For my project based on the theme of union, I will be exploring the idea of friendship. Throughout my project, I will delve into the strong bond shared between my two friends Alannah and Beatrice and explore how their friendship has evolved over the past 14 years. Throughout my project, I will reflect and convey the positive emotions people experience when surrounded by their friends and convey how vital it is that we have good support groups around us. By portraying their friendship in a positive manner in my work, I am aiming to show how these connections form a significant part of our emotional well being and how they evolve as we grow older.

To start my project, I am planning to incorporate snapshot photography as this style of photography will allow me to capture natural, unscripted moments between my two friends, giving a realistic view into their friendship. In these photos, I will focus on capturing them as they interact casually with one another and avoid giving them instructions of what to do in terms of posing. My goal for this photoshoot is to depict the raw, unfiltered essence of their friendship and show the joy and ease that comes alongside friendship. I want these images to feel spontaneous and authentic as seen in typical snapshot photographs and so I will try to not direct them too much. I hope to capture the authenticity of their friendship in my photoshoot to allow the viewer a real insight into the true dynamics of their relationship, without any artificial constructs. 

For the next part of my project, I will work in the studio. This controlled environment will allow me to have greater control over lighting and composition, leading to better quality images of my friends will ensure I delve into who my friends are as individuals as well as together. These studio photographs will contrast with my snapshot images and will provide a more polished and deliberate representation of their friendship. Additionally, another component of my project will be the photographing images of my friends when they were younger from their old photo albums. I will capture images of them by themselves and others where they’re together to. This will allow me to explore how they have both grown as individuals and how their friendship has changed as a result. By incorporating these childhood images, I hope to show how long their friendship has lasted and how it’s transformed over time. They have been friends for approximately 14 years and so by showing their evolution from childhood to adulthood, I hope it will show how friendships grow and change and how this isn’t a bad thing. The juxtaposition I will create by showing them now compared to when they were younger will highlight the strong nature of their bond, showing that despite the inevitable changes that come with time, their friendship has remained a constant source of support and joy.

In my project, I have been inspired by the work of Bobby Neel Adams and Hayley Warnham. Adams is most well known for his series of images where he blends together old and new portraits, often merging photographs of a subject from childhood with their current image. I plan to replicate his images by merging photographs taken of my friends in the studio now with photographs of them from their childhood. By combining the past and present, I will hopefully convey to the viewer how their bond has remained unchanged, even as their lives have evolved. Hayley Warnham’s work involves her adding bright, vibrant colours to old family photographs taken by her grandfather. This idea of adding colour to my images has inspired me to take photographs of my friends in a large crowd/ in social settings then add bold colours to the photographs on photoshop. These colours will not only enhance my images but also act as a metaphor for the positive emotions they feel whilst in each other’s company. 

In order to edit my images initially, I will use Lightroom. Here, I will begin by adjusting basic elements of the image such as: exposure, contrast and saturation. This will ensure my images look cohesive and be of better quality. Once I have completed this initial editing, I will then export my images out of Lightroom and use Photoshop to recreate my chosen artist’s images. For example, to recreate Adam’s work, I will use the quick selection tool to make cut outs of my friend’s faces during different ages and then combine the two cut outs together to create a seamless, blended image. I will also use a similar technique for Hayley Warnham’s inspired images but instead of pressing layer via copy, I will press fill on the cut out and select a colour to fill the space outlined. 

To present my completed project, I will create a photo book which will explore my friend’s friendship from when they were younger to now. The photobook will include both candid snapshots and studio portraits, as well as digitally manipulated images, telling the story of their evolving friendship. Additionally, I will also print some of my favourite images and stick them onto mount board. Ultimately, the aim of my project is to capture the lasting and positive nature of friendship through a blend of documentary style photography and digital manipulation. By focusing on the bond between my two friends, I hope to convey the personal connection they share and the universal emotions that friendships evoke.