Assignment 1: A Portrait (reflection)

I was pleased with my feedback for this unit. I had chosen Helena for this piece for her busy and varied life and felt that I had shown the many sides of her character in the assignment. Two of the best images picked out by my tutor were Helena preparing for a run and reading to her daughter. I was pleased that my tutor thought that I had managed to “work within a fine art documentary style without the shots looking too contrived”. This is something I hope to continue to develop throughout the course.

For all of the shots in this assignment, I had put Helena in position and then asked her to act out the role; this method was more successful in some shots than others. My tutor agreed with my sentiment that the nursing image was not so successful, although for different reasons; “possibly because it is ‘set-up’ rather than being taken in an actual working environment. Although in saying that it doesn’t seem too contrived and I realise the difficulties of taking a similar image within the workplace.”

I was confused by this response, as Helena is a community nurse, therefore her workplace is the patient’s home. This was the reason I used a kitchen for the setup, being a room that Helena may use in a patient’s home to perform such a task. I do agree, however that I could have chosen a better angle which included a more clear view of the instrument used.

In the baking image, the speed of movement and lighting available proved more difficult to manage than anticipated; on reflection, I should have chosen a higher iso in order to utilise a faster shutter speed.  I am unsure as to whether the poor quality gives the image the snapshot feel described by my tutor or if it is just the general setup of the image. Having looked through other options, I feel that this replacement image is more successful. A purely candid moment, Helena’s baking photo-shoot is interrupted by a phone call, her face and body language showing a desire to get off the phone and on with the shoot. Helena’s husband, softly focused in the background, texting while cooking their tea shows another aspect of their busy family life.

My tutor also gave advice on lighting the shot of the party shoes. I am much more confident photographing in natural light and understand that off camera flash is something I need to work hard on in the future. I am, however unsure of the advice given to use a square crop for this image. Although I think this could work as a separate image, I understand that other students have been penalised for using a variety of crop factors in a set. I will need to look further into this for future projects. 

My tutor also gave advice on lighting the shot of the party shoes. I am much more confident photographing in natural light and understand that off camera flash is something I need to work hard on in the future. I am, however unsure of the advice given to use a square crop for this image. Although I think this could work as a separate image, I understand that other students have been penalised for using a variety of crop factors in a set. I will need to look further into this for future projects.

I have now added research on Thomas Ruff to my blog in line with advice from my tutor.