When making the photobook I was sticking with my night photography theme so I only edited the night photography ones, when the book came down I realised that some of my photos are a little to dark I believe this is because the monitor that used to edited the photos has its brightness setting up a little bit making the photos look brighter then they actually are however this is only for a couple of photographs most of the photographers are turn out really good and came out the way I wanted them to turn out, there are also some spelling mistakes in the writing on the first page on the book I believe this is because I didn’t get it proof read and I was tried when writing it however its not that bad you can read it and get the message that I trying to say, and as I said it not to bad but there are some grammar and spelling mistakes, besides all the mistakes the book turn out great and I am happy how it came out. If I was to do it again I would proof read the text before printing the book and I would check the brightness on my monitor I would also give my images titles and add more text into the book to fill in pages or add more images I would like to make another and see how the difference between the 2 books and see how much I can improve in making a better and more finished product. The book also dose look a bit thin so if I did make a new book I would add a lot more photo and I think people viewing the book would appreciate that also I would make it landscape not portrait just because I would be something new.
Overall, I am quite happy with my final prints and the outcome of my personal study. I really liked the composition and juxtaposition of the different images in terms of sizes, content and colours of the pictures. I think the presentation could be worked on as some of the foam board was cut wrong and a few pictures were a little wonky, this is something I will work on next time.
I decided to name my book ‘Chasing Dreams’ because I feel like it gives the reader an idea of the contents, and the meaning of my images. It also links with my front cover, which is an archived image of me as a child. I chose to edit the images in a dreamy style to link to the idea of childhood, and how for me, I remember places feeling magical. I chose the back image to be the shells, because it connects to the beach on the front cover, and the leading lines follow in a direction that lead through the image; foreshadowing the idea of having something to chase.
Whilst making the book, I decided to add test from a series of poems I had read to me as a child. The collection is from the Flower Fairies. They link well with the nostalgic theme, but also are based on nature and connect with the images. I selected the poems I would want, using just some sentences, or the full poem, and spreading them across pages or just on one. I carefully decided which images I would use, and made sure I kept a reasonable amount without over using them. Again, these poems and fairies are very nostalgic to me, and they help my boo feel personal in some senses.
Unlike Kawauchi, I used a variety of layouts to create an unorganised flow throughout the book. I made sure there wasn’t too much repetition of layouts, and that my best images were on double pages spreads.
I experimented placing different images next to each other to make sure there was a story being told, whilst creating an aesthetic that linked between images.
I decided to put my essay at the end of the book because it authenticates my thought process behind my images, and how I was inspired by the Japanese aethetics.
Overall, I am pleased with the outcome of my book because it captures the dream-like aesthetic I was aiming for, whilst creating a visceral and surreal feeling. Its meaning is slightly ambiguous, which I really enjoy because it gives the reader a reason to think about the meaning and what the story is. I made sure my edits all had similar colour tones, exposures and light, shadows and depth to keep each shoot alike. One thing I may have changed would be taking more photos to give a greater variety of images, like Kawauchi. However her collection in Illuminance were taken over fifteen years, so I think I would struggle to create such a wide range. I feel like I have captured nostalgia and childhood dreams in my own way, and I am happy with the overall outcome.
In my opinion the final outcome of the photobook was successful. There are aspects within it that went very well, how I imagined and some that did the opposite of that. overall I am happy there is a fluent message that flows throughout the book with the arrangement of the images, text within the book, cover etc. there are certain areas where I could have improved, the main one being: Including a wider range of photographs which were collected by me, I think this because overall I had successful outcomes from a variety of photoshoots, but in the final book there seems to be a a bigger portion of archival images and the manipulation of them. But I am happy with the proportion of them as it also fits to the narrative, and since it is a project mainly about my mum then it is essential to include archival images.
First starting with the cover of the photobook, the cover is an opening as well as a brief what the book is going to be about. I settled down for having red as a background colour to represent love, passion as well as being as symbolising both mine and my mothers descent, being Polish. I decided to call it “echo” is I think of myself as a mirrored version of my mum, and I think she too thinks of a child her echoing in a woman she is. I like to think she echo’s in me, that I mimic her. the back cover photo is edited in a way to match the colours of the first image, but also to show that I create a responses to photographs of her. the font is carefully chose to add a welcoming feel to the book as well as a nostalgic one. Overall the cover incited the reader, what’s great is how much the colour of it makes the book stand out. what I regret not doing is using white on the spine of the cover to show these accents that are with the book, the white with red will furthermore represent national polish colours, like the ones seen in the flag. I think without it the cover seems a little bit empty, therefore adding these details would make it more interesting.
