How successful was your final outcomes?

I’m very pleased after seeing my final outcomes. I think that my photobook is my best piece of work produced this project as I like how I’ve presented it. Using black and white, and different sized images in the book, makes it more intriguing and fun. I like my mock ups as they are what I planned, however I do think I could’ve presented them in a more interesting way. overall, I’m happy with what I have produced.

Did you realise your intentions?

Towards the beginning of this project, I had no idea on what I really wanted to focus on. I had several ideas of presenting my images with the theme unity…such as nature, family, friends, day and light light etc. The more I thought about it, I decided I wanted to take up the friendship project. I did this because I believe it shows my idea of union in the best way. When i’d decided what I as going to do, ideas started coming to my head. I finally thought of my photoshoot and decided I wanted to do it during sunset, so waited for a day where the sun was out and would be seen setting. I wanted sunset as I think it brings all the pictures together, making them aesthetically pleasing, as well as making my photos feel more warm and friendly. So, eventually, yes I knew my intentions and wanted to achieve them. However, at the beginning I had no idea.

What references did you make to artists references – comment on technical, visual, contextual, conceptual?

Arielle Donesons work really inspired me. She really focused on the idea of friendship and connection. This helped me build a bridge from where I wanted to start. Her work looks at similar ideas and concepts to my work. Joel Meyerowitz is known for his use of colour and light, often photographing scenes at sunrise or sunset. His work captures the transitions of light, particularly in the way it shifts through different times of the day. This is what struck me to do my photoshoot during the hours of sunset. By capturing this light, I got the images i aspired to have.

Is there anything you would do differently/ change etc?

I believe there is always something an individual can do to produce better work. As happy as I am with my outcome, i personally think i could’ve edited my images on photoshop to add some cooler and funkier effects in. I only say this as my work is great, but some could consider ‘boring’. It is exactly what i was going for, but there is always extra effects you can add to the pictures. I also could’ve added different scenery in, instead of just around Quayside.

To create my photobook…

To edit the chosen images for your book you go to the develop department and can edit all the images there just to the right of the image. That being shape, style, size, angle etc.

After editing all your pictures, you then press book.

This will put all of your images in to a book format.

You can then move around your images, adjusting the size of your images, depending on if your wanting them to fill the whole page or not.

After all that, your photobook will be done and your ready to send it to blurb to get it printed.

Front and back cover.

For the front and back cover, I just chose a pinky/peachy colour to reflect a girly effect. I like that there’s no pictures so it doesn’t give anything away. I also have the title ‘To be loved, is to be seen,. This is to create an idea on what the book is really trying to get across to the audience.

For my first page spread, I left the first page blank. I did this as there was no image I truly believed to be paired with this one that would make sense. It’s an effective photo which came off of an inspirational artist reference, so I was very keen to use it as i liked the way it turned out.

For this page spread, I’ve added in a black and white image (which you’ll see throughout the book). I added in black and white so the audience don’t solely focus on the sunset as that’s not my main focus. I wanted to draw a more serious and real image to show union/friendship.

This page spread is probably one of my most successful. I really think it focuses on the friendship between these two girls. I also like how the image has a pretty background. I wanted the backgrounds to reflect the purity of their friendship with the nice colours too.

For this page spread, I decided to focus on the more simpler image. I believe the image to the left is so effective. The colours, simplicity and girly-ness of the picture really draws me in. I do love the right image as its pure and candid, however made it black and white to snap back in to the reality of the friendship again.

I think this page spread is very aesthetic. I wanted to capture a moment where the girls could just let go and be free. I made the bigger image black and white here as I think it creates the idea that their walk is now a memory and not in the present. However, a happy memory to look back at.

I looked more at creating an image to represent the friendship in a more announced way for this spread. I captured more acts of physical touch and fun for this set. I like the way my book has a structure of them walking across the beach.

I wanted to focus on the softer aspects of friendship for this page spread. Instead of laughing and having fun in the images, I captured a relaxing moment where the models are just appreciating each other and the view.

For this page spread I liked the contrast of everything in these images. I like the scenery, the colours, and the position the models are in. Everything about these two images comes together.

For my final page spread, I captured one last image of them just being girls sat together, then ended it off with a picture of them laughing and having fun in black and white, just to remind the audience of their fun, loving and caring friendship, as if it were a memory.

My inspiration for this photobook was myself in all honesty. I really liked the way my last photobook turned out and anted to create another one. Before i had created my own photobook, i had seen students from my schools previous work. I looked through some of their photobooks and decided i wanted to make one of my own. For my final piece of work amongst this subject, i wanted to present one last photobook.

