Initial Ideas:
Concept, Idea or an Issue.
Concept: I would like to investigate Documentary photography focusing on a variety of relationships within an individuals life and the difficulties in which they include. I plan to specifically focus on the relationships around me and reveal how they differ behind closed doors by shooting people in their homes and comfortable spaces.
Illustrated Project Proposal
My Personal
investigation is: to create a visual
record of different relationships around me to portray the hardships and positive moments that they endure in the style of documentary photography. I plan to capture raw moments between people to show the truest reflection of the present moment.
Background
I've decided that I would like to focus
on documentary photography within the home and everyday places such as college or friends houses. I don't want my pictures to seem or feel set up as they will be capturing the natural moments between people. it might be difficult to carry out this investigation as people act differently when they know they're being photographed or watched so I will try and shoot a lot of my images without them knowing.
I'd like to begin this subject with shooting "how people communicate with each other in different kinds of relationships" I expect to find that there will be a difference in communication in same sex relationships to opposite sex relationships. For example I would expect two male friends to communicate differently to a boy and a girl. Additionally I expect there to be differences in communication and interaction dependant on the type of relationship whether it be romantic, platonic or familial.
Illustrations - Inspirational Images
Whilst researching photographers, I came across a few photographs that have also influenced me as well, such as the images below
This image inspires me as it shows a whole household of people spending time together in different areas of the house. I like the composition as it has been used cleverly to ensure that everyone is playing a part in the image. In the forefront a man and little girl are talking on the sofa, I will assume it is her grandfather due to the age gap. She is probably quite young around 3-4 due to her size and the way she is sitting shows that she can't sit still. On the left hand side in the background a woman and a man are shown to be doing what I assume if cooking dinner as the woman is leaning over concentrating similar to the man behind her, whilst the other two people on the right hand side in the background are setting the table. From all of this observation it is clear that this is a family getting ready for dinner up the table, therefore I am guessing that they are very close and probably do this regularly due to the organisation and calmness in the house. The photographer has used a depth of field to ensure that everyone is portrayed in the image the right way so that the final shot is not too noisy.
The composition of this image really inspires me and will influence a lot of my future work. The photographer has clearly paid close attention to where each person is in the image and been able to tell a story. The mother and son are seen at the table together giving each other direct eye contact as they have a conversation, they appear bold and darker in the image due to the very light background behind them. This makes them seem quite important. The father is out of focus in the forefront and his face isn't shown in the image, however he is also darker and obviously larger than the two in the background due to his proximity to the camera. At the same time that this makes him seem really important and physically strong, it creates an idea that maybe he is a quieter character in the household as his face isn't shown and therefore no communication is shown between him and the others. I assume that this is their morning routine as there is a bowl of cereal at the table and the father is making some hot drinks maybe tea or coffee which suggests that even though he might be a quieter member of the family that he still plays a vital role as a caregiver as such.
This image inspires me a lot because it is personally relatable to my own life as this image depicts a big family spending time together. I can assume from this image that it can be quite noisy with five children. I also like how even though not everyones face is shown in the image everyone still has a vital part in the shot and the family. Some things that I particularly notice in this image are the man sitting on the sofa with his hand on the top of his head and the other resting on his leg as he seems to be looking more stressed or unhappy than the others, seeming rather distant and almost out of place in the picture. This type of image will directly influence some of my own photography in the future as I have a big family myself that I like to try and include all of them into a shot at one time which has been done very nicely here.
Photographic Techniques
I would like to explore multiple techniques within my project.
Firstly I would like to look at using a shallow depth of field, I feel that using this technique when capturing special moments between people can really emphasise the feeling within the shot as it draws more attention to a specific area in the image such as an individuals face.
I may also explore the use of converting Images to black and white during the editing process. A photographer I am looking at, Kirsten Lewis, uses this technique in a lot of the documentary family portraiture that she shoots. It seems to give the images a very intimate feel, almost an older, nostalgic feeling due to the connotation between black and white imagery and the time before coloured photographs and television.
The final technique that I would like to look at is composition and camera angles. Repetition of shape and pattern in an image can be pleasing, and the aim is to be able to frame the people in my images with the setting around them and still using the decisive moment, as setting an image up is impossible in documentary to capture the raw moment. Within this idea I will use the technique of framing on the thirds as it is a reliable and well used technique.
Illustrations - Inspirational Images
Whilst researching photographers, I came across a few photographs that have also influenced me as well, such as the images below
This image inspires me as it shows a whole household of people spending time together in different areas of the house. I like the composition as it has been used cleverly to ensure that everyone is playing a part in the image. In the forefront a man and little girl are talking on the sofa, I will assume it is her grandfather due to the age gap. She is probably quite young around 3-4 due to her size and the way she is sitting shows that she can't sit still. On the left hand side in the background a woman and a man are shown to be doing what I assume if cooking dinner as the woman is leaning over concentrating similar to the man behind her, whilst the other two people on the right hand side in the background are setting the table. From all of this observation it is clear that this is a family getting ready for dinner up the table, therefore I am guessing that they are very close and probably do this regularly due to the organisation and calmness in the house. The photographer has used a depth of field to ensure that everyone is portrayed in the image the right way so that the final shot is not too noisy.
