Shoot Seven - Work Record

 Plans for this shoot- For this shoot I want to contrast and compare how different owners live with their different pets, I also want to explore the idea that pets and their owners are similar. I believe by exploring this theme it will also cause me to explore how different people may chose the different pets that they do, and to investigate whether these differences may be due to their personalities or their other factors. I will aim to photograph the owners with their respective pets, I will not be giving the subjects much instruction as to what to do with their animals, as I want these pictures to be raw and natural, in order to capture the raw relationship between the pet and their owner(s).

For this shoot I will be using a tripod, as the pets are often restless, therefore the tripod will allow me to reduce the blur as much as possible.  Moreover, a camera and lens will allow me to physically take the images, I will also have the pets and their owners to photograph. All of these images will be photographed within my local town of Waltham Abbey. 
I want to capture images of the owner's both inside and outside with their pets, from which I will pick the best images to create my straight images, these will consist of no images of the pets alone, only images of them interacting with their owners. 

Inspiration- Elliott Erwitt's photographs of dogs (known as the series dogs dogs) and their owners inspired me to photograph these shoot, as some of his images are comical and humorous (for example, there's one image of a dog which appears to be driving a taxi), therefore they interested me and caused me to photograph this shoot, of owners and their pets. Elliott's images were taken between the years 1946-2004, and are all back and white
 images which explore our relationship between us ,and our canines. 


Best image from this shoot-

In this image the child appears to be innocently playing with her pet dog, this is interesting as some people would often consider this breed of dog (pit bull) to often be violent, however here it can be seen to be innocently, and gently, playing with its young owner- therefore this may challenge people's stereotypical views. Within this image I also admire how the subject is unaware that I am photographing her, as this makes the image more natural and believable to the viewer, also creating a type of fluidity to the image. 

I used a tripod to capture this image as animals and young children are often moving a lot, therefore the tripod allowed me to minimise any blur from the camera, and keep my image clear. I photographed this image on the following camera settings: shutter speed 1/200, ISO 400, and an aperture of 7.1, I believe these camera settings worked effectively together to create a narrower depth of field, in order to bring the viewers focus on to the owner, and the pet, this is due to my aperture setting of 7.1. 

Worst image from this shoot-

This photograph is on elf my worst from the shoot, as the image is overall slightly out of focus, this is due to my slower shutter speed of 1/60, meanwhile not having much light in the image as my ISO was 1800 meaning that the room was very dark. 

Furthermore, I also dislike the mirror in the background, as it runs through the subject's head which is ineffective, I would have preferred a clear background. Despite this, I believe the way the dog and it's owner are looking at each other is effective, as this shows love and care between the owner and their dog. Moreover, I would have liked to try photographing this owner and their dog at different angles, as I believe this would have given me a more variety of images to choose from, however the owner was reluctant to get the dog too excited by keep on moving it around.

If I was to reshoot this image I would photograph this outside, as there would have been more light there, in comparison to being in the dark living room, whereby the walls are red which again didn't help the overall outcome of the image. 

The Future: If I was to reshoot this shoot I wouldn't just focus on the owners and pets, but also where the pets food bowls may be positioned, or where their food is kept, I would then compare this to other pet owners, in order to explore these differences in the way people live with their pets. I would also have separate shoots for the different owners, and not include them all in one shoot, as I believe I could then compare their differences through my final images from the overall project. 

Shoot Seven - Pets - Straight Images

Shoot Seven - Contact Sheet

Shoot Six - Work Record

Plans for this shoot-  For this shoot I plan to photograph a subject doing their gardening, I want to do this shoot in order to explore how different people maintain, and keep their home looking presentable, or don't. By exploring how people look after their homes this links to my shoot numbers one and three, whereby I photographed individual's outside of their homes, and the objects inside creating links between their homes and how they present themselves; within this shoot I would like to carry this theme on and explore it in more detail. 

For this shoot I will be using a tripod, a camera, my lens, one subject, and lastly flowers/pots. I have chosen to use a tripod in order to make my images more sharp and focused, reducing any shake which may occur. The camera and lens will help me take the images, and obtain effective images as a whole. The flowers and pots will be used for the individual to be doing their gardening, which I will then be able to photograph.  

I have also decided to photograph the individual painting their shed, as this will show how there's different types of garden maintenance which individual's may complete. By painting over the old, to make the shed look new again, this may link to the individual's feelings about themselves that if they cover up any damage, they may wo

Inspiration- August Sander is the inspiration for this shoot as his portrait images of individuals working during world war two influenced me to photograph my images in the same structure, with the individual's holding their respective tools for the job (e.g. in this shoot this would be the compost and flowers.) Moreover the deadpan expression which many of Sander's subjects hold influenced me to try this within my shoot. 

Best image from this shoot-

The above image is my best from this shoot as the framing is effective in portraying my inspiration from August Sander, as the individual is starring deadpan into the image, whilst holding their tools they are using to complete their work. Within this photograph it makes it clear what the individual is doing, as the viewer can see what the individual is about to do, moreover the gloves on the individuals hands also correspond this. The bright colours of this image are different to Sander's photographs as he only used black and white, I chose to include colour as the subject is gardening, which is bright and colourful therefore I wanted to portray this within my images. By focusing on how individual's maintain their homes I wanted to attempt and create a link between the subject, and their home likewise to my previous shoot numbers one and three. 

