To begin researching for my personal investigation I started looking at what was around me. For me, the easiest way to start creating your own ideas and plans it to first look at what other people have done before you. Therefore, I gathered some of the photo-books from previous year 13 students and went through them picking out bits I liked and inspirations I could take from them. In terms of composition, all 4 of the book have included a mix of full bleed, double page spreads, smaller images and sets in their books which is the first thing I want to recreate.

1. ‘Is that my blue butterfly’- Mattie Knapman

The first book that I looked at was named ‘Is that my blue butterfly?’ by Mattie Knapman. I really enjoyed looking at this despite it being very emotional containing sad and violent photos/collages. The theme of the book is centered around his mother, who at the time of making was passing away in hospital. The book contains a mix of archival and recent photos of him and his mother, as well as collaged photos and which was have been painted/drawn over. Another aspect of this book that I think adds another aspect of understanding is the inclusion of photos of objects. For example, Mattie chose to include a double page spread of a photo of his mother’s hospital band. He has also included a note at the beginning in which he explains the reasoning of the book which in turn gives a more personal touch, especially as it is in his own handwriting.

‘Choose Life’-Oscar Vibert

The second book I looked at was ‘Choose Life’ by Oscar Vibert. This photo-book has a much more relaxed atmosphere than the previous but still has it’s meaning. The theme of this book in my opinion is mostly about skating and living everyday life. Here are some aspects of the book which I would like to draw inspiration from:

1. The entirety of the photo-book being black and white.
2. Title with a reference to something else but still fits own project.
3. Head on up close portraits.
4. The subject’s possessions included. E.g- skateboard.
5. Shots in everyday life/all look like similar shoots or same day shoots.
6. Photos with direct eye contact.
7. Carefree/laid-back atmosphere that demonstrates everyday life as a young person.

The above photos with the white striping also look like they may have been taken on film which is another aspect I want to use in my own personal investigation/photo-book.

Above is the main type of portraiture I want to include; which shows a person’s full face, everyday habits and seems natural.

3. ‘All My Love’- Jude Luce

This photo-book is similar to Mattie Knapman’s as it focuses on the themes of family and relationships with parents etc. I don’t particularly like most of the book as it contains some images which I think don’t necessarily need to be in there or don’t relate to the theme or title. Some aspects I do like are:

1. Actual physical photos which has been printed from film and later stuck in.
2. The comparison to old and new.
3. Archival imagery of his parents lives, e.g old photo booth photos of the two together.
4. The inclusion of sentimental things and objects such as the addition of a photo of a tattoo on someone’s leg and the original bracelet charm it was taken from.
5. Included some images of himself and his life and his girlfriend which replicated his parents relationship.

4. ‘The Getaway’

I’m not sure who the creator of this photo-book is as I couldn’t find a name anywhere on the book or blog. However, what attracted to me to this photo-book is that it just perfectly illustrates teenagers lives and the things they do. Most of the images seem like they haven’t been purposely taken for this reason even though they easily could have been. Most of the images don’t really make a lot of sense and are a bit weird which I really like as that is just the same as everyday life. They are all also all black and white images of people which I want to also do.