Overview

In this blog post I will explore the reasons why I am going to make a hand-made book. I will also begin to explore these reasons in further detail, looking at the positives as well as the negatives of doing so, in the process tackling the issues facing me so I produce work of good quality, similar to that if I made a successful online photo-book.

Despite some draw-backs which I will explore later on this blog-post, I have decided to go ahead with my idea to make an old-fashioned styled photo-album.

From the archives I looked at the work of photographer Henry Thomas who made a series of scrap-book styled albums of his daughter from the period of 1930-50. This research fueled my ambition to evoke a similar style of collecting and presenting images, moving away the general idea of most of the class, which is to make an on-line photo-book using ‘Blurb’

I have begun the process of looking into either buying and designing my own photo-book. Making my own photo-book instead of using Blurb is an idea I am determined to go forward with.

However before I do though I need to think carefully beforehand; there are certain risks involved with making a homemade book and many considerations need to be looked into beforehand. In my previous blog post I looked at the positives of making a photo-book; essentially the aspirations of how I want my own work to turn out like. But, if I am going to make a success of this idea, I will need to accept and  look into some of the drawbacks of this type of style; which I need to be aware of in order to avoid making similar mistakes. Here is a summary of the positives and negatives of making a hand-made photo-book.

 

Positives

• More personal – writing my own personal notes.
• Retro feel/style.
• Bit different; chance to express my work in a different direction and challenge myself more – I have already made an online photo-book.
• Allows me to add stuff other than photos; archival images, letters, documents etc.
• Alot cheaper: £20-£30 for everyhting I need oppose to £5-60
• Fun to make and not restricted to a computer.
• Resonates that of a family album.
• Links to the work I am doing at the archives.

 

Negatives

• Can potentially become a scrap-book; may look tacky and unprofessional.
• Photos printed off could be of bad quality.
• Missing out on the chance to produce a really good quality online photo-book
• Takes a lot of time to make – need to spend time to do it properly
• Little room for mistakes; if not carefully planned will look flawed

 

How I will respond to these Negative Points

1. Issue of scrap-book

Solution

• Look to make work more in the style of a photo-album
• Research contemporary professional photographers who have successfully made a hand-made book in a way which looks good

2.   Bad Quality Images

Solution

• One advantage of handmade book is their is leeway for quality; is able to look a bit rustic/vernacular
• Printing my photos off at the Société Jersiaise
  photographic archives: can chose and decide the right type of photo paper I want

3. Compensating for online style design

Solution

• Don’t ignore influences I can take from photo-books; ways of displaying a narrative
• Can compromise to some degree; will have a clearer idea once I have looked into everything more
• My attitude is that measuring success of art is subjective and there is no right or wrong; yes an on-line photo-book would look cool, but what is there to suggest that making a hand-made book wouldn’t look equally as good?

4. Taking a lot of time to make

Solution

• Plan carefully so I don’t run out of time.
• Stay on task and don’t procrastinate.
• Quality over quantity.

5. Little room for mistakes

Solution 

• Embrace the leeway which I have with my decision to evoke a semi-vernacular style.
• Take risks and be creative: this is the whole point as to why I am making a photo-book in this style.
• Do it properly; buy a proper photo-album beforehand with good quality pages – look at Martin Parr’s ‘Life a Beach’. Change, adapted front cover if needed to make it more personal
• Research a reasonable amount

Conclusion

I enjoyed making a photo-book last year for my AS photography project. Nevertheless there was certain difficulties I faced during this process and found it to some extent, quite restrictive. Also, doing the photo-story design on Photoshop was a challenge I found difficult. I recognize that online/computer design is definitely one of my weakness. As I made a photo-book last year to measured success, I believe I don’t have anything to proof in terms of making a online book and so can use this time instead to try something a bit different.

In many ways this is a huge re-think of the direction of my project. My research and concept will not change however, but just I will explore a few more ideas and style to compliment to work of Toropstov, Sancari and Germain, of which my study is more or less  influenced by.

I will begin to research other photographers who have successfully made a hand-made book, which includes British Photographer Martin Parr in his photo book ‘Life’s A Beach’, of which I will make another blog post.

I will construct a careful plan of how to go about my photo-book in a manner which allows room for change whilst at the same time is a realistic plan for the remaining time I have.

Although I know it wont be easy I am convinced if I make and construct a home-made photo-book that I will be able to produce a very successful response to this project. I will successfully find a balance between creating something which is both homemade but professional looking at the same. I don’t want to as Mr Toft has fairly pointed out, make my book look tacky and of low quality because if I do so, the good progress I have made in my project so far will essentially be lost. I will work hard and research well however to ensure that this is not the case.

I am aware that this will be challenging and a  risk. Nevertheless I want to make use of the month or so I have to complete this project in a productive way which pushes me out of my comfort zone and stretches my understanding.

I am open to a degree of compromise on this idea, which I will explore in the next few blog post this concept of photo-book design has inspired me to produce.