Nick Waplington is an artists and family photographer based in New York City and was born in 1965 in Sussex, United Kingdom. He went to study art at the West Sussex College of Art and Design in Worthing as well as studying at the Royal Acadamy of Art in London. His photographic work is usually amateur looking images of family, this interests me and I think that I can learn a lot from his work and the way that he photographs people.
“I’ve never defined myself as a photographer. I make art” – Nick Waplington
“Photogragher Nick Waplington hit a creative high when he realised drugs were a waste of time” – Michael Fordham
Waplington mainly makes amateur style images to help portray his stories. His documentary style is almost like using a Polaroid camera or a disposable camera which is really interesting to me as they are quite artsy yet still seem to be of good quality. I like this style as it is different and stands out. Although I find his style interesting and unique for the images that I make I think that I want to keep to a higher quality style of images telling my story in a different way and relating more to Alain Laboile. I find that Waplington has a very unique and artsy style with weird unusual angles and amateur looking images. I find his work very interesting to look at as it is so different.
This is my favourite image of Waplinton’s as it is quite comical to look at. I find it really interesting to see the way the woman on the right side of the image is sat with her legs spread out as she slumps on the floor of the living room eating an ice cream with a blank facial expression on her face. I also like the way the woman on the left is sat as she looks very comfortable and they both look as though they are watching the television. This image doesn’t look staged at all to me and looks like a proper documentary image. I really like the entire composition of the image with the women not being totally in centre of the image and both being on either side of the image which allows the spectator to have a look at the whole of their surroundings. I like that this image is in colour as the spectator is able to see where the two women are and what kind of colours surround them. The colours are very yellow in this image which often connotes poverty or dirt as if they don’t have much money which is kind of evident with the entirety of the image showing how dirty the floor is and that one of the women is sat on the floor. Something that I really like about this image is the clothing that the women are wearing as it really interests me to see what fashion was like in the 80s and 90s. I like the colour of pink that the woman on the left is wearing as well as the, what looks like, undergarments or pyjamas that the woman on the right is wearing. I find that this image is very personal and was taken by Waplington as an insider to the family showing more of what an outsider photographer wouldn’t be able to do. This image really shows the behind the scenes of a working class family life and how they relax. I do however think that this family isn’t very clean and the house looks really dirty and as if they are less than working class and possibly living off of benefits or they are just jobless.
I find this image hilarious as the little boy reminds me of the images that I have made of my niece smiling into the camera and interacting with the person behind the camera. I like that the children are all just stood around waiting for their mum to wake up. I find it hilarious how the woman is sat asleep really showing the struggles of parenthood and constantly being on the move to keep up with the children. Something that took me a bit longer to notice was that what I thought was a male with a beard was actually a female being held up by a man wearing a black hat sat on the arm of the chair. I think that this is down to the exposure of this image which just adds to the amateur of the entire shoot. I do think that the composition of this image is interesting as Waplington was able to capture everyone at a really great angle, with one of the young girls looking at her hands very bored while the girl right in the background of this image looks as if she is trying to capture the attention of the person holding up the woman. I just love the cute little smile on the boys face as he looks happy and as if he is looking off the camera and at Waplington himself.
I find this image very interesting to look at. It just looks like a typical family photograph of a regular family dealing with everyday quarrels and laughs. I don’t actually like this image that much as it doesn’t really do much for me as everyone is kind of everywhere and the composition doesn’t particularly appeal to me, I don’t find it very visually pleasing. I do however like the left part of the image where the woman is mid punch/push to the man that is half out of the frame. I find this the most interesting part of the image as it has a story to it but the rest of it is just random to me. I think that this image is definitely capturing a more amateur style photograph as it does just look like an image that a family member made at random on their disposable camera. I do think that Waplington has much better work that this particular image. I think that this image would have looked a lot better in Waplinton was looking up at the family from a low angle as it would have made everyone look a lot bigger and made for a much more interesting photograph.
Alain Laboile is a French family photographer born in Bordeaux, France 1968. He is a father of six and uses his family as his subjects when photographing. In 2004 Laboile put together a portfolio of his work as a sculptor, this is where he picked up a camera and developed a taste for photography. A while after this Laboile pointed his camera onto his large family becoming his major subject. This is now what Laboile is known for, creating strong images of his family as well as being able to be at the heart of the family and documenting his children growing up. I like the concept of this because as a father he would be expected to go out and work but instead he is able to make stronger bonds with his children and be there for them whenever they need him as well as Laboile being able to do his photographic work which he is now known for.
