Today I booked a one to one with Katie to get some feedback on my last shoot and to see if I can get more of an idea of direction for my work.

Katie's favourite image from the shoot was this one, which was a little different to my others and experimented with a different crop. I hadn't really thought too much about this image previously and was more focused on the image which had both models together. She suggested I further explore the quirky cropping and experimenting with composition, to create a more interesting image which matches the cropping style of my still life and landscapes.




 Both these two images look rather 'floaty'; do I need to introduce- or rather not get rid of, shadows in post to maintain a sense of gravity in the left. Although I haven't composited the bag onto the hand in the right hand image, it does look as though I have, something I want to eliminate.

Today we had a lecture from photographer Holly Falconer; who despite winning a blue peter badge for a photography competition at the age of 8, had no intentions of becoming a photographer until well after completing a BA in Journalism, and a MA in Magazine journalism.  Whilst undertaking her degree, she would constantly take photographs of her friends and had done since she was a little girl. Photography was always something she deeply enjoyed, but she had never considered it becoming her career.
Once out of university, she worked for publications such as Diva and The Gay Times, however she never felt like she was doing the right thing for herself and quit the magazine so that she could start assisting. She worked a customer service job from 6pm to 12am so she could afford to work for free, something she admits is necessary in the industry.

Holly got a job as art director for a new magazine set up by an acquaintance she met a party, however after three issues in the face of a looming recession nine years ago, the publication folded, and she begun to work as a freelance photographer.

"Don't ever stop taking pictures all the time, and always carry a camera; even if its just your phone. You never know where you're going to be; I took pictures of a protest I stumbled across while on a date and they ended up being published in i-D."

Another photographer which Katie showed us during our still life lecture on tuesday, it was the image below Right which stood out to me as something which perhaps maybe not something I could do myself subject wise, it was more the colour palette which inspired me as it is consistent with my work, and the lighting is perfect for the subject matter, soft and flattering, each image looks as though it has been shot next to a window, rather than actually in a  studio.

Gareth Morgans is a highly experienced freelance Food Photographer, shooting food for over a decade with high-end digital cameras and equipment to ensure the best reproduction of colour and technical detail.

What does the term ‘Portrait’ mean to me?

Today I came across an interview in digital photographer magazine with Ruth Rose, the photographer I looked at last year and again is continuing to inspire me through this current brief.
I found the article really inspiring and almost reassuring; it almost proves it is possible to get your work out there and approaching small, emerging brands is something I plan to do to get my work out there and collaborate.

"Be both bold and positive and yet remember that you are only as good as your last shoot."

-Ruth Rose Allen

               

How do I intend to approach the landscape part of the brief?

Today in my one to one with Juneko I showed her my research so far and explained the ideas I have in mind for where I plan to take this brief.

After Katie's lecture on landscape I was still slightly unsure about how I can differentiate between portrait, landscape and still life as it felt like they were blurring into one almost. I showed Juneko images I had found from Zara's e-commerce of some bags. (below) She explained that they could be viewed as any of the three but that it is how I present them and its more about convincing my tutors what it represents to me. I am still rather baffled at how a landscape can be a macro shot of a handbag but there we are, its beginning to make sense and I quite like it as it means I have much more freedom and scope for my images to be more consistent.

I found Missguided's collaboration with oyster magazine after falling in love with Margot Robbie's cover of the publication. The images were shot on film for the mag and feature the fashion brands sports wear. What I really like about these images is the layout and how they're presented, the use of leading lines, especially in the third image really draws the eye towards the model. The blue and the green work together well too to promote a sense of well being.