FMP - Decades & Styling

At first I was debating as to how to go about the styling of the shoots, in regards to the outfits. I was unsure as to whether to find clothes that fit the decade and have the same look or whether to use modern clothing inspired by the past decades. After thinking they would look good trying to be true to the decade and how they look and how the style was I decided to use more modern clothing inspired by the past decades as I had used a mixture of old and new in the last shoot so I wanted to have something that was more consistent and the same so it appeared more like a body of work. 

Pro Studies 13/1/16 Lesson

We briefly went over promotional packs again and more into business cards and the different types of business cards that are available, from small wallet sized cards to bigger postcards and then finally business cards more like leaflet size. Richard mentioned to really think about, before printing out our business cards, our logo, if we have one, colour scheme ( does it match your portfolio's) , they look and layout of the card and whether we want to add a photo or more to the card as well. It is best to research the best places for printing out your cards, look at the printing quality, and reviews from previous customers. A tip before printing was to check the colours before printing and to lower the magenta, (using the C N Y K) as this would help prevent the risk of the card becoming to 'red'. It would be a good idea to decide what you would like your business card for, what area of expertise or a mixture perhaps, to show your range and to market you and your work right. Research in to the current market and even the past to see what's happening and what has changed, where do you fit in? 

FMP - 1/2/2016 Video & Audio

For our first lesson with Jill we went through the possibility of using videos and audio within our work for our Final Major Project. As the lesson began we got told about what to expect in the upcoming couple of weeks, like on the 10th we had a visiting lecturer Frede Spencer from Twenty Twenty come in to talk to us. She asked us in groups to think of all the different ways you can use videos and audios within the photographic industry. The suggestions that came up were Advertising work, Promotional, Time lapse, Weddings, Events, Behind the scenes, Exhibitions, Actual work, Clients, Online magazines and as a Montage of images. She showed us the work of a past student, which we'd been shown before in year one, Dominique Aquio however as her work tied in to what we were talking about, which we watched again.
The first link is to Dominique's first video which is of the North East of England where she came to study at CCAD. The video is sped up, time lapsed and shot at various distances away from the action, from what is going on. It portrays how she felt whilst here, that she is feeling distant from this unknown land where - as the second video of hers is from her home land and portrays a more intimate relationship to the people and the place where she feels she belongs. Though there is time lapse used in this video there is also use of 'normal' video which helps portray the more intimate feelings she had for her hometown, she slowed time down because it was more of her memories, compared to the North East of England where everything seemed to go by fast and out of her control compared with her home which is a place she felt more comfortable and relaxed and this shows through the use of video. Video credit - Dominique Aquio. 
https://vimeo.com/68481807
https://vimeo.com/67911735
Seeing these videos, both together as a peace of work and with the music used with them, helped us to see how video and audio, together, can work really well and how they can work together in general. How incorporating time lapse with video can work well and also with the music, adding something to it, if chosen correctly. 
We spoke about different aspects of video, such things as still shots, if included, panning out of shots and adding audio or music.
We looked at Nick Knight's website and watched videos he had put up of his fashion videos in the studio and talked about how his work appeared and came across and his use of music within his videos. 
Alamy and Shutter Stock (which is apart of Getty Images) were mentioned also as you can now receive videos from their website as well as photos. Additionally Premier Pro and Vinyl Cut Pro were referred to as god sites to create your video, if chosen to make one. Furthermore if we would like to make a small video, not just of our work but a video of us talking about our work we could add it with our work to show with our final images on display. 
While talking about audio we got told of Audio Network Website and also told of a website Refinery Photography. Vii Agency.com was also mentioned as well as Media Storm and Duckrabbit and these are linked below with Refinery Photography.
http://www.refineryphotography.co.uk/#2
http://viiphoto.com
http://mediastorm.com
https://www.duckrabbit.info
An artist we got told about was Ed Kashi as he is part of the Vii photo agency. http://edkashi.com/?section=256.
After we spoke about the use of video, Jill spoke about kit and what we could potentially use   to create the video(s). Whether to use one or more cameras to capture what it is you want or a behind the scenes look from different angles. If you'd use a go pro or camera - (Canon or Nikon for example) and which microphones and the pros and cons of using the kit you use. Which benefits your work, which suites your needs best and to find the best to work with for what matches your needs. One piece of kit mentioned was Hotshoe and to have it on top of the camera. 

