FINAL: Evaluation

When I began this module, I had a fairly clear idea of how I wanted it to go and what I wanted to photograph. However, during the course of the module, my interests turned into the exploration of alternative portraiture and food photography; two types of photography I wish to combine in my future photographic research for my final major project.  Although, to me, this module has felt disjointed in terms of my experimentation and blog work, it has inspired me to have a firm idea for my next module that brings all the experimentation together in one inspired series. I plan to research into more advertisement photographers and artists, as well as read more into the history of fairytales and where they originated from, as well as further underlying issues relating to consumption of food and drink within them. Although my idea of creating advertisements for supermarkets did not make me happy, I plan to create images suitable for advertisement and media, but without the text. I feel that this would make me work better as a photographer, as I have an aim and standard I need to reach.

My budget will need to be constantly monitored and will vary from the version I have posted on my blog. I understand that printing costs, framing costs and the overall cost of the exhibition will vary because prices from now and the summer could change. Also, I cannot account for the change in ideas and need for props needed during my photo shoot for the next module. The line between what I want to produce and what I can actually afford is also an issue but this can be addressed nearer the time when I have a firm idea of my financial situation. I feel that this blog is a strong piece of work for my reflection, full of inspired experimental projects, relevant research and ideas about budget costs and ideas for exhibitions. However, I have now learned what experimentation and lighting techniques worked, and what did not, which is helpful when producing my final series of work.

FINAL: Budget

FINAL: Timetable of Study

FINAL: Ethics and Safety Considerations

Part of this module is to consider both health and safety, as well as ethical considerations as part of my work. My considerations for both are as follows;

Staying safe during this project was easier than other projects based on the fact I only had to look after my equipment and myself. During the evening, when I was shooting my alternative portraits, and also in the dense woodland and dark car parks, I always made sure I had a friend or family member with me to make sure I was safe. I did three photo shoots that involved models during my initial research, and gained model release forms from each model and make up artist. I told the models before each shoot what the shoot would entail and how it would be used so that there were no nasty surprises after they had been photographed. I also made sure before each shoot that the land that I was using was not private land or closed off to the public so that I could not face any criminal prosecution, police trouble or fines.

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For my future project, I will have to take into consideration that I will be working with models, make up artists, hair stylists, lighting assistants and the possibility of animals during the shoot. This will mean that I will have to produce model release forms from all involved, as well as complete risk assessments and make sure that the models involved do not have allergies if animals are used. I need to make sure that the locations being used have been paid for in advanced or are public land. To keep everyone safe, as well as my equipment, I will need to ensure that I do not go out in the dark, or in dangerous locations.

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Here is my completed risk assessment for the module.

FINAL: Project Proposal

CURRENT MODULE

My idea aims to explore the darker side of fairytales, and also how fairytales have been subject to consumerism and fiction cover-ups. I plan to explore two concepts in my experimentation; consumerism within children and how fairytales make money from children’s want and apparent need for objects, as well as alternative self-portraits looking at the real meaning of fairytales, which has been mainly inspired by the work of Kyle Thompson. I aim to explore this topic using self-portraiture, product photography and advertisement style editing using my developing camera skills as well as developing Photoshop skills that have been tested and trained over the last few modules.

