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EXAM GUIDANCE

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Examination dates: 15 hrs controlled test over 3 days
Group 13C: 2, 23 & 24 April
Group 13A: 2, 23 & 24 April
Group 13D: 3, 25 & 28 April
(please check your email from C Farrow re : dates + clashes)

RULES: No use of mobile phones. No talking to each other or ask teachers for help.

You will have access to the blog to produce blog posts, BUT no access to the internet.

The blog will only be available for you to access during exam times each day between 09:00 – 15:20. In other words, you will not be able to make any changes/ improve work outside of exam times.

It essential therefore, that you have done must of the preparatory work – research/ artist case studies/ photo-shoots/ evidence of creativity, development and experimentation of images – before the exam period begins on day 1.

Work to be done
1. PRINTS: Final selection of images in print folder above (ready by end of Day 1: Wed 2 or Thurs 3 April of the Exam)
2. PRESENTATION: Complete mounting all final prints
3. VIRTUAL GALLERY: Present final images using templates here: M:\Radio\Departments\Photography\Students\Image Transfer\EXAM 2024\Gallery mock-ups
3. PHOTOBOOK: Complete design and evaluate
4. BLOG: Review and complete all supporting blogposts
5. FOLDER: Label all final outcomes and put in Exam folder
6. SIGN: Student authentication form

DEADLINE: LAST DAY OF YOUR EXAM
FINAL PRINTS > PHOTOBOOK > BLOG POSTS

IN PREPARATION FOR YOUR EXAM MAKE SURE THE FOLLOWING IS READY BY THE END OF THIS WEEK:

  1. Complete and upload new photoshoots and begin to edit in Lightroom – make sure to produce blog posts showing selection process and experimentation of images.
  2. A draft layout of your photobook using BLURB templates in Lightroom – exam time is used to fine tune design with teacher’s approval
  3. Review Checklist on blog for overview of work that must be completed – improve, complete and publish missing blogposts.

Structure your 3 day Exam as follows:

DAY 1:
PRINTS: Complete editing photoshoots, select and prepare final prints. Make sure you have produced blogposts for each photoshoot with a clear progression of selection and editing.

BLOG: Produce blog post showing presentation ideas and create mock-up in Photoshop. Consider appropriate sizes and ways of presenting images as singles, diptych, triptych, multiple grids/ collages/ combinations in window mounts or foamboard etc.

You must save final images (see guidelines below) in print folder here by end of the day:
M:\Radio\Departments\Photography\Students\Image Transfer\PRINTS EXAM 2025

DAY 2:
Photobook: Experiment with photobook design using BLURB in Lightroom – show variation of layouts and creativity.

Blog: Evidence of photobook process
1. Research and deconstruct photobook used as inspiration. Comment on different design element such as: feel of the book, paper, binding, format, size, cover, title, design, narrative (if appropriate), editing, sequencing, image and text.

2. Write a book specification and describe in detail what your book will be about in terms of narrative, concept and design with reference to the same elements of bookmaking as above.

3. Produce a blog post showing your layout and design process in Lightroom using a combination of print screens + annotation.

4. Final layout of every spread and write an evaluation.

5. Upload book design in Lightroom to Blurb and order your book via Blurb account. Once uploaded produce an hyperlink to book browser – see below for more details.

6. Once you have received book in the post bring into school.

Those who are not making a photobook can begin to mount up final prints and follow instruction below for Day 3.

DAY 3
PRESENTATION: Begin to mount your final prints as per your mock-up plans. Each final outcome must be labelled and velcro attached too. Make sure all your final images are presented in a folder with your name.

BLOG: Produce a virtual gallery and write a final evaluation of the exam module and your final outcome. Consider the following:

Gallery mock-ups M:\Radio\Departments\Photography\Students\YR 13 EXAM 2025\Gallery Mock-ups

– How successful was your final outcomes?
– Did you realise your intentions?
– What references did you make to artists references – comment on technical, visual, contextual, conceptual?
– Is there anything you would do differently/ change etc?

FINAL CHECK: Finish and publish any missing blog posts as per Checklist/ Go4School Tracking sheet and comments from teachers.

No students is allowed to leave until an authentication form is signed and teacher has signed off too.

PHOTOBOOK
Make sure you have a made a blog post that charts your design decisions, including prints screens of layout with annotation and write an ongoing evaluation. Final book design must be checked and signed off by teacher.

BLURB – ORDER BOOK
Inside Lightroom upload book design to BLURB, log onto your account on their website, pay and order the book.

Consider spending a few extra pounds on choosing better paper, such as Premium Lustre or Premium Matte in check-out, change colour on end paper or choose different cloth/ linen if needed.

LINK TO ONLINE BLURB BOOK

Your final blog post should be an online link to you BLURB book with an evaluation. If you have already written an evaluation as part of another blog post on your book design then add the online link to that blog post and change the date to make sure it sits at the top.

Log into your blurb account and click on Sell my book

Click on Privacy & Sharing

Copy link circled in red above.

Make a new blog post: MY PHOTOBOOK and copy in link from Blurb into the title of your book using Link button above.

