This information will help you get a head start with developing ideas and concepts for your first project in Photography & Graphic Design. Building these foundations will help you to feel more confident and show us your capabilities prior to you starting your course in September.
Did you know? The art industry is the biggest growing job sector: 11% compared to 1% in other jobs. 50% of these are in the south across a range of different creative industries.
Capturing images of everyday life, of people doing everyday tasks and portraits of people through the decades has been a really important part of commenting on society, even more so in recent times.
Select an image you like, that reflects your interests, and make some notes about it. You will be asked to talk about it during the first few weeks of College.
Capturing images of everyday life, of people doing everyday tasks in everyday places, has been a really important part of commenting on society through the decades .
Your task is to research and explore the work of documentary photographers, identify some work that you like, and use what you have learned to help you document the world around you over the summer. You could also consider creating a ‘rough and ready’ zine out of the images you take.
This is an opportunity for you to start looking at professional work, try out some techniques and to show us what you are interested in.
Begin by taking a look at how documentary photographers have captured the world around them. Choose at least one photographer whose work you find inspiring and highlight aspects of their work that you could incorporate into your own.
You might focus on the technical considerations of how they are photographing (composition, lighting, contrast, focal range, shutter speed) or the concept and subject of what they are photographing and the way they present it.
Below are some links to get you started, but feel free to explore beyond this:
https://britishculturearchive.co.uk/archive-galleries/
https://www.barbpeacock.com/american-bedroom
Part 2: Creative Response
Do not worry if you do not have a professional camera at this point, using a phone is just fine – the point is to start observing from a creative point of view.
Take some time looking at the world around you and consider it in terms of the professional work you have looked at. You might focus on your everyday life, explore local communities or have particular stories that you want to record.
As you gather more images you can start to think about editing them down into a cohesive set that tells a story and consider presenting them in a zine.
https://thecreativeindependent.com/guides/how-to-make-a-zine/
A zine is a great way to combine your photography with some simple graphic design. Pronounced “zeen” (magazine), a zine is a small, self-published booklet. They’re typically low-cost, informal, and can cover any topic. You can even include graphic elements or illustrations if you like.
Bring your research, images, and response with you to enrolment. We look forward to seeing what you create!
*This is a representation of your learning space and may not be the exact room you will be using
Martyn Baldock
Ben Archer
Paul Parsons
James Read
We look forward to seeing you soon!