Worst image from this shoot-

In this image the framing is ineffective as there's lots of objects cluttering the background of the image which take the focus away from the subject, and onto the cluttered and colourful background.  Moreover, the angle which this image is photographed is poor, as the subject's leg is in the centre of this photograph, also this then detracts attention away from the individual's hands and what they are doing. 

I believe a narrower depth of field would have been more effective in this image, as this then would have brought the viewers focus back on to the subject, and not the background as this would be blurred. In order to have obtained a narrower depth of field I should have made my aperture setting lower, causing the background to become blurred. The aperture setting being lower would have then made my image brighter, therefore it may have become overexposed, therefore to counter balance this I could have lowered my ISO, or decreased my shutter speed. 

The Future: If I could reshoot this shoot I would include images of other individual's doing their gardening, in order to create comparisons for the viewer- I didn't do this in this shoot as I didn't have time to due to the deadline being close. Furthermore, I could have photographed individual's maintaining (or not maintaining) their garden, whilst then photographing inside their house in order to create links  between the individual and their home this way. 

Shoot Six - Gardening - Straight Images

Shoot Six - Contact Sheet

Shoot Five - Work Record

Plans for this shoot- In this shoot I plan to photograph images within a caravan which my grandparents are staying in, in Norfolk, whilst also photographing images of everyone on the beach in order to explore how different individual's live in different parts of the country (e.g. the coats), and also to explore how people who live in caravans may live, whilst also exploring Brits when on holiday in the UK. I chose to photograph images on the beach in order to explore what us Brits do when we are on vacation in the UK, moreover this would also explore what individual's who live by the coast may do daily in comparison to those individuals who live further south, for example in built up areas like London. Moreover, by photographing images within the caravan I believe this will explore what individual's who live in caravans may live like. Subsequently, this shoot will explore how different people live in various parts of the country, how individuals may live in different forms of homes- caravans, and lastly how us Brits live when on holiday in the UK. 

I will be using my camera and a lens for this shoot in order to allow me to actually photograph the images themselves, a tripod will be hard to use if I will be shooting on sand, as the stand of the tripod will sink and get dirty. 

Inspiration- Martin Parr is my inspiration behind this shoot as within his shoots he explored how Brits live when by the coast, his images are extremely bright and colourful which results in them being eye-catching for the viewer. Moreover, Parr photographed the lives of different people on different beaches around the world, this explores the cultural differences in various locations, I will not be able to do this for my shoot; however this shoot will be in Norfolk which contrasts my other shoots in this project which are all in Essex/Hertfordshire although they are not of beaches, this still explores the way different people in the country live.

Best image from this shoot-

The above photograph is my best from this shoot, as the movement of the dog and the young boy is captured, without blur. This image captures the whole saga of a 'British holiday', as this image is clearly taken on a beach, which is usually associated with hot weather, despite this the young boy in this image has his coat on; therefore, this links to the unpredictability of the British weather, which is evidently experienced anywhere in the country meaning that we all have to deal with this, no matter where we live or how we live.

The movement of the dog is captured with no blur, this makes it evident to the viewer this dog is running, with the child chasing the animal. Moreover, the stones on the beach link to the idea that holidaying in Britain can have it's down sides (e.g. stony beaches, unpredictable weather...), but despite this we make the best of a bad situation, as shown in this image by the boy laughing. 

I photographed this image on the following camera settings: ISO 200, F 9, and a shutter speed of 1/320. The shutter speed of 1/320 would have allowed me to capture this image without blur, almost freezing the scene that was in front of me; due to the quick shutter speed this would have meant a low amount of light would have been able to enter the lens, therefore the ISO of 200 would have been sensitive to light ,combining with an aperture setting of 9, which would have also allowed some light into the lens.

Worst image from this shoot-

This photograph is my worst from this shoot as the subject is very dark, due to the camera settings used, the quick shutter speed of 1/400 means that little light would have been able to get in the lens, this combined with an aperture setting of 10, and an ISO of 200 means little light would have got into the lens, making the image darker overall- to increase the brightness of the image I should have lowered my aperture and made my ISO higher, in order to allow more light into the lens, and subsequently make the photograph lighter as a whole. 

The subject in this image is in mid-speech, therefore they appear to be pulling a strange face, subsequently making the image ineffective. If the subject was starring deadpan into the camera then this image would be more effective, as I do like the background of this photograph as the viewer can deduct that this is shot on a beach, as sand and rocks are evident in the background. In addition, within this image I captured the skyline, showing grey clouds, this too is effective as it allows the viewer to see that despite being on a beach which is usually associated with sun, that this image is still taken in Britain whereby the weather can be unpredictable.

The future: If I was to reshoot this shoot and had more time, I would also photograph images on other beaches around the UK in order to show how different people may holiday, or live by the coast. I couldn't do this for this shoot due to monetary constraints, and time limitations for this project. Moreover, I would also like to have taken images of people in the sea itself, however the day I conducted this shoot it was too cold to get into the sea, therefore I couldn't execute this.