“I am totally self-taught. When I began, I had a very limited photographic culture, no technique.” – Alain Laboile
I do like the work of Laboile as he simply makes images of his family when and wherever some good photo opportunities arrive. I think that his images look very professional and really capture some great family moments that can be quite similar to our own experiences and bring a sense of nostalgia to the spectators mind making them think more about the ups and downs of their own childhood as well as looking at Laboile’s photographs. I find these images very visually pleasing as each image is very crisp and clear allowing the spectator to see everything from a professional standard. These photos are really amazing with the composition and the entire mise-en-scene of the images especially from knowing that Laboile is a self-taught photographer and has only been photographing since 2004. He makes very strong and personal images showing not only the good side of being in a large family with lots of children but also the down side of having such a huge family where kids can fight etc. I do really like his work as it is so raw and real and is better than a usual family portrait kind of photo that spectators are used to seeing as he is an insider to the family and is part of the family so is able to use that to his advantage making images at times of the day and places that an outsider photographer wouldn’t be able to make.
I find this image really funny as the girls are all dressing up and messing around with what could be their mothers clothes. I think that this is a strong portrait as everything from the girl jumping in the air to the others standing and posing is so crisp and clear. I think the entire mise-en-scene of this image is perfect as the spectator is able to see their surrounding area and what kind of house they live in [seems like an old-fashioned house] as well as the facial expressions of the girls being really strong with the girl on the far left looking directly into the camera with a very serious facial expression while the girl in the back far right is posing similarly to her sister and looking off into the distance. I like the way that none of them are actually smiling or laughing as if they are very serious about dressing up in random outfits. It does look as though the girls were having a lot of fun dressing up and running round in their mums clothing. I do think that this image looks great and it being in black and white, for me, makes it a much stronger image as the spectator isn’t distracted by the colours of the light coming through or the colours of the clothes that those girls are wearing. Overall I think that this is a really strong image and is interesting to look at.
This is one of my favourite images because it is so simple. I like that Laboile caught one of his daughters walking along the patio of their house. I like that this photograph is taken from a more of a low angle as Laboile would most likely have been on his knees or leaning down low to make this image. This makes the patio balcony look a lot larger making the girl look smaller. The composition of this photograph is great as the spectator is directly drawn to the slight right of the image looking at the young girl. I also like what the little girl is wearing as her wellie boots suggest that she has been out in the muddy garden [shown in some of Laboile’s other images] as well as the back of her shirt looking wet as if she had been in a water/mud fight. I like that Laboile makes all of his images in black and white bringing across a theme as well as consistency of editing in the same style. This image is interesting and brings happy memories as it reminds the spectator of their youth and being younger with no cares or worries at all, we never even worried about getting our clothes muddy or dirty.
I love that in a lot of Laboile’s images his children look like they are having the time of their lives and seem like such free spirits. I chose this image as I think that it really does show how free and comfortable these children are. It brings some nostalgia to the spectator bringing back memories of when they were younger and never had any cares and would just run around naked. I like the moment that Laboile has captured in this image, he has caught them laughing and having fun while throwing water from their wellies at one another. It seems extremely muddy where they are as the spectator is able to see the bottom left corner where the child’s foot is slipping. I find it hilarious that we only see one of the children laughing and having a good time while the other is too busy trying to defend herself with the water right in her face as he wellie is lowered and the water is just tipping onto the muddy ground. It also looks as though there are more than just two of them having a water fight as in the right hand middle corner there is water about to catch the young girl on the back suggesting that there are more people involved. I think that this is a very strong image as it is very clear and easy to look at. It is more of a fun environmental image showing what ordinary children tend to get up to in their free time.
About a month ago I photographed my niece and family on her first birthday, since then I have made many images of random days when she has been coming along to the house as well as going to visit her at her own home. I think that this is really interesting to see how she interacts with different people as well as the relationship with me being behind the camera. I wanted to create a more realistic portrayal of life with a baby and so wanted to make images whenever possible instead of waiting for a specific event or something to happen. This gives the spectator more opportunity to see into the life of a new family and first time parents. I wanted to be able to create more of a story with this shoot and be able to bring across an actual day in the life of first time parents and their child. I did make photographs of my niece when she was first born back in AS photography and think that I will look back at these images and compare them to the new ones I have made to reflect on how much has changed and how my my niece has grown in the space of just one year.
Previous shoot [1st birthday]
Previous shoot [1st birthday]
Previous shoot [1st birthday]
Baby photos from AS
Baby photos from AS
Baby photos from AS
I have decided to put all of the baby shoots into one post as they aren’t the best images and there aren’t really very many so there wouldn’t be enough for it to actually make it to more than one post. I also think this is a better idea as I am able to keep track of all of the images easily as they are right next to each other and on the same post. I think that my strongest shoot so far has been Bella’s first birthday party as it was outside and I managed to get the aperture and settings on my camera to create some really crisp and clear images. I think that there was always so much going on in those images and are more interesting for spectators to look at however I do want the spectator to get an insight of everyday life with a baby rather than just one day when everyone has come together to celebrate and be there for my niece. I think that I will keep going with this and get my camera out whenever I can as there is so much that I could tell in a story for this or even for the photo books that we will be creating to tell a story. I defiantly want to photograph around Christmas time and on Christmas Day as well because it is always a good time for family to come together and to appreciate everyone and everything that we have. I think that this will be exciting for my niece as well as it will be her second Christmas but most likely the first one that she will be able to actually be a part of as last year she was only 3 months old and couldn’t really do much. I am excited to document the growth of my niece as well and to see how quickly they really do develop and begin to understand things more. I really want to capture different moments within ordinary days as well and to document the little things that she really does understand and points out to us.