When it comes to the photographs themselves in the book, I think they are successful with showing the story behind them, making the story flow throughout the book. this is the area I’m most proud of as the narrative is clear to see, with images of my mum from a young age, then a teenager, and an adult. there is also a shift f focus to the similarities between us but most importantly showing me as a part of her. This shift of focus is also very visible with the black background and darker images, contrasting with the soft feel of the book so far.
I think because behind every image there is a hint of symbolism to the narrative, this makes the book successful. when it comes to the variety of the outcomes I like how there is at lest one digital image alteration as it shows what I’m interested in as well as being able to show I am capable of achieving similar outcomes using complete different methods.
I love how I was able to study inspirational artists that guided the plan and look of the project. this mainly being Jessa Fairbrother, where I took the symbolism and manipulation of photographs from her. To me behind every image within the book there is symbolism being represented, although not all the photographs are manipulated and altered in the same way, most are, and the theme of photograph altering carries through the book, without overly being done.
Overall I enjoyed this project due to the freedom I had when it came to image altering, I like how through a variety of experimentation I was able to create interesting-looking images. I enjoyed burning, stitching, staining and cutting the photographs as it made more of a connection between me and the work, through this process it made it more personal to me. This project was fun as I could plan ahead the different photoshoots, which were all different from each other, like still life, portraits and studio portraits. However I would improve adding these in more, the fact that the images are so similar to each other on technical level makes it hard to display this variety of different themed photographs so on the other hand I am uncertain is I love or hate this aspect. I do also think the book would benefit in more little detail when it came to the design, like frames around some images, or more writing. Alternatively what makes this book and project successful is how the images all have a symbolic value to the message, and this storyline flows through the book.
I have created a virtual gallery to show my final outcomes. I did this to present my final photographs in a different format than a book.
When designing the gallery I needed to carefully think of the placement of the photographs, these followed a similar pattern to the book, however the book follows a story line where a specific order of the images responds to the narrative. When displaying them in a virtual gallery I mainly focused on aligning them next to each other based of the similarities between them.
For example the photographs from the same photoshoot fitted well together due to the most similar colour and technical aspects.
I think this virtual gallery turned out successful due to the similarities between the photographs, so it gives an impression that when you walk along the gallery the photographs slowly change with the gradient of the colour. One of the things I would improve is that I should have selected a different room where all the photographs can be displayed in, as 4 of the images didn’t fit into one room.
To start the process of creating my photobook i had to decide my focus following the theme of nostalgia. Initially, I was going to do Childhood vs Teen life as i wanted to explore the comparison and contrast. However once my teenage images began to form I realised I didnt need to physically include the childhood images to show the contrast as the teen images themselves are dramatic and emotive.
During this project I carried out multiple shoots which included two artist inspired shoots:
Justine Kurland
Jim Goldberg
Once I was content with the amount of images I had to work with, I started to sift out the less successful outcomes and began work on the successful ones.
On Lightroom, I edited the images to look how I had envisioned them to and selected my favourite outcomes.
I then used my 29 selected outcomes to begin my photobook layout and playing around with the different positions and orders to place them in.
Once I completed the layout and was happy with how the book looked i ordered a physical copy of my book.
My book was successful in many ways such as the overall images are visually appealing and powerful outcomes however after receiving my book i realised that some of my double page spreads were ruined by the fold in the centre of them which caused some portraits to look distorted etc. This was helpful though as in future I know to be more cautious with which images to use for double page spreads. Overall, this project was a success and taught me what to be aware of when creating a photobook.
At the beginning of my project I knew that I wanted to base it around architecture some how. As I travelled around Jersey I began to notice the range of architecture pieces that we have and how there is such a contrast in many buildings. I decided to focus on the evolution of architecture in Jersey and how much it has been changing from older historical buildings that were efficient, to newer modern builds that feel are more just there to please the human eye. I did a total of seven photoshoots for my personal study with each trying to capture something new to add to my story. Some of my shoots focused on the modern side and some on the old side, however, some just became random without a plan as I decided to photograph buildings that I liked or thought would add contrast to my project. Within my project I also thought about the environmental changes that follow. Some houses have become more environmentally friendly with things such as solar panels etc. However, some builds create a large amount of waste which is damaging the planet more and more. Throughout my final book, I have shown a large amount of old and modern images. I think that this really allows the viewer to have a new perspective on architecture.
