't just a single story or person, but the whole composition together.

The Biebs

16:23

Annie Leibovitz: Alice in Wonderland

23:07

1 to 1 Tutorials

1 to 1 Tutorial with Matt

18:40

Guest Lecturers

Guest Lecturer: Katy Lassen

19:42

Katy Lassen is a freelance fashion stylist and part time lecturer at University of the Creative Arts in Epsom. She studied french and media and had no formal creative training.

To gain experience Katy approached Vogue and was turned away for having ‘no experience.' Ironic. So she added a two week work experience with her step father, a journalist, to her CV and went back to vogue, where she completed a months work experience.

Once she had finished her work there she approached Glamour and later GQ whom she also completed work experience with. She emphasised how grateful she was for putting money aside during university to keep her afloat whilst working for free. I have taken note of this and will try to do the same. (No promises.)

She started by giving us an introduction to fashion styling, and wanted us to realise that fashion photography, and fashion styling, is all about advertising.

She told us that Editorials for magazines are often unpaid or have a small budget to cover costs. Often the photographer would put their own money towards the production. However this will often pay off as they are the stories which would make up the bulk of our portfolio, which promotes us to get commercial work.

Working for free is something which is hard to accept however Katy assured us that working for free is vital for us to build our portfolio and that if we wont work for free, that someone else will.

Another point Katy made to us was that is it really important to build working relationships with people in different lines of work to us; such as stylists, as magazines and clients will often ‘book your team’ if they see a shot which they would like reciprocated for their own advertising purposes. This makes the creative process easier if we know people and have people that we work with a lot. We were told to acknowledge that is it a commercial work and that we will be collaborating with others.

Being represented by an agency was a process which Katy described as either being highly beneficial or our worst nightmare. If we are ever represented she said to ensure that they understand us and they way in which we work, or they will put us in for jobs we will not enjoy. Examples of agencies Katy gave us were, CLM, Art and Commerce, D&V, Smile Too, Map and Art Partner.

I found Katys work very inspiring and I want to give myself a greater fashion background. I was also intrigued by Let Them Eat Cake, a fashion publication dedicated to championing the new generation of creative minds.

Something which I keep realising is a reoccuring theme in this industry is finding what you're good at, your mark, and sticking to it as this is where you will get recognised and be given commercial work. For Katy, this was big fashion prints. This was utilised at Sleek Magazine, Office, ASOS, and Oasis.