Lesson video

Welcome to today's lesson.

My name is Ms. Holland and I'm really excited to be teaching you today.

And today we're gonna continue our unit on finding our artistic voice and an introduction to the creative process.

And today, it's about our photographic voice.

So we are now gonna be looking at photography and developing our photographic voice.

So by the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to understand what shapes a photographic voice, and you'll be able to experiment with photographic genres.

Our keywords today, we have photographic voice.

That refers to the unique expression, style, and perspective a photographer brings to their work.

And that's what we're gonna be developing today.

Distinctive.

So in photography, this means having a unique quality or characteristic that sets you apart as a photographer from others.

And experimentation is about referring to trying out new ideas, techniques, materials, or styles to see what works and what feels right for you as a photographer.

Our lesson is in two parts.

So the first part is gonna be about understanding what shapes a photographic voice, and then we're gonna look more closely at the role of experimentation.

So let's get started.

Understanding what shapes a photographic voice.

So here we have a photograph.

What do you think this photograph tells you about the photographer, even though you don't know them personally? So have a look at that.

What do you think it tells them? Well, I'll tell you what I think.

I think that this is a closeup, very delicate closeup of a spiderweb caught with morning dew.

And I think this tells me that the photographer is interested in the detail.

The detail in nature, and the beauty of nature and wants to capture that, capture the intricacies.

What did you think? Let's look at another example.

What do you think this photograph tells you about the photographer, again, even though you don't know them personally? Have a really good look at what the subject is and what style has been used.

I think this is really interesting because I think this photographer is, again, interested in nature, but unlike the previous photographer who wanted to capture the intricacies and beauty of nature, I think this has a different type of meaning.

I think this photographer is talking about how nature is cloaked with things and it's maybe a visual representation of their concerns over what's happening to nature due to environmental issues.

I wonder what you thought.

And lastly, what do you think this photograph tells you about photographer, even though you don't know them personally? Well, for me, I think unlike the previous two that were very focused on nature, spiderwebs and flowers, I think this photographer is really interested in human relationships and interaction between humans.

And this is a really thoughtful, caring photograph of two people interacting carefully and the adult caring for the child.

What do you think? So have you ever looked at a piece of photography and felt like you understood something about the photographer without even knowing them, like we just happened in those three examples? What do you think makes a photographer's work feel so distinctive? So thinking about those three different photographers we've just seen photographs of, what do you think makes 'em so distinctive? Your photographic voice is the distinctive way you see and capture the world through images.

It is shaped by many, many things, including the subjects you choose.

So we had a spider web, we had tulips cloaked in something, and then we had human interaction.

Your composition and your framing.

So if you think that spiderweb looked gigantic, 'cause it was a closeup, your use of light and shadow, again, think about those stark differences in the three photographs, the emotions and stories you convey.

And I really think in that third photograph of the adult and the child, there's a story that could be elaborated behind that and allows the viewer to interpret it.

Your technical and post-processing choices.

So how you develop the photographs.

Quick check for understanding.

The photographic voice effects a photographer's choices such as.

So does it affect composition and framing, materials, the age, the country of birth and subjects and the techniques, height, materials and subjects? Which one? Well done.

Let's have a look.

Yes, it's the composition and framing.

Your photographic voice affects choices such as composition and the framing.

Here we have Izzy, and like every photographer, Izzy has her own distinct photographic voice and makes her own creative choices.

Importantly, her voice is not fixed.

It can change and will change like we do, as we grow up, as things affect us, our photographic voice will be affected and will change as our interests change as we pass through life, our subjects of our photographs might change.

True or false check for understanding.

A photographic voice stays the same the whole of the photographer's lifetime.

Well done.

I'm sure you all got that.

Yeah, it's false.

But why? Have a think why.

Well done.

Yes, a photographic voice is not fixed.

It can change like we do.

It will change as we change.

Here we have Alex, and we've met Alex before.

And his photographic voice is shaped by mixture of these things, internal influences, external influences, and the ongoing process of experimentation and discovery.

And the lines that join these are purposely not straight because this isn't a rigid process.

This is continual and intertwined.

And internal influences will mix with external, which will mix with experimentation and it will do it in different orders and at different times.

And one might be more important at one point.

And then the other be more important.

So internal influences are about personal experiences, emotions, memories, beliefs and perspectives.

So for example, think about that spider web photograph.

We could assume that the photographer has a real passion for nature and the beauty of nature.

And then external influences are things like culture, social issues, historical photography, the surroundings, our mentors, what's affecting us, technology, what technology do we have at our disposal, what technological advancements have been made, and then our audience feedback.

And that's really important.

So let's move on to our first task.

So I would like you to take approximately 5 to 10 photos that represent your perspective of your surroundings.

So wherever you are studying at the moment, in class, at home, on your own, I'd like you to look around your surroundings and take 5 to 10 photographs.

Then I want you to reflect on what unique themes, emotions, or techniques emerge.

So as you take those photographs, is there a theme that's connecting them? Is there a way that you take the photographs, a technique that connects them? Are you gonna do them all in closeup? Are you interested in moving far away? And is this a surrounding that you feel comfortable in? What emotion will come through those photographs? Pause the video.

Well done, I really wish I could see all of your examples because I think it would speak so much about you as a photographer.

So this pupil has taken around 5 to 10 photographs that represent the perspective of their surroundings.

And you can see here, they've gone around their surroundings and they've taken pictures of the chairs.

So from doing photographs of their surroundings, they've been drawn to focus on chairs and seating.

