Technical and Visual

Technically, I think that the outcome is good.  All of the subjects are sharp.  Visually, perhaps the image of Anna (the lady preparing ice cream) would have been better if she had been looking at the camera as it is a shame that one cannot see her eyes. I felt though that because she was looking at the ice cream, this sat well with the subject of the image and I felt that I needed to include at least one Ice Cream image in my set given the subject area was Italy.  I could have gone with Contact-22 as an alternative which is perhaps stronger as a single image but would have been less consistent in the set.  For future images, I need to consider the distinction between the subject looking or not looking into the camera; either could be correct, but I need to make it a conscious choice.

I have chosen to present all images in 4:3 portrait format which I feel signals that these images are intended to be portraits rather than ‘just’ street scenes.  I also chose to present the images in black and white which I feel, notwithstanding the portrait distinction, does position the images into a street scene genre.

For these images, I used a small micro4/3 camera and a fixed 25mm (50mm equivalent) lens.  Whilst the assignment is about the images and not the camera, I did notice that the small camera made it much easier to always have the camera to hand and also that the fixed lens adds a degree of consistency between the images from the outset, leaving less work to do in the processing stage and also meaning that perspectives in the images is consistent.

Quality of Outcome

What I wanted to achieve with this set of images was a feel of Italy, whilst at the same time hightlighting the character of the subjects.  I personally feel that this has been achieved.  When I look at these images now, some time after taking them, I remember the feelings I had at the time.  I hope other viewers get some sense of the atmosphere.

One of the triggers for me choosing to take images such as these was my interest in Martin Parr after visiting him at the National Portrait Gallery with his Only Human exhibition (Parr, 2019).   Whereas Parr is perhaps best known for his great talent in picking out scenes that somehow capture the distinctly eccentric nature of humans, others capture people in their everyday scenes; images such Figure 1 capture the character of the subject but also provide some scenery to provide context. 

 I feel that I have got close to this with perhaps my image of Ramin Saravi as Charlie Chaplin provding the best balance between subject and background and my image of Salah showing how one can lose the context very easily if the subject is too close in the image.  This is something I think I need to pay greater focus on in future images.

Creativity

These images all aim to capture a subject in their home environment.  I think the images are successful in that sense but I did feel that the need to capture the subject as the main person in the frame did reduce creativity in terms of one’s ability to control the frame and what other things were visible in it. 

For example, I really liked Contact-19 as an image where I deliberately chose to place the music sheet as the main focal point in the image and it is then surrounded by the musicians.  I feel that this is more overtly creative than my chosen images although it was not selected for the submission as it does not fit into the set.  The same lines of thinking could be levelled at many of those in Exercise 2.4 where I have carefully framed the images to make a specific point.

Yet, clearly there a huge number of choices to be made in framing these single person images and I think the learning I have gained from this reflection and summarised at the end of this write up would likely result in quite a different submission were I to do this assignment again with the same subjects. 

Context and Research

Aside from the images in the coursework, I spent time looking at the images of Parr as already described but also those of Eggleston.  Whist he is not necessary thought of as a portrait artist, I am always very interested in studying his images and I wondered if the same could be true of portraits.

The Figure 2 below is a good example of what I was trying to achieve.  In the image, the subject is clear but there is context of that person’s life.  Interestingly, because of the wider perspective, it is less critical that the subject is looking directly into the camera, this is a balance to think of further conjunction with my earlier points to considered.

I think this context and research, coupled with my reflection post the creation of this assignment has given me a number of learning points to consider going forwards:

• Make conscious choices as to whether or not the subject should be looking into the camera
• Consider carefully the balance between the subject and the background.  It is important to choose the ratio between the two for a reason.
• Be aware of the interplay between the two points above.  The size of the subject within the frame affects the impact of the subject’s pose.

Bibliography

Parr, M. (2019) Only Human [Exhibition]. London: National Portrait Gallery.

Images

Figure 1.  Parr, M. (2007). Chile. Vina del Mar. 2007. [image] At: https://pro.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&ALID=2K1HRGY6SGA [Accessed 6 Nov. 2019].

Figure 2.  Eggleston, W. Untitled 1960s [Image] In: Prodger, P. (2016) William Eggleston Portraits Page 52. London: National Portrait Gallery Publications.