Subject Visit Six - Brian

These are the selected images from my final shoot. Due to time constraints and around half of the potential subject I contacted dropping out or being unable to meet me, Brian is my last subject. I do not feel this is a bad thing, I still have five usable subjects and feel that this still represents my journey of discovering what it is like for other people living with birthmarks.

This set of portraits was more tricky to achieve, as Brian's house was currently in the middle of being packed up to move, so I wasn't able to shoot there and use the studio lights as I had intended. I chose instead to shoot in a cafe, but picked an empty spot to ensure the pictures didn't have too many distracting things in them. I had to rely heavily on my camera flash but I feel that they still came out quite well.

Pieter Hugo - Looking Aside

Pieter Hugo does some very interesting work on people who look 'different' - his series 'Looking Aside' is particularly moving.

"In this intimate and unsettling series of images, created between 2003-2006, the artist points his lens at those people whose appearance makes us “look aside”. Hugo’s subjects are the blind, people with albinism, the aged, his family and himself. In doing so, he forces us to confront ourselves and our preconceptions and prejudices, and question why we are so awkward when we encounter people who are unusual in some way. In these frontal declaratory portraits, we see what we usually choose to look at from the corners of our eyes"

I especially like these images because, as with most of the artist I have looked at that are relevant to my project, the subjects are photographed in a straightforward and unflinching manner, leaving the viewer to make their own assumptions. Hugo doesn't attempt to represent the people as miserable or as being negatively affected by their differences, which I feel is very important. 

I also like the close cropped style, and am glad that I took images in this format for each subject I visited!

Subject Visit Five - Emily - BSG Photos

I feel that I am doing well now with the style of images I am now producing for the BSG project, and my images are conforming to the style that Flag require.

Subject Visit Five - Emily

The most recent visit I have been on is to Emily in Liverpool. This is the first shoot I have done in a while, so am pleased to have managed to organise one after being let down by quite a few people.

I decided, as I didn't know much about her home, to take a set of studio lights to give me the most options when it came to shooting. I feel that this was a good choice, as the images are much better exposed and improved in general. I am now usually only shooting the two images, as I know what I am after with each shoot, and this keeps the time the subject spends in-front of the lens down so they don't feel uncomfortable.

Eileen Perrier - Grace

Whilst I have had a lull in visits I have been conducting some more research into artists that deal with subjects that are 'different'. I find the work of Eileen Perrier interesting, particularly the series 'Grace' which looks into people who have gaps between their front teeth.

Although this is more common than people with facial birthmarks, I still feel it is relevant to take influence from her work.

I have been unable to find more than this grid of images, as her work is quite hard to come by, but I like the uniformity of the images. The subjects are all looking in the same direction and smiling, which I like. I think that her work could influence me, as I have been taking head and shoulder shots of each subject and I feel that these are fairly strong. Perrier's work retains a element of character and depth, despite only showing part of the subject.

Mid Point Summary

I have hit around the middle of the term, and feel that I ought to post something relevant to the progress I have been making despite not taking any new pictures recently!

I have been in touch with the Birthmark Support Group a fair amount and I am finding it more and more difficult to find people that are willing, and able to appear in my project. I have had numerous people let me down, or simply not able to make the dates. I had a visit planned to Tunbridge Wells for example, but got stranded in the snow and had to call it off!

However, I feel it relevant to point out all of the things I have been learning about working as a photographer with a 3rd party organisation:

- This project has taught me to remain professional at all times; I am in constant email contact with the design agency, and the members of the Birthmark Support Group. It is my responsibility to ensure they feel they are getting the product they are paying for, and their valuable funding is going to the right place! I have to fill out and return expenses forms with full invoices and receipts and organise my travel. I feel that organisational skills, professionalism and self-promotion are absolutely invaluable when working as a photographer, and this element of the project is really teaching me a lot, fast!

- The organisation of each visit is a very time consuming and long process - I think I underestimated the sheer amount of emails, phone calls and text messages I would need to send to each subject! However, I feel that I organising the logistics of each visit, both of those I have already been on, and those I have planned, has taught me a huge amount. 

- Working with strangers is something that I have limited experience with, and I feel that this group of people could potentially be more vulnerable than your average member of the public. Having a birthmark, as I have found out from personal experience and from talking to other people, can be a stressful thing to deal with. I am pleased that my attitude when approaching my subjects has lead to successful visits that people have felt comfortable with - as this could have potentially been an issue!

I feel that not only is this module pushing me as an artist to create visually interesting and meaningful work, it is also making me a more rounded photographer and teaching me some invaluable skills which are necessary to survive in the world of professional photography.

I have a number of potential visits upcoming, so will be posting my progress shortly. 

Subject Visit Four - Alison

The next subject I visit is Alison, and have taken everything I have learnt from the previous shoots and applied it here. I found myself not needing to take as many photographs as before, as I was much more clear on what I needed to get.

I am now just aiming to get the two main photographs, which I have displayed here, as I feel that these two formats are working the best for me. Due to the nature of the location, I was forced to use flash quite heavily, but the images are still quite dark. I will attempt to rectify this in post production, but I think when on the next shoot it will be useful to take a set of studio lights with me.