12% out of a 100, accounts for the grade

• 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 pints of view – not only your own.
• Take notes when you’re reading…key words, concepts, passages, page number to be used for in-text referencing etc.

possible-essay-questions-to-investigate

Can the recreation of family portraits show how relationships have developed and changed over time?

How connection can be represented in the medium of photography?

How can photography change the way we remember and connect people and events?

Some examples of Personal Study essays from previous students:

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

• Essay question:
• Opening quote

• 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. 
• Pg 2 (500 words): Analyse first artist/photographer in relation to your essay question. Present and evaluate your own images and responses.
• Pg 3 (500 words): Analyse second artist/photographer in relation to your essay question. Present and evaluate your own images and responses.
• 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

(include

Pre-photoshoot Plan:

In terms of this photoshoot I tried to take make sure my lighting was correct and it was important to focus the camera on certain elements more than others such as the smaller lines on the hands, veins and other smaller features on the surface of skin. I tried to produce a broader selection of images using different body parts and different skin textures such as ones that appear more softer and more detailed and different as a whole.

When composing these images I positioned the model in the center and the lighting surrounding focusing especially not to close to the subject but around so that it wouldn’t over expose the image too much as well as making the veins more exposed when making the model position in a certain way.

For this photo shoot I wanted to incorporate skin and up-close details of people that I’m close to. Going along with this theme I took inspiration from other photographers and wanted to use my parents hands to present their wedding bands as a juxtaposition to the previous archive photograph of their wedding bands before they got married. I wanted the photograph to be the center of the audience’s focus and attention as well as the other elements such as taking pictures of my Christmas Eve Dinner and the set up as I think it represents family, unity, my families connection to religion and being together for the same cause, causing connection as a whole.

In terms of the second shoot I think that the images look good and I definitively will produce more in this section of the photoshoots as I believe the images/ final result will look good layered on top of one another as the writing has historical context behind it especially down to my Polish roots and generations before my parents and my parents parents as the book I photographed goes back to the 1800s and 1900s presenting Poland before and after the War and the poorness of the country at times as well as the impact of Catholism in the country which my family still resonates with to this day keeping traditions alive and Christian symbols around the family home.

I think it was also important for me to bring this part of historical context into my photos as it provides a visual element of background into the composition but also can enhance the understanding of the photograph is it written in paper and in real life the result which are both my parents and my parent backgrounds as through human connection every little bit can connect and have an impact on people especially living in that country of the provided information of the eastern European land.

Poland’s history before and after the war is remembered by hardship yet there is a strength within the culture, hope that survives through even the darkest times. It is in this resilience that I see the echoes of my family’s journey how, despite the hardships faced by previous generations, they managed to hold on to their faith, their roots, and ultimately, their identity.

As I plan to layer the images over one another, I not only revisit the past but also reflect on how those generations still resonate in my life today. The traditions, the prayers, and even the simple acts of care around the home are all echoes of the perseverance that has been passed down. The rich cultural heritage and strong Catholic foundation that once shaped the lives of my forebears continue to influence my family’s worldview, shaping our values, actions, and identity in subtle yet profound ways.

Their history is my history, as well as their resilience too. Through my personal project I will try to capture not just their faces but the essence of what they endured, they believed in and what they cherished including the sacred connection between family, faith, and heritage that continues to develop and change across time.

Plan for this specific idea of shoot:

For this photoshoot I plan too take specific photos of my family album especially photos and a series of my parent’s wedding, other family members together and being able to sequence the photos together in a collage.

I plan to create other archival photoshoots of personal historical imagery such as taking images of simple things that are personal to me and my background e.g. taking a photo of an archival image of my parent’s wedding bands vs their wedding bands against skin ageing 23+ years later.

In terms of background, I’m going to keep the background of the images placed to be simple and pain to not drag the attention away from the centre of the image itself. So either keep it on a white/grey background or wooden background.

As for the lighting I’m planning to keep daylight and not use artificial methods as it may appear to harsh in the image itself. The images don’t need any special effects as they are supposed to be plain raw images, edited and manipulated later relating to artists references.

Post- Shoot Evaluation:

After creating my shoot I think that I’m happy with the series of images and what message they come across with. For my next shoot I’m definitely going to create more family album photographs as I think the more will be better for presenting a better understanding of my topic for this study.

• What you want to explore?
• Why it matters to you?
• How you wish to develop your project?
• When and where you intend to begin your study?

Interpreting the exam themes; OBSERVE, SEEK, CHALLENGE the topic which I wish to explore is Human and Family Connections, the main artists references which I chose to take inspiration from is Astrid Reischwitz which storytells from a personal perspective, Joanna Piotrowska which focus on psychological narratives which explore human relations and Alicja Brodowicz which combines elements of the human body with elements of nature a well. In terms of my final outcome I would like to produce a photobook that presents all my different ideas and photoshoots that relate to one another in a sequence. I want each page to feel like a story and for the viewer to understand as it progresses.

For my personal project I want to explore themes of nostalgia, family, ageing and changes throughout life when it constantly changes. These topics matter to me as having a multicultural background the topics follow me as it grow and become older, especially dividing both my Polish and English culture into daily life with speaking the languages at home vs in education/the workplace. For me family consists of mostly older generational European members growing up in Poland, living in The Netherlands as well as South England with conflicts over family, relationships, life, world war etc. I wish to develop my project by taking photos of different peoples skin and how it ages as part of formulating the topic of Human and Family Connections. As well as taking photographs of nostalgic archival images from my parents family album including photos of them when younger and other family relatives. For my first couple of photoshoots I want to include photos of my parents, my family and separate photos of elements that are sentimental to a specific time in the moment of the past e.g. the type of flowers my mum held on her wedding day, the type of car my dad used to drive, the jewellery she would wear when I was younger , the type of embroidered table cloth that would be laid out for breakfast with Polish folk art decorated etc/ things that remind her of home, belonging and both their lives.