Below is a specification that provides an interpretation and plan of how I intend to explore A Love Story. This will include at least 3 photoshoots that I will complete in the next 2-3 weeks. It was also explain how I want my images to look and feel, including visual references to artists/photographers in terms of style, approach, intentions, aesthetics concept and outcome. The final outcome will be a 16 page photo-zine, sequenced together as a set forms a narrative that visualises my love story.
STORY: What is my love story?
3 words: A love story.
A sentence: The harsh reality that not all relationships work out, and that love is not all smooth sailing.
A paragraph: My grandparents relationship showed the true hardships of marriage, it ripped apart my fathers teenage-hood, and left a hole in mine. As my grandad fell ill with cancer, my nan found new love with another man, leaving my dad and auntie in the middle or a raging mess. The close family relationships broke, leaving my dad without his mother and father, and me and my sister without grandparents. Their story shows the selfishness of love and how much that affects future generations, especially for me and my sister whom had no loving relationship with my nan. When my nan died, the classic idea of mourning was tossed aside; how do you let go of a love that was never there?
NARRATIVE: How will I tell my story?
Images > new photographic responses, photo-shoots etc
Archives > old photos from family albums
My idea is to use a mixture of archived photographs of my grandparents, my nan with my grandad, nan with her new husband. These photographs are all from family photo albums that have been passed down. I intend to tell my story including new photographs from my current relationship, and my parents relationship to link to the idea of the relationships through the generations. I may want to use some words or sentences to explain some stages of the story, and as well as this I may use my or my friends current relationships to contrast my nan and grandads marriage/ my or my parents relationship.
AUDIENCE: Who is it for?
Most image makers tend to overlook the experience of the viewer. Considering who my audience is and how they may engage with my photo-zine is important factor when I am designing/ making it.
age group, demographic, social/ cultural background etc.
For all the images I edited them in Lightroom. I made all the images have a very warm tone, by decreasing temperature, as I wanted the photos to have have sense of warmth, which relates to love.
image one
I made this image black and white, as I thought it increased the candidness of the image. By making it black and white, it increases the contrast and makes the range of tones very large.
image two
For this image increased the whites and blacks to make the tonal range large. I cropped unnecessary to make the figure and the dog stand out and not become lost in the white of the landrover.
image three
For this image, I made it black and white, as it makes the image look more interesting and bolder. I increased the highlights of the image to make the overall image brighter and it makes the clouds more prominent.
image four
For this image, I made it black and white because it matches the facial expressions of the figure and increases the mood I wanted to create in this image.
image five
For this image, I made it black and white to make the image bold and increase the textures within the image. I cropped the image to make the focus of the image, the figure, more prominent, and to remove an unnecessary things within the original image.
image six
For this image, I increased the whites in the image, to make the landrovers body work brighter and bolder.
image seven
For this image, I made it black and white, to increase the candidness of the image. I then cropped the image to make the figure and the dog be the central aspect of the image.
2 sisters who have a strong connection with one another. The eldest is 17 and the youngest is 7. The eldest is growing up and moving away so she slowly fades out of the pictures with her younger sister. To make it less repetitive I will also add studio portraits of the eldest sister.
NARRATIVE: How will you tell your story?
Images > photo shoots / studio photos
Texts > Poems / quotes / single words about moving on / away
AUDIENCE: Who is it for?
Most image makers tend to overlook the experience of the viewer. Considering who your audience is and how they may engage with your photo-zine is important factor when you are designing/ making it.
Teenagers / young adults who are moving on with their lives will be able to understand the effects of them leaving upon loved ones especially younger siblings.
Write a specification that provides an interpretation and plan of how you intend to explore A Love Story. This must include at least 3 photoshoots you will be doing in the next 2-3 weeks (these could include photo-assignments). How do you want your images to look and feel like? Include visual references to artists/photographers in terms of style, approach, intentions, aesthetics concept and outcome. Remember the final outcome is a 16 page photo-zine so you will need to edit a final series of 12-16 images that sequenced together as a set forms a narrative that visualises your love story.
STORY:
What is your love story?
3 words: friendship, youth, together
A sentence: I am going to show the love a group of friends have for each other and their youth.
A paragraph: My main focus will be taking candid shots of my friends during some of the times we spend together on a regular basis, attempting to capture some of the more memorable and timeless moments on camera. Hopefully I will be able to portray the strong platonic love within the group as well as possibly showcase how fleeting youth is and how we are just trying to make the most of it. I may choose to take some more posed images and therefore be able to capture some of the less-than-happy times as well (e.g. arguments, falling out, mental health issues) to properly showcase all the highs and lows of a teen friendship group.