FINAL PRINTS
Select your final prints (5-10) from various photoshoots or photobook and make a blog post showing ideas about how to present them.

In photoshop produce a mock display (create new document size A1: 594 x 841mm) using different image sizes, for example: A3 x 2, A4 x 2, A5 x 3

PREPARE AND SAVE IMAGES FOR PRINTING:

  • Add your images to the print folder here…M:\Radio\Departments\Photography\Students\Image Transfer\Yr 13 Exam
  • Complete any unfinished work from last term if you have time, For example check your coursework portfolio and mount up any prints from previous projects.

File Handling and printing...

  • Remember when EXPORTING from Lightroom you must adjust the file size to 1000 pixels on the Short edge for “blog-friendly” images (JPEGS)
  • BUT…for editing and printing when EXPORTING from Lightroom you must adjust the file size to Short edge for “high resolution” images (JPEGS) like this…
  • A5 Short Edge = 14.8 cm
  • A4 Short Edge = 21.0 cm
  • A3 Short Edge =29.7 cm

This will ensure you have the correct ASPECT RATIO

Ensure you label and save your file in you M :Drive and then copy across to the PRINT FOLDER in IMAGE TRANSFER:

M:\Radio\Departments\Photography\Students\Image Transfer\PRINTS EXAM 2024

For a combination of images, or square format images you use the ADOBE PHOTOSHOP > NEW DOCUMENT + PRINT PRESETS on to help arrange images on the correct size page (A3, A4, A5)

You can do this using Photoshop, Set up the page sizes as templates and import images into each template, then you can see for themselves how well they fit… but remember to add an extra 6mm for bleed (3mm on each side of the page) to the original templates. i.e. A4 = 297mm x 210 but the template size for this would be 303mm x 216mm.

Making a Virtual Gallery in Photoshop

Download an empty gallery file…then insert your images and palce them on the walls. Adjust the perspective, size and shape using CTRL T (free transform) You can also add things like a drop shadow to make the image look more realistic…

The Photographers' Gallery - Gallery - visitlondon.com

Here is a selection of Gallery mock-ups that you can use to superimpose your own final images onto walls using Free transform tool in Photoshop.

M:\Radio\Departments\Photography\Students\YR 13 EXAM 2024\Gallery Mock-ups

Always ensure you have enough evidence of…

  1. moodboards (use influential images)
  2. mindmap of ideas and links
  3. case studies (artist references-show your knowledge and understanding)
  4. photo-shoot action plans / specifications (what, why, how, who, when , where)
  5. photo-shoots + contact sheets (annotated)
  6. appropriate image selection and editing techniques
  7. presentation of final ideas and personal responses
  8. analysis and evaluation of process
  9. compare and contrast to a key photographer
  10. critique / review / reflection of your outcomes

Photobook

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Planning:

Concept-

For my photobook I’m basing it off of my grandparents marriage and the idea of their two very different cultures coming together and them forming this new life together as a union. My grandmother is from Germany and my grandfather is from jersey this is very important because they met very shortly after WW2 this meant their relationship was very frowned apon due to being on “different sides of history” however this didn’t stop their love and their marriage. Therefore i would like to show aspects of their culture and families but also what they have in common despite their differences for examples their love of sailing.

editing and sequencing:

For my photobook the layout is very important I would like to try and use the collages I did inspired by Christian Boltanski almost like chapters to separate my images and show what they are centred around.

Process:

For my photobook I had explored many different ideas surrounding how I wanted to present my image. For example, I originally used a single page for these collages however after looking at Duane Michals work, they use double page spreads within their photobook. I thought this would work best for these pictures inspired by Christian Boltanski as he used incredibly big canvas’s when presenting his work so I liked the idea of imitating that style.

Finished Product:

Evaluation:

Overall I’m extremely happy with how my photobook has come out. The only thing I would have liked is for it to have been a bit longer for me I initially wanted to have around 25-30 pages however I felt that I needed to cut out some of the images in order to make the book look cleaner and more effective. I’m happy with my decision to organise it by doing a collage on a double page spread and then having two pages of my own image by doing this is creates this rhyme when looking and going through my book.

Virtual Gallery

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Double Exposure

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editing process:

final image

Photoshoot 2

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Process:

This photoshoot is inspired by Christian Boltanski and his collages of different families. In order to acheive this i will be using the photos from the first photoshoot i did and will be organising them into groups ( Grandmother, friends and family, Royal Airforce, sailing, together) and editing them to be like a mood board.

Editing process:

The first thing I had to do was make a custom page on photoshop so it would be exact size of my book and because I wanted it to be a double page spread I doubled the width size from 20 to 40cm and kept the height the same 25cm

The next step is to just finalise the exact images I want to use and start arranging them on the page. I found I liked it best when i had the sizes of the images used varying I felt that it made it so i could better present and draw attention to the images i found to be most interesting and important.

Grouped images:

Grandmother-

Friends and family-

Royal Air Force-

Sailing-

Together-

Evaluation:

Overall im very happy with how this photoshoot came out. Orginally when i started the editing process i wasnt using an exact template for the size and i found that when placed into the book it didnt have the right effect i was tryung to acheive and there ended up being lots of empty space around the photos which was drawing your attentuion away so im happy with my descion to matcg it with

Photoshoot 5

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Process:

For my fifth photoshoot I would like to try and get an image of my Grandads camera which he used to create his images.

