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Skills and Employability Photography task - Walk Through.

(1). Research the two Photographers indicated 

From Lens To Photo: Sally Mann Captures Her Love - YouTube

Julia Margaret Cameron (1815–1879) | Essay | The Metropolitan Museum of Art | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (metmuseum.org)

Rania Matar - research

 Rania Matar Research

The links in the assignment and on the blog no longer work as Rania is still updating her website. I tried to locate the articles on the internet and failed, so instead I emailed her lunchtime yesterday and by 2pm she'd replied! Here's what she says about shooting the image you need to research and study and explain in terms of the criteria above...

Thanks so much for your email and for your interest in my work. When I updated my website, it was a huge undertaking as my web designer built it from scratch and she is (very) slowly adding the old press. I just sent her a reminder after reading your email. I cannot find that article easily so I will answer your questions:

Film stock - I usually use Portra 400 film - I did however shoot A Girl and Her Room with a digital camera as I was walking into all sorts of lighting conditions and it gave me more flexibility. Most of the work on my website is shot with film. 

Lens focal lengths: Only one lens - 35 mm (sometimes if needed a 28mm) but my lens of choice is the 35mm or equivalent when using Medium Format. 

Camera: For GAHR only: Nikon D700 - most of my work Mamiya 7II with a 65mm lens and recently sometimes since Covid as no one was developing film.... a Fujifilm 50R GRX with a 45mm. 

Whether you used additional lighting: no all natural available light.

Main light source: natural

Whether you use a tripod: no

Whether use reflectors: no

I use very little equipment. I like to keep it simple and move my body as needed. I also like to keep the shoot intimate so I feel the less I am encumbered with equipment the better it is. 

I hope that helps! Thanks again!

All my best, Rania

All you have to do is research these materials and equipment and explain where they fit in with her technique. Why does she use them, why do they suit the theme 'Girl and her room' e.g. why are they fit for purpose? What is Rania Matar's intention. 

Analysis to attain higher grades

 In order to attain the higher grades you have to do more than simply describe what you've done. Within the work you have to analyse what you've done or what you're looing at if you're doing your research.

At level 3, much of the 'Describing' aspect of the work can be done by simply photographing what you've done, or what you're using. If you produce images in a sequence showing the process, this'll help limit the amount of annotations you'll have to write. 

1. Photograph every stage of your work

2. Photography all the equipment and materials you use

3. Photograph the sequence in which the work is produced, showing the Process

4.Photograph wide shots of what you're doing showing the equipment, set up and where all the components of the shoot or work you're doing are, as this'll help with identifying your technique.

To Analyse...

You need to pick one of the more important learning aspects from your work and ask the question what if and then go into detail looking at an alternative way of approaching the learning. What this does is; demonstrate that you've simply not done something or worked with it at a basic level, but questioned its use or how it can be applied, therefore applying a deeper learning approach to the work.

In Unit 4 you'll be shown how to make 'Photographic paper' out of Colorama background roll paper. It's expected that you'll photograph the process and annotate the images helping to explain the process and identifying the materials and the technique. What you should then do is - in the weekly reflection/evaluation when you explain what you've learned during the week in the analysis part ask the question what if I was to apply this to another support (type of material) and then independently do further research and discover/learn if this is possible and what the potential is. 

*Note - when you do this use the prompt 'What if' as a prefix and add the bibliography reference to the work to. Do this a few times within the Unit and you'll have shown that you're working at a much higher level, learning independently. This will help secure the higher grades. 

Research - Thomas Ruff & The Bechers.

 Your research changes from this point onward to a different format. 

Over this unit you're required to research 5 Photographers (More if you wish) starting with Thomas Ruff and The Bechers. 

The written component requires that you identify the creative intention of the Photographers... 

• Why are they making these images, what is their purpose, how are they used and what is the story/narrative?

The other part of the research is to explain and anlayse...

• why the materials, techniques, process and equipment have been used in this Photography, why has the photographer opted for this approach?

Watch the following videos to support your research work 

 

The Bechers (2) Becher - YouTube

Thomas Ruff Objectivity  (2) Thomas Ruff / The Renewal of Contemporary Photography - YouTube

Thomas Ruff  (2) THOMAS RUFF - photographs 1979-2011 / Official Trailer - YouTube

TOP TIP

I would create an A3 - three column word document and name it Unit 04 Research and use the document for your intro and the Photographer Research only. 

For each of the photographers you'll be instructed to research each week, you need to produce a column of images/diagrams supporting your work and at the most a column of written work, but you might find you produce less written work which is fine as long as it addresses the points above. 

Both of the Photographers work with the idea of Objectivity - another example of Objectivity that you might be aware of is passport Photography. Similar to the work of Ruff and the Becher's,  passports are subject to a rigorous, mechanical approach to how they are made. This is one of the key aspects of working in an objective way. This needs to be applied to your first set of images shot on the Pentax K1000 camera using film. Photoguidance_v7.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk)

More here on the Bechers

Poodle: 1st year Research Task The Bechers (secphotofun.blogspot.com)

https://www.clarkgoldsberry.com/teaching--scraps--notes/category/bernd-hilla-becher

Basics of Unit 04

 Similar to your previous Unit 09, this assignment requires that you demonstrate the use of a good range of different materials, techniques and processes used within the production of Photography and Art and Design. The techniques are varied and involve mixing art techniques with Photography in processes and techniques known as 'Mixed media'.

