Evaluation

During the course of the still life module, I have gained and developed my skills, knowledge and experience when producing work within this area of photography. Throughout this module I have completed five mini-assignments, containing a brief including an area of still life photography and also a brief written by myself creating an individual learning agreement, that focused on one of the given areas to photograph. The past 12 weeks has expanded my knowledge on still life and shown me that it has a much wider range of areas that can photographed and still be classed as still life. The area’s I have produced research for and photographed were food photography, product photography, Vanitas and Nature morte inspired photography, documentary still life and Digital Montage.  Each one of these area’s of still life photography were very new to me, but through seminars, techniqual workshops and producing images I quickly adapted and developed an understanding of each area.

The decision to continue on to Level 6 to produce fine art or commercial photography was definitely apparent in this module to help and guide us, through the different area’s of still life photography. With food and product photography being included in the commercial side and documentary, digital montage, vanitas and nature morte being fine art photography, it has been a great insight and experience to continue from other modules and learn what other genre’s of photography have to offer and help continue into what area to focus on next year. Each one of these types of still life whether fine art or commercial, has shown me what different skills are required depending on what is being photographed and what environment it is in. Such as the commercial side very much being photographed in a studio based environment with the use of capture one and Photoshop, and the fine art side also shot with the use of the studio, but can also be produced by photographing on location.

From learning and producing work that represents each area of still life has lead me to become even more of an individual learner and helped me realise which area of photography I am most interested and skilled. Having lectures, tutorials, workshops in the studio and working with a group have all assisted with my development in still life photography, but also photography as a whole. The structure of the module also contributed to this. As each area of still life photography that I researched and then created during shoots only lasted for two weeks, it was a great way to having to produce work and images to show on a schedule in a short time. It was motivating to want to research the still life types of photography and then shooting very much straight away and having group critiques the following week to gain feedback on our work. It was helpful to have feedback from other students and tutors, so that whatever was said could be acted against in future shoots.

The individual learning agreement was a productive and insightful way to progress on to what area of still life photography I could preform my best. Choosing Documentary still life photography was a decision I made to focus on because I felt my interest towards that area was a lot stronger than any of the others. My skills were a lot stronger when performing and producing images that represented documentary still life. I had a lot more idea and overall enjoyed doing this part of the module the most.

 I plan to continue onto Level 6 with the purpose to produce fine art photography. I am more drawn to this area rather than commercial, because I prefer working on location and in day light rather than in the studio. I hope to continue working in the studio and progressing my skills, which can be used in fine art photography that can further my work and ideas even more. My ideal specialism in fine art photography would be documentary. Personally I think that the stories that can be told through this type of photography are much stronger than any other, which is what makes me so interested in it and producing still life documentary work, has taught me knew ways of what and how I can photograph.

Overall this module has taught me many things and has introduced me to different genres of photography that I have never produced, or thought about photographing before. Food and product photography introduced me to the more commercial side of still life, that has taught me new skill and techniques when working in a studio environment, such as the lighting and ways to use the software capture one to gain the best results, and also how to style products so they look great on camera whether it is a product or food. The three other still life genre’s that were completed in the fine art scheme of things also showed me a lot about still life photography. Before this module I would never of though that documentary or digital montage could be called still life, but now after producing and creating images to represent them, I can now see why.

This module has been a success and enjoyment to complete from start to finish, due to the diverse range of areas within still life photography, and how each one has had something to offer in terms of the different skills needed and how they can be used, which will benefit a photography career in any field. If I were to do anything different during this module it would definitely be to shoot more. If I did this, I would have developed even further in still life photographer and would of produced better results. Another downside to this project was my final prints. I sent my images to be printed from a company called DSColour labs. They did not come back how I expected them too, which was not very good. They are all darker than the actual images are and the resolution is not good either, I would definitely choose a different method of printing next time as I did not have the time to send them off to be printed again anywhere else. Furthermore, I think I have gained and achieved many different skills and developed in photography to a higher level. The module has taught me to become a more individual learner and also to become more comfortable working in a team. I have enjoyed this module thoroughly and will definitely continue to develop my skills in still life photography.