Final Evaluation

Throughout this unit, I have learned many practical and theoretical skills, as well as techniques and ideas in photography that I learned from the artist research I have completed.

My Artist research has influenced my work in many ways. For example, when I studied the formal element of reflection, my research on Ruut Blees Luxumburg heavily influenced the way I shot and composed my images and what type of reflection I photographed. Like Luxemburg's work, I looked for reflections that were shown on the ground and reflected buildings and people. I also often shot from a high angle and tried to find reflections that had bright lights in them, which is a common feature of Ruut Blees Luxemburg's reflection Street photography.

I also drew influence from Vivian Maier, who is a documentary street photographer, while shooting my photo documentary images. I particularly drew influence from the way she observes her surroundings and tries to capture events as they actually happen, which was a technique I had in mind when shooting most of my Photo documentary images.

In addition to learning from my Artist Research, I feel I have also progressed in my knowledge and application of technical skills in my work. One thing I have learned from this unit is a wide range of Photoshop techniques that I have incorporated into my work frequently. For example, I learned how to use tools such as liquify and spot healing brush, which particularly came into use when taking portraits, as I could edit out any blemishes or marks on my subject's face, and when creating my composite images on the Fourth Plinth, as I could remove the object that was on the plinth already and place the one I wanted on there.

I also learned various studio techniques and about the uses of studio equipment. One thing I learned to use and take advantage of was a snoot. A learned that a snoot can make the beam of a spotlight much smaller and more focused, which was useful when you require low key lighting on the person or object you are photographing. You can see my use of a snoot and low key lighting in the studio shoot for the formal element of tone.

Overall, I would definitely say the way I take my photographs has improved. This is partly because of the rules of composition and framing I learned, as well as the exercises we did that focused on setting the camera manually such as Our work on the subject of movement. I learned the definition of framing in photography, which I now consider every time before taking a photograph. I feel that when framing has been taken into consideration, an image appears much neater and looks much more professional. I feel it can also enhance the formal elements shown in the image.

Another thing I feel I displayed in this unit was my ability to experiment. Although my work lacks in physical experimentation, I think that I have used a wide range of computer experiments throughout my work. I have used a wide range of Photoshop techniques. I learned and implemented techniques such as colour manipulation and duotone.

In general, I would say my work is moving in the direction of Photo documentary and candid Street photography. I would say this because many of my images were taken in an urban environment and depicted the actions and interactions of people, which is similar to the documentary street photography works of Henri Cartier-Bresson.

Overall, I would say that my work was most successful in the areas that incorporated mood and atmosphere as well as capturing urban environments. I feel that the work that incorporated this held a strong message and was the most visually appealing. However, I feel that the more studio based elements of the unit were less successful, as I find studio photography unnatural and difficult for me to transfer my ideas into. I find this image lacked use of multiple formal elements and interesting compositions, which are seen more in my non studio based work.