• feel of the book – I want my book to be hard back with shiny pages. I want my book to have a consistent feeling where the audience aren’t confused and can follow a storyline within the book.
• format – I want the format of my book to be a smaller book, maybe 20×25. I want it small and hardback to keep all my pages neat.
• cover – For my front cover, I went with a plain pinky/peachy colour. I wanted what’s inside my book to be a bit more secretive
• title – ‘To be seen, is to be loved’ I went with this title as it is one of the most empowering quotes I have heard.
• narrative – 3 words...Friendship, powerful, meaningful. A sentence…showing a friendship through the idea of a union. A paragraph…My photobook shows the pure connection of two teenage girls who need each other very much, and by coming together they create a union. A union doesn’t need to be more than two people if its strong enough.
• editing – To edit my images and photobook, I used the app Lightroom. It was an easy way to create a book as it already has a layout for you that you can adjust and edit there and then. If i then came across an image that wasn’t edited to the standards I wanted, all I had to do was press develop on the same app.
• sequencing – In my photobook, I presented all the images in a narrative way. I used my images to also show the walk we went on during this shoot. So, all my images made sense as we walked around Quayside area.

Key words.

1. Aesthetic

To be concerned with beauty. A set of principles underlying the work of a particular artist or artistic movement.

2. The cubist aesthetic

Cubism was a revolutionary new approach to representing reality invented in around 1907–08 by artists Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. They brought different views of subjects (usually objects or figures) together in the same picture, resulting in paintings that appear fragmented and abstracted.

3. Indexicality

Guide signs and symbols memory. In photography, indexicality refers to the direct relationship between the photographer, the photograph, and the subject. This concept emphasises that photographs are inherently linked to the physical reality they capture, serving as an imprint of the real world.

4. Formalism

Formalism describes the critical position that the most important aspect of a work of art is its form – the way it is made and its purely visual aspects – rather than its narrative content or its relationship to the visible world. Structure over content ,no emotion or context.

5. Representation

Ideas are depicted. To understand representation in photography is to understand how you are interconnected to the thing in which you photograph. It is to accept the responsibility for how you depict a particular subject. Understanding the deep impact images have in our society is the reason for teaching representation in any capacity.

References.

Joel Meyerowitz is known for his use of colour and light, often photographing scenes at sunrise or sunset. He captured incredible landscape images. He transformed the mode with his pioneering use of colour. I wanted to use his amazing use of capturing colour in my project. This is why I purposefully took my shoots during sunset.

Arielle Doneson is a photographer whose work focuses on the theme of friendship and connection. She looks at the depth of human relationships, she uses natural lighting, candid portraits, and intimate settings to explore how friendships form, grow, and change over time.

What I’ve done with my work, is capture both styles of these artists work and made it in to one. I wanted to work with light during sunset, but focus on capturing the friendship.

I used Photoshop to play around with the way I want to present my final images.

Here are some rough mock ups of how I would like to present my images in person.

I like using the triptych method. I think it looks simple, however effective. I like using a black background in contrast to my images as I believe it makes them stand out more.

To export these images to my final images print folder I had to go through the steps of :

• re size to fit short edge

• 21.000 cm

• 240 resolution

• a5 – 14.8cm

• a4 – 21cm

• a3 – 29.7cm

• cost of name and sequence

Each of these steps change the sizing and resolution of each image.

Looking at different styles

Here is a before and after product of some of my photos. Sometimes black and white can add a good effect to your work as it switches it up a bit.

Here are two before and after of where I’ve used slightly different filter effects to change the lighting. I made the colours brighter so the picture comes across clearer.

Here, you can see that I’ve cropped an image. You can crop images to focus on parts on the photo that you find more interesting/effective.

To create my virtual gallery, i had to go on to my documents. I then went to Radio > Departments > Photography > Students > YEAR 13 EXAM 2025 > Gallery Mock ups. This was to get my background.

I then picked my gallery wall, and opened it up in to photoshop. (for example)…

I then used the select tool to draw boxes on to my wall.

This allows images to be pulled on to the background without losing your image behind the background. After drawing my first box, I dragged an image over. To do this, you must have documents open and in the folder you want. You then left click and hold down with the mouse then drag on to your background.

When the image went on to the background, I adjusted the size to what I wanted. However, I couldn’t just have a picture against the wall/background. To make my pictures on the wall look a bit more realistic, I added a drop shadow and outer glow. To do this, I right clicked on my image..

I then pressed Skew to tilt my images, so they fit to the wall to the way the wall goes.

The image shouldn’t look flat, it should look like it goes down a bit from the top to create a realistic approach. Then I added the drop shadow and outer glow. To do this i right clicked the layer the picture was on, and pressed blending options.

