Shoots
Shoot One: Initial photoshoot
For my initial shoot I wanted to experiment with different environments, such as locations, different positions and ways to express ourselves through photography. This part was very experimental and I was only focusing on positioning mainly instead of the camera quality and experimenting with the ISO and aperture. I believe that a few of the outdoor location photographs worked quite well however the indoor photographs of my boyfriend playing the guitar did look a bit staged so I think photographing him in a more natural environment such as on a stage performing would work a lot better. Currently with the situation we are in I wont be able to photograph at concerts and gigs as they have been cancelled but I will leave this plans for later on in the year when everything starts to open again hopefully so I don't have to change my ideas again. I also focused on movement, trying to photograph subjects in motion such as with the guitar.
As my project focuses on sub-cultures mainly those involved with music such as the goth and emo subculture, I thought this would be a good starting point as music and motion will come into my project more at a later stage. As I want to work in monochrome, I vaguely tested out ways to make the images more in the style of Amanda Norman such as the overexposed areas creating a deeper meaning and understanding of the world around us. I believe the overexposed images of the subject and graves worked quite well to demonstrate the artist’s work and to experiment with how it would work within my own style however the photographs of the subject in motion were lacking authenticity and they look staged and out of place.
Here I was just experimenting with portraiture and photographing while in motion. I also experimented with exposure and tried to do a little shoot based off Amanda Norman’s work. While photographing with the guitar I found out that it was going to be quite hard to get the image to be clear and meaningful as I couldn't really change the location so they didn’t come out as clear as I expected however there is a few such as the top images on the contact sheet that I liked from the shoot as I think it really captures the rock and roll subculture.
I really liked how the location shoots turned out but I didn’t like how dull they looked. I experimented with exposure and editing but I think the photos need to be more focused on the subject and not on the surroundings as the subject is what I'm basing the work on.
As my experimental image making of the subject in motion didn’t turn out as I hoped have decided to not go down the music route in as much detail as I originally planned as I believe it will be hard to create and portray these subcultures through instruments and music without the images looking staged and unnatural. I will still keep elements of the music genre in my project but I won’t depend on it for the entire thing and will focus more on the fashion and style elements.
So far I haven’t done many shoots, I have done three currently but I have more planned. I want my final outcome to be an editorial booklet showing off the different subcultures within society mainly highlighting the fashion aspects. I am working towards an A5 booklet documenting these people within society meaning that many of my photos will be unplanned so I will be taking my camera with me everyday and ask those who are alternative if I can photograph them meaning that this will be very experimental. I am planning on using backdrops for my next shoot but everything depends on the current situation so if things need to be changed then I can still focus on subcultures but instead of it being mainly fashion based I will start to photograph the music elements instead. Next I want to look into the work of Charles Peterson who does a lot of photography for the music industry photographing bands in motion such as nirvana capturing the mood of the scene. This will link in with the alt theme and give me more to experiment with.
Shoot Two: Working with subjects (portraiture) and experimenting with exposure
For this shoot, my main focus was experimenting with exposure in the style of Amanda Normans work with the graveyard setting. At the same time I wanted to practice with portraiture in a location setting and tried to use the exposure to create a deeper meaning.
I liked how these photos turned out however I think some were too overexposed such as the image on the top left. I liked how some of them were overexposed in the right places such as the bottom left photograph and I think I will continue to bring elements of this into my work throughout the project.
Shoot Three: Location Shoot
For this photoshoot, I went to a location that was very meaningful to me as it is where a family member is buried and it's a place where my nan goes regularly. I went to the catholic church as I was interested in the architecture and statues that were around and it was where I could get my first bit of graveyard photography in. When photographing, my main focus was just to get a collection of images ready for experimenting with some mixed media later on. I have plans to rip, tear and combine images in an experimental form so getting some more photos will help give me more to work with.
Shoot Four: Graveyard Photography
Contact sheets
Shoot Six: Graveyard photography
While on a long journey to go and collect something, I decided to take my camera along with me so I could do a couple of shoots while passing a few churches and graveyards. It wasn't planned as it was a last minute thing however I already had an idea of what I wanted to find and photograph. I stopped at two different locations, both were very old and had some good spots to photograph. The first location was a big church with an old graveyard surrounding it, As I already have a lot of photos of the same kind of thing I tried to focus more on my framing while getting the location in at the same time. It also had been snowing before we got to the locations meaning that the photos would be very different from my previous graveyard shoots.
Contact sheets
Favourite photos from the shoot
Shoot Seven: Graveyard and Church photography
For the second shoot, I came across another church with a graveyard however I really liked the gothic architecture of the building and it was something I haven't yet photographed in detail so my main focus for the shoot was to get some close up shots and different angles of the church while also having a walk round to try and find some other things to photograph. Out of the two shoots that I done, This is the one that I am really happy with as the architecture is shown well through my images and they turned out better than I thought they would with the snow in the air.
Contact sheets
Favourite photos from the shoot
Shoot Eight: Runes photography and Portraiture
As part of my project, I used my boyfriend who is a metalhead to photograph within a more gothic, architectural area to start linking my photos together. While out on a day trip, we went to multiple different chapel runes so I could again focus on a different style of gothic architecture linking to my subculture theme and stereotypes. The shoot was a success, however some of the portraits didn't come out how I wanted as I like the overexposed look making the photos look old, sort of like a style of film camera, therefore, I will focus more on portraiture to make this aspect stronger within my work.
Contact Sheets
Favourite Photos from the Shoot
Shoot Nine: Goth Photography (portraiture)
As I wanted to continue photographing people from different subcultures, I asked a few people if they would like to participate and one of the agreed. I used the same location as my first shoot and shot in the same style with the overexposed photos which create a deeper meaning. Some of my favourite photos came out of this shoot and being part of the same subculture made the shoot a lot more personal and meaningful.
Contact Sheets
Favourite Photos from the Shoot
Shoot Ten: Photographing Subcultures and Stereotypes
For my final photoshoot, I decided to go back and do a shoot that I wanted to do since the start that was cancelled due to the coronavirus restrictions at the time. To make my work more personal to me, I decided to be in my work with my boyfriend in a graveyard setting, linking to the stereotypes that people associate with us. I used a mix of self portraiture, portraiture and self directed work to create the photos, again experimenting with the settings to create overexposed photos as well as more monochromatic, desaturated photos to make them look older as if I was using a film camera. The weather on the shoot kept changing so I was constantly changing the camera settings and aperture to make sure some photos weren't way too overexposed or way too underexposed. This is one of my favourite shoots as I think the whole project is personal to me and links to me and being able to be part of it really brings it all together as I come to the end.
Contact Sheets
Favourite Photos from the Shoot