1st Mini Shoot
When looking through the images of this shoot I didn’t really think that any of them were strong enough images. I do like these images as my niece does look really cute but they seem to be more generic baby photos rather than more documentary style photos of her interacting with her family and different people. I did find that throughout a lot of the photographs my niece tends to interact a lot with the camera as she crawls up to it to grab it and play with me. I think it is interesting to see the way she responds to the camera and how she is with me. I think that some of these images show more documentary style than others as my niece tends to be constantly crawling about and going mad, I often catch a family member interacting with her for a couple of seconds before she shoots off somewhere else. I think that these images are cute and I will keep them but most of them are more just generic baby photos rather than what I am trying to go for with more documentary style photographs.
I really like this image purely because of the composition of it and how my niece is right in the centre of the frame. She looks really cute and almost as if she is posing and looking off into the distance. I know that it can look like a generic baby photo but I quite like it, the colours are strong and dark with the entire background of the image being her surroundings at my house. In the corner of the door the spectator is able to see a shoe where my sister was standing but she moved out of frame because she didn’t want to be photographed. It can be quite hard to just whip out the camera at random times to make images of my niece and my family interacting with her as a lot of the time they don’t want to be photographed but obviously my niece and her mum [my sister] don’t mind her being photographed.
I love this image! I really like the lighting of this image too as it makes everything seem quite orange toned as if the sun was shining that day. I love how my little niece is smiling and looking over at something as my sister is stood trying to entertain her. This is a better documentary style photograph, which I want to stick to, as it shows other people interacting with her and their reactions to her being there. My mum is sat over on the left hand corner of the room probably having some lunch while my sister is playing with Bella. I just really like this image as it stands out from the others with there actually being other people in it a part from just my niece. I also want to experiment with making some images black and white to see if they are more effective than colour ones as sometimes the subject can get drowned in the amount of colour within the image.
For some reason I love this photo even though half of my niece’s face is darkened out. I think that this is a strong image with my sister [Bella’s mum] sat outside in the background making sure that she is ok when crawling around all over the place. My niece looks quite cheeky in this image, smiling at the camera as if she is about to do something naughty. I really like this image because it is cute and even though it can be seen as more of a generic baby photo, I still really like it and think that there is more to it than that and raises questions in the spectators mind of what is going on in the image and what the baby is actually doing/going to do.
If I was going to create a set of images I would put these three together. I find them hilarious as my niece is basically performing for the camera and trying to grab it from me being cheeky and smiling. I think that these three images are very cute and uplifting. The image to the far left is so funny to me as my niece somehow managed to make herself look like someone taking a selfie on a drunken night out and it almost looks as if she is saying something to the camera, reminding me of drunk football supporters after a game. I don’t say that in a negative way because she does look so cute and it’s just funny to me that she makes all of these different facial expressions even at such a young age. I like the middle one as she really is interacting with the camera and could possibly translate as connecting with the spectator as she sees them and reacts to them when usually in documentary no one is acknowledging the camera and tends to shy away from it, with Bella being the complete opposite obviously. The far right one is so cute! She looks so cheeky when smiling into the camera with her two teeth on her top and bottom gums, it’s so strange how children can grow up so much within just one year and how much they seem to be able to develop in such a short amount of time.
Further experimentation
I like the look of these images in black and white as for me it makes them stand out a lot more and really allows the spectator to focus in on the subject rather than being distracted by all of the different colours in the subjects surrounding environment. They are interesting to look at and some of them are more documentary and more interesting to look at than others. I do think that some of these images are more generic baby photos, although they are slightly different in that they aren’t posed and the subject is just going about her everyday life.
I like this image both in colour and black and white as it is more interesting than a lot of other photos that I made that day. This image brings in more of the environment surrounding my niece and who is surrounding her as well as seeing how different people react with her being around. My niece’s facial expression is cute and happy as my sister is entertaining her. I do like this image but nothing really strongly stands out to me and I don’t think that the images taken from this day are as good as I would usually create or photograph.
