Evaluation

Evaluation – Matt Smith

International Markets & Contexts

I thought this project was best yet. Initially I wasn’t motivated at all as I’m not overly keen on shooting work for a gallery setting. However once we began talking as a group we started to throw some ideas onto the table. We first decided on Culture as a starting point and each began thinking of where we could take this. After a few sessions with the tutors we mutually agreed that culture was too broad of a subject and we would be better being more selective. We then decided on identity and I began looking for a photographer. Early on I came across Martin Schoeller and decided he was the photographer for me. This sparked the ideas for my own work and I initially wanted to get into the studio and emulate Schoellers work. I spent some time doing research for the festival and creating some designs amongst preparing for the presentation. I then decided that if I shot in the same style as him the work on display would be too similar. I began experimenting with portraits outside of a studio environment and after shooting 2 people I decided this was the method for me. I found it hard trying to balance to research and development of the festival alongside shooting my personal work so I decided to leave myself a week at the end dedicated to shooting.

On the photographic side of things I’m happy with my images. They’ve turned out exactly how I had hoped and I feel like I’ve stuck the balance between simplicity and effectiveness. The key element for me was to have the same composition throughout and similar tones/colours.  I had a clear set of aims when started I knew I could shoot 7/8 people and have enough content to create my exhibition. I was initially hoping to shoot males and females in a set age group but decided that all males worked together as a set. I only shot one female throughout and decided not to include that shot as it didn’t bring anything new to my project. I was very selective with the editing of my photos as I wanted a clean feel to them hence shooting in natural light. I used adobe lightroom to make small crop adjustments as well as correct white balance and exposure. This was made easy by the fact I shot RAW. When thinking about the framing of my work I took some inspiration from a few gallery visits and selected black frames with minimal space between complimented by vinyl lettering.

As a group I think we’ve worked very well. We allocated each other jobs and met up regularly to ensure we were all on track. I was tasked with the branding of the festival and used adobe illustrator to create an initial logo, which the group were very happy with. I then implemented the logo into the leaflet and letters etc. I took it upon myself to attend the photography show at Birmingham NEC and used this as an opportunity to research into frames and printing. I got several leaflets and spoke to several companies for pricing and then presented these to the group. We then decided on a company to use for each and began working on the budget.