Evaluation

Evaluation

For this assignment I was to produce ten commercially viable images that form a response to my individual study. I was to show my understanding current photographic practice. As I chose fashion for my individual practice I began to explore how fashion is currently shown and researched the things that interested me the most. Something I often look to for inspiration is a website called lookbook. The site is for young designers and photographers to show their work. The site is invite only and there is a certain look that the website embraces. I like the chic and vintage look that lookbook has and this has definitely influenced my work. Something else that I looked to with this work is Urban Outfitters. I noticed that the thing they are doing a lot at the moment is using Fuji instax Polaroid film to present their clothing online. I found to be very interesting, new and nothing like what other retailers are producing to show their clothing. I liked this so much I bought myself a Fuji Instax camera and some film and shot the entire brief with it.
One other inspiration I used was Amanda De Cadenet. I came across last year when researching photographers for an essay and her work stuck with me because of its vintage and stylish look. I think I will be looking her work more often in the future.
While I was researching I also found several photographers who produce images and artwork using Polaroid film. I found these to be very interesting and attractive but not what I was wanting for the assignment with it being more art based.
I decided to shoot all my images on Polaroid because I wanted to try something different and challenge myself a little. I am a little afraid that someone looking at my work may think that I took the easy option by shooting this way but I know that it was definitely much harder than shooting with a DSLR. With the Polaroid I was very limited with the images I could take and had to really think about ever shot before taking the picture. I was also very aware that I was limited and once a picture was taken then that chance was gone. I did take plenty of film with me on the shoot but I still ended up using every single picture. I knew that using my DSLR would of make things simpler but I knew that was not the look I wanted for this brief and I porously did not take a DSLR with me on the shoot so that I would not be tempted to shoot digital instead.
I really like the images that I produced for this assignment although I wish that I had given myself a little more of a chance to practice with the camera.
I shot my images at spring wood in Whalley because I wanted to get the blue bells in the images and I absolutely love the woods. We spent several hours there while the sun was going down and caught the beautiful golden tones of the sun set in the pictures. I was so pleased with the weather that day. I would love to go back for a similar shoot but use a different camera so that I can play with the images myself.
I am very happy with the images I have produced during this assignment. I am glad that I challenged myself with this and I am looking forward to getting to get to know my new camera properly over summer and also explore serious photography with Polaroid better. I am glad I found the opportunity to open myself to new things and I hope keep pushing myself and trying to achieve better things for my work.

here are my final images for individual practice. as they are polaroids i have decided to present them on a cork board but i thought that blogging them would be a good idea too.

location ideas

when i was considering places to shoot i had three places in mind. they were spring wood in whalley, astley park in chorley and whalley abbey. i wanted to go to a place to shoot all of my images so it needed to be interesting and attractive.
i decided to go to spring wood because i have grown up going there and i know exactly how beautiful it is when the sun is beginning to go down and i knew that that light would be perfect and really give my images that extra something.
another reason i wanted to go there was because the blue bells were at there best and all over the place. i really wanted to take advantage of this and i think that it has benefit my images.

outfits

the outfits for the shoot will be clothes not too different from the onse in the urban ourtitters photos. i can not afford to buy several oufits from urban outfitters but i do own lots of nice clothes that are in the same style and they were what i used in the shoot. before the shoot i had already picked out 5 outfits that i wanted to put my model in so we were very ready when it came to the shoot. i am very happy with the utfits i chose for the shoots and i believe they reflect the style well.

polaroid artists

i have done some more research into artists who work using Polaroids. Polaroid was never something that i would of associated with art or professional photography but i have now found they although it may be rare someone can be a photographer and an artist and use Polaroids.
although my idea is more towards the fashion side of photography and not art its has been good to see that i am not attempting something that is juvenile and unimportant.


