Concept
The following images were all taken over two days. With my project I chose the word ‘Globalisation’, and decided that I wanted to examine how different countries reported news. In these portraits, my models are holding up the headlines of the most popular newspaper in their country, for the 2nd of December. A completely normal day. The news could be anything. I’ve also asked them to react to the news. I feel that this topic is extremely relevant in the modern day, especially with questions regarding ‘fake news’ becoming increasingly prevalent.
A gesture, an expression, an object remains just that —a literal detail of the overall image. Meaning thus operates at the most basic of levels, a simple recognition of what we look at: a smile, a table, a street, a person. But beyond this moment of recognition the reader moves to a second level of meaning, that of the ‘connotative’ aspects of the elements of the scene.
Clarke. 1997. Page 35.
I find the quote above to be really reasonable and intriguing way of looking at photography. It’s true that every image is made of simple signs and objects that we recognise, we ourselves then make a meaning out of the image. This relates perfectly to my work, as I’m hoping that my work is going to be deconstructed by the audience, so they can make their own meaning out of the images.
To me, the images show are meant to help people realise how news can be reported so differently, and perhaps to take a look at their own sources of news and question their priorities and validity. I also believe it’s just a fascinating look at what other news is like, and what tactics they use to retain readership. While the portraits are quite simple in nature, I really appreciate them for what they are. I believe that Michael Langford puts it best.
All the importance lies in the subject itself, and you want to show objectively what it is, or what is going on. Photography is evidence, identification, a kind of diagram of a happening. The camera is your visual notebook.
Langford. 2000. Page 2.
Influences
One of my primary influences for this project was the work of Jill Greenburg. She uses portrait photography in several different ways to evoke different emotions from her audiences. Quite a few of her works have also inspired quite a bit of debate and discussion, which is something that I’m hoping my work may be able to replicate. End Times, one of her most popular and controversial works, was one of my main inspirations for this project. It’s very uncomplicated, however is a great exploration of the dramatic nature in which toddlers can act. I appreciate the following quote from Greenburg during an interview with Fstoppers, as I feel it’s the same viewpoint I had when approaching my independent project.
I have always come to image making with more or less the same goals – I like making striking images, they are not always about the subject, but more my interpretation of the subject and the surface.
The rest of this interview can be found at this link.
When researching further into my project, I came across the video about portrait photography. The videos sums up why I think I’ve always been drawn to portrait photography. As the video states, it’s a very genuine type of photography, and much more relatable for the common audience. Portraits and self portraits have been used throughout history due to the reason that anyone can easyily connect with the human form, especially as something as personal as a portrait. It really helped reassure me that portraits were a viable form of photography to explore globalisation, and that I shouldn’t change my idea.
The final main influence for my work was Andreas Gursky. Most notably, his work regarding colour. After researching further into Andreas Gursky’s works I realised that I wanted to work more with colour in the future. However it also made me realise that for this piece of work, I can use colour to help reinforce the atmosphere of each portrait. While my use of colour is entirely different to how Gursky focuses on colour, it was thanks to his works that I realised my work could benefit from some colour.
Alternatives
Reflection
This brief allowed me to explore a subject that I’ve wanted to explore for a long time, I just wasn’t sure how I wanted to go about it. In reaction to the word ‘globalisation’, I have created images that I believe reflect the nature of the subject, however in a much more truthful light. My photographs explore not only what news is prioritised by different countries, but also the impact that this news has on the intended readers. I personally feel that I met the targets I set myself with the project. I hope that my final images make people question the world around them. I actually disagree with the quote below. Photography gives us the opportunity to see the world from several different perspectives, allowing us to seek alternatives to the mass media.
Photography implies that we know about the world if we accept it as the camera records it.
Sontag. 2002. Page 17.
Technically speaking I also feel a lot more familiar with photography equipment. For these images I only used a Canon 600D, a shoe mounted LED light and a tripod. I was able to adjust the ISO levels to get the smooth and well lit images, and adjust the focus to make sure my photographs looked crisp. I also knew to take the photographs at a high aperture so that both the model and Ipad could be in focus. I didn’t toy around with shutter speed as much as I would of possibly liked to, as my images are very still.
While I am happy with my final images, I wish I had a few more models come forward. The more images I could present the stronger the message I’m trying to convey can be received. By having other countries being represented, such as Japan, America and France for instance, the difference in news would be even more noticeable. I also wish that I had utilised gels over my lights to perhaps experiment with the nature of the portraits more too. Despite this, I am still thrilled with how my final images turned out.
Reference List
Clarke, G. (1997) The Photograph, Oxford University Press. Page 31.
Langford, M. (2000) Basic Photography (7th edition), London: Focal Press. Page 2.
Sontag, S. (2002) On Photography London: Penguin Modern Classics. Page 17.