Planning Stage
For me personally, this project is the toughest one due to the additional ask of conducting an interview. However I went about planning this project using the Bubbl.us tool, starting off with brainstorming the possible creative that I could interview, ranging from photographers, to camera men, to bloggers. However, my first idea was to interview a friend, who is also a blogger, but that wouldn’t push me. So I will now branch out of my comfort zone more and reach out to someone local, but a stranger.
I have also started to think about the possible questions that I will be asking my creative. These ranged from ‘How long have you been in your field of work?’ to ’ What made you get into …. in the first place?’ and 'When did you realise that this is what you wanted to do in life?’. I chose these questions as they are open questions so I wouldn’t be stuck with any yes or no answers.
The location of the shoot is also important as this will be the featured image on the spread. Dependant on the creative, I will try to match their field of work to the location of the shoot as I want all of the components to come together on the page. For example, if they are a blogger, I will try and feature their laptop/computer in the background so it looks very relaxed, whereas if they’re a photographer, I will try and include either a landscape background or if they’re involved in a shop of some-sort, then I will include equipment in the background.
Contact
I started looking for a possible creative to interview and decided to contact the London Camera Exchange (Portsmouth branch) and a gentleman named Tom is willing to be my interviewee which is great! I will follow up with him this week to arrange a interview date, which (depending on how much free time he has) I will try and photograph him in the shop as well.
I will also be deciding 5-8 questions that I’ll ask him for the interview as well, then pick out the best content from 3-4 questions.
Change of plans!
I decided to find another interviewee as I wanted to be able to relate more to the person who I would interview as it can then work as inspiration for me for my career in the future. I then discovered a photographer, 5 Mile Visuals (Miles Lewis), who is around the same age as me (20/21) who has a successful career in abstract and urban photography. I made contact and discussed some ideas back and forth, which then lead to an agreement being made. I thought it best to email the questions to him as he could then give more presise and detailed answers instead of putting him on the spot by recording him. These were the questions and replies that were given over email.
What type of photography do you do?
The type of photography that I personal do is a mix of a lot of different genres and styles. The area I feel most confident and comfortable is street photography shooting 35mm.
What’s your favourite field of photography? Why?
My favourite field of photography is street and candid because it’s ever changing. I find it very interesting capturing new faces each with a story. Much like graffiti I enjoy the temporariness of candid as situations. As it can last just a couple of seconds but if you manage to capture it will last forever.
Among your work, which one is your favourite and why?
One my favourite photograph I have taken has to be “Bush Man of Paris”. After exploring central Paris Myself and my girlfriend jumped on the tram back to our apartment, on the walk back we encountered this strange hooded man sat in a bush. I personally think this image is visually enjoyable because the leading line travels from the bottom left of the image across the subject and in to the vanishing point. The contrast of the flowery bush that the subject is sat in and the other bushes that have no flowers adds the 3rd dimension of abnormality.
What made you become interested in photography? Was it influenced from someone or something?
I became interested in photography after buying my DSLR for shooting video. My girlfriend showed me a website called 500px, I knew instantly I had to start taking pictures and uploading to this site. After a couple of years of experimenting with different styles and not really worrying if my pictures were top quality. I found myself slowly moving in the lane I'm currently in now, which is more urban and inspired by graffiti, travel and unique characters. I've been inspired by photographers and artist such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, @lu_tang_clan_35mm, @eddiederbyshire but I feel most inspired by AboveGround. After stumbling across the music video for CULT MOUNTAIN - BRINK and Da$H - "GRADE-A" I had to look at this film makers work because I found it so unique. His photography work is outstanding I've definitely learned a lot from studying his works.
What makes you different from other photographers?
I think what makes me different from other photographers is my willingness to experiment not just in photography but in life because you never know where things may take you. I like to travel because I often look around me and feel uninspired, going somewhere fresh where every inch of your vision is something new can really get ideas flowing. It can also create a deeper love for the city you live in, prior to getting more interested in to photography and street culture I never ventured up stokes croft but now it's my favourite place in the city.
What type of camera and lens do you use? Why?
I use a couple of cameras and lens, my DSLR is a Canon 600d paired with ether a 10- 18mm, 50mm 1.8, 18- 55mm or a vintage Tokina 28- 105mm. When I go out to shoot unplanned I bring this broad range of lens to be able to capture anything without limitations. The 35mm cameras I use are Rollei Prego 145 which has a 38- 145mm zoom lens, This camera is great for high quality film prints such as portraits and the zoom lens makes it super versatile. My other 35mm camera is a Halina Vision XM with a fixed lens I take this camera anywhere that could be potentially risky for my other cameras, it perfect for night clubs and mosh pits. I also use my iPhone to take quick in the moment pictures as it's not about the quality of the equipment it's just about how you use it.
Do you have any advice for someone just starting up in the photography field?
My advice for someone that’s wants to or that is getting to photography is to no put yourself in a box and think I can’t create great image because “I don’t have an expensive camera” personally I’ve created better more interesting images with my £50 Rollei and my £5 Halina 35mm cameras. I would also suggest just watching every YouTube tutorial whether good or bad because you will learn something. Lastly don’t be afraid to experiment and to go out of your comfort zone, the more you shy away the more opportunities you’ll miss.