Tripp & Brown

Stephanie Schneider

Jim Lucio

Camebdevos

I-Nan Kuo

location ideas

for shooting for this project i really want to have places that look familier to everyone such as a bedroom, a church, a country lane, a field, a park, a garden etc.
i have places planned that i would like to go to but i also would like to take a walk with my models and see how things flow and see were we end up. i would also be able to use my instax images as a way to document our time out walking.

polaroid transfer

i read about polarid transfers but felt that i needed to see it for myself so i found this video. i would really like to try it now. looks like i will have to buy myself a cool new machine, this sounds goods to me.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2uUliJ8rFQ&feature=related

holly f. dupre

these images are done by an artist called Holly F. Dupre. she works with polaroid transfers and create beautiful images such as these.
although like how the images look i dont think that polaroid transfers are the way to go as i think it could be more about the art than the photography. how ever i do find it interesting and maby i will look more into this in the future.

i could not find anywere that fully explained the development of fuji instant film but i did find how the process works for regular polaroid film. since fuji instax is based on polaroid i think this is still fitting to my work.

Instant film is a type of photographic film first introduced by Polaroid that is designed to be used in an instant camera (and, with accessory hardware, with many professional film cameras). The film contains the chemicals needed for developing and fixing the photo, and the instant camera exposes and initiates the developing process after a photograph has been taken.

In earlier Polaroid instant cameras the film is pulled through rollers which breaks open a pod containing a reagent that is spread between the exposed negative and receiving positive sheet. This film sandwich develops for a predetermined time, depending on film type and ambient temperature, after which the positive sheet is peeled away from the negative to reveal the developed photo.

In 1972, Polaroid introduced integral film, which incorporated timing and receiving layers to automatically develop and fix the photo without any intervention from the photographer.

Instant film is available in sizes from 24 mm x 36 mm (similar to 135 film) up to 20" x 24" size, with the most popular film sizes for consumer snapshots being approximately 3¼" x 4¼" (the image itself is smaller as it is surrounded by a border). Early instant film was distributed on rolls, but later and current films are supplied in packs of 8 or 10 sheets, and single sheet films for use in large format cameras with a compatible back.

Integral film packs may contain a flat electrical battery to operate exposure and focusing mechanisms and film ejection motors in the camera. The inclusion of the battery within the film pack ensures that a fresh battery with suitable characteristics is available with each new pack of film.

The quality and versatility of instant film is not as good as conventional film; it was used where the quality was adequate for the application and it was undesirable to have to wait for a roll of conventional film to be finished and processed, e.g., documenting evidence in law enforcement, in health care and scientific applications, and producing photographs for passports and other identity documents, and simply for snapshots to be seen immediately. Some photographers use instant film for test shots, to see how a subject or setup looks before using conventional film for the final exposure. Instant film is also used by artists to achieve effects that are impossible to accomplish with traditional photography, by manipulating the emulsion during the developing process, or separating the image emulsion from the film base. Instant film has been supplanted for most purposes by digital photography, which allows the result to be viewed immediately on a display screen or printed with dye sublimation, inkjet, or laser home or professional printers.

Instant film is notable for having had a wider range of film speeds available than other negative films of the same era: instant film has been produced with ISO 4 to ISO 20,000. Current instant film formats typically have an ISO between 80 and 3000

for this shoot i will be using a fuji instax camera. this camera was marketed in the late 90s and has two formats of cameras and film, origional 'wide' format wich gives the images size 6 cm x 10 cm, and a 'mini' format that gives the image size 62 mm x 46 mm. for this shoot i will be using origional film and a fuji instax 100.
i have owned a polaroid camera is the past but i dont really know the process that happens when a picture is taken so i now intend to learn this with the hope that this may reflect on my work or atleast lead me to better appreciate this camera.

but what is it good for?

i realise that this kind of photography is not seen around alot but the clothing company that only use this look.
thier current photographs are shot on a fuji instax camera on wide film. i really like how they look but im not sure how i would present my work to my group, im not sure if i would like to just present the small pictures that pop out of the camera. this is somthing i will have to think about alot.

Amanda De Cadenet

Amanda De Cadenet first cought my attention earlier in the year when i was researching photographers for an essey on fashion photographers.
i really like Cadenets work becasuse of the look that it has. i like the old almost desaturated look that they have. i also like the places that they are set, a couch, a dusty car park, a grassy garden decorated with swimming rings.

look book

a website that i go to alot to just look at pictures is http://www.lookbook.nu/ . it is a website for young photographers and designers to get thier work seen by other young people who have the same style and interest. to become a member you have to send a request and then you must be invited so the whole theme of the site stays the same.

i really like the look of the images that are featured on the site they have a chic and vintage look to them and i love how the fashion is shown along with the locations that are often used.