Francis Foot:

Francis Foot was born during 1885 in Jersey Channel Islands. He began working as a gas fitter, but shortly after starting he was fascinated by photography and started developing his skills further, this enabled him to make a living out of doing what he loved. His family helped him invest in a shop in Pitt Street, where he was able to work on and sell his work.

Many of Foot’s images depict family members, this led Foot to create an archive for his family, where he was able to document peoples’ lives, actions and show the developments of individuals growing up. His work has a personal touch too it, as he is presenting to society the evolution of his family, it is almost as if he is paying tribute too them, with all the com positions displaying them at various stages of their lives or life events. Not only has foot taken portraits but he has also documented events happening around the island during his time.

Best Images:

Technical:

The subjects in this image are being photographed head on in height order. There is a pathway and a fence leading into the distance of the image, this creates a sense of depth and makes the subjects in the foreground appear more flat and structural.

Visual:

The tallest is seen sat on a chair which presumably was used to allow all three subjects to be clearly seen in the photo without the background taking up too much of the composition. The young girl and middle boy are holding hands which suggests they know each other well, this is the case as they are related.

Contextual:

The image is in black and white however I doubt this is for effect, and is purely due to the technology available to photographers at the time. The image documents 3 siblings together.

Conceptual:

Foot likely took this photo to add to his family archive with many other compositions of his documenting the lives and existence of his family members. The image is mainly for archival purposes and lacks any hidden concepts or detail.