The concept of my project was to explore emotions and to be able to express them through the use of my photographs. I was able to develop my ideas by looking in to photographers that showcase and explore similar ideas.

Before shooting my photos i had to first decide what it is i wanted to show in my photos and where i wanted to take them. My project was able to closely follow my plan which allowed me to successfully achieve the final outcome that i wanted. I believe that my plan may have gone more smoothly when shooting if i was able to use more of my photos from shoot day one with my final photos. Something i came across that i found difficult when shooting was not being able to find a good day to shoot due to weather conditions. Another thing i found difficult was not being able to travel to different locations as much due to covid restrictions when shooting for my first shoot day. However things that were successful when shooting is that i was able to get images for my final photos and i was able to eventually travel to a different location when covid restrictions were eased.

The key research i did for my project was looking into photographers that explored similar ideas to what i was trying to show. For example i looked into a photographer called Wang Rong who is a commercial photographer who explores emotions. Looking at her photos it allowed me to gain a deeper insight to emotions which helped further develop my ideas. I also looked into some pinterest pages that showed me the type of photography i was exploring to again develop my ideas.

When shooting i used my Canon EOS 4000D with a EF-S 18-55MM lll Lens. I also used natural light to my advantage when shooting.

Shoot day 1: On the 29th of April i travelled down to bexhill to take my first shoots. On this day i took some test shots as well as photos i believed would be successful and appropriate to use in my final project. This day was both successful and unsuccessful. I believe the shot was unsuccessful and could’ve been done better due to the fact the models were wearing masks in the photos as it goes against my whole idea of the project of exploring emotions as its covering them up and not allowing us to see any emotions in the photos. However i believe this day was successful as i was able to take photos that i will be using for my final photos.

After day one of shooting i looked into the photos i had taken which helped me discover what i did well and what i can do differently next time. This shoot day allowed me to develop and progress my ideas. It helped me learn to not take photos that have face coverings involved so emotions can be shown and expressed on the model which is the idea i am trying to explore with my photos.

Shoot day 2: On the 20th May i travelled to Addington Park to take the final sets of my photos. On this day i took a few photos and was able to choose three of these photos to use towards my final six photos. I believe that on this day i took some very successful photos that show clear detail and also help add to the theme of my project. In my opinion i believe that none of my photos were unsuccessful due to them all achieving what i want to show overall.

After i had taken all of my photos i gathered all of my photos together and looked in to what photos were my favourite and also showed clear details and emotions to match my theme. I also looked in to what photos i believed were more overpowering and successful compared to the other photos. After doing this i was able to narrow down what photos would be my final photos which left me with three final images. When doing my photos i decided to shoot them all with natural light which allowed them to have the correct exposure. This meant that i didn’t need to edit my photos as i believed they were already well lit. I then put together all the photos to help tell a story. The first photo i selected to present was a photo i believe was the most powerful and the final photo i chose was to spread a message of happy endings and the chance of new beginnings.

Final Photos

When shooting my photos i first decided to gain feedback on a few of my test shots to allow me to develop my photos further and make any necessary changes that may have been suggested so i could shoot my final photos successfully.

I have set myself a schedule for shooting my photos so i can successfully take my photos and to also ensure i get all my work completed before the deadline. I chose to have my first shoot day on the 29th of April. On this day i took both test shots as well as photos i will be using for my final work. I will take my second set of photos and ensure that i have all my photos taken by the 22nd of May so i can have all my work ready to present by the 25th of May.

Once i have chosen my final set of photos i want to present them in a digital format and order them based on the emotions that are being seen. I will convey the narrative in the photos by selecting which order i want the images to be presented in and what ones best show emotions successfully.

Once i had taken all my photos i looked at all my photos as a whole which allowed me to explore and find out which ones are the most successful. This helped me narrow it down to three final photos which i put together to help tell a story. The first photo i selected to present was a photo i believe was the most powerful and the final photo i chose was to spread a message of happy endings and the chance of new beginnings.

On shoot day 1 i travelled to Bexhill to take photos at the seaside to help create different moods within my photos. The moods i was able to create was loneliness as well as a mood of new beginnings. I was also able to create the mood of happiness with my photos on these days.

On my second and final shoot day i travelled to Addington park. i travelled here to use parts of the park to my advantage to create a mood due to part of it appearing run down.

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These are all of the photos i took over both shoot day 1 and 2. Overall i believe 3 of these photos stand out the most and are the ones i will be using as my final photos.

The first 9 photos i have posted i took in Bexhill. I decided to go to Bexhill to help create the emotion of loneliness due to some parts of the area appearing rundown. Where as some areas where well lit creating more of a happy mood. The last 4 photo were taken in Addington park. When visiting this location i took my photos in front of a lot of greenery to show Life and happiness in the photos of the model smiling as well as to help show the area being run down in the second set of photos to help create the feeling of loneliness and sadness.

When beginning my research i looked in to photographers that explore emotions in their photography as well as what types of emotions they use which helped develop my ideas towards what kind of photos i want to take. Whilst doing my research i came across a photographer called Wang Rong.

Wang is a commercial photographer who is known as ’emotion photographer’. She has been in the photography business for 8 years in China. Wang’s photos are a great inspiration for my work and also helps influence and further develop my ideas due to her being able to successfully explore and portray emotions through her photos. Wang also uses multiple subjects in her photos which is something i plan on doing in my photos. She mainly photographed people crying and looking distraught which is something i want to explore in my photos.

Julia Fullerton-Batten is another photographer i came across when doing my research. Julia is a British fine art photographer. A photo by Julia that helped inspire and influence my ideas is a photo she has taken off a women’s reflection as she looks out a window on to a street in London. This photo helped further develop my ideas due to the photo exploring isolation which is something i also want to explore when taking my photos.

Test shots:

Before taking my final photos i decided to take some test shots to allow me to get an idea of what type of photos i want to take and to also allow me to find any mistakes and changes i may need to make when taking my final photos. If i believe any of my test shots were successful when i first took them i will use them as my final photos. When taking my first set of test shots i travelled to Bexhill and too some photos along the beach and at the beach. I chose to travel to this location because i believed it would allow me to greatly show isolation as well as sadness due to the area containing very few people

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A photo i believe was successful and i will most likely use when it comes to my final photos it a portrait photo which also uses a mid shot. In the photo we can see a model sitting on stairs with her head in her hands which makes her appear upset. The photo also includes a run down surrounding which helps add to the mood of the photo

Audience response:

Before completing my final photos i asked 2 people to view my test shoots and to answer 4 questions as a response to them.

The questions i asked as well as the responses are:

What is your opinion on the photos?

R: I love the photos i think they work well individually and a series. I also think they’re all very powerful and have been shot very well.

M: I think the photos are very different and interesting. I think the photos work well on their own and they create a good concept

What could’ve been done better?

R: Maybe you could photograph people without a mask so you can see their emotions more clearly.

M: Maybe take the photos at different places and to take them at different angles and from different profiles such as front and back also could take the photos in black and white to help add to the theme of loneliness.

What was successful?

R: You have shot them all really well and have used natural light in your favour.I think the portrait photo has been shot really well and portrays the theme of emotion excellently.

M: You have taken a good set of photos which are also all very different and show different things.

What do you think the idea behind the photos are?

R: I think the idea of the photos was people and emotions.

M: i think the idea is to show people struggling, being sad, alone and show different emotions.