Evaluation

My chosen area for Level 6 is commercial photography.

This Still Life Project started with five mini assignments they were split into different sections of still life module, as the genre is huge. There was Food, Product, Documentary, Nature Morte and Photo Montage. We were given two weeks per section and at the end of each two weeks we had to produce a print for a group critique.  This let us explore all the different areas before making a decision for our learning agreement on what we wanted to go into. It also helps with the derision of what path way has become more appealing for next year, the fine art or commercial rout.    

Our first assignment was food photography with Richard Whitehead. As I had never done proper food photography before it was good to learn all the little tricks of the trade such as have a bit box. I started to gather a few things to put in it after every food shoot that was done. Looking back at the first shoot that was done with the oranges just shows how much you can progress with a bit of practice. Every shoot that was done I would use a different lighting set up or a different camera to practice with. I started with the Cannon 6D then made a small jump to a 5D. They were good to start with as I was still getting the hang of styling the food and getting the lighting right. Then I wanted to experiment with some new kit so I booked out the phase one. It was pretty exiting to use, as it’s the all singing and dancing camera. The difference in quality is noticeable as the detail that you get with it is of an extremely high quality. I had also gone on to use the Hasselblad with a digital back which was also very good but harder to get it focused. For the group critique at the end I was given good feedback and decided to do a few more shoots with the improvements. By doing this I have two photos that I am really happy with for the final hand in.   

Next was product photography, I was most nervous for this one as in my mind a product shot had to be really technically correct. We started with a practice shoot on photographing a white golf ball on a white background and this was really difficult but with a bit of guidance we got there in the end but it seemed to take for ages. Once I had done a couple of “technically correct” photos we had a talk from Richi Leeson who made things look much simpler and it’s not as scary. This made me want to get into gear and start booking studio time to have a go at it. I bought in some on my things from home and had taken photos of Richie’s session so I could recreate his lighting. I got some good shots but still needed a lot more practice. I kept booking out more studio sessions till I was happy with what I had done. By going back to it again and again I started to really enjoy using the studio and what I was starting to produce. 

Then it was time to go into a more fine art area with Documentary photography. We started by having a look at the work of Raphael Dallaporta who had photographed the grenades but made them look like perfume bottles. I had never really been aware of documentary photography before I thought it would be like photojournalism or war photography. I started having a look at some more artists that did this fine style documentary photography. Most had a general them of soft natural lighting. This was also what was specified in the brief, that we had to use natural light. I started to rack a few ideas up and discussed a few with the class to what one I should do, I decided to go with photographing bunches of keys. This idea came from seeing people being portrayed through their possessions so I thought I would do the same with peoples keys. It worked quite well it all looked a bit flat with the natural lighting as I was trying to avoid shadows but actually it might have given the photos some depth.

I wasn’t terribly exited about the documentary photography, I wasn’t sure if it was because it was going into the fine art area that I wasn’t sure about or just because I wasn’t that interested. So when it came to Nature Morte I thought I better open my mind as it was going to get very arty. We were shown a video by Ori Gersht ‘Big Bang’ and it got me interested straight away and wanted to do a video even if it was a still life project. I pared up with another student and composed a set up outside to set a vase of flowers on fire. It was a bit disappointing but it was fun to have a go. I then went on the creating a vanitas set up and was also not that interested in it really but then I photographed a dead butterfly and this started to spark ideas and I really started to enjoy the concepts of Nature Morte.

Photo Montage could fit comfortably into fine art or commercial. I started by thinking of it as fine art only and kind of put it off a bit as I was overthinking what to do for it. Then I came across some photos in a magazine that were advertising products but that been made into a montage and this gave me the idea for my final photo. I really enjoyed being able to experiment and play around with everything till I had a achieved something I thought was worth showing.

I had decided to expand on the product photography for my learning agreement, as I still wanted to get better in the studio. Before I went into the studio this time I would have a plan of what I wanted to achieve in the sessions with am idea in mind.  Most of the time once I started to mess around and experiment with things the idea would change and I would end up with something different witch was quite good.  I started looking at a theme for my collection of products and I had slipped into a 90s light grunge feel by adding plants into my product shots.

I have really enjoyed all of the mini assignments and learning about fine art and commercial photography has been a real eye opener, I would like to thank all the tutors for there time in helping me make the derision for next year. My choice for next year is to go down the commercial rout as I feel that I want to explore and push boundaries of product photography further.