This was by the far the most stressed I’ve been whilst working on an assignment. Not just because of the environment I had to do it in, but, also because I was struggling to think of suitable ideas, after so many failed attempts. However, I quickly had to succumb to the fact that this was the situation I was in – like so many other OCA students’ – and effectively, I had to get on with it to the best of my abilities. I have always understood the importance of research before carrying out an assignment, but even more so in this instance. I truly feel the success of the entire process, and ultimately, the quality of my portraits’, was due to the thorough research I did into Jeff Wall, which resulted in me gaining a huge amount of inspiration and confidence, giving me the drive and determination I needed to carry on in difficult circumstances and produce the best work possible.
As I very rarely shoot indoors and am not used to photographing subjects’ where the natural light is limited, I had to quickly learn the art of low-light photography. Working the manual controls on my camera to choose the correct settings wasn’t an issue, however, using an external flash and understanding how to use it properly, and effectively, took some time. But, the more test shots I did before introducing the subjects’ into the scene, proved to be beneficial, and my confidence in my abilities grew as the process went on, and I think this is evident in my final images. Getting the compositions right was vitally important to me, so working in confined spaces proved to be difficult at times, and more often than not, my camera was attached to my tripod in some precarious positions. But, instead of choosing the easiest, but, perhaps not the best compositions, I took my time and persevered to get those I thought would work best with that particular image. I felt I have utilised some of the compositional ‘rules’ effectively, such as the rules of thirds, foreground interested and depth, framing and elements of symmetry.
This assignment allowed me to be creative, in that I was able to use props in my images. Obviously, the props I used were objects that were already an integral part of the ‘moments’ that I witnessed, so they weren’t randomly added into the scenes, per say. I feel that when using props correctly, and if they are relevant to the theme, like mine were, they can be a powerful tool to help promote the message the photographer is trying to deliver. One of the best points to come out of my research was how an image can appear more balanced and aesthetically pleasing if only three objects are evident within part of the scene. I tried to use this concept as frequently as I could, and the first real opportunity I had to do so was with the Birthday cards. Not only do I feel it works incredibly well as concepts go, but it also emphasises the point I was trying to make regarding the singing of Happy Birthday when washing your hands. Though I was using an external flash, there were opportunities to use natural light to help illuminate the scene or my subject. I think the best example of this is the image depicting my wife wearing a mask. There was natural light coming from the bathroom and hallway windows, and because the area in between was darker, a lovely ambience has been created and my wife is beautifully lit.
Perhaps, in the past, I have concentrated more on either the quality of images, or, the narrative, but have sometimes failed to combine both. However, in this instance, I really do feel I have created images that are both visually and creatively strong, whilst being part of a broader series where the narrative is relevant throughout. I certainly feel I have achieved what I set out to do, and under difficult circumstances, I’m very proud of that.
Iain Barbour - BA (Hons) Photography 