Brief: communicate a person's personality or characteristics through photography.
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| Experimental |
I had quite high expectations for this project as I felt very
inspired from the beginning by a number of photographers shown to us in
the initial briefing. I was also excited to be focussing on photography as
a final outcome, as in the past it was a medium I would use mostly for
research. However, I struggled at the beginning of this project as although
I was enjoying being experimental and I was producing some interesting images,
I was finding it difficult to get to know my partner and to find something
interesting to communicate so my initial photos, I think, are emptier and
almost meaningless. I do also think, however, that these first images are
still important as you can tell by my final images that they
were perhaps key experimental development in terms of the use of colour and
light. It was quite uncomfortable at first having to talk to someone you had
never met before and ask some quite personal questions. I
was also unsure of the boundary of what was too personal to ask or to
follow up on so I think I held back a bit with the things I asked her. I was
very interested in my partner and her life. She is from a city north west of
Shanghai called Suzhou. Initially I was very interested in this and somehow
portraying her home place in the imagery. I first began looking into the city
and found that the city actually has its own perfect replica of London Bridge.
Although I found this very interesting I didn’t want to create images that were
too literal. I also wanted to dig deeper and find something
that wasn't so obvious. So I met with my partner again and began
asking her what it is like living by yourself so far away from your home, as I
my life is still very much sheltered by the fact that I still live in the same
house I was brought up in. Trying to communicate feelings or an atmosphere
I think was quite a challenge but i'm pleased I took it on. Whilst doing
some test shoots and experimenting with light and colored acetate in a
kids playground near the college, my partner said it reminded her a lot of a
playground near her house in Suzhou where she grew up in.
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| Final image |
In these photos I wanted to
communicate the unfamiliarity of her being in a new city, the distance she
feels between her and her family through the reminiscence of her childhood in
Suzhou. The way she spoke about her childhood and old memories gave me the
impression that she was someone who spent a lot of time thinking about her life
and memories from her hometown.
I think I was successful in
creating the eerie atmosphere that I was hoping for. However, I think the
meaning behind the photographs can often be misunderstood for something much more
cynical and dark due to the light contrast and facial expressions. This was
picked up by some people during the crit feedback. The facial expression
was quite a hard element to crack and is an aspect I think I should
have spent more time thinking about and experimenting to avoid
miscommunication. I wanted her to look at ease but also deep in thought about
her past memories in Suzhou. I didn’t want her to be smiling as I was concerned
that she might be misunderstood as being playful. I do think, however, that the
use of light and shadow are so emotive that in some ways these two elements do
some lifting for the misconceptions of the facial expressions.
I realised with this project
that what I really needed was more time to get to know my partner and that this
was not something that could be rushed. I found that I learnt more about her
by spending time with her rather than when i was asking her the more generic questions
we were initially given at the briefing.
I think I was
also quite successful in making my research visible in my work. Philip-Lorca
diCorcia and Gregory Crewdson were the main influences for this project. These
two photographers fascinate me in the way that they create atmosphere and mood
through their use of lighting and character pose.
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| Gregory Crewdson |
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| Philip Lorca diCorcia |
Critical feedback: 'The distinctive use of green and reds along
with the faded purple background adds an eerie feel to the composition. Her
hands clenching the bars makes her look like she might be holding/protecting
something'
'The darkness goes a good job at bringing out the characteristics of a closed and mysterious person. The subtle highlights seem to create a sense of curiosity'.
'I love the creepy colours - creepy yet playful'
'The person looks mysterious because of the use of dark lighting and facial expressions - scared/quizzical'
'The contrast of bright light and dark creates the eerie atmosphere as well as the location of the playground. The images look suspenseful. Could be a symbolism for lost/past memories/childhood memories fading.'
'Good use of lighting and shadow - very emotive and engaging.'