FMP - 25/1/2016 Tutorial

On Monday the 25th I went for a tutorial with Jamie who I explained my ideas and theme for the brief with. I explained to him that it would be very similar to my last project but would be an expansion on it, I would do bigger and better and improve upon what I had previously done. That I was hoping to show skills I'd learnt in the studio but was unsure of how to quite go about it. I had told him my talk with Richard, my first tutorial on my FMP, and that Richard wanted me to shoot in the studio, using various models and being authentic with the decades however Jamie said it I could try location shoots if I wanted and it would be okay to use one model also if needed though he did say he didn't want to contradict Richard once I'd told him the differences. He spoke to me about choosing various images from different decades and recreating them and watch Rankin - 7 images again, which I'd seen twice but thought it was good advice and would help, plus I enjoyed watching it. Jamie said to try recreate the images to that specific decade and to make/ keep it relevant, e.g makeup and fashion wise, to maybe use an 'icon'. He told me to think about the angles of the camera and to try alterations when shooting, so maybe my being lower down and looking up at my model instead of shooting head on or even side ways and to use a tripod where necessary. He mentioned to work on the studio, practice my skills there and to work on portraiture. To show the influence of my photographs and key photos specifically and to possibly shoot in black and white - relevant to the decade again, to just try theses things and if they don't work out or if they do and I don't choose these for my finals at least I have done and tried them. Also to mix them up potentially - to make/ have an image contemporary from an older pic as the inspiration. 

FMP - Decade Research

These 8 images are examples of the people I think I will use to represent or inspire the decades photos, beginning with the 20s and going in chronological order up to the modern era, these images go up to the 90s. I think each one, person and style is recognisable and therefore is why I have chosen these as I think it will help portray the decade well. 
       

                                                          (Images aren't mine)

FMP - 4/1/16 Thoughts on the decades

At this point I decided to write down a few ideas on who I'd like to recreate and for which decade. I chose to pick people who I thought the majority, if not everyone, could guess who it is within the image or at least who it, the image, is inspired by, who's representing the decade. I written a few ideas of people down as well as the styles of the decades as well, and what styles represent the decades and not just the person also, a combination of both. 

FMP - Ideas, Beauty

I written down some thoughts about my theme of Beauty, how I can shoot it and the various ways around it, i.e, one style of decade on the model and another in the style of location, so they are appearing out of place with each other but attempting to make it look like they somehow belong or at least look good together in an unusual way. I also jotted down some thoughts on research and where to look, begin.  

FMP- 2/12/15 1st FMP Tutorial

My 1st tutorial, for FMP, was with Richard.  We discussed my ideas of carrying on from my minor project's theme and how I can expand upon this and bring something new to it and how I can add to it. We talked about Rankin and how he has shot models with 2 different types of makeup on their face, split down the middle, half and half. This came about with an image I had in my general research as I was toying about with the idea at the time. Combining images was also mentioned, where I'd shoot two images and create it into one, matching my theme. Another idea was to shoot with the clothes and makeup on the model but have her in a  different setting, one you wouldn't expect to see her in, for example, the styling of the 20s in a 70s kitchen, or perhaps an older decade set within the modern world, anything to change it up and trying to then fit it all in together but I liked the ideas as it would be something a bit different and if executed well could have the potential to be really good. He gave me the name of a few books to help me in the studio and to give me some potential ideas for future shoots. Also Taylor James's Agency was named, so I will have a look in to this. 

FMP - Choosing how and who to shoot

One of the first things I did was to jot down some ideas for my FMP. I also had to work out from which decade I wanted to start with to then make the 10 minimum images. I decided to begin with the 1920s as this will give me enough decades to create the 10 photos. As well as choosing the decades I had to also choose how I wanted to create those images and who I wanted to recreate. 

