Below are the images that I will be using for my photobook. All of my images were taken in Drum and Bass events that were upheld in Jersey and the UK. Some of these images where highly edited in the way that the photo has been fully manipulated. Whereas the others are pictures which have not been edited at all.
Write a book specification and describe in detail what your book will be about in terms of narrative, concept and design with reference to the same elements of bookmaking as above.
Narrative: What is your story?
Describe in 3 words?
Drum and Bass
A sentence
Showing outsiders the drum and bass culture from an insider’s perspective.
A paragraph
As an individual who is in the culture of the drum and bass scene. I want to be able to portray the drum and bass culture to outsiders, who don’t understand the drum and bass culture. Furthermore, giving a deeper understanding on drum and bass on what it is and how this culture is even relevant.
Design: consider the following
How you want your book to feel
I want a softcover on the outside and for the book to be glossy so it looks similar to a magazine.
Paper and Ink
I want the ink and paper to be glossy so that the bright colours in my images really stand for people to view.
Format, Size and orientation
My book is going to be a small square with the dimensions of: 7 x 7 in (18cm x 18cm).
Binding and cover
I am going to want the cover to have an image of a crowd of people. This is because I want people to get an understanding on what type of book they are looking at.
Title
My title is going to be called “The Sesh”. This is because some people will understand the slang term and some won’t. For those who don’t understand it, hopefully after looking at the book they will know what it means.
Design and layout
Single full bleed images
Single images non full bleed black border
three images on one page
Editing and sequencing
I want to sequence my images how people usually end up going through a night out, from the start to the end of a night out.
Images and Text
Above is the front and back cover of my photobook. To make it, I put the title “The Sesh” in the middle bottom of the book and included my name and title on the spine. The front and back cover on my book have a full bleed spread of an image of a crowd at one of the drum and bass events. I had to zoom the image out abit in order for it to sit perfectly across the front and back cover.
Above is the finalised layout of my photo book with images of the photo shoot i had taken, with finalised images selected across a sequence. During the creation of this photo book, I have experimented with different page layouts. For example, instead of having one photo on a page, I put three images laid out with two small ones on top and a bigger picture going across the bottom of the same page. In my opinion, this final photo book layout is the best due to the way the pictures are put together on each individual page.
Above is one of the first images that was edited/ manipulated in order to make the image look hallucinogenic. This appears to be an effective edit because I was able to manipulate the picture, in a way which people would believe that’s what it would look like to consume drugs at a drum and bass event. Moreover, this image would give outsiders an idea on the atmosphere to expect at these events being; loud, bright and wavy etc…
The next edited/ manipulated image was only changed from its original colour to black and white. This image is a golden gem to me because the picture was taken in a way where the flash stayed on with the persons face with the camera having a wide aperture. Therefore, the image looks edited however it isn’t and that is amazing because even if I wanted to recreate the image I couldn’t, making it a 1 of 1. Furthermore, the image once again could give off the impression of distortion/ hallucination. Giving people a further understanding on what the experience could be like at these drum and bass events.
Finally, this is an image captured at one of the drum and bass events attended to get images. This image is strong I believe because it wasn’t edited, making the picture fall under the subclass of realism. Moreover, the image is engaging as I was able to capture the coloured smoke in the background of the image. This was effective as it made it engagging to viewers. Finally, the image being realistic is great for outsiders looking in because they are able to see an authentic image of what happens in these drum and bass events. From the atmosphere, emotions, facial expressions, clothing etc…
Above is an image that demonstrates the different types of options you can select in order to layout your pictures. This was great as I was able to move my layouts around to whatever I preferred.
The Outcome
The outcome from the photobook project is a book which reflects the culture of the drum and bass community. It shows what the potential experience of a night out to a drum and bass event could be like, from the start, to the end of the night. Moreover, the book is also meant to show “outsiders” who aren’t involved with the drum and bass community, showing what the community is about, cancelling out any stereotypes that people might assume within the drum and bass culture. For example, because of the what the music sounds like, people assume that people are aggressive at these events, causing fights between the crowd. However, as an insider to this culture, I can say that the people in the crowd are very in tuned with the music. Meaning that everyone is happy and not bothered by any pushing or shoving in the crowd. This is because, people accept that they are in a tight space which is the reason as to why pushing and shoving occurs occasionally on accident. Moreover, everyone in the crows is there for the same purpose which brings the community together as people share similar interests in music and clothing. Furthermore, the occuring themes of garments are sunglasses, bucket hats, costumes/ coordinated outfits and bumbags. Some of these garments such as sunglasses and bumbags, are mainly used so that people can carry drugs with and not have people look into there eyes for suspicion. Drugs are heavily influenced in this culture due to that fact that the audience are mainly young adults. Also, because people want to enhance their experience for a better time, memories and having moments of euphoria.
https://www.blurb.co.uk/bookstore/invited/9557142/c16ebd0fbd857f5b16ed60642793160214f86f16
Image Evaluation
Technical