As part of my photo-book, I want to create a section which is directly linked to challenging the idea of the ‘advertising language’ used to advertise products, locally and also in a wider, more general sense. Whilst I have touched upon this idea through photographing somewhat in the style of Martin Parr. I wanted to take this a step further by copying the more controlled, studio style images seen regularly to advertise food in the most attractive and enticing way as possible.

In order to achieve this I will firstly have to create a mini-studio set up at home. I will do this by using pieces of cardboard paper to create a plain base to then place the product on. If I am taking a photograph of a box of eggs for example, I will place the box so that it can only be seen in the context of the background. I am going to experiment with different background colours along with shooting in different ways: experimenting with angles, composition, form and lighting.

This process will very much be an experiment because I have had no previous experience setting up this a studio environment to take images. Furthermore, I believe that this process will be in many ways challenging because it is pushing me out of my comfort zone in terms of the sort of images I usually produce, based more on instinct and what I see. I will instead however be required to take a step back and carefully consider composition.

My main focus will be however to make best use of lighting. I am considering using chiaroscuro lighting to create strong images with a high level of contrast, a feature I admire in the work of British photographer David Bailey. However at the same time I will need to be careful in the fact I am trying to create bright and colourful images, and using such a lighting may in fact be too strong, cancelling out the power I believe colour will deliver. I will therefore experiment with this chiaroscuro lighting to create black-and-white images, it I believe this is effective I will inclue some of these images in my edits, before attempting the same lighting with the colour images, and if this is not successful, then I will consider another form of lighting which would better suit colour images.

I hope to create images which are done so exactly in the style of an advertising product that it serves to mock it. It  order to distinguish my opinion with the images, I will need to include in the images a clear barrier which makes the sense of parody and mimicry I am trying to evoke more obvious. One way I may be able to do so is through taking the packaging off my images, for example including a raw steak on its own rather than being either in it’s packaging or cooked and on a plate. This, I believe will simplify my concept and make what I am showing visually, more raw. It will also show local Jersey produce in a way which is in many ways is more revealing by the simple act of not including any advertising in the images. This will give the viewer the opportunity to access the product without the distraction of any manipulating factor.

Therefore I believe that such a style can be considered in many ways a mockery because I am effectively satirising the role of advertising images by showing seemingly ‘normal’ and ‘uninspiring’ images in a way which is usually considered to achieve the exact opposite. This sense of conflict I am trying to create will invite the viewer to consider the deceptive nature of advertising images, which I believe will link very well to the entire theme of the project.

I will take a series of 30-50 images before producing a contact sheet and editing. After viewing my images I may consider evaluating what went well and perhaps what didn’t go so well, and if I need to – produce another shoot to make these corrections.

Simplicity will be the key to this shoot. There will also need to be a sense of control to the images, showing the same background all of the time. One influence I have taken from this is the extremely interesting series entitles “No Seconds” series by American photographer Henry Hargreaves. In this controversial series he captures the haunting images of death row inmates’ last meal requests. He believes food preferences speak volumes about a person’s character and personality in any setting. Death row choices are an extremely powerful example of that theory. This story shows this sense of ‘rawness’ in perhaps its greatest detail. Although I would simply not be able to create a mood in such an effect, it is this sort of concept of simplicity speaking great volumes which I am trying to get across.