I really like this image as it shows my niece again pointing to something which she actually really loves to do. This has become a trend in the photographs that I have made of my niece that I like as it shows a little bit more about her character and what she will often do. She always points to things to show us something she finds interesting as she can’t communicate in any other way with us at the minute. Often my niece will use signs to communicate that my sister has taught her [she doesn’t know many but we get it]. I think this is a good image as it shows the back of my niece which is more of an uncommon photograph and the spectator is able to see what she is pointing out even if they are unable to figure out what it actually is. I like the position of this photograph too as my niece isn’t directly in the center, she is slightly off to the left of the frame. I like this as the spectator is able to see the environment surrounding her yet doesn’t give too much away as to who is there and looking out for her.
I chose this image because the spectator is able to see interaction with other people and not just my niece on her own. I like this image and I like making images of my niece this way. I always photograph her and cut off the adults so that the spectator cannot completely see them [when Bella is crawling on the floor]. I do this so that the spectator gets a feel of how small she is and how huge everyone and everything else must seem to her. I want to make everything around my niece look huge to show how little she actually is. I think this can make for some interesting photographs and they are quite unique in that I have gotten down to her level and basically sat on the floor to make images of her. I like this image because it is an action shot, with her mum [my sister] to the right smiling down at her while my niece is busy concentrating on trying to grab the bit of fabric off of the back of her little chair. I like this image in black and white as well as it makes it more effective and allows the spectator to maintain their focus on the subject rather than focusing on the distraction of all of the different colours surrounding her.
2nd Mini Shoot
This shoot was awful as I only managed to make one or two images of my niece when she came around on Friday 30th October in the evening to show us her halloween outfit. They weren’t there for long and I couldn’t manage to get the lighting right. My house is very orange as the lights all have an orange tint as well as there being a lot of red around my house making the images look already very orange plus my niece was wearing an orange tutu on the red carpet so she kind of blended in a bit. I think that this shoot was unsuccessful but I am going to add in the images just for a note for next time to actually make more photos and to fix the aperture etc before hand. I’m actually really disappointed with this shoot as I didn’t take many photos at all, I wasn’t actually going to make images that evening but wanted to as more of a documentation for my own personal family archive.
3rd Shoot
For this shoot I actually made quite a few images, a lot more than the other two shoots which I think makes up for the lack of shooting before hand. I do like these images as they are cute and it also shows more of the environment that my niece is constantly surrounded by everyday. On Thursday 5th November I went round to my sisters house to make photographs of Bella when she got home and see what she does on a normal day out. I think that this was a good idea as it shows a more personal side to their lives and what they do on an average day and not just on a day when an event is happening or when something exciting is going on. I enjoyed doing this shoot as my niece was excited to see me and I got to spend some more time with her as well as make images of her for my photography course as well as for a personal family archive and memories. I think that these images could have been better if there was more natural light but as this was the only time that I could go round and see my sister and niece that would have to do.
I didn’t actually realise how many images I made that evening so I only posted the ones that I chose to edit and that still managed to be a lot. I like these images but I don’t think that there is anything great about them as they are quite mediocre and the lighting really annoys me in most of the images. I think that I am going to experiment more with some black and white images to try and see if they look any better.
I like this image as it looks like a proper documentary photo, as if I’ve asked my niece to make a photo of her looking directly into the camera with a neutral facial expression. I really like this image. In reality my niece was starting to get upset that I was photographing her instead of playing with her. I like the way I’ve captured this moment, with a little bit of the drawers showing as well as my sister in the background following my niece around to make sure she is ok. Something that was evident throughout these photos is that my niece does not stop moving. She is constantly running around and barriers don’t seem to phase her at all as she’ll just try and climb over them. I really do like this image and find it interesting. The composition of my niece is perfectly in the center of the image with the second thing that the spectator will look at being my sister in the background watching her. I also like that this image is taken from a low angle to get to the level that my niece is on, which is a theme in the photos of my niece because I want the spectator to feel like they are there too and watching and looking around as she would and see what she can see too.
I find this image really cute. Here my niece is playing for the camera and having fun. This image shows the cheeky side of my niece, with her laughing and posing/lying on the cushion. I find this image really interesting but it is more of a generic baby photo. I think that this would be interesting for a spectator to look at within a series of images rather than as a stand alone image as I don’t think that it is strong enough to be on its own and I don’t think that it really makes much sense on its own either but I picked it out because I thought it looked cute.
I like this image as it is my niece asleep in the car after nursery. I like that the spectator is able to see my niece sleeping on one side of the image and also see the environment and her surroundings on the outside of the car through the reflection. I think that this image is very blue but that’s ok as I think that it gives off more of an atmosphere of what time of year it is, with it being autumn and getting colder. I do think that this image would benefit more in a series of images rather than having it as a stand alone image. I think that it would work well as the beginning image if I were to make this shoot alone into a small series.