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My area of enquiry is that of consumerism in people and how it is enlarged by fairytales and the “Disney culture”. As well as this, I plan to also explore and experiment with alternative portraits, which is my passion and future career choice after teaching, to look into the darker side of fairytales, especially those produced by the Grimm brothers. Exploring into food photography and the advertisements culture is going to be something completely different for me, as I usually incorporate portraits one way or another into my work and submit them for assessment. My original experimentation looked into fashion photography and how it can be represented by the theme of fairytales, but I want to produce something to remember for my final major project, not something that echoes my current work. I want to push myself further than I ever have before whilst expanding my knowledge of practising photographers to benefit my knowledge when I begin my teaching placement in September. I have been inspired by the work of Ernie Button for my food photography, as well as the likes of Carl Warner and Stephanie Salo. All these three photographers incorporate food into their work  But my module will not feel complete without the experimentation into portraiture and self-portraiture that will be underpinned by fairytales and ideas within them, which have been mostly inspired by the work of Kyle Thompson. My portraiture work will be best presented in a magazine format, a magazine that explores into alternative portraiture, and my food photography image will be best viewed as advertisements in magazines or on billboards. I plan to take some photographs of food that are included in fairytales and pair them with shop branding and quotes from fairytales to sell the food, and show consumerism within people when it comes to the Disney culture that surrounds us. For my project, I need to develop my current knowledge of food photography and how to photograph it under the hot lights. I plan to undertake training with an established food photographer to see how I can develop my current skills for this module, as well as read books and articles to educate myself. The equipment that will be required will be a studio lighting set up including snoots, soft boxes and honeycomb grids, as well as a professional product table and my DSLR camera with macro lens. I have already arranged to borrow and set of lights and attachments, as well as rent a studio product table off another fellow photographer. I plan to set a budget of £100 to spend on food and accessories to make my final experimentation images look professional and worthy of being made into advertisements. I may need to buy many of the same items to give me the opportunity to re photograph my food in different locations, as well as buying ingredients to bake products myself. This will give me so much more control over how my product looks and are seen in the advertisements.

FUTURE MODULE

For my final piece, I plan to bring together everything that I have explored in my experimentation in a collection of carefully planned images representing the themes and food that are included within them, but creating a cinematic feel in all. The fairytales used will be Snow White, Alice in Wonderland, Goldilocks, Hansel and Gretel and Cinderella. I aim to explore this using inspiration from Gregory Crewdson and Margarita Kareva, as well as paying attention to outfits, props and location. Here, I plan to develop my ideas into editorial styled images, selling the food but paying homage to fairytales and the darker side of them.

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For my final piece, I plan to bring together everything I have done for this module in the form of a staged piece, advertising the food but using models and elaborate set ups to recreate the fairytales. The five fairytales and children’s stories that I plan to represent are Snow White, Alice in Wonderland, Goldilocks, Hansel and Gretel and Cinderella. All of these fairytales have food that represent them, and are part of the storyline. For example, the red apple will represent Snow White, as I have already experimented with. A gingerbread house will represent Hansel and Gretel, a bowl of porridge will represent Goldilocks, a pumpkin will represent Cinderella, and finally the tea party hosted by the Mad Hatter will represent Alice in Wonderland. My main inspiration for this work is Ernie Button, Kyle Thompson and Margarita Kareva. All these photographers work have inspired me for a number of reasons, all relating to their ability and creative drive to capture beauty within people, nature, animals and food. I have also been inspired by the work of Gregory Crewdson for his technique and lighting. My work will be presented in a gallery format, printed on large glossy paper in a white or gold gilt frame. I will also plan to submit my work to magazines such as Dark Beauty magazine and other independent photography magazines that would showcase my work. This will be my last chance for a year to produce photographic work before I go and study a PGCE in Further Education, so would love to build my published portfolio before this. I will have to pay special attention to lighting, location and the models pose and clothing, to create the best possible image and meaning. The equipment I will have to use is my DSLR camera, alongside lighting equipment with a generator so I can use the equipment on location, as well as speed lights to create depth and atmosphere to my images. For travel and transport consideration, I have access to a car, as well as a few friends and family members who own vans for transportation of bigger props, the only problem being I will have to work around their times. I plan to set a budget of £350 for this project, which should cover the props and outfits I will need for my project, as well as location hire, prints, frames and props needed for the layout of my final exhibition. I plan to rent outfits from high street stores and local designers, with the fee being my services to save money to make sure my budget is focused upon the printing and framing of my images. I will have an extra £150 on the side incase I need to buy more expensive prints or props to make my shoot and final images the best quality possible.

