Task Analysis

I decided for my graded unit assignment that I wanted to do still life in the classic Flemish style. I then thought of themes that I could incorporate in to this which turned out to be the theme of colour. I wanted to create a visual narrative with this so I came up with the idea of making my series of 10 images go through the colour order of the rainbow. Each photograph would be influenced by a certain colour whether that be the subjects or backdrops. After this I realised that this was still quite a vague project so I gave myself another challenge of adding at least 1 piece of fruit to each composition.

Planning and Development

At the start of the process, in my head I had the idea of having lots of subjects in the frame, however, once being in the studio a few times it was suggested to me to pull back from my compositions and edit down subjects to give them space which made my final images a lot cleaner and visually pleasing.

I also wanted all of my images to be dark yet still have a lot of detail in them, although for my light green and light blue image I made them bright however this suits the subjects in the frames as they are both light settings such as a tea party etc.

While writing the proposal I didn’t know what my subjects for any of the images were going to be or if there were going to be any more underlying themes. I thought it would make the whole process easier if I planned it out so I made notes on what I could use in the compositions so I know beforehand what I need to get and then plan what shoots should come first. I also made sure I used subjects that have connections with each other so there was no confusion between having lots of objects that clash. This then went on to include more themes so each image has its own background storyline.

For my presentation, I put in my proposal that I wanted my graded unit to be printed on textured paper so it would give the illusion that the photographs were actually painted just like how Flemish art started. This however took a turn for the worse as it was too expensive for me to do this, so I went with them being printed at college. I sent them here because I know this is reliable, cheap and good quality.

My lighting also changed as well from my original diagrams on my proposal as either they didn’t work, they would look better with other equipment or I physically couldn’t put the lights where I wanted to put them. I managed to work through this and get the lighting how I wanted it quickly and efficiently.

Negative Aspects

What I was weak in when completing my project was that I didn’t have a lot of confidence in what I was doing and was quite nervous before shoots in case they didn’t turn out the way I wanted. Fortunately, this wasn’t the case as when I left the studio each time I was happy with my work and my confidence grew throughout the process.

Another weakness of mine was not paying full attention as in my brown shoot I thought I had completed it until I was clearing up and noticed I had forgotten to add the chilli in to the composition which was the most important part. This meant I had to set it up again and start from the top.

Positive Aspects

My strengths were that I had good time management skills and was able to get slots in the studio every week. I was also organized by planning what shoots I would do when weeks in advance. This meant I wasn’t stressed and had lots of time to prepare.

I was also strong with my compositions once I started to pull back and provide more space between subjects in the frame. While buying/finding my subjects I had a rough idea in my head what the composition would be for when it came to my time in the studio. I also thought about the position of the table within the frame and whether it should be placed centre or left and right. This was also determined with the sequence of my images as I didn’t want there to be overlaps.

Areas for Improvement/Knowledge Gained

What I have learned from this process is that being organized and keeping control of time is essential if you want to have your work at a high standard. It also makes it easier to be prepared well in advance for shoots as you save time and have longer to perfect it.

Planning beforehand what your compositions are going to be is also important as it gives you time to think and maybe reconsider your idea with time to spare. You also get to talk to others and get opinions on what would be best.

In post-production I kept it simple which was what I decided to do from my proposal because I wanted my final shots to look as close to the original image as possible. However, I did use some new techniques that I hadn’t tried before such as colourising as I changed the background on my pink image from red to pink to fit the theme and I blurred the image on my light blue photo and painted back the detail in the foreground.

If I were to do this project again I would do it differently by being more creative with my backgrounds and explore different textures and materials that I could use for this as I mostly used cotton sheets to create folds.

I would also book more studio time as most of the time I double booked so I was in for the full day for 2 shoots. This made it very difficult to transport my props and backdrops as they were very heavy and a lot to carry meaning I had to ask for lifts from my family.

Conclusion

Overall I am very happy with my outcome for my graded unit although there are some improvements that could be made. I stuck to my original idea from my proposal with only slight changes. I have managed to complete a series of 10 images with a colour narrative of warm and cold colours representing the rainbow in the classic Flemish style of still life.