FMP evaluation

Overall, I feel my FMP was successful. I had many ideas as to what I would like to do and trialled many shoots to get closer to my final one. After a deep analysis in my sketch book and looking through all my ideas I decided to do an underwater shoot. This is something I have never done before so was a risk. However I had done many test shoots with water so I thought I could get a good photograph. My Final photograph was of a female trying to swim towards the camera. The female doesn’t like water and actually can’t swim properly. Therefore the vulnerability should have been shown in her face, which I think it was, but this is not completely obvious I feel it’s quite subtle in the shot I chose, yet effective as this is true emotion.  

 My time management was kept quite well, I was very happy with the amount of research I did for my project as this was a big help when it came to making a decision as to what my final photo would be. I had a wide variety of responses and different ideas to build up to my final; this made it easier to bring me to a final idea. I went to a few exhibitions which were very inspirational for my idea development, I do wish I had visited more, but none of the exhibitions were project related. I made up for this by conducting interviews and reading books which were very helpful.

 

One of the obstacles that occurred in my FMP was actually getting models to do the shoot for me. This was
difficult because I was asking them to conquer a fear or something they didn’t like, I had a few willing models that took a lot of convincing and I had to interview a few more in order to do more shoots. This was a recurring problem throughout the project, but I did manage to get the shots I wanted. Another obstacle I came across in the project was in my final shoot I struggled to get the shot I wanted this is because my underwater camera broke last minute so I had to borrow one from a friend. This camera I borrowed was delayed when taking the picture this made it very difficult for me as I had to adjust to the delay very quickly as the model only had a certain amount of time. I managed to get the shot after all and I realised I can adjust very quickly to situations due to forward thinking.

 

My initial idea for my final photograph was to have the model fully clothed in the water i thought this would look really effective as the clothing would make for great shapes in the water. This was not allowed in the location I went to for health and safety reasons. So I settled for having my model in a leotard, this worked well as her arm and leg movement were clear and I feel that’s important in showing her struggle. One major problem I faced was finding the right location for my shoot I went to many pools and either they wouldn’t allow it or the pool wasn’t right for the shoot. I eventually came to my final location which was perfect, I had to fill out a form and make sure no one else was in the photograph, this proved difficult but ended in success.
I focused on portraiture when it came to thinking about composition I learnt that my photos looked better with the location clear. The blues in the water came out very well and I edited them to look very blue to draw people in.  

 

Throughout this project I have really enjoyed myself and learnt a lot. I realised how quick my ideas can develop and what I can do to effect my audience. I took a few risks throughout the project which isn’t something I would always do, I feel i have come a long way and ended with an image that I am pleased with. If I were to do anything different I would do more test shoots and maybe if I had more time do a shoot that is a lot more daring, this could make for an interesting project in the future and I could definitely push this project further.