Evaluation

Professional Practice Evaluation

Individual work experience

Reflections on working for the client

Since arriving in Bristol I have become very interested in the music scene and as a by-product of this I have become very interested in documenting it. Until this point I have only been documenting these events on a personal level with a series of compact film cameras. I wanted to take this newfound passion further so I enquired with a friend of mine who promotes a night called ‘£5 skankin’ with ‘12:34 productions’, a collective who promote a plethora of nights across Bristol and fortunately needed a photographer.

My first experience of working with ‘12:34 productions’ was at an event called ‘Overproof Jungle’ an all jungle drum and bass night at the Dog House, an intimate venue situated underground just off St Nicholas’s Market. I met one of the promoters called Jamie Bowyer at the start of the night to discuss what he wanted doing. I was given a lot of artist freedom; the main pointers were to capture shots of the DJ’s and crowd and to convey an overall positive, vibey and enjoyable atmosphere.

Although the skills I had been developing while shooting on my film camera carried over well there were quite a few key differences. The first thing was the kit. I had been so used to wielding a pocket sized camera that making the jump to using a hefty Canon mark iii with a speed light took a little getting used to, especially as the celling’s of the Dog House were low and concaved making it hard for even me to stand up straight at time. The main problem of these ceilings were the fact they threw the light around in various directions meaning that almost every time I moved positions I also had to adjust the flash unit this combined with the minimal low lighting really threw me in at the deep end and forced me to adjust fast. I also found the idea of being able to just take anyone’s picture a strange idea, I had become so used to having to snap people and disappear into the crowd that now having people run up to me and demand having there portraits taken rather weird; but again something I adapted to. I still employ my street photography-esc techniques, as I believe this is the best way to truly capture the atmosphere of an event.   

Reflections on organisational skills

Before embarking on this shoot I had done my research by looking at various different event photographer that promoters over Bristol had used such as Sarah Koury, whom I interviewed for the zine and infinity ward another high quality photographer operating in Bristol. By looking at these different photographers I grasped a firm idea of what I did and didn’t want my image to look like. I amalgamated these findings with my own personal style and the style I had developed while shooting on my personal work. Combining these styles allowed me to successfully produce the images expected of me but with my own personal stamp and style, this is what I told my self I would do when I first considered this as a viable avenue of professional photography for myself.

For the zine I worked along side Nele Hinn and Josh Jones. As we were all quite different photographers with varying interests we decide to each research a different area in photography and have our own separate chapters. We realised that this may look disjointed; to overcome this we decide to create a strong graphical aesthetic running through the whole zine. A combination of minimal page layouts, thin black boxes (surrounding various full pages, text and images), dotted lines, the same text throughout and grey scale images. I was hesitant about the grey scale at first but once everything was put together I was more than happy with the results, it also made things easier for printing.

Overall I am extremely happy with the results of the zine, I feel we worked well as a team and compiled all of our ideas into a professional and well informed zine.

Reflections on the work produced

As this was the first time I had attempted this style of photography with the kit I was using in any sense never mind a professional one I was a bit worried how the images would turn out, but I put those thoughts to the back of my mind and carried on. I had done my research on flash positioning and I am well versed with camera controls so, once I got into the swing of things and got a feel for the location I was well away.

I am very happy with how the images turned out and you can see from the contact sheet I progressed as the night went on.

After the event I sat down with the promoters to have a few drinks we chatted and discussed the images. They were more than happy, they liked my naturalistic style, the way I had captured such atmosphere, that I had considered the space and made the venue look full and buzzing (something that previous photographers had not done).

I was asked to choose a selection of images, edit them and return them to the promoter in charge of the Facebook page where images will be exhibited.

I was asked to photograph their next event a few days later this was also a success.

Evaluation

The work experience that I have done for this projects has been so beneficial, it has given me the confidence to approach other promoters and companies with my services and has shown me the amazing power of networking and where it take you.

I am hoping to continue working with ‘12:34 productions’ as the year goes on to gain plenty more experience and exposure of my skill set.

I aim to be working as a well known and desirable event photographer by Christmas time 2016.

Top 10 qualities a commercial photographer should have

1.     Punctuality (9/10)

I was always on time for the jobs and ready with my kit. I docked a mark due to the fact that after the first event that went on much later than I had anticipated I slept in and missed the zine presentation.

2.     Organization (7/10)

I was very organized in terms of kit, being on time etc. but once it came to the editing I was quite slow. This is something that I need to work on.

3.     Originality (6/10)

Originality is something I strive for in all of my work and I believe I have achieved but at this point I don’t feel I have had enough time to full explore the genre and make my work that original.

4.     Passion (10/10)

Mixing two of my biggest passion together music and photography is going to result in a 10. 

5.     Knowledge of your equipment (7/10)

My knowledge of camera controls and my kit is strong but I have still got a long way to go.

6.     Knowledge of your subject (8/10)

I had a good knowledge of the events/DJ’s/fans I would be documenting, but as I am still new to these scenes I still have things to learn.  

7.     Flexibility (8/10)

Everything went relatively well to plan for my shoots so there wasn’t really much call for flexibility apart from having to stay later at the first shoot but I know I can be flexible and will comply with what is needed.

8.     The ability to adapt to different surroundings (10/10)

I feel this is one of the biggest things in event photography and if I hadn’t had the ability to adapt in there’s shoots I would have been in trouble.

9.     Patience (8/10)

Patience is also a big part. There were many times where I just couldn’t get something right and it was doing my head it but with persistence and a clear head I almost always overcame it.

10.  Personality (7/10)

This is quite a weird one to mark your self on. I feel I have a good friendly personality that carries over well and puts people at ease when I am photographing them. I do still think I have places to improve on for further work, but I think this will just come with time and experience of handling people.     

Module Evaluation

Overall this has been a very good module that has taught me a lot of valuable skills and has ushered me into places that I needed to be. I have written a short break down of my opinions bellow.  

Zine

I have found this module extremely beneficial. It has taught me a lot about zine production and has opened my eyes to the fact that one can be produced to a very high standard with a few strong minds and some strong ideas.

The zine portion has as shown me that contacting professional and interviewing is actually easier that it seems as long as your are patient and positive.

I feel this portion of the module is a really interactive way of introducing people to the work of print, whether that be working for magazines, creating your own books, book design and so on. 

Despite all of this positivity there is one thing I disagree with and that is the way the module is graded. I feel both parts should be split 50/50. It seems unfair that the zine has taken up most of this module in terms of work hours but this hasn’t been reflected in the marking. My team and I (and most other people I have spoken to) have most definitely spent over 30% of this module working on the zine.  

Work Experience

The work experience part of this module has been so helpful for me, it has pushed me out of my comfort zone and has set me onto the part that I needed to be on. I have wanted to persue event photography for a while now but for one reason or another I haven’t made the jump. So when it came to this part of the assignment it was the push I needed. I have no gotten my self out there and I am stating to gain the exposure I need to make a name for myself and as the academic year is now coming to a close I have work opportunities on the horizon, which is brilliant

I think its great to get first years actively out there this quickly, it’s a real confidence boost and for most a first taste of the professional world all on your own.