You'll need to explore and experiment with a range of different Photographic papers and films and there'll be a cost aspect to this as films are not cheap, so over the duration of this unit 4 or 5 different films are going to cost you in the region of about £40 and the specialist papers are also expensive. The total cost will be around £50 - £60 spread across the duration of the unit. 

You'll be using the Pentax K1000 camera and you'll initially be shooting each other in the college using a deadpan approach. After the first week, once you've been introduced to the camera you'll need to pick someone who you're going to Photograph on a regular basis as your final set of images will need to depict your chosen person in a range of different places and situations aiming to show who that person is, what they do, where they live and what they are interested in. The final two pieces are to be produced as A3 composites made up of many images using some of the techniques you've learned during the assignment.

The research you'll be doing will give you ideas of different ways you can approach your own images.  The written work will need to focus on how and why the photographers  have used their materials, techniques and processes to produce their images, what impact does it have on the images and how does the use of MTP's help to convey meaning, message and narrative? 

The work will be produced in the usual A3 design sheets in the way that you have been working on Unit 09. See your assignment for more details. 

Unit 04 - Weekly Evaluations (Reflective practice).

At the start of the Unit 04 assignment before your research you need to write up an introduction that establishes that you're fully aware of the requirements of the brief. 

Each week read over your introduction or read through the assignment and familiarise yourself with what it is you need to do in order to meet the requirements of the brief. In these weekly evaluations explain and evaluate why...

• what you've done during the week has met the requirements of the brief

Also look at the work you've done and identify weaknesses and mistakes you've made and make...

• Detailed suggestions as to how you might improve the work.

Make the work analytical by pre-fixing your response with the words What if and then analysing what might have happened if you'd gone about your work in a different way.

Also explain...

• What value is there in the work that you've produced

TOP TIP Each week when you write this work up use the bolded text as headings for each of the sections where you reflect on your work. 

Unit 04 - The Final Evaluation

Updated 18/12/21

Keep in mind your final evaluation makes up 1/4 of your whole grade.

Generally, students will address the criteria for all of the other parts of the work quite well, but then let themselves down by producing weak evaluation work.

You would have been instructed to produce weekly evaluations looking back at your weeks work explaining...

(1). How your use of Materials, techniques and processes has met the requirements of the brief.

(2). How your exploration into Materials, techniques and processes has developed your own Photographic (Art and design) practice.

(3). What you could, or need to do to improve your Photographic skills

Give yourself a whole day to do or do it over a series of days as you approach the final deadline...

Make sure you cover the top 2 sections first. The more in-depth the response is, the more likely you'll produce the work at a higher grade. Once you know that you've covered 4/DP7 and 4/DP8, then look at what's required to get the work up to merit and distinction level. 

Then go on to explain where you have used your techniques and processes in conjunction with your composite work in detail along with page numbers of where the work is evidenced.

The more you do and the better the detail, the higher the grade. 

4/D.P8 - Skills development. A list of skills that you might need to improve. You just need to use some of these and explain what you would do to improve these. Aim to write a paragraph on each one you choose suggesting how these improvements could be made.

• Basic camera handling knowing how to use your camera in Manual mode.
• White balance, knowing when to use it and how you use it.
• Bracketing - how to do it, when to use it and why.
• Exposure - knowing how to take accurate light readings and make judgments on what constitutes a mid-tone.
• How to use a Flash meter correctly in the studio and with ambient light.
• Using studio flash - how to achieve the affect you need - where to position the lights to evoke mood, or highlight texture, shape and form or reduce it.
• How to use your lens focal lengths and knowing when their use is appropriate.
• Using your aperture to control depth of field.
• Using shutter speeds to either freeze the action or allow blur creatively.
• Understanding light, knowing the difference between point and diffuse light and how to use it appropriately in your images.
• Film processing
• Choosing the appropriate film for the situation your shooting.
• Using enlargers.
• Printing images in the darkroom - dodging, burning in and pre-fogging.
• Cropping images using easels.
• Using materials to enhance/reinforce the narrative
• Using techniques to enhance/reinforce the narrative
• Using appropriate processes to enhance/reinforce the narrative

TOP TIP

(1). Use the intro that you wrote at the start of this Unit where you explained what the requirements of the brief were. Copy that explanation into the final evaluation as your starting point.

(2). Takes this seriously - go back over your weekly evaluations, read them and copy some of the points you made from them into your final evaluation. If you use the prompts above or from this blog page here don't write them up as bullet points, form them into full sentences and paragraphs.

(3). Once you're done if it's less than a page, make it look more impressive by changing the text size so that your evaluation fills the page.