Integrating Feedback

Integrating Feedback: ART 381

For my final in ART 381 Beginning Digital Photography, our assignment was to create a photo series of 10 or more images on any subject we wanted. Because one of my favorite photos I took earlier in the class was a long exposure shot I took while walking across a crosswalk I wanted to use the same technique in my final project. I also wanted my series to have a statement rather than just a collection of pretty pictures I thought I could use the shaky long exposure technique to try and capture the unease of walking home in the dark that many women experience.

First Shoot

For the first class critique, we submitted our top three images from a 50 photo shoot.

The feedback I received from the first critique was that because my series was cinematographic I should try to set up a narrative arc and maybe have a surprise or two in series.

Second Shoot

For the second critique, submitted our top 4 images from a second shoot. In this second submission, I tried to include the surprise of the car and the contrast of the darkness of walking at night with the brighter door, while still trying to evoke the eerie feeling.

The feedback I received from my professor on my second submission was that some of my images felt very abstract and didn't help convey my narrative. My second image was effective because there was a recognizable figure for the eye to land on and to ground the image. She also said to I should really up my contrast when editing the photos (this makes the black parts of the image more black). My professor suggested that I also talk to other women about their experiences because everybody sort of knows the keys in your knuckles thing and that I should try to reflect their experiences to make my statement more effective and meaningful.

Before shooting my final series of images I talked to my mom and she mentioned some of the techniques she used when she was younger like never wear headphones, wear your hair down so an attacker doesn't have something to grab onto as easily. One of my friends mentioned that she actively avoids making eye contact with anyone. Both my mom and my friend mentioned a feeling of distrust towards anyone nearby that they wouldn't have during the day. With these things in mind, I made my first image of the series of my self doing the things they talked about and did a short exposure so that the image was clear so and to reflect the change in perspective when I shifted the images to long exposure. I also used took images of my dad as he was waiting around for me to take my photos because while I know he was there to look out for me, in the dark unsteady images his presence is uncomfortable rather than neutral or protective. Also this time I made sure to order the images to show an ordered narrative of events from beginning to end that you can get a sense of through landmarks and to make sure the images were still unfocused and capturing the lights at night in interesting shapes without it being so abstract.

My Final Submission.