And we can see some seating in the playground.

We can see some seating in the school, in the cafe.

And it's interesting because this pupil have said, "My immediate surroundings are an inspiration "with a focus on the spaces for community "and conversations." So they, for them, the theme of chairs means community, conversations, that they've looked at everyday places from the perspective of someone wanting to sit and rest.

And they've really thought about how it looks though, what background, what angle they're taking the photograph from.

Well done.

Let's move on now to our second part of the lesson, the role of experimentation.

Experimentation that shapes a photographic voice could include trying different genres.

And a genre is portrait, landscape, documentary, street or abstract.

So experimentation that will shape your photographic voice is experimenting with these different genres.

Experimenting with light, is it natural light, artificial light, low-light, high-contrast? Exploring compositional techniques.

So the rule of thirds, leading lines, symmetries, how are you gonna place something in the photograph? And editing and post-processing can enhance your vision.

So what are you gonna do after you've taken the photographs? And again, really importantly, seeking feedback and refining your approach, thinking of it as a process.

So asking for reflection, self-reflection, but also peer reflection.

And then taking that on board and re-looking at your approach and refining it.

A check for understanding.

What type of experimentation might most help in shaping a photographic voice? Is it experimenting with different paint mediums, experimenting with different drawing tools, exploring different ways of stretching a canvas or exploring composition techniques? Well done.

Yes, well done.

It is in fact D, exploring compositional techniques.

So Eddie Otchere is a British-Ghanaian photographer known for his music portrait and documentary photography, particularly within UK hip-hop, grime and electronic music scenes.

So he became very interested in photography in his teenage years and was then able to capture the scene of music during the 1990s.

And he was raised in South London and has since gone on to become an international name, and extremely well renowned and respected within the art world.

His work is deeply rooted in experimentation, both technically and conceptually, shaping a distinct photographic voice through the following approaches.

And I'd like us to really think about these approaches now, and as I go through these approaches, how you could apply them to your own work.

The first is trying different genres.

So he primarily focuses on portrait and documentation, documentary photography, but he also incorporates street and music photography.

He also experiments with lighting.

So he frequently uses low-light conditions, emphasising shadows and contrast to create atmospheric, moody images.

How could you use that? And he often also relies on natural and ambient lighting in music venues, balancing available light with selective artificial sources.

So it's also always important to consider what environment you're gonna be photographing in.

He also explores composition techniques, so he plays with the rule of thirds.

He uses closeups, dynamic angles to create engaging, cinematic portraits.

So not just straight on.

And his images often blur the lines between staged and spontaneous, blending documentary style realism with artistic direction, which is a really tricky thing to do.

And then editing and post-processing.

He's a master of analogue photography and darkroom techniques.

So he uses hand developed prints, grain and contrast adjustments to enhance the texture and mood.

So even post-production, he's enhancing that photographic voice and he uses film photography for a timeless, raw aesthetic, favouring black and white for emotional depth.

And then importantly, he seeks feedback and refines his approach.

So his work is highly collaborative.

He doesn't work in silo on his own, evolving alongside the music and cultural movements he documents and he's refined his approach through mentorship, workshops and exhibitions, passing his knowledge to new generations of photographers.

So a check for understanding, true or false? Eddie Otchere's work is deeply rooted in experimentation, true or false? Well done, of course, that is true.

But why? I really want you to think why it is.

Let's see if you've got something similar to me.

His work is deeply rooted in experimentation, both technically and conceptually.

And remember post-production as well, so it shapes distinct photographic voice.

Let's move on to our task.

I'd like you to choose at least two genres to experiment with and take at least three photos in each genre.

So let's have a quick recap of the different genres and think of some ideas.

So the first we have portraiture.

So you could capture the personality and emotion through closeups or posed or staged shots.

Landscape, you could explore nature or urban environments with wide-angled shots and strong composition.

So if you are in school, you could be looking around your environment.

A documentary, you could tell a story through candid moments that you've captured, fleeting moments, or a very well-planned photo series of a real-world topic or a topic that you might think is really important in school that's happening at the moment.

And street photography really captures everyday life and spontaneous moments in public spaces.

Again, if you're in school, so many of those spaces are public, the dining hall, and it's about capturing those fleeting moments.

And then lastly, abstract.

So here you could focus on texture, the colours, the shapes and unusual perspective.

So you don't need to visually see something that you recognise, it's about abstraction.

Pause the video.

I bet you did brilliantly.

And I wonder what genres you chose, whether you chose very opposite ones or quite similar ones.

And I hope you really experimented with different ways of doing it.

Well done.

There are lots and lots of different outcomes, but here this pupil has chosen the genre abstract and taken photos that focus on texture, colour, shapes, and unusual perspectives.

So we can see here that they've taken different shapes and colours and textures and represented them from different perspectives.

And they've also then chosen the genre portraiture and tried to capture the personality and emotion through different ways.

So in the middle, we have very much a more fluid, small photographs of someone changing emotions, expressions.

On the left, we have a small child smelling a flower, looking very peaceful.

And on the right, we have a gentleman gazing up into the sky, contemplating.

So each one of those captures the personality and emotion, but through very different ways.

Thank you for joining me today for today's lesson.

We've looked at our photographic voice and we understand that this is the distinctive way we see and capture the world through images, and that it's shaped by mixture of things such as experimentation and internal and external influences, and that there are many aspects in photography to experiment with in order to find your photographic voice.

And I hope you continue to go and develop it.

Thank you again.