This project seemed very exiting to me and although I was now more used to working with clients each time it was different. I was happy to be working with a client who wanted black and white atmospheric pictures of Bath as I feel black and white photography is my strong point however my client pulled out so when I joined with a different partner who wanted both black and white and digital I had to challenge myself.
Using forms and paper work along the way was helpful to help me keep track of my progress and meant I also had paperwork to refer to, to make sure I didn't go off track. Meeting notes in particular were helpful so I didn't forget important topics which had been discussed in the meeting.
I was looking forward to the part of the project where we submitted a photograph for the Cork. I wanted to do something different which is why I decided to create a collage. My initial black and white photographs came out very well and I was quite lucky that there weren't any problems with my film and that they were all in focus and developed nicely. I think I was also quite lucky with the weather as we got a random sunny few days which helped the photo's turn out nice.
The subject matter was relevant to my client and I think I strayed a little at one point but then got back on track. some images I took for example the contact sheet of trees were very off target as the subject matter was not very interesting at all. I think meetings were very important as it meant I could keep Ed updated with what I was doing and the progress I was making. The venue I was working at (eat5*) was fairly small, however i saw this as a good thing because it may have been harder to fill a huge amount of wall space effectively.
I enjoyed working with a partner and I found it fairly easy, we kept up good communication throughout and made decisions between us in a professional manner. We took 5 pictures each into the shop and collaborated some of our images to be put up together.
A very important aspect through the whole project was the clients wishes. He made it very clear he wished for us to do a small collection of black and white images and make an aspect of the image green, the shade of the shops walls. This would mean using Photoshop to manipulate hem. It was my first time at using Photoshop for this kind of method but I found it quite easy and it worked really well. I think this was the most successful part of the project, the feedback from our client and customers also reflects this.
I decided to do photo montage as my digital pieces. I used images of Bath and stitched them together using Photoshop. I think this is a very interesting way of creating an image and it gives a unique perspective.
Throughout the project documentation was important. for example, I used a camera to document the wall space so I could refer back to it for colour and sizing's. Research was a very important stage in this project. I found looking at artists very helpful and influential on my work. I looked at David Hockney as his work was directly related to mine and artists such as Cole Thompson and will pearson whose photography was amazing and I wanted to try out myself. I found photographers whose work was relevant to what I had in mind because I had some kind of guideline to go by and to make comparisons with. One of my favourite photographers was John Lowing's and I am very grateful for him coming to see us. There were aspects of each photographers work I like and wanted to put into my work and I hope this shows.
Another important part of research was the research of shows and exhibitions. I think looking at the thought process behind shows was very important and helped me when putting up my show. They helped me to think through what I needed to do, plan things better and not miss out important elements. The exhibitions I visited such as the Peggy Guggenheim museum and the Banky exhibition in Bristol were influential as I could learn how artwork was displayed, this was relevant to me as I wanted the work I was displaying to stand out and serve its purpose effectively.
The museums I visited such as the Saatchi gallery and the Roman Baths helped me see how artefact's could be effectively displayed and information put across. I also enjoyed visiting the Roman Baths as they had lots of interactive services to make the trip more enjoyable and suit a range of different people. I particularly enjoyed the use of live models and projectors to convey information in a different way.
I am happy that along the way I made the correct decisions in terms of which photographs to use however I think I could have taken more images to have a wider choice to choose from, when I get an idea in my head it seems to stick there and I do not stray to far away from it possibly missing the opportunity to explore a wider variety of methods and techniques. In my next project I will set a plan of how many techniques and processes I will explore and make sure I stick to it. I think my use of digital photography cam out better than I expected although I was slightly nervous about not being able to rely solely on my black and white photography.
Looking at the target audience was quite helpful as it meant I had more guidelines to work between and was less likely to stray from the brief.
I kept the target audience in mind when taking photographs and hope this comes across in my images. The paperwork side of this project was important such as trying to figure out all of the health and safety measures and visualising any problems that may have occurred the health and safety sheet helped me a lot and I think this should be used.
In terms of advertising I am happy with the poster we created although I now think it should have some aspect of actual photography in it, the problem with this arose when we couldn't decide what photograph to put on it although looking back I think we could have got some outside help like feedback or simply pulled a name from a hat to help us decide. Following the way the end of year show was put up was also very helpful in that I got to monitor a room and see how the decisions and planning affected the final outcome of the show. I also attended the end of year show which was a success.
Another important aspect of the project was meeting the Roman Baths museum curator who explained a bit about putting up a show and making things easier for yourself. This showed me that you could get help with aspects such as funding or do most of the design and printing yourself to save on expenses. This came in handy when I needed to print the two longer images. I went to a shop in Bath who agreed to do both for £10 after I first said I was a student then offered to put their logo on our poster.
I am very happy with our final prints and think they all work well together and coincide with the shop nicely. I think If i were to do this again I would do them all in black and white as this want the most successful aspect of the show. I think I could have also looked into subject matter more closely instead of just settling on one theme we could have explored catering or coffee as a sub theme. Our pictures look good up on the walls and I think we grouped them together quite well. I think however if we had done less photographs we could have blown them up bigger and had a better quality of photographs. I am happy with the client and customer feedback and have taken on some of the comments. Overall I think the project went really well and the client was happy with the work we produced and working with us.