Once I clicked blending options, I was able to pick whatever effect I wanted for my image. I picked drop shadow and outer glow to make it look like the image is slightly raised away from the wall and has a shadow.

When picking what layer style I wanted, I saw that you could adjust these styles to the way you want it.

I then did this same process on each image, all around my gallery. I was then left with my finished product.

I think my virtual gallery turned out well as I managed to upload the background and then manage to make the pictures look realistic by creating shadows and depth. I think to make it better is use less pictures so it doesn’t look as busy.

First, I opened Lightroom, and imported all my images. I then created a collection named ‘union’, and moved them all in to there. I colour coded each image green, yellow or red. Green being the best, yellow being they’re okay, and red being not using the image.

I then rated all my green images 5 stars, so I can find them a lot quicker when filtered.

I edited my images using the develop bar on the right hand side of the screen, and played around with the filters until I liked what I saw.

Some Edited Images.

Image analysis.

I love this photo because I like how the sun is between both the models, almost creating a silhouette effect. I also like how the sky blends in to different colours, as well as seeing more of the island on the horizon, to then two friends on the bench. I think everything goes together. I believe this pictures presents friendship as calm and simplistic if you have made a good friend.

I love this image. I love how candid and natural it is. The way the left model looks up at the right model creates a fun but nurturing effect, almost as if she looks up to and admires her. I also love the colours in this image, I like how light and pastel the sky is which then reflects on to the stones and the models.

I quite like how this photo is from a below point of view looking up at the models talking. It makes the models the main focus of this image. It almost forces the viewer to think about the connection and friendship these two friends have.

This picture focuses on the joy and fun these two friends are having. I like how natural and candid this picture is, creating the idea these girls have fun a lot of the time.

I really like this picture as if they’re running off towards the sunset together almost creating a metaphor that nothing can stop them because their friendship means everything.

Same with this photo. I believe the picture draws the audience in to their friendship. I like the physical contact where they hold hands in this photo because it creates the beginning of an unimaginable connection a friendship can have.

I like how simple this photo is. There’s not much going on but, with what is going on, I really believe it shows two friends coming together when they need each other, creating a union.

This is probably one of my favourite images. The sunset reflection on to the beach creates a calming and relaxing vibe. I like how the two models are showing a strong bond by again, having fun.

I love this image. This is down to the colours presented in this image. I think its giving off a girly atmosphere with the light pastel colours shining on to their shoes and trousers. I love how simplistic but meaningful this picture is.

I think this photo creates meaning. Down to the head on the shoulder, and how quiet and peaceful the photo looks. I think it creates meaning of pure platonic love.

I like that this photo is engaging. I like how the right model is interested in what the left model is doing. This creates a sense of certainty and looking up to.

I really like how this photo has a lot going on, but its not too much. From the girls looking out, to the colours of the sunset amongst the boats, to the small plane in the far distance. The whole picture just comes together perfectly.

I really like how in this image, the sun almost separates them to remind the audience they are two separate people, despite how close they are to each other.

This candid image shows happiness. I believe that’s the most important aspect in a friendship. Having plenty of friends is good, however mixing with people who don’t benefit the life you want to live will not create happiness.

Shoot place 1

For this shoot, I used my two models in a more of a built up area. I had them chill and relax, by acting normal and just chatting. I did this by getting them to sit down on stone and benches.

Shoot place 2

For this shoot, i focused on the beach. I wanted to take my images outside as i wanted to get the idea of being active with a friend, instead of sat inside on the phones.

Shoot place 3

For this area of my shoot, I wanted to capture something more metaphorical. I took pictures of both the models feet, dangling together. I wanted to create an idea in peoples heads of the simplicities in life when you have a good trusting friend. I tried to create this by having the feet just hang aimlessly, with the wind blowing the trousers. I believe this creates simplicity as there’s no pressure in doing anything or creating a certain set up to show it.

Shoot place 4

I used a beach wall for this part of the shoot. I really liked how I could capture a sentimental moment of my two models just chilling on the wall watching the sunset. I also got one of my models to start taking pictures of the sunset with the other model looking over her shoulder. I did this to show how good friends take interest in what their friends do.

Shoot place 5

For this shoot, we walked round to a built up flat area. I got my models to watch the sunset from a different view. I also captured candid images of my models at a statue. I liked this area due to difference scenery. I liked how I could capture my models in a more natural way just laughing and having fun.

What you want to explore?

Looking at the idea of friendship within the theme of union can be valuable for several reasons. Friendship is one of the most fundamental forms of human connection. Looking at how it relates to union, you can gain a deeper understanding of what brings people together; the emotional, psychological, and social bonds that strengthen these connections. It’s a way of exploring how individuals form and maintain meaningful relationships, which is an important part of human experience.