what went well:
Within my personal study, I think that there are a few things that went well. Firstly, I like the way that I have presented my book. I think that because I have mixed the old buildings up with the modern ones it make the contrast of both types much more visible. I also like how some of my old architecture images are in black and white, next to modern ones in colour as it makes both the images’ detail stand out. I also think that my book is clear on what it is about and shows the viewer what hidden architecture Jersey has to offer which many of us don’t see. Secondly, I think that my range of images show how much architecture is changing without us really realising. I think that the old images that I took appear to have more historical value and maybe mean much more than just a home etc, whereas the modern ones feel like there are there to impress others and fit into the more desired architecture style these days. Whilst I think these modern buildings are astounding, I see more value in the older ones as they meant more to people back then and have become almost a competition of who can have the most modern, pleasing home. Lastly, I am happy with how my final prints turned out and think that how I have presented them makes the detail within stand out.
possible improvements:
Overall, I think that there were only a few things that I wish I did differently. Firstly, I think that I could have photographed more older buildings to show viewers what Jersey used to look like compared to now. Saying this, I think this almost adds to my project as it shows how much it is changing at such a fast rate, losing the valuable architecture that we once had. Secondly, I think that whilst I did seven shoots, I think I could have explored the Island more as I didn’t really capture many images from a range of places. Following this, I also think that I could have added in some of the architecture that was damaged after the recent storm Ciarán. I think that this could have added depth to my projects to show that places that we feel safe in can change dramatically from things when we don’t necessarily expect it.
overall:
Overall, I am happy with my project and think that it portrays my theme of the evolution of architecture in Jersey well. I hope that from this project people will see more clearly how fast it is changing and that it is becoming something that some people don’t value as much anymore compared to how people used to.
For my first two final prints I am going to print them on A3 glossy photo paper. I am going to window mount/ back them separately as I think both images are very detailed and are a good representation of my whole project. I haven’t decided whether I am going to frame these two or mount them, however, I think adding a frame out of card may look better as they are very bold images.
planned outcomes:
Secondly, I am going to print these three images bellow on A4 glossy photo paper. I think that the two modern buildings pair nicely together therefore I am going to use foam board to raise them from a piece of black card. I am also going to the same with the old image in black and white however I am going to present it on its own as I think that it hold great detail that wouldn’t be seen as much if but were paired with another image.
planned outcomes:
Finally, I am going to print the three images bellow on A5 glossy photo paper. I like how these image all have an urban feel to them, so I am going to present them in a window mount together either going across or down. Overall I am happy with these images and think that once they are mounted/ framed they will look more finalised.
My photobook is based on the evolution of architecture in Jersey and how it is slowly changing over time.
A paragraph
Within my book I want to achieve educating other about how much architecture has changed over time from different materials and techniques to different styles and demands/trends. I think that in Jersey there is a great variety of architecture from old historical building to more newer modern ones. There are many pieces in Jersey to me that are very hidden whether its the area/location or how they are designed to be deceiving, because of this I wanted to try and find architecture that many haven’t seen or noticed before to show the vast amount that the island contains. I think that whilst much of Jersey’s architecture is astonishing, modernisation is slowly taking over. I believe that architecture is becoming more and more about pleasing the human eye as opposed to it’s practicality and may be losing some of its value it once held. Whilst it may not be at the same rate as some other countries I think that we may slowly be losing architecture that holds great value and even memories for some. I do agree that with time changing architecture has to as well for many reasons, however, I also believe that keeping hold of Jersey’s historical and valuable architecture is also very important. I hope that throughout my book the evolution of architecture is portrayed and people may see what I do in terms of it changing.
Design: Consider the following
How you want your book to look and feel
Paper and ink
Format, size and orientation
Binding and cover
Title
Structure and architecture
Design and layout
Editing and sequencing
Images and text
In terms of my books design, I want it to have a matte finish on the cover not only for how it looks but also how it feels, however, I want to have the pages glossy to add to the overall look of my images and make them very bold. I am going to pick the size ‘standard landscape’ as most of my images were taken in landscape and I want my images to be the main focus. With the book being landscape it means I can make my images a little bit bigger and allow for the detail to be seen. For my tile I have picked ‘Building our future’ as my book shows how much architecture (buildings) have changed over such a short amount of time meaning they will only develop even more in the future and become something to be appealed to as opposed to practical and meaningful. When it comes to my images I haven’t edited them much as I want viewers to focus on the main architecture piece itself in its raw form. I have adjusted them slightly to make the images straight and enhance the detail slightly so that the viewer can take it in fully. I chose to put my images in randomly in terms or old and modern so that viewers can compare them more easily, however I did place them precisely to make them contrast each other. In my book I am not going to have any text with the images as they are the priority, but I am going to add my essay ‘What are the differences between Eugène Atget and Ezra Stoller within architecture photography?’ to the back of the book to show where I got some of my inspiration from.
