After discussion with my tutor, three major points stand out.
1. Choice of Black and White
I wrote “I have chosen black and white for the presentation of the images because this most typical for the ‘genre’ of street scenes”. We agreed that this statement is too glib. There are plenty of examples of colour street scenes, and to compound this statement, my first example given in my submission reflection was a colour image created my Martin Parr who I stated as a major influence on my shot selection.
Clearly, I need to think harder about the choice of colour or black and white and give those reasons.
In retrospect, I feel that my choice is still a valid one but rather than this being to position the images as street shots, I feel that the treatment gives the images a certain timeless quality and that this timelessness is a feature that I know and love of the Italian culture
2. Number of shots
I included only a small number of shots in the contact sheets which created the impression that I had not taken that many images. There are two sub points here.
Firstly, as these shots were taken on a trip, there is no opportunity to go back and retake any images if needed. We discussed a ratio of 10:1 of images taken to images used and therefore the need to take a lot more than that presented. In fact, I took around 500 images but just didn’t show them. What I have done is present a filtered set of images that I liked but didn’t choose for the final set. This is not apparent though from my approach plus it does not help with the second point.
Secondly, holding back images means that my tutor does not get to understand my thought processes. These thought processes can provide key insights into areas that can be improved.
In future assignments I will include all shots, unfiltered, as contact sheets to my assignment.
3. Shot Selection
In my draft assignment, I was not sure about my choice of the shot of ‘Anna’. My tutor agreed. With the subject not looking at the camera, the image is not as strong. I have therefore chosen to switch this image for a different one. My new chosen image still does not have the subject looking directly at the camera however his face is visible and we both agreed that the image is stronger. My revised set is therefore shown below.
