Evaluating your Photoshoot Page 2: Page 3 - 4: Page 5 - 6:
General information (to read before you start) Evaluation Questions An example evaluation
Information to read before you start writing your evaluation ●
Evaluation is an opportunity to: discuss the development of your work help others (including the moderator) understand what you are trying to achieve explain your successes and weaknesses
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The aim of this evaluation is to reflect on the quality of your photographs, and the quality of your ideas with a view to developing and moving your project forward.
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To ensure your evaluation is successful you must include critical commentary and make judgements about the effectiveness and success of your work. Do not spend your time describing what you did step by step - this is not evaluative.
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When answering the questions write in detail and where possible include specific examples.
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In your answers avoid saying ‘it’s nice’ or ‘I like it’ or describing work as ‘bold’ or ‘eye-catching’.
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If your work raises questions, the questions do not necessarily need to be answered.
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Write the evaluation in the 1st person.
Evaluation Questions ●
What is the theme of your Component 1 project and how does the photoshoot link with the theme and question? In order to answer this question effectively, provide a brief context to your work and explain how the photoshoot sits within the Component 1 project.
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When planning the photoshoot what was the main concept (idea) that you wanted your photographs to communicate? On reflection of your work consider whether you were successful in communicating this idea? Why, why not? In order to answer this question effectively think about your initial aim and intention and the purpose of your photographs. For example, did you want your photographs to question / to challenge / to provoke a response / to influence / to persuade / to inform; and to what extent do you think you were successful with this?
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What subject matter, materials and techniques did you select and why? In order to answer this question think about photographs from both the initial and experimental sets.
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How does your chosen subject matter symbolise your concept (idea)? To what extent is the symbolism effective in communicating your idea?
Evaluation Questions (Continued) ●
What elements of the photoshoot do you think were particularly successful and why? Did you face any challenges in the photoshoot, or would you change/improve any aspect of your photographs? In order to answer this question effectively think about the formal and technical qualities of your work, for example, materials, techniques, composition, colour, scale, texture, shape, line etc.
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On reflection of the photoshoot as a whole, what question(s) does your work raise? It is important to remember that this question can be a hypothetical question and therefore you do not need to provide an answer in your evaluation.
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How do you plan to develop your project and move your work onto the next stage? What idea(s) do you have for your next photoshoot?
An Example Evaluation Fear is understood as a collection of sensations and feelings that notify an individual of an impending threat. When experiencing such sensations, fear has the ability to challenge and warp our perceptions of reality. The idea underpinning this photoshoot links with panic attacks, a condition in which an individual experiences a sudden rush of intense anxiety or fear coupled with physical symptoms that can include palpitations, increased heart rate, breathlessness and trembling. When planning the photoshoot my intention was for the imagery to symbolises some of the physical and emotional feelings one can experience whilst dealing with a panic attack. Ultimately my aim was to provoke a strong emotional response in the viewer. When selecting the subject matter I deliberately wanted to avoid being too obvious or literal and wanted my imagery to symbolise the idea of fear and panic attacks. I experimented with long exposure and photographed light trails created by car headlights. I wanted the abstract lines to symbolise the changes in heart rate an individual is suffering from a panic attack often experiences. My intention was for the photographs to appear somewhat chaotic and disorientating and therefore I made the decision to digitally layer the light trails in Photoshop. I feel the layering technique was successful, as it created an aesthetic that is slightly difficult for the viewer to decipher, thus creating an element of ambiguity and 'fear'.
An Example Evaluation (continued) Reflecting upon the photographs, I think the saturated, disorderly light trails visually represent the thought process of an individual experiencing fear. The ripples and repetition of light symbolise the idea that thoughts and words have chain reactions and how one action can lead to another. I feel my photographs do, to some extent, provoke an emotional response in the viewer, but not to the extent that I originally intended. As previously stated a panic attack is often accompanied by physical responses such as trembling, shaking or an accelerated heart rate. Therefore if I were to develop this work I would try to visually depict some of the physical symptoms synonymous with the condition and experiment with movement and glitch. In my opinion the work I have created raises questions such as ‘Fear is primarily subjective, therefore to what extent can I produce work that has any real emotional impact on the viewer if the viewer has never experienced the fear first hand?’ ‘Exposure therapy or desensitisation is a technique known to help the treatment of fears. To what extent is dealing with and referencing subjects that I personally fear effective in helping to reduce the fear?’ I feel the strong contrast created by the light trails slicing through the night sky could represent nyctophobia, the fear of the dark. Although this wasn’t my original intention, I feel it adds another conceptual element to the work and I will develop this idea in my next photoshoot. I plan to experiment with time based media and film an individual whose breathing starts to slowly become out of control. The work will symbolise nyctophobia, utilising breathlessness as a physical symptom of the condition. I may incorporate sound as a way of creating tension and suspense.