Exercise: practise writing captions

For this exercise I had to practise writing picture captions. I spent some time on the web looking at The Guardian and some other news sites to see how they compared with the course notes advice. I had to explain what needs explaining, be succinct, and follow the five Ws:

Who?

What?

Where?

When?

Why?

From the research that I did I found that the picture captions mostly followed these rules. There were a couple of interesting exceptions though. Some of the online newspapers had picture galleries where the viewer could scroll through a sequence of images. In this case the captions tended to be longer and more wordy. This must be because the need to be concise has been removed as any number of images and captions can inhabit the same physical space on the page. Of course, with print this would be impossible.

I also noticed that the formatting of the text ran from the bottom left edge of the image frame and continued for the width of the image. This is different from the title of a print for a wall where the text is often centred. 

I then had to compose captions for six of my images bearing in mind to leave out unnecessary words. This is harder than it seems as sometimes an extra word will change the meaning of an image and can impart information that the viewer cannot obtain from the image alone. For instance, the second image below. I could easily have left out the words, narrow, massive, and Postmodern from the caption. But, if I did that there would be no sense from the image of just how imposing the station is on the locality and very different in style.

Exercise: Two images on the same page

As well as playing around with image sizes and placement I considered how the two images would be used in different publications.

Image 1: Chicago hotel room.

I considered that this publication would want to show the room facilities alongside the hotels design choices. Therefore I used two similar sized images. One image shows the style of bed furnished with work by a local artist. The other image is of the bathroom and robes. Yes, I know the room looks lived in. My thinking is that article would be about a weekend away written by the magazine's reporter and the room has been used and abused - not a typical travel publication where everything in the room looks immaculate. Space has been left for the article text, possibly continuing in a small column on an adjoining page.

Image 2: Chicago hotel room 2.

This time I was thinking that the design element of the room was paramount. I have made the bed and artwork image larger and used a small detail shot of the bathroom porthole door. The second image is quite clean and simple in composition and is easily read even at a small size. Space has been left for text in two sections on the page.

Image 3: Flint tower.

This pairing of a flint tower and wall section in Canterbury has similarly sized images even though the proportions are different. The large images almost fill the page leaving a small amount of room for explanatory text. The texture of the wall can be examined in close detail at this scale.

Image 4: Flint tower 2.

This time I have considered that a large amount of space be left for text that might discuss the historical or technological use of flint as a building material. To enable this I have made one of the images much smaller. Because of its graphical composition the smaller image can still be easily read at this size.

Image 5: Whitstable.

In this pairing I liked the juxtaposition between the carefree bunting, often seen at coastal resorts, and the RNLI jackets hung up to dry. Because of the strength of the pairing they needed to be similar in size to convey their message. Space has been left to the right of the page for an article about the dangers of people taking to the sea without much thought and the role of the RNLI.

Image 6: Whitstable 2.

This pair of images has been given equal space and are grouped together in a more formal style. The large size of the images allow for a detailed study and comparison of the subject matter.

Exercise: research published layouts - part 2

For the second part of this post I looked at photo-stories published in the Sunday Times magazine. A different style of page layout has been used here compared to the National Geographic magazine. The main difference is that the NG has used a linear story format across many pages whereby the story unfolds an image at a time with gaps in pace for pages of text. In The Sunday Times magazine the stories are non-linear with double page spreads that show images in grids placed geometrically. This means that faced with a block of photographs at once there is less control over how the viewer sees them

Exercise: research published layouts - part 1

For this exercise I had to research published layouts from magazines looking at the way the images are laid out and how the sequences vary. I have split this exercise into two posts following two different kinds of magazine. The first one is from an old issue of National Geographic from 2008.

Analysing an essay - Photojournalism and the Tabloid Press - Karin E Becker

In this essay Karin E Becker writes an analysis on the use of photographs in the tabloid press in ways that both conform and deviate from professional, journalistic practice. Becker looks at the antagonistic relationship between the elite and tabloid press noting that photography is used by journalistic institutions as a means by which to criticise tabloid journalism.