Why it matters to you?

Friendships often provides emotional support and a sense of belonging. People often search for these connections naturally. Additionally, looking at friendship through the lens of union can show a sense of clarity on why these connections are so essential for your emotional well-being and how they contribute to your overall sense of identity. In our world, people can often feel lonely, examining how friendships can unite people might help understand on a deeper level, whether in person or online. Ultimately, studying friendship as a union allows you to reflect on your own experiences and learn how to foster more fulfilling, lasting connections with others.

How you wish to develop your project?

Capture moments where friends come together, whether that’s in a natural or set up way. I’m not fussed on the setting of my images, i’m more focused on capturing the moment, and then editing any flaws out afterwards.

Which form you wish to present your study (photobook, film, prints etc)

I want to present my work in a photobook. I would like to do this as I believe it is the most artistic way of presenting my work. I like how you can search picture for as long as you want and admire them. I also like how you can flick through the pages. What inspired me to do this was previous photobooks I have looked at from ex-students who have already produced one.

When and where you intend to begin your study?

I want to begin my study as soon as possible so I have time to get it perfect, and change anything I want to change. I will begin by going out with some friends, and wherever I go, i want to purely focus on exactly what i want to capture with no distractions.

Arielle Doneson is a photographer whose work focuses on the theme of friendship and connection. She looks at the depth of human relationships. She uses natural lighting, candid portraits, and intimate settings to explore how friendships form, grow, and change over time. Doneson’s photography examines the not as obvious aspects of human connection. She captures her subjects, who are often close friends, but also strangers, to create portraits that show the shared history, mutual care, and existence in each others lives. Doneson’s work has been featured in many publications, including Style Me Pretty, The Wedding Chicks, Elizabeth Anne Designs, and GayWeddings.com. Arielle Doneson’s work links to the theme of “union” in several meaningful ways, even if it’s not the central or overt theme of her photography. Here are a few key connections:

The photo – “Shared Silence”

This is a portrait of two women sitting on a park bench during sunset. The photo captures the moment between words, where the friends’ heads are slightly bowed, their hands gently touching. The photo expresses the quietness they both share, suggesting that no words are necessary for a strong, meaningful connection.

Arielle Doneson’s work, while often focused on individual portraits, also creates the sense of unity between the subject and the photographer. This connection could symbolise the deeper bonds found in friendships, where people come together and form a shared experience. A good portrait is not just about capturing someone’s appearance but about displaying their inner world, like when true friends come together, not just physically, but in understanding and emotionally.

This artist inspired me as she looks exactly at what i was wanting to look in to. Her photographs mildly encouraged what I then captured.

Michael Kenna

Born in 1953 in Lancashire, England, Kenna originally intended on becoming a priest, but was ultimately drawn to art. He attended the London College of Printing, where he learned commercial photography techniques. Kenna moved to San Francisco in 1977 and began exhibiting in local galleries, developing his hallmark subject matter and high-contrast black-and-white aesthetic. Specialising in long exposure landscapes, Kenna’s work often captures the quiet moments between day and night. He is best known for his black-and-white images of unpopulated landscapes and urban scenes. His black-and-white photography, which sometimes incorporates twilight or the quiet of early morning, emphasizes the interplay of light and darkness in serene and meditative compositions. Often employing long exposure times that he further emphasises in the dark room, Kenna’s work is both picturesque and mysterious. “You can’t always see what’s otherwise noticeable during the day,” he has explained. “With long exposures, you can photograph what the human eye is incapable of seeing.”

https://www.michaelkenna.com/imagearchive.php

Joel Meyerowitz

Joel Meyerowitz was born in New York City and began taking photographs in 1962. Although he has always seen himself as a street photographer in the tradition of Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Frank, he transformed the mode with his pioneering use of colour. As an early advocate of colour photography (in mid-60’s), Meyerowitz was instrumental in changing the attitude toward the use of colour photography from one of resistance to nearly universal acceptance. Throughout his career, Meyerowitz has since produced over a dozen books, and a full survey of his career was published by Phaidon in 2010. Additionally, in 1998 he produced and directed his first film, Pop, an intimate diary of a three-week road trip made with his son, Sasha, and his aging father, Hy.

Meyerowitz is known for his use of colour and light, often photographing scenes at sunrise or sunset. His work captures the transitions of light, particularly in the way it shifts through different times of the day. Meyerowitz’s images frequently focus on the golden moments between night and day, showing how light changes the mood and atmosphere of a scene.

I really love these photos. I love the colour contrast within the whole picture, its very calming and relaxing. i believe these photos tell a story and create images in your head. One photo can speak 1000 words.

https://www.howardgreenberg.com/artists/joel-meyerowitz