Teamwork

I feel I worked well within the team environment within every aspect of my experience. The majority of work I completed was with fellow photographers on the course, however I had not actually worked with any of them in the professional environment. There were a few arguments that took place between the students, however overall I feel we worked well as a team. However, my opinion of how I worked may be very different to others perception.

I have received reviews from fellow photographers regarding their thoughts on working with me in a team.

‘I was asked by a fellow photographer Josie Sutton, who i had the pleasure of working with on two different occasions to review how she was to work with as part of a team. The first was a wedding we did down in Portsmouth and as part of a team she worked extremely efficiently and professionally which helped me out a lot because this was my first experience at shooting a wedding so it really helped having someone there who knew what was going on and who could help me out. Throughout the day we communicated well together and this was a massive bonus because we had to cover the whole day, so with out good communication skills from her we would have not been able to do this. I think as a duo we worked fantastically well because we have known each other for a while now and as a photographer i respect her a lot and when she asked me to do the wedding with her i didn’t have to think about it because i know she is extremely easy to get along with and i would happily work with her again. The second opportunity that arose where we had to work as a team was the picbod exhibition, her skills as a team player really shined through here and she was extremely good at organizing and getting the job at hand done. Working in such a big group can cause a lot of arguments but when your working with someone whose so organized and calm as Josie its easy to get along with the job at hand and enjoy yourself at the same time. In the future i would happily work with her again.’

‘Josie Sutton in my opinion was an excellent team member of the Picbod exhbition. Her continual input was extensive, always present to do cleaning and odd jobs despite living in Birmingham. One day she very kindly brought in the services of her dad to help with hanging frames on the walls which was extremely helpful not only for herself but for many other students. She was trustworthy, hard-working and reliable, three of the most important traits for a team member in my eyes and she got along well with everybody involved. She was a valuable member of the team and I would happily work with her again in the future.’

Reflection

Here is the script for my presentation, as I feel it fully expresses my reflection and may be more understandable in writen form.

Presentation reflection

Personal growth

The area I feel I have most improved on during my time on this module is my confidence. I understand this may not appear to be a huge nessesity, but in my case I feel it was. I was very nervous around a subject and felt uncomfortable directing them at the beginning of the term. As I have progressed I have found myself gaining the confidence in my own abilities by experiencing different situations and having to learn how to control them. This is something I feel will keep on progressing as my career grows and I gain more experience within the professional environment.

Cakes etc.

Last year I photographed a selection of a cake companies designs for use on the website. It is something I have done at different intervals over the last year. During this module I was given the opportunity to again photograph a new set of designs to be used for advertising purposes, both online and on a new set of leaflets.

In preparation for the shoot, we began by looking through all of the images taken in the past, and discussing what the desired outcome would be. I started off taking basic image sets of the cupcakes, and we looked at some examples online of the style she was hoping to achieve. After the meeting, we then purchased items that were needed such as patterns napkins, colorful plates and lace tablecloths.

When we met again she had created cakes with similar colours regarding the props we previously bought. Over the duration of the shoot I began using a selection of plates and napkins to create more aesthetically pleasing images for the advertisements. I found it a very easy working environment with just me and the owner, as we worked well together in a relaxed environment. By taking the time to sit down with her and discuss what we both envisioned for the final outcome, it gave us the time to properly prepare and be working on the same aim. I feel this was a valuable experience as it was the first shoot I hadn’t only exchanged emails with the client regarding plans, I had physically met up and taken the time to really discuss the outcome and what was needed. This helped us to work more as a team, as discussing it had allowed us to both interject our own ideas and build upon each others, as apposed to both turning up to the shoot with different ideas and clashing. We merged our plans and worked very well together. I feel this final meeting and shoot before the end of the module has really helped to highlight how far I have come in what is realistically a short space of time.

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improved cv

After gaining the feedback from my first coursework submission, I was surprised to learn my cv was not up to standard. After reviewing it now however, I completely understand why. I was very concerned with the layout and presentation when I first created it, which distracts from it’s purpose. A plain and simple cv is all that is nessesary as it is simply a tool to present your working history. In comparison to the CV’s I have viewed for guidance, mine feels very short and empty, however I simply need to continue working and adding to my experience; by the time I finish University I am to have a much more substantial amount of work in my cv which covers a wide range of photographic practices. Ultimately, it is a strong improvement on the one I submitted at the beginning of the year as it focuses completely on my information and the image it portrays of my abilities.

