Graduate Show Build
This week we built the graduate show and set everything up ready for exhibition. The process of doing this was stressful as there was a lot to do, and we had to do this alongside adding finishing touches to our projects. My chosen way to exhibit my work was to create a hole in my board, in order to show my video as if it is part of the board as I feel this looks professional. Over the week we have arranged the boards by sanding, painting, and moving them around with the help of the technicians. I documented some of the process on my professional Instagram account, with the hashtag #brightonshow18 so it is likely to be seen. Below is a photograph of the finished exhibition space at the end of the week.
Evaluation/Rationale
At the beginning of my final major project, my ideas were very broad and I had planned to focus my project on the theme of feminism. The intention for this project, was to produce work that wasn’t revolved around the stereotypical areas of feminism such as: body hair, periods, etc. I wanted to focus on global issues that didn’t just affect Western culture such as, child marriage etc. My first initial research was around these areas, and I brainstormed some ideas to do with this theme. As my research progressed, my interests and ideas started to change. I found myself watching a lot of
documentaries, and started producing ideas around this aesthetic. As well as this, my topic started to change and I wanted to focus my project on something that was personal to me, which is my reason for chosing culture as a theme.
As I originated from Portugal, I was very aware of the beautiful traditions that we have that are exclusive to Portugal. I also wanted my project to be something that I would enjoy doing and connect with. My research at this stage was focus on looking into documentary style photographers, and exploring the traditions that Portugal has. Towards the end of the project, I found that my work was mainly inspired by Dafy Hagai’s concepts, and Tito Mouraz’ style of connecting with his subjects in a documetary style. I also looked at current issues and things that are happening, which would give my project a “purpose”. I concluded that in time full of chaos and dispare, I wanted to produce something that was happy and uplifting. From there I decided to propose a series of books that would celebrate the women and the culture of different countries. I decided to start with Portugal as it’s close to my heart.
My process to produce my final major project involved flying to Portugal, and doing a series of shoots over 2 weeks. I shot mainly friends and family, and made sure to portray the main traditions that Portugal has. I found this experience very positive and inspiring because I got to experience these traditions that I hadn’t experienced since being a child. I feel that my work tells a narrative with every shoot, and does a good job of showing a few select different traditions that Portugal has.
Overall I feel that my work progressed and changed a lot since my statement of intent at the beginning. I am happy with the outcome, and I feel that I was able to produce something that is different, and celebrates the culture of Portugal. In terms of this project fitting into the world of fashion, I feel that the shoots give a different style of editorial shoots by being in a documentary style, and featuring mainly older women. I also feel that it could be a feature in a culture section of a fashion magazine such as i-D and Dazed.
Final Physical Portfolio
My final physical portfolio shown below, is what I decided to produce based on the research that I had done. I decided to produce an archive box as I found this to be the easiest way to add and remove work when updating my portfolio. I also liked the idea of separating each project with small bulldog clips. I feel that this makes it easy to distinguish between the projects, and makes the portfolio more interactive. The box I have chosen is a simple black fine weave cotton cloth. In the future I aim to buy a leather embossed box, however as I have produced this project on a budget, this box was still effective to display my current work. I have also added a copy of my CV, and a business card on the top of the box to make it easy to distinguish that this portfolio belongs to me.
Final Tutorial – Week 15
This week was the final tutorial before the deadline and I used this opportunity to ask any unanswered questions I had about the project, and ensured that I was ready for the deadline ahead. Over the past week I finished my book, and got it sent to print at www.blurb.com in order to leave enough time for it to arrive.
Initially I had asked my 1st year helpers to produce my behind the scenes video on premier pro but putting together that footage I had captured with the soundtrack I had chosen. However, they were not able to do this in the time that I wanted the video finished by. Following this I decided to edit the video myself in Adobe Premier Pro. My process was to keep it very simple and to create an authentic homemade style video. The music is licensed under Creative Commons therefore I have ensured that it can be shown at the graduate show.
Physical Portfolio Inspiration
In terms of creating a physical portfolio, I wasn’t sure which option would be best to create. The styles that I was most drawn to when researching were the style of a display book, and also an archive box. I feel that the display book is extremely practical and easy to travel with when attending interviews etc. However on the other hand, an archive box gives me more freedom in terms of adding and removing work as and when I please. It is also a great way to show photography work and it is easy to lay out the works next to each other to create a narrative. Thinking about costs and having to do this portfolio on a student budget, I have opted for the archive box, as I feel that it is still effective, and a lot cheaper to produce. It will also be an easier way to update with new work as I can just remove and add images.
Tutorial – Week 14
Over the last week I have spent time putting my images into the layout that I had produced before easter break and finalising my photography book. As the images that I had taken differed slightly from the layout plan that I created, I had to make some adjustments so that the book would flow, and be aesthetically pleasing. My process for creating the layout was to separate it into individual shoots but adding titles to each front page. However, I wanted to do it in a way that still made it flow as one photo series. In this tutorial, we discussed some changes to make to some of the positioning of the images so that the gutter line wouldn’t trim important parts of the image.
Business Cards
Following from my research into the style of business cards that I wanted to produce, I designed the front of my business cards in Indesign, and chose Moo as the company to order them from. To keep my branding coherent throughout, I used the same font ‘Work sans extra light’ as my website. The information I have provided on the business cards is very minimal and basic, and included just my website, my email address, and mobile number. I decided not to add links to my Instagram, as I feel that providing a link to the website is enough, and the website then provides links to all other online presences. It also ensures that people who pick my business cards up don’t just check out my Instagram and actually look at my website, meaning that if they want to find my Instagram, they need to look at my work beforehand.
I chose three of my best images at this moment in time for the back of the business cards, as I feel that this is a good alternative to post cards, and it is more practical in size.
Business Card Inspiration
The promotional material I have decided on is solely business cards, and not post cards. I have made this decision based on the fact that I think post cards are less practical and people might be less likely to pick up a post card, rather than a post card. I understand that business cards should be simple and usually become outdated quite quickly is there are images featured on them. For this reason, I have decided that I want to produce business cards that feature three different alternate images on the back. This way, I am creating the same effect as post cards, but in a more practical size, and I can just update and reprint them every few months in the future.
After making this decision, I browsed some websites to see which ones offered the option of creating alternate images on the back of the business cards. The company that I chose was Moo as they offered a wider variety than others I looked at such as Vistaprint, and Mixam. To inspire me with my business cards, Moo have an ‘inspiration’ section which I browsed for a while. The style that I liked the most was the portrait style, and I was most drawn to the business cards that were really simple. This is something I will keep in mind when creating my business cards.
Social Media
Having an online social media presence is an essential way to market and promote myself. I am aiming to become a freelance photographer after graduating, therefore having a relevant Instagram is extremely important as this is the most effective way to be seen in the industry. I have had a professional Instagram account for a long time now, however during this project I started to think more strategically and started curating it in a more effective way. I have used this platform to post regularly during my final major project, and have added hashtags to each image in order to create a social media strategy. I decided to create a different account to my personal account, as I feel that it looks more professional, and helps to keep my personal life from my work life.
As well as having an Instagram account, I have also had a Facebook page for a long time. Facebook targets a different target regarding age groups, however I felt that it is still important to have a presence on there. I have curated my Facebook page as a platform for me to post my projects on there, and also a way for potential clients to find me and message me. I have kept my profile image the same as my Instagram, to keep my branding and presence coherent throughout.
In the meantime I have not created a Twitter page yet, as I feel that this is a good platform however I feel that I need to create a wider following before this being a good way to promote myself.