Pro Studies 2/12/15 lesson

In this lesson we discussed promotional packs and business cards briefly. Our tutor also mentioned about having an Artist's statement and he talked about portfolios briefly, as he had already spoke about portfolios the previous week, which I had missed however at the end of the talk, during a break he showed his own portfolio to the people who had missed out from before. He spoke about the different ways in which an individual can show and display their work either through prints or digitally. To display and present work as well as prints for hand in, he mentioned we could create a book to show our work and we could create one for and/ or as part of our portfolio. Through the talk Cv's were also mentioned as these are parts of the requirements of the brief that we have to hand in. during a presentation he showed us the various types of Cv's that are available to use, for example, a more skills based one vs an artists' Cv. Things to include on our Cv were adding on transferable skills that we have and skills and techniques we've learned whilst being here, things such as Capure One. He spoke about it being best to keep a record of our work and how we are going about creating it, e.g. being in the studio and showing this in our blogs, journals and or websites that we created. He also said to write about our website, why we chose to use a particular font and style of template. Writing about photographers and the work they're doing and how some of their work might relate to my own.  The tutor also said about our branding and trademarks within our work, e.g. a style o lighting, will help distinguish us against other artists by having a distinct style and to try and find it as soon as we can as this will help finding jobs available to us, as if we have a particular style, a person will know to come to us as that is what they want for their images. It would be good to also write about my work and how I went about creating it, going through the stages of working to the final product. As well as showing how we did our work we can show our time management of our shoots and organising them, combined with our lessons and organising it so we can get a model/ subject in to shoot. Within the lesson it was also discussed about copyright laws, laws and finance if you're going to be a free lance photographer, setting up your own studio and even if you're not, just to be wise and careful about money coming in and going out. To be aware of any social, political and cultural issues that are going on especially if you're shooting some new work for yourself or a client. Being open minded about different things and open to other's opinions was also talked about. 

FMP - Choosing the looks for the decades

After doing some general research on the styles of the different decades, I have found potential ideas of how I could shoot each individual image using appropriate themes. I have researched each decade individually to try and get an understanding of that time, as this will help me recreate that era. I haven't quite yet decided whether I would like to recreate each decade as the are, with the costumes, etc or whether to recreate them but with a modern twist, for example shooting the 60s decade but with modern clothing that represent or have been inspired by the 60s, e.g. stripes on modern dresses. 

FMP - ILA Idea

Unable to make my mind up over what to shoot for my final, as I was struggling to finalise it, even though I had the ‘before and after’ idea, I was still reverting back to the concept of shooting ‘through the decades’, which I’d done for my Minor. I went to speak to my tutor to ask his advice, to see what he thought I should do and to air my concerns and thoughts over my dilemma. He said to think of my market and who I want to work for and what would work best for potential clients, what will show off and advertise my skills best. He pointed me in the right direction by asking this and I can now start my search by looking within my hometown for potential clients, he also cited that it could be a range of skills which may get me a job within the industry and to focus on these as well, things such as enhancing and retouching skills, not just being a photographer. We discussed some ideas for my brief, which we both seemed pleased with the outcome and after which I felt motivated and glad I went to speak to him as I’d mentioned first that I wanted to finalise my idea before I went for Christmas and now knowing my lecturer knows my idea and likes it, at least think it has potential then I know I can get working on it as I have five months to get this in motion and completed for my deadline. As I told him I really liked the idea of shooting through the decades and enjoyed it for my last project I asked him whether I would be able to do this again as long as I brought something new to it and made it fresh compared with what I had done. We talked about changing/ mixing the image up and playing around with it by using two images to create one or having a person dressed as one decade but placing her in another decade’s setting and vice versa. There were a few ideas going around and with great potential too. I asked if I did any shoots on location just as something I’d try and talked about it whether this would help and maybe increase my grade, to show I’d experimented and worked with natural light however he suggested to stick to the studio, as it wouldn’t help my grade, to practice my skills and because the studio can be controlled and so this shows off more skills as everything is controlled, from the lights to the model and camera, by me.   