In its news reporting tabloid journalism both utilises and disregards standard, unbiased journalistic practices. The photograph is heavily dependent on the context into which it is placed and is heavily influenced by text, graphics and headlines. By deconstructing the way tabloids use photographs this practise can be used to analyse the elite press' viewpoint.


The early picture press

Becker sets out the history of photography's inclusion into the three main Western news sources - elite periodicals, tabloid press, and weekly supplements - some of which were specifically created to use photography. Becker explains that technology and increasing advertising revenue allowed for mass circulation magazines for a undifferentiated mass audience.

The tabloid = sensationalism = photography

By the 1920s sensationalist images and news reporting by the tabloids were creating an ever diverging rift between the elite press and tabloids who broke ethical guidelines to make more profit. Becker claims that sensationalist stories were reported or created for the sole reason of grabbing attention in order to sell more papers.

The daily press 'supplements' the news

With the exception of the tabloids photographs rarely appeared in the daily papers until the 1920s. Photographs were getting a 'bad press' because of tabloid abuse and were seen as not for use in serious news. With that said, photographs were highly popular and the elite dailies created supplements in order to use photographs but at the same time keep them separate from their more serious news reporting.

The picture magazine legacy

Between the world wars the picture magazine and photo essay emerged as a serious way of reporting news. The photojournalist became an acceptable part of journalistic practice. Barriers between high and low culture were being broken down and photography was becoming accepted as popular art.

In the post-war years Walter Benjamin's view of the de-fetishization of the art object had nearly been reversed as particular genres of mass culture (including photojournalism) were being reconstructed as privileged art forms. This re-fetishization of photography did not include the images that appeared in the tabloid press.

The contemporary domain of the tabloid

Becker analyses the format that the tabloids use and the way photography is presented into three broadly overlapping categories:

• private or previously non-famous persons in circumstances that make them newsworthy.

• celebrities that correspond to conventional constructions of news.

• events that correspond to conventional constructions of news.   

Plain pictures of ordinary people

Becker analyses the way ordinary people are portrayed in their own surroundings and showing strong emotions to illustrate the accompanying news story. They are portrayed for the viewer of the image as equals. These images, usually frontal in nature, strongly resemble family album photographs and help to make the images seem familiar and relatable.

People shown closely cropped in an I.D. format can be read by the viewer as involved in an act of criminality.


Celebrities

Beckers's analysis explains that celebrity images are often posed at home in a manner that supposedly 'reveals' the person behind the famous facade. Emotions are less extreme and usually happy. These images are constructed in the same way as the 'ordinary' people. The difference is that these images rely on the viewer recognising that the person is famous and therefore being allowed a privileged glimpse into their lives.

The candid celebrity shot in unguarded moments are also usually staged and can form part of the celebrities constructed public facade. Completely candid images do appear but are far less common than realised.

Performance photographs from file are often used beside text that explains wrongdoing (drug abuse for example). The text beside these images create a strong discontinuity with the image.

Paparazzi images are often composed in a haphazard way incorporating unguarded facial expressions and uneven lighting. Becker explains that these images have become a style and can be read as 'grounded in the theory of the higher truth of the stolen image'. Becker uses the word 'style' here to caution that these images can equally be (and often are) constructed, and no more true than any other image.

The news event

Becker states that action images and the public unaware of the camera are usually shown in news events. These events are not necessarily unplanned as often with planned events such as at major national occasions the press have strategies in place for photographing the public in a way to create news worthy stories.

'Specific technical effects practised in photojournalism are integrated into the tabloids construction of realism' [...] 'The techniques work to enhance the appearance of candour, lending additional support to the construction of these images as authentic.' Becker (1992).

Becker states that:

'candid photography is usually accepted as belonging to 'a higher order of truth than the arranged pose' [...] 'ignoring the cultural practices we use to distinguish between nature and artifice'. Becker (1992).