I decided to create a set of three images to tell a mini story with the little details. For this set of images I chose to focus on when my sister was checking my nieces temperature. Here the spectator can see that my niece wasn’t enjoying it very much and would try to run away from it being in her ear for too long. It did result in her getting to drink some baby medicine [which she seems to love, probably because it is mainly sugary]. I like these images as a set as it shows the conflict between mother and daughter although her mum was ultimately trying to help her and check whether or not she had a high temperature. I find the far left image hilarious as she really did not want that thermometer being put in her ear although a few months earlier whenever my sister would do it she was never phased. I believe that these three images represent the harder side of parenting that adverts and people tend to leave out, they let you find that one out on your own.
I love these images! They are so cute and show interaction that my niece has with her mum and how they are together. I like looking at these images as a mini series as it shows the spectator step-by-step what is going on and it is interesting to see. I like how in the far left image my niece is watching her mum and wondering what she is doing, to then in the middle photo getting excited and taking the cover off of her face through to the far right image of my niece finding her mum and being so happy that she knew where she was. I think that these images are really cute and interesting for the spectator to see that relationship between mother and daughter as well as being able to see what they do on an average day without there being any kind of special event or anything in particular going on.
Further Experimentation
Everything looks better in black and white. Something that I noticed when editing was that I could make a good photograph look great and allow different elements of the photo stand out. I prefer these images just because they look better and seem well put together in comparison to some of the others that are only in colour. I did find that some of the images didn’t look good in black and white so I didn’t add them in as the colours within the image aren’t strong enough and nothing really stand out, it all seems to blend. When editing it seemed as though I didn’t change many of the images to black and white but I did manage to get quite a few.
Again I edited more images that I thought and have ended up with plenty to look through and experiment further with. I like making a lot of these images black and white as it allows the spectator to focus in on what the subject of the image is doing rather than being sidetracked or distracted by whatever is going on in the background and any bursts of colour. I like a lot of these images in black and white but not all of them work well like this, as stated previously, some of the colours in my images aren’t strong enough and wouldn’t really look all that great in black and white.
This image stands out to me as it shows how my niece is developing more and more each day with her knowledge of communication skills and being able to play and hide with her mother. I really like this image as the spectator is able to see my niece smiling up to her mum and playing along with her. I also like the expression on her mums face [my sister] as she is playing along and acting surprised as if she cannot see my niece. I think that this image really captures the communication skills that babies are able to pick up and develop without actually having to say anything. It interests me how babies are still able to understand and communicate things that they want without actually having to make any noise or even without directly speaking and telling her mum what she wants. I also think that the composition of this photograph is good as the two are opposite each other with no one being directly in the middle of the image. This image is a lot stronger in black and white as it allows the spectator to focus in on the subject rather than random background colours etc.
Another image that I think is strong is this one as it shows my sister giving my niece baby medicine to help with her temperature. I find it interesting to see how she reacts to different interactions with her mum. I think that I have captured this moment quite well and like the position that I have made this image in making my niece the main focus and subject of the image with her mum in the foreground adding more context to the image where the spectator is able to see what they are doing. I really like the facial expressions on the subjects faces as my niece and my sister both look concentrated on the medicine.
I really like this image. I like the way my niece is sitting with her leg slightly elevated off of the floor as she just sits in her nappy looking up at the dad. I think this shows how she looks up to her dad both physically and mentally [her dad wasn’t up for being in photos that evening]. I like that the spectator can only see what my niece sees and can’t actually see her dad or what is going on above the floor level. I think that my niece on the floor is really key and directs the spectators over to her first. I do think that this image is quite strong and could be a stand alone image as on its own it tells the story of how she sees her father. I also think that this image would not have been as effective if it was in colour as there isn’t really a main focal point that stands out as much as it does in black and white.
This image is very simple. I like how my niece is holding the toy while grabbing hold of another toy and looking off in the distance of the camera. The composition of this image is good as my niece is slightly off center and her facial expression looks as if she is almost in a trance looking at something off camera that the spectator can only imagine what is going on. I think that this image works well in black and white allows the spectator to focus on the subject and her facial expression.
This shoot was made when celebrating my nieces first birthday party on Sunday 27th September. Here around thirty people, friends and family, came round to my brother-in-laws parents house to celebrate with us. I decided to take photographs of this to show true family life as well as documenting my nieces first birthday. I don’t think that I made many interesting photographs as they were mostly just family shots and some action shots. I think that family is a very personal thing to photograph and I am not comfortable photographing this, I think I will enjoy focusing more on faith or community. Here are the images that I took from the day, it basically just tells the story of a 1 year old’s first birthday, how the child doesn’t actually know what is going on while the rest of the adults stand around and chat. something that I found when reviewing my images was that her mother was a lot more excited about the party than her daughter was.