FMP - ILA, ideas, thoughts & concepts

My major project expands and follows on from the minor project so I have to come up with an idea which I am happy with and which I think would be good commercially and I have to remind myself and get in the frame of mind that these are commercial images, images to sell, which is something Richard reminded me of within a tutorial for the last project. He asked me what cliental I’d be ‘selling’ to and I’d admitted that I hadn’t even thought of or looked in to that as I’d simply forgot because I wasn’t used to having to do this, creating images commercially. I have to think of all the platforms my images could be potentially sold to and viewed on, things such as magazines, websites, newspapers and billboards. This meaning that across all these platforms the one image, for example, would be viewed both on a very large scale against a smaller print such as a newspaper or magazine and I’d have to think about composing an image that would look good printed on a newspaper across to a magazine where the paper texture is different and also compared with a billboard where the image is completely blown up to a huge scale in comparison. For my minor project, due to time constraints I didn’t manage to get a selection of people and so used my friend, who had modelling experience and who I’d worked with before so I knew we’d get it done and because I only had one model to work with I had to come up with a updated version of my brief and so my friend and I came up with an idea within the theme of Beauty to shoot a series of photographs going through the decades from the 50s and originally up to the present day however we did the 50s to the 90s. I really liked this idea and it inspired me and motivated me to achieve this idea. I think as a concept and idea it was/ is really good and visually had the potential to look excellent if executed correctly. I think these series of images would be great for my final show due to the look aesthetically and as well as bringing people back in time and reminding themselves of the looks, it gives a talking point and a potential interest in people regarding the content of the images. However even though I think it would be good for my final degree show I have already done this idea and therefore I thought of going back to my original concept of getting a selection of people and shooting them with a before and after style within the over -all theme of Beauty.
 

FMP - 30/11/15 First Lesson

Beginning, First Lesson

Our first lesson on to our new project began like all others where we gathered as a group in room 54. The main objective of the lesson was to go through the new brief given for our final major project as well as a few other topics, such as our thoughts on the last project and some announcements of this new project, what to expect, how to go about it and a possible trip down to London to potentially visit various artists and exhibitions as well as our training in Capture One. We discussed the new brief and viewed a couple of artist’s work, which Richard showed us and introduced to us. We also mentioned about exhibiting our own work for the final show and how to go about that and the possibilities available to us. Richard also mentioned to us about having to enter a competition for the work required fir hand in and it would be best to enter the AOP as this is one of the requirements however if we wish to we can enter another competition relating to our work. To enter the AOP it is advised and best if we could enter one of our final images. Lastly he stated to have our ILAs done as early as we can, hopefully by the end of the week at least our next session which would be Monday, as we are able to only have ideas at the moment for Wednesday’s tutorials and formulate an idea for and from then. He also brought up our new timetable schedule and what rooms we’d be in and when and what we’d also be doing in each room/ lesson, ILA first, moving on to group critiques and individual tutorials. He mentioned to write our blogs for this project to look at who's producing what and where and to look at recent trends and branding, and to look at our own branding. To help with this he named PDN - Photo district News, Grant Scott book - How to be a professional photographer and to use a mix of old and new photographers as our inspiration and research. We could do editorial imagery and or other types or style, can produce more than 10 images but have to reach the minimum of 10 for our brief requirements. He also spoke to us about keeping up with our research, blogging and current photographers and to keep up to date with my own skills, to show them and keep my website up to date as best I can. 

FMP - Final Major Project

For my last project I chose to carry on with my chosen theme of Beauty and extend upon the idea and concept. I had a bit of difficulty to pin point an exact idea I wanted to do with the theme however after talking to two tutors I have came closer to an idea of how I can complete my project. I think at first I will try and shoot both on location and in the studio and see how they turn out even if I choose to use all studio images at least I have explored both options. At first I got too to stick to the studio although another tutor mentioned I can at least try some locations shots to see how they are and turn out. Also at first I thought of using the one person and recreating the decades with the one person changing in to each look but I have been told to maybe try and use more than one person, use models and then contradicting again by another tutor I was told I could use one person. The fact that some things are contradicting, as the tutors aren't sure of what the other said, is okay, I think as it allows me to try the different options anyway and helps me come to a conclusion, whether it, photos, worked or not etc. For this project I will extend the amount of decades I will shoot to make the minimum amount of 10 prints that I need to met the requirements of the brief. I will shoot from the 20s to either the 2000s or the present day.