All of these headings look at ways in which the photograph is constructed to appear to show the reality of the news story. They often use conventions that are part of journalistic practice even when the new story itself may be well outside the remit of the elite press.

Becker claims that the meaning of photographs change with their context. By placing text alongside an image or manipulating it in some way the basic connotation of the image may change. This creates new denotations. By showing how meaning can change with an images context Becker is highlighting that ALL images can be used as a political act whether that be by the tabloid press or in the elite newspapers. This is why the elite periodicals are so careful to distance themselves from the tabloids. These claims strongly bolster Becker's argument.

I found the essay quite hard to unpick at first and I had to read it a number of times, making lots of notes. Once I had done this, however I found the arguments quite clear and easy to follow. I think that further analysis of the way the elite press use imagery, rather than primarily focusing on the tabloid's corruption of journalistic ideals, would further strengthen Becker's case.


references:

Becker, K. E. (1992). 'Photojournalism and the Tabloid Press' in Peter Dahlgren and Colin Sparks (eds)  Journalism and Popular Culture. London: Sage.

Exercise - revisit your first assignment

For this exercise I had to revisit my first assignment and take another look in the light of the feedback from my tutor. The task is to be handled as a photographer/client relationship would be in the commercial world. I am quite pleased to have this task as I had already decided that the assignment needed more work. I didn't feel that I have achieved my original goals or expectations and I've already posted about this earlier in my learning log:

It has taken me a while to catch up and report my tutor feedback for this assignment. On the whole the feedback was positive with special mention of the constructed image using my kitchen window and partner, plus the image showing the base of the electricity pylon. My tutor notes that I photographed a quite narrow slice of the town that I live in and from quite a subjective viewpoint. He wonders what relationship the new development has with the older part of the town and suggests investigating the archive.

Soon after I'd posted off the assignment I had realised that the set of images hadn't quite come together in the way I wanted them to - there was some element missing that I couldn't quite put my finger on. With this in mind the feedback has sent me on an interesting train of thought and has helped to clarify my thinking. I have a few ideas up my sleeve to expand the sequence with consideration to Keith's comments and I hope to start making some new images to add to this set to be ready for assessment by March 2014.

I re-read my tutor report and made some notes and sketches. I needed to show the development in the wider context of the town without breaking away from my initial concept. I plan to walk over to the field opposite my house where I know I will be able to photograph the development showing both the rural and new build aspect. There is also a shot I want to include of the original farmhouse. Finally, I want to show some of the town on the distant horizon across some fields or at the end of a long dual carriageway. So, I have a revised plan I just need to go out and re-shoot some more images. I've also had some inspiration for a personal narrative portrait but I am not sure how well it would fit into the sequence.

My new notes and sketches:

Edit 6th July: 

I've now made some of the images that I referenced in my notes. I've left out the town shots and just added images that link the development with the former farm site. I felt to cover the other areas would have been too much information to take in with the number of images allowed. I'm pleased with how they turned out although incorporating them into my original sequence is difficult. I think the main problem is that my research into the former Brisley Farm has thrown up some new leads and ideas for a different take on my project. The danger is that I have too many themes running together and the whole will not be strong enough. I've decided to print out all the images into small contact prints and arrange them on my table to find the right sequence. Until then here are the new and original images in a rough sequence but it is by no means finalised.

My new images are more formal in their framing and composition. This is a move away from the tilted diagonals that I initially conceived of for the assignment. I've also not stuck to the concept of photographing from the perspective of the ground. In hindsight it is not always a good idea to slavishly stick to one creative thought. The mixture of tilted horizon images and more formal compositions in the new sequence now provide variety. What I'm not so sure about is have I watered down my original design concept? As I mentioned earlier I will think on this before I decide which is the better approach for me.

The changes have affected the finished product because the focus has shifted from one that was very personal (the development from my personal perspective) to one that has a wider appeal. I have text to go with these images that I have gleaned from the local archive and envisage the final product to be produced as a photobook. I'm holding off completing this until I have finalised the images and completed some of the exercises on page layouts in the next section.