I like this image because it focuses on my niece trying to share her food with me. I found that throughout all of the photos my niece is the only one that acknowledges that I am taking photos and she constantly looks for me and tries to come next to me. This made for come interesting photographs. My niece loves to share as you can see in this image she is looking slightly above the camera at me and is trying to share her food with me. It also shows how she is surrounded by family as she is sitting on her nana’s [my mum] lap and her auntie [my sister] is sat waiting to pass her some more food. I like this photo as the light is creeping in the right side of the image as well as creating dramatic light on my mum’s jacket. There is a lot going on in this photograph giving the spectator more to look at.
This image was actually corrupt when I was looking through my photos but I actually quite like it. This is three images that have been put together somehow by my camera/SD card. I think it looks pretty good and I think it looks like a collage. I don’t think that this image is very strong as a final image but I do find it interesting as it was a mistake but it seemed to catch your eye. This image brings together three different photos from different times in the day and different elements of what was going on in the garden.
I don’t think that I would use any of these images to tell a story for family as I don’t think they are good enough. The photos are ok but there is no real meaning behind them with no real dramatic or standout issues. These images are plain and simple which I do not think is good enough after researching some family photographers. I really think that these images are boring as it’s only parts of an ordinary day with an ordinary group of people and nothing very interesting happened that day. I guess that for some people these images could be a good insight on someone else’s life and how other people celebrate birthdays etc. I think that to link to this idea of photographing my niece I would possibly follow my sister round for a day and see what it is really like to care for a small baby and to show that it isn’t as easy and fun as TV and films tend to make it out to be.
I like this photograph because it is quite simple. It shows my niece with her broken arm, my mum [her nana] and my brother-in-laws mum [her nanny]. I don’t really have a solid reason for liking this image apart from how clear and bright it is. Everything seems to be well lite and it is an action shot from throughout the day of my niece’s birthday. I like that they are all ignoring the camera and acting like themselves. I find this image shows that her nana cares about her and is looking out for her to make sure that she doesn’t fall over while attempting to stand up using her chair. It also shows my niece looking up at her nanny as if in awe of her or just happily watching her as she fixes the balloons. I just like this image because of how clear the actual image itself is.
Here I have selected a series of 12 of my favourite images that I think work better together. I think that these images tell the story of my little niece and brings in different elements of the day for everyone. I think that these shots are good and interesting to see another perspective of other people’s lives during an event like a birthday. I think that these photos work well and give a clear understanding of what was going on throughout that day. The spectator is able to see what goes on behind the scenes of an Instagram photo or a Facebook post. I tried to get photos of my subjects off guard and not looking at the camera so to get the most raw photographs possible. If I had to choose a favourite image it would probably be the one below just because I find it the most interesting and it is quite off guard and isn’t staged at all which ties in with it being more documentary style.
More experimentation
Previous shoot [1st birthday]
Previous shoot [1st birthday]
Previous shoot [1st birthday]
This is one of my favourite black and white images as it shows my niece trying to stand up on her own using her little chair for support. I think this image is simple and looks good. I like that my mum is cut off only showing her hands holding down the chair so that my niece doesn’t fall over on her face. The facial expression of my niece looks very concentrated as if she is trying really hard to stand up and using all of her power to do so. It shows a growing stage in her life and how she needs to work on her own and learn how to walk on her own two feet.
I also like this image as it shows my niece with her broken arm. She is looking up at her grandfather and holding onto his leg in the hopes that he will give her some of the crisps that he is holding for the party. I like that she is looking up at him as if she is begging for the food. I like this image in black and white as it makes it more effective and allows the spectator to focus in on what the subject is doing the facial expression of that subject rather than focusing on the environment and all of the colours surrounding my subject. For this shoot I took inspiration from the photographer Kristen Lewis by taking more action shots of the family and to catch them in moments, when something more exciting is happening or even when no one is going anything and are looking bored. I took inspiration from Lewis as I found her images very simple and I wanted to use that with my family photo shoot. I also like that a lot of her images are in black and white which I also like to use as it allows the spectator to focus in on the subject and what is going on within the picture rather than focusing in on the colours and environment surrounding the subject.
Experimentation based on inspiration from a glitch in a photo…
I came across the work of Kristen Lewis when looking for family photographers. I looked into some of her work and found it very interesting. Lewis is a photographer from South Eastern Connecticut. Her mother was a photographer and her father a musician. Her work is the normal everyday, action shots. This work allows the spectator into the lives of another family, showing all of the different emotions that the family goes through together. I think that her images are very real and are good documentary photographs. It looks very real and as if she really did follow the family around while they were doing their thing. One particular set of images that stood out for me where her ‘Vacation Sessions’ shoot. This is where a family went on holiday and Lewis simply photographed the ups and the downs that they went through just like any other family.