The composition of this image really inspires me and will influence a lot of my future work. The photographer has clearly paid close attention to where each person is in the image and been able to tell a story. The mother and son are seen at the table together giving each other direct eye contact as they have a conversation, they appear bold and darker in the image due to the very light background behind them. This makes them seem quite important. The father is out of focus in the forefront and his face isn't shown in the image, however he is also darker and obviously larger than the two in the background due to his proximity to the camera. At the same time that this makes him seem really important and physically strong, it creates an idea that maybe he is a quieter character in the household as his face isn't shown and therefore no communication is shown between him and the others. I assume that this is their morning routine as there is a bowl of cereal at the table and the father is making some hot drinks maybe tea or coffee which suggests that even though he might be a quieter member of the family that he still plays a vital role as a caregiver as such.
Photographic Techniques
I would like to explore multiple techniques within my project.
Firstly I would like to look at using a shallow depth of field, I feel that using this technique when capturing special moments between people can really emphasise the feeling within the shot as it draws more attention to a specific area in the image such as an individuals face.
I may also explore the use of converting Images to black and white during the editing process. A photographer I am looking at, Kirsten Lewis, uses this technique in a lot of the documentary family portraiture that she shoots. It seems to give the images a very intimate feel, almost an older, nostalgic feeling due to the connotation between black and white imagery and the time before coloured photographs and television.
The final technique that I would like to look at is composition and camera angles. Repetition of shape and pattern in an image can be pleasing, and the aim is to be able to frame the people in my images with the setting around them and still using the decisive moment, as setting an image up is impossible in documentary to capture the raw moment. Within this idea I will use the technique of framing on the thirds as it is a reliable and well used technique.
Photographers
research:
I have researched different styles of
documentary photography, but am narrowing it down to images that solely focus on people and relationships. I have found familiar photographers that I have already
studied before like Richard Billingham, as well as new photographers such as Nick Waplington, Kirsten Lewis and Agata. Most of these
photographers are current and have a lot of new work shot within the past 5 years however photographers like Billingham shot in the 80's and Waplington from 1995 - 2015. This is quite obvious in the images through clothing and furniture etc. Also the visual quality of the newer images is a lot higher due to newer cameras and technology. However a few of the new photographers I am looking at still edit their images and make them black and white so some of the images still have an older feel.
I plan to approach this project by always having my camera around my neck so I am always prepared to shoot when something happens, as my images wont be set up or planed and are dependant on the decisive moment, so this will be necessary to capture the rawest moments. Additionally I will play close attention to the interactions between my friends and their partners, my family with each other such as my grandparents relationship with each other, and my parents. I might also include a feel of my relationship with the person in the image through them holding an already existing image of us two in the shot.
Richard Billingham
Richard Billinghams photography focused on his father Raymond, his mother Elizabeth and sometimes his brother. His father Ray was an alcoholic and stayed inside the home to avoid getting ill, his mother mostly smoked cigarettes. This image was shot around 1994-1996 captures a side to their relationship that many might not see, illustrating Liz shouting at Ray in their home whilst he looks slightly disappointed with himself. Not all of Billinghams photography was perfect and clear however he liked to portray the essence of their lives which was in a lower class, essentially living in poverty in England. Therefore the way he shot his images were relevant to what Billingham wished to convey.
Again this image is also between 1994-1996, focusing on Liz and Ray and the relationship that they share. Although a married couple, Liz appears to be somewhat of a caregiver to Ray as he has grown ill with his alcoholism. This image depicts Liz giving Ray some boiled eggs to eat as he sits with his arms stretched out and a smile on his face looking very pleased about this. She seems comfortable in her role as a caregiver for Ray and I can only presume that this has been her role in the relationship for quite some time.
Nick Waplington
From 1984, Waplington would regularly visit his grandfather on the Broxtowe Estate in Aspley, Nottingham, where he began to photograph his immediate surroundings. Friends and neighbours of his family became his subject matter of choice. He continued with this work on and off for the next 15 years and from it came two books (Living Room and Weddings, Parties, Anything) and numerous exhibitions. This image depicts a woman next to an ice cream truck with three little girls all wearing dresses which would suggest it is a warmer day. They are outside of a housing estate but it looks as if they have been for a walk with the youngest girl in a buggy. The oldest girl is shown to be getting money off of the woman for some ice cream whilst the other two girls stand eagerly next to her.
This image shows the woman from the last image hitting or pushing what I assume to be a man in front of her, whilst everyone else sits around in this room appearing unaffected by this suggesting that this kind of aggresive and rowdy behaviour was normal in the household. The two small girls are very close with the man on the sofa and I would assume that they are either his children or nieces. Another woman is shown at the forefront of the image facing the rest of the room whilst holding another small child. It is clear that this is a very large but close family.
Kirsten Lewis
Kirsten Lewis grew up in Connecticut from a photographer mother. She is a former BA of child psychology graduate, elementary school teacher and considered to be one of the best documentary family photographers in the world. These images are a lot more intimate than the last images I looked at as they have been converted to black and white, all of the individuals in the images are quite close to the camera and each other and their faces are very expressive. Kirsten plays with the focus in images to create a sense of warmth and intimacy for the family portraits. This image depicts what seems to be a mother laying in her bed with her two daughters lying each side of her, two of them laughing and one with a cheeky grin on her face. The mother is holding the girls arm which suggests that all three are very emotionally and physically close.
This image depicts an intimate moment between a mother and daughter, with the young girls hand on her mothers face whilst laying on the sofa and the mother looking at her with loving eyes. The strong bond between the two is so clear and emphasised by the angle of the image, as if the viewer is secretly watching in on the special moment like a fly on the wall, which is ultimately what documentary photography is all about ensuring that the images are candid.
Camera angles, black and
white, colour saturation (Martin Parr) and shallow depth of field, I will also
explore computer experiments and physical images.
