FMP Project Proposal

I am a freelance Street/Social Documentary/Photojournalism photographer who aims to create thought provoking and meaningful photographs that inform the public of problems and events that are historically and culturally important, technically effective with a strong point of view. I am passionate about photographs that are built up from within rather than superficial images and raising awareness of social injustices. I am dedicated to creating visual imagery that is eternally bound to reality and though visual communication I will extend my ideas to incite political and social change. Since I began capturing images during my A Level in Photography in 2009, my practice has evolved in many ways and I have found that through my progression as an artist I have come to understand what notions are significant to me and where I would like to take my practice in the future.

My Final Major Project will allow me to combine all of my new and existing skills and experiences to build upon and implement my concepts via a more personal and experimental approach. I will consider all skills gained from completion of assignments throughout the whole course, including communication skills, critical thinking, analysis and evaluation, research and influences as well as installation of artwork for an exhibition. This will enable me to complete my final major project to a high standard and push my practice further in consideration of creativity and work produced thus far.

The concepts, characteristics and styles of photography that my portfolio mainly deals with include; structure and scale, street photography, people, analogue photography, reflections, black and white imagery, incidental moments, portraits, texture, night photography, culture, event photography and experimental photography. Although this results in a broad range of images, I feel that this is due to studying on a HND in Photography for the past two years. If I wasn’t in Higher Education I feel that my images would reflect my personality much more than they currently do due to working to assignment briefs and time limitations when regarding personal projects. I would use my images as a creative outlet, to share my perspective on factors such as culture, society and economy as well as expressing my opinions and beliefs.

Below are a selection of images that I took throughout the early stages of my photography, most of which I took during my A Level in photography. Although I continually experimented shooting both on location and in the studio, it is evident from these that my style of photography had not yet developed and I had not explored any particular specialism. 

 

 

 

I was initially interested in Landscape and Still Life photography so this is evident in a large amount of my early work, however after I completed my A Levels I became interested in street and documentary photography.

Below shows my more recent work; photography that I have produced whilst studying on the HND and personal images I have taken. I believe my photography has progressed significantly throughout the last couple of years as I have come to understand the techniques, processes, skills and knowledge required to capture effective photographs.

  

 

I have utilised a variety of different lenses in my recent work, including 18-55mm, 50mm, 35mm and 70-200mm. I have also experimented with different techniques and processes both in camera and in the darkroom, some of these include; shooting in low lighting conditions, gum bichromate, split grade printing, solarisation, dodge and burn, colour printing, long exposure photography, cyanotypes, depth of field, studio/on location photography and many more.

Due to the advancements in digital photography and the Internet, the practice and market for photojournalists has evolved significantly. This has meant that more photojournalism photographers have been displaying their work in photo books, art galleries and photo streams, such as Flickr and other online social media outlets.

I feel that my portfolio, as it currently stands, would best be viewed online via sites such as Tumblr, Facebook, Flickr and my personal blog. This is due to the wide range of photographs that are included in my portfolio as well as the lack of narrative and themes within the portfolio as a whole. However my photographs that tell a story and work as a series, such as my images taken to depict life in Istanbul, would be suitable to be displayed on gallery walls or in a photo book. Exhibiting my personal photography projects is something that I wish to achieve in the future, as well as creating multiple photo essays, which would then be made into photo books.

Studying Photography at Higher Education has helped greatly to mould me into the artist I wish to become. It has provided me with the opportunity to hone my skills, creative intentions, technical abilities and knowledge across all platforms within the medium of photography. The knowledge and skills I have gained has impacted the ways in which I can communicate and present my ideas to a broader audience.

My final aim for my career is to g into the photographic industry, working as a full-time professional Photojournalism photographer. My own personal experiences of life within our society has strongly encourages me to document human beings and their stories through candid techniques rather than creating an artifical photograph to make money. For this reason, there are many different photographic porjects that I wish to undertake in the future and some of these explore issues including; poverty, wealth, women's and animal rights, mental health issues, discrimination, refugees and migrants, gender identity, equality and imprisonment. 

After leaving Solihull College, I will be going into the second year of a BA in Photography at Wolverhampton University. Studying further at this institution will give me a broad and valuable understanding of photography as an art form, industry standard and professionalism. All of which I have acquired a general understanding of via completion of a HND in Photography.

I am hoping that my bachelor's degree in Photography will improve my employability prospects and after graduating from University, I aim to exhibit and print my work in national publications, sell my photographs and after establishing myself I would like to carry out photography workshops in my local area, Birmingham and the surrounding West Midlands region. As I am hoping to work on a freelance basis I would need to be in contact with professionals who are in a position to publish my photographs, such as editors working at various news publications. Gaining my own press ID card by becoming a member of a photojournalist association would grant me access to many difference events and will prove to be a great source of information.

Alongside selling my photographs to publications, I am interested in publishing my own work online - via my professional website - as well as holding exhibitions to display my personal work. Social networking will aid me in promoting my work and myself as a photographer as well as interacting with potential clients, other photographers and past clients. Keeping viewers up to date on my projects and daily activities will help me to gain a following on both a professional and personal level. Whilst exhibiting my work will be a great way to sell my photographs, establish and raise my profile as well as gaining valuable experience.