Nyle JacksonProfessional Context.

Lo1-Develop creative/ conceptual proposals and solutions that critically appraise and synthesise individual research and visual development with flexibility and openness to new knowledge.

Lo2 - Employ self-initiated, lateral thinking approaches to problem solving, articulating ideas and intentions through perceptive and reflective strategies when formulating and presenting solutions.

Lo3 – Evaluate and indentify personally relevant external professional and commercial opportunities, demonstrating integration and synthesis with visual development.

Lo4 – Demonstrate evaluative decision-making and self management strategies that are clearly informed by an in depth analysis, research and critical visual judgement.

Negotiated learning plan.

Abstract: My intentions throughout this module are to create a portfolio pertaining to the style and genre of photography that I aim to go into. This being portraiture photography I will seek out professional portfolios to gauge the level of professionalism needed from my own photography.For this I will look at photographers such as Annie Leibovitz- who creates her very own style within celebrity portraiture. Other photographers I plan to look at include; Richard Avedon, David Bailey, Bettina Rhimes, Michael Robert Williams and more.After this I intend to spend time both inside and outside of the studio building up my portfolio to reflect the genre of photography that I would like to follow. That being portraiture, I plan to embody a mix of portraiture styles including;  Traditional, Environmental, Boudoir and Candid. I feel that these genres will make best use of my existing skills as well as push them to new heights in order to create a visually engaging, consistent and interesting portfolio, I also feel that these four styles have particular use in the commercial world and will be present in the developing world that we are living in.It will feature a mixture of angles, lighting, poses and environments to show my own flexibility and creativity as I will play the key role of creative director within every shot.

  Documentation 

To document this procedure I will implement the use of an online blog.On this I will feature all my research, concepts, developments etc until the completion of the module. This module will also connect to my other modules via the genre of photography used; portraiture.

Self-Generated AssignmentFor the self generated assignment I intend to work towards portraiture competitions. This will push me and my skills to deliver a professional and well thought piece of work for something that is beyond myself. I plan to enter 3 competitions. One national, one regional and one local. I plan to document all aspects of the competitions to gauge whether they will be suitable for my chosen genre of photography and to ensure my own eligibility for that particular competition.

  The work for this will begin promptly. I will source several kinds of model; both semi-professional and non

professional models. (Files will be produced on all models)There may be use of make-up artists, though for my personal choice, I personally prefer models do their own make-up. (files will be produced should a make-up artist be used)Dates and Locations to follow.

 

Portfolio of images.

After feedback on my original portfolio I have decided to concentrate specifically on portraiture as I feel that this is the genre I enjoy most and produce best work for.

My portfolio will take on a lot of change during this module.I plan to asses 4 sub-genres of portraiture photography;

Traditional portraiture. Boudoir Portraiture. Environmental Portraiture. Candid Portraiture. To do this I must first start by look at existing professional

portfolios and drawing from this what I need to create my own. I aim for my final portfolio to be visually engaging and interesting

for the viewing audience.

photographersRichard Avedon.Indira Cesarine.

Emma Jones.Michael Robert Williams

Photographer- Richard Avedon. http://www.richardavedon.com/

Indira Cesarine

Emma Jones. Founder of Miss Boudoir Photography, Emma Jones has been the recipient of several awards, includingDigital Art photographer of the year.

http://missboudoir.com/

Michael Robert williams

Competitions.To fulfil my assignment brief, I have decided to prepare submissions for 3 competitions. One national, one regional and one local, unfortunately, I seem to be finding national and international competitions more avaliable. This has lead me to find two international competitions (which will push me further to produce work of a higher standard.) And a national competition.

I have decided to prepare submissions for;

The Terry O’neil Photography awards. 2013 (http://www.oneillaward.com/)The Taylor Wessing portraiture awards. 2014.(http://www.npg.org.uk/photoprize1/site13/index.php)Shoot the face (monthly competition) (http://shoottheface.com/)

The O'Neil Photography award

Being an Internationally recognised award, the O'Neil award is in it’s 8th consecutive year.Winners will have their work exhibited in London, overseas and have it featured in the daily mail, as well as win a cash prize.

Judges include;

Terry O’NeillChair: Jon Jones, Director of Photography, Sunday Times MagazineLord Puttnam, film-maker and advertising industry pioneerAidan Sullivan, VP, Getty ImagesNina Berman, Associate Professor Columbia University, New YorkDr Michael Pritchard, Director-General, The Royal Photography SocietyBobbi Baker-Burrows, Director of Photography, Time-Life BooksVictoria Broakes, Victoria and Albert Museum (Curator, David Bowie Exhibition)Rosie Arnold, Deputy Executive Creative Director, Bartle, Bogle Hegarty Advertisin

The theme for this competition is a ‘compelling narrative’

http://www.oneillaward.com/)

Previous winning images.

1st prize- Alessandro Penso.2nd prize- Wendy Sacks.3rd prize- Mark Wilson.

The Taylor Wessing Portrait award.

The taylor Wessing portrait awards are supported by the National Portrait Gallery in London and run every year. Submissions are received from around the world.

Every year 60 images are chosen presenting new work to the world from around the world. In 2013 the competition attracted over 5,000 images from over 2,000 photographers around the world.

The competition also features the John Kobal New Work AwardThe John Kobal New Work Award will be awarded to a photographer under the age of 30 selected for the exhibition. The winning photographer will receive a cash prize of £4,000 to include undertaking a commission from the Gallery to photograph a sitter connected with the UK film industry. The Award was judged by Simon Crocker, Chairman of the John Kobal Foundation.There is no strict theme to

this competition, leaving the creative choices completely up to the individual.

http://www.npg.org.uk/photoprize1/site13/index.php)

Previous winning images.

Winners- Anoush Abrar. Dorothee Deiss Spencer Murphy. Giles price.

Shoot the faceShoot The Face is an International Portrait Photography Award.Their mission is to give all photographers the opportunity to showcase their amazing portraits on an international stage, both amateur and professional. Entries are recieved from all over the world.People can enter one, or multiple images, each image is judged as an individual portrait.At the start of every month there is a new contest.

(http://shoottheface.com/)

Previous winners

October 2013- Keiron Wise.

Test Shoot.

My test shoot for environmental portraiture went as follows.

For my environmental test shoot I decided to use ‘Bartender’ theme, I intended to capture set of bartenders in the environment they work in, using series of poses and instruments to show off a few skills.

Evaluations.1. I like the overall metallic, cold look to these images, but I feel that the lighting could be pushed further to create an even darker look.I would also like to complete the shoot again and prepare the images for HDR.2. In some of the images there are imperfections for example the umbrella being seen in the reflection of the bar. Better placement of lighting would have reduced this, however, would have resulted in a different direction of light. Perhaps another set-up or use of additional lighting could have prevented this.

3. I would also like to try more poses and perhaps put more into the concept of things, I would like to see how far I can push the creative boundaries within this type of portraiture.

4. I also think I cropped some of the images a little too closely, resulting in missing elbows, personally, I like this style of image as I think it adds focus and direction to the photograph, however, for the purposes of photography, I should have left a space between the edge of the person and the edge of the frame.

Q&A