Lewis has a variety of different documentary shoots, with one being titled Vacation Sessions. Here she follows round families and just captures moments in their everyday lives. I think that these are interesting photos for the family to look back on as well as for the spectator to see into the lives of another famiy. It also shows the ups and downs of traveling with children and a lot of the shots seem very real and captured in the moment. Some of the shots I think Lewis has readjusted and asked for subjects to collaborate with her so that she can make a great photograph. I think that this shows off documentary photography well as this is what it is all about and I like the idea of showing normal families lives and what the kids and the parents go through on a daily basis.
Vacation Sessions, Disney World: Orlando Florida
Vacation Sessions, Disney World: Orlando Florida
Vacation Sessions, Disney World: Orlando Florida
Vacation Sessions, Disney World: Orlando Florida
Vacation Sessions, Disney World: Orlando Florida
Vacation Sessions, Disney World: Orlando Florida
Vacation Sessions, Disney World: Orlando Florida
Vacation Sessions, Disney World: Orlando Florida
Vacation Sessions, Disney World: Orlando Florida
Vacation Sessions, Disney World: Orlando Florida
Vacation Sessions, Charleston, South Carolina
Vacation Sessions, Charleston, South Carolina
Vacation Sessions, Charleston, South Carolina
Vacation Sessions, Charleston, South Carolina
Vacation Sessions, Charleston, South Carolina
Vacation Sessions, Charleston, South Carolina
Vacation Sessions, Charleston, South Carolina
Vacation Sessions, Charleston, South Carolina
Vacation Sessions, Charleston, South Carolina
Vacation Sessions, Charleston, South Carolina
I like Lewis’ work as it is very simplistic in that it is just documenting the vacations of different families, showing the ups and the downs. I think that the images with the children are strong as they show thier raw emotions and the spectator is able to tell straight away the mood and atmosphere within the shot. There are a lot of water based shots, the reason being because each family is on vacation and that is usually what families do, parents relax round the pool while the kids run around and play in the pool. I think it is interesting to document as most spectators are able to relate to this either in rememberance of when they were young and loved to run around making imaginary worlds and making friends or even relate to the adults just having a moment to themselves to sit back and relax while sunbathing and reading.
Vacation Sessions, Charleston, South Carolina
I chose to analyse this image as I think that there is a lot going on in it. The father has been blinded by his son sitting on his shoulders as the father reached out to hold his other son. The emotion in their faces, from left to right, are full of joy and laughter, to slight concern and confusion. I like this image because of the range of emotions within it as well as it simply being a captured moment of a family on vacation. I feel like we’ve all experienced a moment similar to the one captured in this image, either being dragged through the water by an older siblings or blinded/being blinded by another family member. This image is very positive and happy making the spectator happy too.
Looking more into the idea of family, in groups, we were able to come up with some different ideas as to how we’re going to explore the documentary world of family photography. At first it was challenging to get your head round and really think about what family is actually all about but we managed to get quite a few good ideas down. This has helped me to come up with some new ideas for family photography as I think there is more to it than just following around family members for the day.
Experimentation planning
Over the weekend I am going to make some images of my family as it is my niece’ first birthday. On Sunday we are getting our family and my brother-in-laws family along with some friends too. We are also celebrating my mum’s, brother-in-law’s, my brother-in-laws brother and mothers birthday all on Sunday as each of their birthdays are within days of each other. I think that here I will be able to make some interesting photographs as well as being able to document my niece’ very first birthday. I want to mainly go for action shots within my photographs to make them as real as they possibly can be but I also want to collaborate with some of my family members and get them to look straight into the camera in some of the images with no expression on their faces, a neutral look.
Another idea I had would be to look at old family photographs and remake them or show the change over time and how we no longer look how we once used to. I want to do this as well as make some personal images of items that I have grown up with and love, memories. I think this will be really interesting to do and a fun experiment. I will be doing this throughout the course of the week.
Family photography isn’t necessarily your immediate family. It could be about a specific lifestyle or a group that you are involved in everyday. Family photography doesn’t limit you to only being able to explore your own family but as an insider the shots may come out more natural and real as the people in them will be more comfortable with you and won’t be phased by the snap of the camera. You have complete access to your own family all of the time and you are able to make images whenever you want, at an event or even when you are just hanging out with one another and sharing normal everyday experiences’.
Richard Billingham [Ray’s A Laugh]
Richard Billingham [Ray’s A Laugh]
Laia Abril [The Epilogue]
A film: The Genius of Photography Episode: We Are Your Family
– images are more raw and real to grab spectators reactions making them think more widely
– photographs in the 1930s were about making celebrities look ‘devine’. Here some photographers rebelled against this, it was becoming outdated. Tony Vaccaro, an American photographer, took photos to show his own opinions and not to express the thoughts or opinions of the celebrity or the model he photographs. 0
– photographs should be about the person’s personality and characteristics not the face or visual aspects of a person.