Weather Problems
This weekend I had planned to photograph Miles back at home in Bristol. However due to the poor weather conditions caused by snow, it was unsafe to travel anywhere which resulted in us not being about to meet. However we have rescheduled for the weekend after when the weather has drastically improved.
Layout Ideas
Since I have received the interview text, I thought it be best to look at some inspirational photos in relation to the layout of my magazine article. I looked at different magazines such as.....
ELLE
Winq Magazine
GQ
I decided to use these examples as, even though they have a very simplistic layout, they look effective. I want my layout to be similar (one or two images with the text surrounding them) as, since its an interview, I do not want to overcrowd the text with images.This is the layout that I was thinking of using as it has clearly separated sections for each question, along with two relevant and eye-catching images. I also wanted to include vivid quotes from my interviewee as it would then contribute to the overall aesthetic appeal for readers.
Green = Title of Article
Blue = The set questions and responses
Orange = The featured photographs of the interviewee
Red = Specific chosen quotes said by interviewee
Photoshoot
These are the photos that I took of my interviewee Miles Lewis (5MileVisuals). I decided on this specific background as he generally photographs in rural and dense woodland areas. I also captured images of him taking photographs as I wanted to not only show his face on the magazine cover, but to show his technique when capturing photographs for his own work. Due to good weather, these photographs don't need much editing, along with having multiple good quality images to choose from. However, I might decide to crop them into different shapes, such as circle or rounded square.
These are all of the photos that were taken and overall I am very pleased with how they turn't out. For example I wanted to do a mixture of action and portrait shots so they could be easily incorporated into my magazine spread. I will be editing these images very simplistically as I do not want the editing to over-power the original images.
Editing
I decided to edit the photographs on Adobe Photoshop as, since I didn't want to edit the images too oddly, it was the best software to use. Since I didn't edit them too much, in my opinion they came out great. I managed to capture the details well along with the overall aesthetic appeal.
The first option I edited was the amount of levels in the photograph. For example, I was able to specifically change certain colours such as bringing out the black in the picture.
This is the first photo I decided to edit as this is the main feature image that I am hoping to use on the magazine article. This is because the image has a very casual and relaxed look, which relates also to the types of questions and answers conducted in the interview.
This is the final outcome of the image and overall I am very happy with this picture as it as it gives off great detail and also it shows the interviewees personality and style of photography. I am planning for this photo to be on the first page of the spread as it allows the audience to connect with the interview as a whole.
The next stage of editing was to further the black and white editing stage. I did this by adjusting the highlights and the shadows as it then made the picture more detailed. Because I wanted this main photo to be in colour, I didn't want to offset the colours too much that it becomes over-edited.
Even though I knew that I wasn't going to edit this image in black and white as a final, I thought it would be best to see what it would look like if I did. I removed the saturation and vibrance levels in the image then added on the black and white filter. Personally, I think that this image looks boring without colour as you can not see the detail and vibrance in the background.
I then moved onto the other images that will be shown throughout the rest of the magazine spread. This is the first image that was chosen as one of the 'action-shots' that will be featured and I think it matches the rest of the article because the setting is the same along with the personality and professionalism of the interviewee.
I started off by editing the similar options to that of the main feature photo as I wanted all of the images to be consecutive. However, I wanted the 'action-shots' to be in black and white as this then allows me to show the specific details such as the light hitting the lens. By adjusting the highlights and lowlights, I can bring out the details not only in the camera lens, but also in the background details.
I then added the black and white filter on top, allowing me to not only change the overall colour to black and white, but it also allowed me to adjust the amount of other colours that were in the image. This means that it creates more detail than simply adjusting the contrast.
Even though I decided that this image was going to be in black and white, I thought it would be best to try and add a coloured effect. Such as, this edit I tried out using a sepia filter over the top as to try and give a retro feel to the image, however I decided that it would be best to keep all of the 'action-shots' in black and white.
These are two other images that I've decided to also feature in my article which have been edited in the same way as the previous image so it can create continuity throughout the article. Although all of the images look so different in style and with the featured poses, they all still contain the same locations and focus of the interviewee.
Draft Layouts
This is the first draft that I designed for the magazine article. I decided to do this because its simple yet effective. For example, by using colour in the quote text and the graphic icons of the social media sites, it makes the overall aesthetic look professional and not over-crowded with colour.
I have decided to use a non-white background as I wanted the text boxes themselves to be white in order to make them pop in the overall look of the article. Also I like how the black and white images still manage to pop out of the page even though neither they nor the background are in colour.
As I wasn't 100% sure on the first layout, I decided to try a different colour order on the spread itself. Overall, I prefer this design as it looks less like a poster, as its not on a coloured background, and more like the desired magazine article. I also think that having the text box colours as they grey brings out the text more than it did when they were white. I did decide not to change the colours of the title or quotes as I believe that the navy works well due to it not being too bright or luminescent.
Also by having the article background being white instead of grey, it brings out the photographs even more, even though most of them are black and white.So I have decided to stay with this design as my final magazine spread as all of my research articles used a clean, white background which kept the overall look simplistic yet effective and interesting.