Photography Exam Work - Jessica Saunders: Introduction To The Exam

For our photography exam we had to choose from the exam paper one of the topics tat we wanted to take forward. I decided i wanted to do Stairways, as i had prior knowledge on where i could locate some amazing stairways where you could potentially create a really good image from. My first idea was to use tea for two where i had the image of a table with two people either side. One person on one end was eating tea the meal version of the word so elegantly and immaculately in a clean and tidy environment and on the other side they where the complete opposite. They where in a scruffy dirty environment and was eating really fast with splatters of it all over them and their side of the table. After thinking about this i realized even though it would be a strong image as the two sides of the table will be so exaggerated, it still wasn't as inventive as it could be. I then looked into stair cases and came up with the following ideas below on a mind map.

As you can see they are my 4 current ideas that i have discovered through looking at the images in the mood board below, and from my prior imagination on the subject. These ideas all have there flaws and strengths but mainly have a lot of developing to do to make them deliver a strong and powerful image. My current favorite idea is the one which involves posh 1800 dress code and woman walking down different styles of stairs to meet the man who awaits them at the bottom. I would have more than one final image of a different male and female in each both in different positioning on the stairs so that they where all a little different but just as powerful in each. Each would have a slightly different realistic 1800 dress or suit on so that the image was more extraordinary and eye catching to look at, especially as i plan to add a gloss of rustic old fashioned brown or black and white tints to the images, making them suit the era they are from. I like this idea as it has a strong message of contrasting the old traditions with the new times and areas we now live in. Below the first mood board is another which dives deeper into the idea of clothes and style i am trying to achieve. I feel it is my strongest idea and will be extremely good to photograph. Here is the mood board i created on ideas of stairway photography that i found. I discovered i had more leeway with this as i could either choose an architect approach, a surrealist approach, an environmental approach or even a motivational approach as many images on stairways are reliant on relevant quotes such as the ones discussed above on my mind map.

50 Photo Challenge

Our first task was to do an initial shoot where we would go and get some ideas and inspiration for our final piece by taking 50 images of our chosen exam question. As i have currently said i already new of some fantastic stairways around town so i found this easy to do. As i went on a Sunday to take these images, places i wanted to go to such as the royal theater where closed so i couldn't photograph more royal looking and elegant staircases. Some of the images i have took below share common faults such as just out of focus or aren't as strong as they could be sure to the camera angle etc. There are a range of them using the rule of thirds and some not. I did this as staircases are usually center and not very exciting, so if you played on there positioning in your camera when your taking the image it makes it more interesting and less tedious. I also used a few different types of angles such as low and higher angles where i focused on the hand rail and things such as the top step f a set of stairs, but i didn't explore into them as much as i could do. I also tried out some poses as well as i was baring in mind my current idea i had come up with during previous research. I asked the model to stand in positions i had seen from 1800 themes photographs where they walk down the stairs so elegantly holding onto the hand rail. I also tried it where my model was the mad waiting at the bottom to receive the womans arm to go into the ball or the occasion that would have been suited for that era. This made me even more intrigued to have a look int buying same costumes to have a look at how it would look if the models i would use really looked the part.