– photographs are made to tell a story, true to the person’s life
Tony Vaccaro
Tony Vaccaro [born 1922 in Greensburg, Pennsylvania]Vaccaro is an American war photographer during the Second World War and between the years of 1944 and 1945, shortly after becoming a renowned fashion and lifestyle photographer for US magazines. He spent the early years of his life living in Italy.
Vaccaro tended to take action shots while doing documentary photography as he saw them to be the most raw. He did not like when subjects would try to pose for him essentially staging who they actually are. Only when the wall has gone and the subject actually allows Vaccaro in to a piece of who they actually are will he make a photograph. All of his documentary images were made using a film camera as at the time of when he did documentary photography digital cameras had not been invented yet.
“I’m gonna buy a camera, learn how to use it, and show the world the real pictures of the war.” -Tony Vaccaro
This film is about what Vaccaro went through during the war. It is a documentary film with guest appearances who comment on what he went through. The film itself has not been released yet.
Larry Clark
Larry Clark [born 1943 in Tulsa, Oklahoma]Clark is an American photographer. His photographs are natural. He does documentary photographer as an insider and is part of the community he is photographing and so has an insight to reality within their group of people and those in his images wouldn’t shy away from the camera or try to be anything other than themselves. His book ‘Tulsa’ was very personal and showed his community of friends and family as who they truly were and did not fabricate a lie of who they all wanted to be portrayed as.
“Once the needle goes in, it never comes out” – Larry Clark
Nan Goldin [born 1953 in Washington, D.C.]Goldin is best known for her images of her friends and her self portraits. She would often make images with herself in them showing her life as a victim of physical harm from her partner as well as making images of a lot of her transvestite friends. Goldin only ever makes images of her dear friends as she knows them and allows them to pick which images they like and those that aren’t so good. Photography is very personal to her and having an insight to her friends lives, as well as her own, is one of the best ways to make real images. Goldin does confession photography, photographing real people within her community of friends. She calls trans people the “third gender”, they are treated as outcasts in the way they are treated and by the way they act.
“You can only really photograph your own tribe” – Nan Goldin
Family photography becomes more like a diary and is very personal. Goldin was inspired by film with how she presents her work, which she does through slide shows of her images put together with music in the background. She believes in being “fully present in the moment” but at the same time to “be there and get lost at the same time”. She also used film cameras to make her photographs making the images raw and real to the time and the actual events.
[Nobuyoshi] Araki
Araki [born 1940 in Tokyo. Japan]Araki is a Japanese photographer and contemporary artist. He has created over 350 books and is still going. Araki often created work of a very sexual nature with some even calling it pornography. He made a book called Sentimental Journey while on his honeymoon with his wife, this is now a very famous book.
“taking these photos does help me to remember” – Araki
“The very private became the very public” – anonymous
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Sally Mann
Sally Mann [born 1951 in Lexington, Virginia, VA]Sally Mann is a documentary photographer that focuses on her family and often collaborates with family members in order to make her images. Here they will pose for her and allow her to make images of them whenever she needs to. She would large black and white photographs of her young children and then later making images of landscapes representing decay and death within the environment.
“unless you photograph what you love, you are not going to make good art.” – Sally Mann
Larry Sultan [born 1946 in Brooklyn, New York City]Larry Sultan is an American photographer with exhibits of his work across the U.S. making images of his family. A lot of his work is very personal but is also staged as he would often ask the subject to dress in a certain way and look at the camera in a specific way to portray them in the way that he wants them to be portrayed.
” photography is instrumental in creating family” – Larry Sultan
Often images reflect the photographer rather than the person being photographed. It tells the spectator more of their own personal views and experiences allowing them into more of who the photographer actually is themselves. I like the idea of documentary photography as it brings more of a real experience to the spectator, as humans I think that we are naturally curious especially to see what everyone else is doing. I think that I would want to photograph my sister and the life of being a new mum and working at the same time. I want to show the more difficult side of bringing up a small child rather than the glamorized perfect lifestyle people are let to believe mothers and fathers have shown of TV and films.
I find this image very interesting to look at. It just looks like a typical family photograph of a regular family dealing with everyday quarrels and laughs. I don’t actually like this image that much as it doesn’t really do much for me as everyone is kind of everywhere and the composition doesn’t particularly appeal to me, I don’t find it very visually pleasing. I do however like the left part of the image where the woman is mid punch/push to the man that is half out of the frame. I find this the most interesting part of the image as it has a story to it but the rest of it is just random to me. I think that this image is definitely capturing a more amateur style photograph as it does just look like an image that a family member made at random on their disposable camera. I do think that Waplington has much better work that this particular image. I think that this image would have looked a lot better in Waplinton was looking up at the family from a low angle as it would have made everyone look a lot bigger and made for a much more interesting photograph.
