Proposal

My interest for this assignment is the female form. I have explored this subject in a previous project, however I wish to modify the type of work I have already produced so I will have to research practitioners that allow me to adapt my own work to be stronger. It might prove difficult to find models which I photographed last time I ventured into this subject, although I am more confident to ask people now as I have examples of the images I want to produce so that they won’t jump to conclusions. I am going to extend my previous project by using light and the camera in different ways and placing the models in unique positions that highlights their body parts to create interesting shapes.

I am going to photograph in black and white for this subject. The black and white shows sophistication to the image and continues an old tradition that black and white can only be fine art photography. I shall be shooting in medium format due to the quality it provides, however it is costly due to only being able to capture 16 images on my Bronica ETRS. Shooting on 35mm will provide manoeuvrability and is cost effective as 36 images are capable, however quality will be greatly reduced, which is vital for creating crisp prints; this is something that I am striving for.

I intend to produce large-scale prints however I also think that these images would look very effective in a book. This is because viewing them in a book is very personal and sometimes people feel awkward with this subject. A book provides them the method to privately view the work in their own time.

As I have photographed the female form before and struggled to find models I know that this will be a challenge that I will have to overcome. I will be photographing in studios, which is easy to cater as I have home studio equipment and a studio in college that I can book out. As well as a protected environment for the model, the studio will also allow me to control the lighting accurately. I also intend to use film so I will need access to film development chemicals and potentially the darkroom, although I could scan my negatives and work digitally from then on.

I will need to research more practitioners who photograph the nude and female form so that I can explore new techniques and styles, I will access this information on websites like Pinterest and personal websites of the practitioners. I may also look at books, which might give me more detailed information. I will also need to plan lighting accurately and experiment with lighting to produce more stimulating images.

As I have previously produced work, I have already got some research completed, which will allow me to start photographing almost immediately. I will then complete other research at times when models are not available, which I will use to refine and develop my ideas further.

I will determine the success of my work using a critique and continuous evaluations of the images I am producing. Then I will be able to act on the feedback and improve the work I have produced. This project will be marked against unit 6 and unit 7.

Week-by-week plan

Week 1 – Start assignment; write proposal, final decision on subject

Week 2 – Initial research of practitioners; start to find models

Week 3 – Start shooting and continue model search, artist research and plan photo shoot in the meantime.

Week 4 – More photo shoots, continue model search, evaluate previous shoots and develop, artist research in meantime

Week 5 – More photo shoots, continue model search, evaluate previous shoots and develop, artist research in meantime

Week 6 – More photo shoots, model search if necessary, evaluate previous shoots and develop, artist research in meantime

Week 7 – Half term, more photo shoots if necessary, evaluate previous shoots and develop, artist research in meantime

Week 8 – Last photo shoots if necessary, get finals printed, critique on Friday, artist research in meantime

Week 9 – Frame final pieces, final piece to be handed in on Friday

Week 10 – FMP show on Monday, finish artist researches

Week 11 – Finish organisation of sketchbook/blog, final sketchbook/blog hand in date on Friday

Week 12 – End of college on Friday