Contact sheet:

Editing process:

final image:

Photoshoot 4

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Process:

contact sheet:

Editing process:

Final image:

photoshoot 4

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Process:

For my fifth photoshoot I have chosen to try and recreate some of my granddads original photos

Contact sheet:

Editing process:

Final images:

Evaluation:

Overall I’m very happy with this photoshoot editing it so that she was looking back at me was difficult due to the quality being very different but by decreasing the opacity a lot it helped blend the two images together.

Evaluation & Virtual Gallery

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It was a hard decision to make but these are my ten final images. I chose these images based on multiple factors such as how much I like them, how well they look and how relevant they are to Romanticism and the artists I chose. Overall I am happy with how everything turned out from my photobook which I think looks great to my final images which I really like. I think the whole project is a success on my behalf if I do say so myself and I believe it all turned out way better than I imagined.

Comparing my photos to my artists

Joe Cornish

I also think my photographs look similar to my chosen artists such as this photograph Joe Cornish took vs mine. It has a lot of similarities such as the wide low angle shot of the sea. There are also some differences which is good as you don’t want to blatantly copy a photographer’s style such as how Joe’s photo has a smooth feel to it due to the soft sand and calm sea, while mine has a rough feel to it due to the rocky beach and the small but frequent waves in the sea which gives it a bumpy texture. The colours are also different in both photos as Joe’s photo use colder colours such at the blues and white while mine uses warm orange colours and darker browns.

Jem Southam

This photo is also similar to the artist Jem Southam which I chose as they both have a similar vibe to it and both contain two animals in a field while Jem’s photos contains a big and small horse my contains a big and small cow, however there is still a bit of difference such as how my photo is a lot more brighter and warmer due to it being taken during golden hour compared to Jem’s photo which looks like it was taken after a storm as there is a rainbow in the background and the clouds are dark which also make the image a bit darker.

Virtual gallery

Below is a virtual gallery with my final images to see how they would look if they were in an art gallery.

Photoshoot 3

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Process:

For my third photoshoot I am planning on experimenting with embroidery inspired by Carolle Benitah. I will be doing that both physically (which I will be using a final images) and digitally. For this I have printed off some of the images I took in my first photoshoot and i will be printing them off onto heat transfer paper. The next step is iron the photo onto a piece of fabric (I chose to use recycled tote bags).Once the picture has been ironed on and the top layer peeled off the last and final step is to start with embroidery. For this I have chosen to do my grandparents flags behind them additionally on two separate photos I will be creating some waves behind my them to represent his love for the sea and sailing.

These will be the images I’m going to use…

Editing process:

In addition to the physical copies I wanted to do them digitally. In order to do this I will be by drawing onto the picture some I have done through using the straight line tool (the picture with the flags) as I wanted straight consistent lines. However, the others (picture of grandmother on the bench and grandad with waves behind him) I used the paint tool as the required more detailed lines with curves which I was unable to do with the shape tools I was given.

Final images:

Evaluation:

Overall I very happy with how it came out. although the waves were difficult to do use to the curved nature of them I think they came out quite well its very clear what they are meant to be. Something I would have liked to change was the flag images this is because although you can tell they are flags i wish I had been able to potentially fill in more of the background son it was more obvious.

Final Virtual Gallery + Final Evaluation

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Final Images

Final Virtual Gallery

Final Evaluation

When I first commenced the project, I researched and thought about various different ways I could explore the theme Union. I knew that I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and once I read that Union was the selected topic, the first thing I thought of was relationships and family however, after having done more thinking and research, one theme really stood out to me. Cultural fashion, this really caught my eye, once i found many different series from Hassan Hajjaj that’s when I really got inspired to do this and it was something I was genuinely interested in.

The first step I took with this project, was finding available models and their potential cultural background. This was challenging as not many people are willing to be a model for a photography project however, after researching more about Hassan Hajjaj and looking at Omar Victor Diopp`s work, I had planned my first photoshoot out. The model named Nigel was willing to be a part of my photography project and he had an intriguing cultural background with many different traditions. I then went on to do self portraits which were quite strong however I did not have many strong final outcomes which appealed to me.

The next part of the project was going to be a different fashion style, I ended up selecting the streetwear style, taking inspiration from Jamel Shabazz but replicating it in the modern day. I chose to do this because it contrasts completely the cultural traditional clothing. I do like this side of the project and I enjoyed exploring this theme however, In my opinion this side of the project is weaker than the cultural aspect. I think the photos taken in the streetwear could possibly have a lack of meaning.

Overall this project was a success, I stepped out of my comfort zone and started doing portraiture rather than landscapes or street photography which was what I was comfortable doing. If I could change this final project, I would have done the whole project about cultural traditional clothing blending with modern day designer brands and use various. I did not do this for the project because I could not find many models which were accepting of showing their culture and background. In conclusion, I find that this project clearly represents Union through the unity of traditional clothing and modern day clothing comparing the two.