Conclusion

Conclusion 

I have enjoyed the themes I have explored in this project as it is something I have never previously looked at. It is also interesting to look over the development of my project through to the final images and my ideas all link together. My favourite images in my photo essay are the two portraits of people at work, therefore if I had more time to continue this project I would take more portrait style images of people in a work place. This may be something I carry on with in my own time. 

Something I would improve on would be the street photography images as I also loved looking at this style of people in a work place. This is due to the difference between the portraits and street photography and the type of mood they portray. Furthermore, I am going to continue looking into street photography and linking this to people in the work place as it is interesting to look at different mundane jobs that most people would ignore if they were walking past. 

To conclude, my final photo essay links to the project brief as it portrays different peoples identity through what do as a job. It also has connotations of social issues in society through different peoples jobs as I have including images of both people with jobs in a shop, and then people on the streets. The fact that I have included a portrait of the people who are working in shops, but not of people who are working in streets may also impact this factor.

Final Images

Final Images 

My Images #5

My Images #5

I decided to take some more candid images of people in a work place and these images were taken at a market stall in the lanes in Brighton. I like looking at this candid side of photography in a work place as it can portray employees real feelings by their facial expressions and body language. 

These two images show an employee talking to two customers at his stall and they portray him engaging and in mid-conversation. As he was not aware I was taking these images, they convey a different side to people in a work place because he could generally enjoy his job, or he could also just be doing this to create a sale. Continuing from this, I want to take more portraits of people at their work place as this has worked a lot better than these candids. 

My Images #4

My Images #4

I have taken images of the owner of 'The Record Album' in Brighton to add to my collection of people at work. I decided to take both portrait style images and also candid shots of him whilst he was helping customers.

Here is my contact sheet:

 Here are my favourite images:

I am happy with these images I have taken as I love how interested the shop owner, George is in his collection of music in his store. These images link to my project as it portrays a relationship with someone and their work place, as well as representing him to the viewers in a particular way. The first  image that I have presented displays George looking out from the camera lens and this was because a customer was talking to him. The other images show him looking down and this could suggest that he is bored and tired. However, as I was talking to George for a while I found out that he absolutely loves his job and is very proud of the store he owns. This conveys that an even though an image looks a particular way, it is not necessarily the only meaning and message that it has. 

This is an interesting topic and I have decided that for my final piece I am going to display a few images of each shop keeper I go to, one being a portrait and a couple of them working. This is because it portrays two different sides to the individuals personality, as the portrait is more staged whereas the shots of them working are more candid. 

My Images #3

My Images #3

I have taken some images of an employee working in the 'Bluebird Tea Company' in Brighton and I wanted to take images in both a portrait style and a candid style.

Here is my contact sheet:

 Here are my favourite images: 

I decided to edit these images to black and white in as I like the effect the strong contrast gives. My favourite image is the first one I have displayed as the model is looking into the camera and her body language suggests she is proud of where she works as she appears confident. I also like the composition of this image due to the position of the model and the viewer can see the shop in the background. This gives some context of where the model is working. 

My Images #2

My Images #2 

Today I went into Brighton and took a few more images of people at work. This time, instead of going into shops I decided to take candid images of people who were working without them knowing I was taking it. I feel like this gives a sense of realism as it is how they really feel about their work. I went to the lanes to do this and took images of people at their market stools, as well as someone selling magazines. 

Here is my contact Sheet:

Here are some of my images:

My favourite image is the last one due to the body language of the subject. This image was taken on a cold day in the early evening, and this suggests that the man was tired and probably wanted to go home. I like that this image conveys a different side to working than the portrait style I have been researching. Next, I am going to take images of people working using a portrait style in order to get a comparison of the two different sides of this I want to look at for my final project images. 

Peter Meade - Photographer

Peter Meade - Photographer 

Peter tease is a freelance photographer who is best known as a polo photographer; however he also explores portraiture, street, travel and commercial photography. I have decided to look at him due to his work on people at work and his approach to this theme. 

Here are some examples of his work: 

I find these images interesting as they are not candid shots of someone in their work place, but they are portraits of people where they are working. I particularly like the second image due to the framing  of the model, as she looks natural and relaxed, even though she knows she is having her photograph taken. Furthermore, this links to how Meade uses portraiture techniques but still uses natural lighting and this element of the photography seems quiet candid. This is because he is likely to have turned up to take the models image unexpectedly. 

As I love this technique and find it inspiring I am going to take some photographs in this style of people in their work place. I want to be able to explore both a candid style and portrait style of photography of people in a work place and this gives me the opportunity to look into both sides. The only thing I don't like about this is the fact that in a portraiture set up the model may act differently or try and look happier for the camera. This is where I prefer the idea of candid images as they can portrays how the model really feels about their work. 

'Raw' Images

'Raw' Images 

Shooting with a raw setting on a DSLR allows you to process the image yourself to your liking, instead of letting the camera process it for you. When you upload a raw image to Photoshop, you are given more options to edit with and this lets you manipulate the image. 

This is my original image:

This is uploaded to Photoshop as a raw:

I decided to use the 'graduated filter' tool in order to play around with the tones across the image and demonstrate how you can change these. This took allows you to adjust settings of particular section of the image, furthermore I changed the contrast and saturation of the bottom left hand corner of this image. 

This is how the image would look:

To conclude, I am going to continue shooting in raw as is has given me more options to change different sections of image. I will use this for my final project images as in some shops where I will be photographing employees, the lighting with be natural and although this creates a sense of realism, it may not look great.

My Images

My Images 

I decided to go into Brighton and take some test shots in order to demonstrate how I am going to portray the people in my images, as well as getting an idea of how I want the images to look. First of all, I went into a florist and asked if I could take images of the owner as she was putting together a bunch of flowers. 

Here is my contact sheet:

Here are my favourite images:

I am happy with these images and I particularly like the lighting in the first image, as well as the colours as they match the composition. The shop owner is positioned to the left of the image and this balances out the busyness of the background. 

I then decided to do some street photography and I took this image of a man who is working on a drain in the road. I like how this image is more candid as they did not know I was photographing them and it makes it appear more natural. Furthermore, as I continue to take images for this project I want to focus on less talked about jobs like this so I am able to incorporate street photography into my work, as well as taking images of workers in shops. 

People at work - Presentation

People at work - Presentation 

As I have decided, to look on people at work I created a new elevator pitch to present to my class and tutor. In this I gave examples of artists images I have looked at and am inspired by, as well as an explanation of what I want to look at and why. 

People at work pitch from amygillespie12345

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