Developing your work

 Developing your work

Development relates to improving and refining your work and it can be approached in a couple of ways. (See the link in the sidebar "Mistakes students make re Development'. 

Covid scenario

Given the issues around Covid and the fact that this work will have to be completed at home where you have no access to hard-copy resources, the development aspect will have to rely on the development of photographic skills and the idea. In essence the work has to be seen to improve over a series of stages.

I would suggest that you do it this way...

Do some research into what it is you might shoot. What we might do is during one of the teams sessions we'll all brainstorm ideas for 'Decay' maybe add pictures to the chat and share ideas. Once you have a an idea or two then start to shoot.

Stage 1. Keep it simple and basic in order that it can be developed further. Shoot it on your phone using a really basic setting. Remember each of these stages needs to be planned . 

The more basic the 'Phone shoot' the more opportunity for it to be developed further at the next stage. So don't give any real consideration to the light or the composition, just do the first shoot almost as visual notes, just to get something to work with and develop further. Perhaps only shoot 9-12 images and do a pages worth for the design sheet, that way one of your developments will be to shoot more the next time to give you more options. 

Put the work into the design sheets following the creative process.

Your reflective work should reiterate the fact that this was just a basic shoot and the next stage you'll look to improve it further. In your plan (intention) explain what you'll do to improve the work. This might include using a DSLR, shooting more images - walking around your subject, trying different focal lengths, view-points, angles compositions etc.

Stage 2. Shoot with your DSLR, but again keeping it basic, maybe use your WB in auto mode and shoot in auto-exposure mode and auto ISO? Hand hold the camera. Don't give any consideration to the light - again approach the subject in a relaxed way as you still need to develop the work further still at least one more time. 

Put this work in the design sheet in accordance with the creative process.

Stage 3. Shoot with your DSLR like a pro. (a) Use a tripod. (b) Consider the light; plan it in terms of the light being point light or diffuse explain what impact that has on the image in terms of enhancing the sense of decay. (c) Use your camera manually and use the correct white balance for the light situation (d) Bracket the shots. (c) Shoot on Raw + JPEG files, (e) Explore the subject by walking around it shooting lots of images, shoot using different focal lengths, viewpoints and perspectives. (f) Shoot horizontal and vertical images and maybe angled too. 

If you're shooting small objects maybe go further by introducing different backgrounds, lighting it with different lights, use reflectors or a flash gun if you know how to control it subtly. 

You can go on and shoot more stages if you wish (and have time) looking to improve the work further still. 

Another examples of development is - If you don't know how to use your flash on your camera and you do a series of experiments figuring how that works and identify those experiments in your work - that's skills development and that's another aspect that counts.

Changing the idea and improving it - is ideas development. So for example, you might start off with something small you've found. (1). You can shoot it where you found it, but that may not make a really interesting image and you're limited to the light in the area and the surround stuff might look untidy and cluttered and may be the same kind of colours as your subject so the whole thing looks lost and has no impact. (2). You could move it to somewhere else with a better background that's more suited? (3). You could pick it up and take it home start experimenting with your own backgrounds. (4) Now you're at home start controlling the background enhancing that perhaps or use your light more appropriately? That's all ideas development rather than skills development. 

Leaves

These fallen leaves have started to decay and merge into the tarmac floor. If you look around you'll see that different surface give different affects and the leaves look different as they gradually degrade and rot.

But the same leaves could be taken home and worked with on different backgrounds, the potential to develop the idea as a still life is enormous. 

As with all of these assignments the more you look at photography (Books, journals and quality websites) see www.listofphotographers.blogspot.com and search 'Decay' the more you'll be able to generate ideas. If I was doing this I'd probably have ideas initially based on things I know I can get access to locally...

Another example of how work can be developed in terms of the idea...

If you're really interested in a theme like fashion and you get a project