FINAL: Literature Review

Literature Review

Laura Parkinson

Consumerism and fairytales

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Grimm Brothers (1812). Grimm Fairytales. Germany

The stories from the Grimm Brothers in Grimm Fairytales have been the main inspiration for my photographic research and practice. I mainly focused upon the stories from Snow White, Hansel and Gretel and Red Riding Hood, and pulled quotes from them about food and drink that were consumed during the stories. Quotes such as “it’s apple pies that make the mensfolks’ mouths water” and “lets drop these bread crumbs so that together we find our way home, because losing our way would be the most cruel of things”. These quotes will formulate the text for my experimental advertisements in preparation for my actual project for my final major project module.

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Jennifer Ann Hill. (2011). Endangered childhoods: how consumerism is impacting child and youth identity. Media, Culture & Society. 33 (3), 347-362.

Jennifer Ann Hill wrote about the effects that advertising culture has upon the younger generation, which relates to my research into the Disney culture and how it sells. She cited from Jhally saying “to not be influenced by advertising would be to live outside of culture. No human being lives outside of culture.”. She also comments on the fact that “children become socialized in consumer cultures their childhoods will have been so shortened that many will scarcely remember a time when they were not operating as a consumer”. It was an insight into the statistics relating to consumer culture and how advertisements and photography can make people want a product or an object when it is made out to be ‘designer’ or ‘in demand’.

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Carl Warner (2012). A World of Food: Discover Magical Lands Made of Things You Can Eat!. London: Abrams

Carl Warner was the main inspiration into my food photography and is someone I would like to look more in depth to when I continue this concept into my final major project. In a book that is aimed for children, but so informative, he talks about his works and shows us his food landscapes in a beautifully printed book. His collection of work looks into how he constructed fairytale landscapes out of food and Photoshop.

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Cindy Sherman (2003), The Complete Untitled Film Stills. New York: The Museum of Modern Art

Cindy Sherman is an influential self-portrait photographer that I have been inspired by for a number of years, and it seemed only right that I looked at my favourite book by her; Untitled Film Stills, for my research on how to take inspirational but meaningful images represented by the fairytales. Although her work doesn’t look into fairytales specifically, it gave me ideas for poses and editing techniques that I can use in my own work, especially that of making my images black and white with high contrast.

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Susan Bright (2010), Auto-Focus: The Self Portrait in Contemporary Photography. London: Thames and Hudson

Susan Bright’s book was my first port of call when it came to researching alternative self portraits after my initial exploration into the work of Kyle Thompson. I was mostly inspired by the work of Tracey Rose, Florence Paradeis and Ananke Asseff.

Ananke Asseff looks at “provocative hybrid of self portraiture and landscape photography”, her photographs are beautifully shot, blending the line between human and natural form. Her work, especially the piece of the photographer sitting in the snow in a white outfit from the series “Fragments of Paradise” inspired me to look for surreal weather conditions to take my photographs in, such as snow, fog and rain.

Florence Paradeis give the impression of a mysterious and well planned out moments from a film series, similar to the work of Gregory Crewdson but more artistic and dramatic. “Her photographs are carefully orchestrated to create oblique mis-en-scènes which, at times, are both cinematic and theatrical”.

Tracey Rose looks at personal and national identity from her own stance, and considers the identity of herself with her strong Catholic upbringing and varied ancestry background. I was not inspired by all of her work, but mostly by the image titled “Ciao Bella, Ms Cast, Venus Baartman, 2001”. It shows the photographer running in a crouched position through an overgrown field. It was the location that inspired me so much, and made me think more about my images and where they were being taken.

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Nicole S. Young (2011), Food Photography: From Snapshots to Great Shots. London: Peachpit Press

I have not taken food photography images before, so reluctantly I decided to take to Amazon and purchase a food photography tutorial book for beginners to get used to the lighting and set up needed for professional food photography. The author of this book is a full time freelance food and commercial photographer, and her experience and knowledge was so beneficial in influencing my practice and I feel now that I have gained so much more knowledge in food photography and they really helped my final images appear much more professional.

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