Edit 16th Aug:

I've spent some time with the images and the new sequence. Thinking about what I want to achieve with the set I've decided some extra shots are needed. For this assignment I've played around with the concept of private/public spaces and tried to convey a sense of the residents living in their own personal community/family bubbles without much interaction between the larger community as a whole. My personal take on this has changed and some of the alcohol/bottle references have been removed. By reflecting on the feedback from my tutor I have followed a different path that has opened up the sequence to a wider interpretation. I'm now trying to show a more general sense of isolation. Juxtaposed against the visual narrative I have text from my local archive research - again, inspired by a suggestion from my tutor, Keith. I'm hoping that the text (that relates to the history of the site before the new housing development) will provide an interesting juxtaposition with the images.

Now that I think I have the final sequence ready I need to get on and think about ideas for a layout for the proposed photo-book. Keith has asked to see a draft copy so I've just signed up to Adobe's Creative Cloud to get access to InDesign.

The new sequence including new images:

Update 21st August:

I spent yesterday morning using the microfiche at the library in Ashford. I needed one last piece of information to go with my images for the Blurb book I'm putting together. I managed to find it thankfully. One of my images is of the Brisley Farmhouse front gate. The house sits on a small lane to the side of the new development before the farm land was sold for new housing. The image is used in my sequence to represent not only the farmhouse but also the old farm cottages too.

By doing some Internet research I came across a reference to Doris Billingham, aged 15, who lived in Brisley cottage with her parents. The information I uncovered related that she died in a factory accident in 1942. It didn't say much more than that so that is why I was searching through the local newspaper archive. I knew that she had died in hospital in Ashford the same day as the accident so I had a date to go on. I was curious to know what kind of accident had happened and assumed it was something to do with factory machinery. I had wondered as it was wartime whether that had played any part but the word 'accident' seemed to point elsewhere. An article titled "Funerals of Raid Victims" caught my attention and I found a reference to Doris. She had been killed in a German air-raid. I'd noted mention of an air-raid in the previous weeks edition so I scrolled back on the microfiche and found the article. It hadn't been an accident at all. Doris was an office worker (presumably at the factory mentioned earlier) and whilst a number of the staff had left for lunch poor Doris and a few others had remained behind when the bomb hit.

I was pleased to have found out the correct information but felt sad for Doris. This feeling continued when I stepped out of the library and walked to the coffee shop. On such a gorgeous, sunny day it was difficult not to think about the events of the daytime air-raid on this town decades earlier.

So, with my last piece of info I finalised my book using the In-Design and Blurb templates and uploaded it for printing. Now that it is out of my hands I of course want to change it. It is probably best that it's gone. It's only a draft copy anyway that I will be sending to my tutor, Keith.

Something I read on the OCA forum has also unnerved me a bit. The students and tutors were talking about the dangers of overworking an assignment. Is this what I've done? It is possible. The work is quite different from how I originally set the assignment out. I'll have to wait and see what Keith thinks. I'm far too close to it now to be objective.

Edit: 10th December

I will be spending the month of December consolidating all the work that I've done up to assignment 4. There are various loose ends and amendments to be made to the assignment work to make it ready for assessment next year. I don't want to swamp myself with a huge workload at the end of the course. My tutor, Keith, has seen and commented on my blurb book for this assignment and he seems okay with the concept and layout. I had one image to replace in the draft version as I had stupidly used a test shot of myself in my garage instead of the correct one - no idea how I managed to not notice. I wasn't even wearing the correct clothes! There were a couple of other amendments to the text and two of the images were not quite placed correctly for full bleed but other than that it is ready to go. I'm having doubts of course. Nothing unusual in that for me. I ordered the new copy from Blurb today to stop myself procrastinating. I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't upgrade my paper choice as I'd been hoping to do. The system wouldn't let me. Something to do with the spine thickness - probably too thin. There is a link to the the finished copy below.

The Brisley Farm Project by Michael Colvin | Make Your Own Book