Academic Sources

• Research and identify 3-5 literary sources from a variety of media such as books, journal/magazines, internet, YouTube/video that relates to your personal study and artists references .
• Begin to read essay, texts and interviews with your chosen artists as well as commentary from critics, historians and others.
• It’s important that you show evidence of reading and draw upon different points of view – not only your own.
• Take notes when you’re reading…key words, concepts, passages
• Write down page number, author, year, title, publisher, place of publication so you can list source in a bibliography

Essay Plan
Make a plan that lists what you are going to write about in each paragraph – essay structure

• Essay question: How does photography act as an important form of communication of both true and untrue subjects? 
• Opening quote ‘A photograph passes for incontrovertible proof that a given thing happened. The picture may distort; but there is always a presumption that something exists, or did exist, which is like what’s in the picture.’ (On Photography by Susan Sontag, p3)

• Introduction (250-500 words): What is your area of study? Which artists will you be analysing and why? How will you be responding to their work and essay question?

I will be discussing the importance of photography both in cultivating the mindset of the viewer toward the subject and in communicating a message visually. I will be analysing the work of W Eugene Smith, Robert Capa, Dorothea Lange. This is because their work all serves a function to tell a story – whether this is a true or untrue story.

• Pg 1 (500 words): Historical/ theoretical context within art, photography and visual culture relevant to your area of study. Make links to art movements/ isms and some of the methods employed by critics and historian. 

The first images were portraits; staged and set up by the photographer in a studio. photography equipment was big and clunky and inconvenient; was easier to stage images than capture in-the-moment shots. Ever since photography began, photographers have lied; use of sky overlays on old landscapes/ Trotsky’s erasure from images where he stood close to Lenin etc. to communicate a person’s story through images is to make it accessible for someone who lives an entirely different life on the other side of the planet; very important in times where travel was expensive and uncommon (W. Eugene Smith) . They also help us understand history and what life used to be like; by making different choices, photographers can ultimately alter history itself.

• Pg 2 (500 words): Analyse first artist/photographer in relation to your essay question. Present and evaluate your own images and responses.

W. Eugene Smith uses his work to document the lives of people he personally finds interesting. He uses the structure of shots (e.g. establishing shot, person at work etc.) that works to entirely showcase every aspect of the person’s work and home life, thus communicating what he personally finds interesting. this is important in a world with little technology/travel etc.

• Pg 3 (500 words): Analyse second artist/photographer in relation to your essay question. Present and evaluate your own images and responses.

Robert Capa’s image is highly debated as to whether it was staged or not. some may argue this is an unprofessional trait in a war photographer, but it demonstrates his integrity and ability to stay true to his own vision. arguably only seen in this example however

Dorothea Lange’s Mother and baby of family on the road is important because instead of the later, more staged version taken after, the first, more despairing image is used by Lange. this then becomes the Farm Security Administration’s representation of the Great Depression; the importance of this image echoes down the ages and shows how our view of documented history is almost entirely dependent upon the images we have to show for it.

• Conclusion (250-500 words): Draw parallels, explore differences/ similarities between artists/photographers and that of your own work that you have produced
• Bibliography: List all relevant sources used