Curriculum Vitae

Picbod Opening and Private viewings

For the opening night we collected money off everyone involved and bought (what we thought) was enough refreshments for all of the viewers. However, within an hour of opening the doors we were already out of drinks and over a hundred people full. Walking around and mingling with the guests was a very enjoyable experience. Everyone there was very interested and willing to discuss the work at hand. By the end of the evening we had over 200 visitors through the door, and were all very busy all night mixing with those who had come to support us. Thanks to the advertising team, there was a huge proportion of guests that had found out about the exhibition through social media sites and fliers. We were also informed that three other exhibitions taking place that night had closed early and the majority of the guests leaving and heading to picbod instead.

Over the week following, the exhibition was open to schools and colleges bringing students to experience the kind of work University inspires. I helped to guide one of the tours, explaining the concept of the exhibition, the work we had created and the way the exhibition had be set up. Standing in front of a group of young artists and photographers and giving a talk about my own work made me very nervous, but it was a very invigorating experience at the same time.

picbod exhibition preporation

Discussions began about the exhibition very early, with planning taking place on several occasions after lectures. Once we had handed in our final submissions, the date for the exhibition was set very close at hand. This meant almost a week was spent in the Artspace basement cleaning and rearranging the space. On the first day in the basement, the roles were split between all in attendance. I remained in the basement to help the cleaning up. Over three days were spent down in the basement simply emptying the rubbish, cleaning the walls, drying up the damp and collecting all the dirt. It was a hard job, as it seemed to be never-ending. After opening the fire escape doors to let some fresh air in, we discovered a beautiful little patio which was perfect for a social area during the exhibitions opening night. After scrubbing the tables and sweeping the floors and steps it began looking very picturesque.

After we felt we had achieved as much as we could at this stage, it was arranged for all of the group to bring their work to the basement in order to plan the layout. It was important to arrange the work in a way that flowed throughout the space, however we were also working around the restrictions of the basement. As the walls were all so old, we were a bit unsure of the stability. My dad was our allocated handyman, who, once we had laid out the work in order came and spent the day hanging all of the framed work. We needed to sweep round constantly while we were working, as the dust was constantly gathering.

One of the worst parts of this was the hole by the front door. I was the unlucky soul to have to crawl in and errect a projection space for the slideshow. After initially doing it we found it to be too close and I had to dig it all up and start from scratch. It was very messy work, however I enjoyed getting my hands dirty and putting in the hard graft to earn the chance to exhibit.

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Collaboration Work

For the last few weeks I have been planning a project with a fellow student with the collaboration of our work. The discussion began as a comment on the work I did from PICBOD, and her interest in completing some work surround the same concept of distortion and the conception of beauty. Much of her work in the past has surrounded the distortion of the image. Through our time together I have found myself very inspired by her personal work as her style is quite different from mine and I feel this collaboration will push us both out of our comfort zones and expand our ways of thinking as we experience each others method of working and the way we each develop ideas.

From the conversations we have held and the initial plans we have laid down, I am very excited to begin working. We plan to work with our own bodies, as models will remove a significant portion of the experience of distortion and the understanding of the body that we wish to encompass through the work.

WebfolIIO

With regards to creating a webfolio, it is quite difficult with the experience I have produced. The Asian weddings I have completed have all requested to not have any of their images shared either online or through the companies own advertisements. I found this through the wedding, that a large number of the guests were approaching me and asking not to be photographed at all. This was a really difficult way to work, as it was not only a simple request, it was against their religion to have any images made of them. I found it very frustrating, as I had been hired to capture their wedding day yet I couldn’t do it to my full ability. Whilst I was working I was having to keep a careful eye on the crowds I was photographing in order to prevent offending any of the guests. As I am unable to include a large portion of the images on my webfolio, I will add them into my video presentation and password protect it so it is not viewable to the public.