From working on this project, investigating the German Occupation and Liberation I have learnt new camera skills and have worked with new pieces of equipment. Within this project there were many different styles of photography, the first one starting myself off was portraits. In this section I photographed an individual who was alive during the Occupation and this allowed me to work more on my communication skills with the subject, it allowed me to take control of how I wanted my image to look and what story to tell. Along with taking individual portraits, I took images of the couple that came to talk to us, however photographing the couple was proven more difficult than I thought, I had to communicate with both subjects and try to get them to compliment each other in the image. I also had to think more about my lighting, as the male subject was stood slightly to the side and back of the other subject which cast a shadow over the women, which darkened and hide her features which I didn’t want, this lead to me adjusting the lighting so that the shadows would be cast behind them and their features would be bold enough for viewers to see at the glimpse of the image. After the portiere I then moved on to photographic objects from the Occupation and I learnt about two different set ups I could use to photograph different images.

Using the different set ups, allowed me to focus and work on camera skills and director skills. As I had to take charge of what objects I wanted in an image and how they would complement each other, along with working with the lighting, making sure shadows were cast in the right direction and space to give off the feeling I wanted it to. With the set up with the camera facing downwards I had to constantly experiment where my image was placed as I could see through the lens, this set up took a lot more patience as I had to change the objects positioning multiple times. The different skills I learnt will be able to help me with my personal study as I have the skill to direct my own images and put across my different ideas.

Throughout this project I have photographed landscapes, people and objects which meant I had to use different techniques in order for my to portray the meaning of occupation and liberation through an image. When photographing the different landscapes, I had to work with the natural lighting I had around me and I couldn’t change the surroundings to how I wanted them I had to photograph them as they were. However, when photographing people and objects, I was able to direct my images, I could place them in certain positions or tell the people to have different facial expressions or body stance. I much preferred photographing people and objects, as I had more control over how I wanted my image to look, as I was able to home in on features and complexions that were visible on my subject. I will continue to work with people and objects for my personal study.