NARRATIVE:
How will you tell your story?
Images > new photographic responses, photoshoots in a few diff. locations, candid shots from everyday meet-ups
Archives > old photos from our phones
Texts > notes passed in class, old bus tickets, quotes, poems
AUDIENCE:
Who is it for?
teens/younger people
my own friends/people featured in the images
myself
no particular social demographic, as the language of love and friendship is universal and does not need much explanation to be clearly understood
AESTHETIC CONCEPT:
What is it going to look like?
Currently I am planning on keeping all of the images in black and white, to add to the sense of timelessness and how this particular platonic love story has happened all throughout time and isn’t anything new. I am also planning on editing the images with overlays of handwritten quotes, possibly from from my friends but it may also be my own handwriting, depending on how much time I have, as well as doodles, markers, general scribbles and possibly editing the images to make it look more like photographic film (borders, fading out, etc).
An example of the sort of style/aesthetic I am aiming for is shown and linked below, from a previous student’s photobook work.
STORY+NARRATIVE: What is your love story? And how will you tell it?
In three words: Area, article, affinity
In a sentence: Getting to know people more intimately through three clear stages.
In more detail: For this narrative, I’m aiming to portray the people who hold sentimental value to me using three aspects of photography: Landscape, Still life and Portrait photography. I intend to have three case studies. For each page of the book I plan to have a portrait of the person with an image of these three things directly adjacent to them.On one page I will have a place that holds emotional significance to them next to a full body portrait. On the next page I will have an object or article that represents their passion for a hobby or a guilty pleasure next to a 3/4 or half body portrait. Finally I’ll have an image with a person who holds significance to them next to a head-shot of my subject.
By gradually getting into close proximity with the subject, I can convert my subject into an allegory for intimacy. For these portraits I aim to take them in the studio, with a plain background. The outfits I aim to match with the colour scheme of the 3 things I’ve chosen to represent them. This will prevent my photo-zine from looking garish and will clearly separate each of my case studies from one another alongside keeping the theme of the zine constant.
colour-theme
AUDIENCE: Who is it for?
The people I’m photographing are similar ages to myself and so represent younger, more innocent relationships. It may appeal to older generations as sweet nostalgia or as a resemblance to themselves as a child or resemblance to their children/grandchildren/etc.
Similarly, it may connect with those in my own generation as the people, places or objects remind them of relationships they have with hobbies or areas or even the relationships they have with their own friends/families/significant others.
My reasoning for the three different types of portraits (Full, 3/4 body and head-shot) is to represent three stages of getting intimate with someone:
Stageone: Curiosity. To represent this stage I decided to use a full body portrait. I feel as though it represents this word accurately as a person can easily spark your interest from a distance.
Using a landscape next to this portrait gives gives the narrative a setting. The setting I use for each case-study will be a place that has importance to them. Not only does this create imagery, it also leaves some ambiguity as to why this place holds significance to the person they’re looking at. Leaving ambiguity allows the viewer to deduct and create their own narrative alongside mine.
StageTwo: Bringing Your Lives Together. As you get closer to someone emotionally, you can be comfortable standing close to them or seeing them close up. By doing a 3/4 body or a half-body portrait I can convey this stage of becoming intimate with someone.
By adding still life images, I can further progress my narrative for each case study. The audience can then engage with this, learning more about the individual they’re looking at and making possible links to the setting they previously viewed.
Stage Three: Deeper Level of Commitment. Finally, I felt as though a head shot was appropriate to present this stage as having that accessibility to a person/ being comfortable that close to someone shows how attached you are to that person and how valuable they are to you.
Adding an photograph of someone the case study is intimate with allows the audience to feel attachment to the subject. I aim to make them feel as though they know the key things about each case study as they progress through the zine. By creating this affinity between the subject and the audience I can keep the viewer’s interest in the zine. Having ambiguity towards the significance of the person close to the subject and the place the subject chose allows freedom for the audience to create multiple story-lines and narratives.
By having multiple narratives it means the viewer may look over the zine multiple times to try make further links, rather than understanding the clear plot and looking through it once.
CONTEXT: Who is your inspiration?
After viewing multiple photo-zines, I was particularly inspired by Rita Puig-Serra Costa and her photo-book: ‘Where mimosa bloom’. The design aspect of the book appealed to me as she used portraits of people adjacent to formal elements such as shape and colour.
Where mimosa bloom
Similarly, I was inspired by Chloe Jafe and the way she presented her subjects. The stance held by the women in a number of her portraits comes across as confident. Additionally, the women in her project represent the trust and strength within her relationships with them. I wanted to incorporate this into my work by photographing my subjects in more detail and more intimately than a standard formal portrait.
