Lesson video

Hello everyone.

How are you today? My name's Mrs. Alton and I'll be your art teacher for today's lesson.

Today's lesson is all about researching and presenting a photographer's work.

And that's from the unit Finding your artistic voice: an introduction to the creative process.

I really love photography and hope that you enjoy this lesson.

So let's get started.

The outcome for today's lesson is that I can research photographers and present my findings and analysis.

There are three key words for today's lesson.

Analysis, the process of examining the elements or structure of something.

Annotation, adding notes to explain, analyse, or share your thoughts about a piece of artwork.

And research, the process of finding information to learn more about a topic or idea.

The lesson today is researching and presenting a photographer's work, and there are three learning cycles.

The first is selecting a photographer to research.

The second is research and analyse a photographer's work.

And the third is presenting your photography research.

So let's look at learning cycle one.

The outcome of this lesson could be these examples that are shown on screen, but I'm sure that you'll have lots of exciting ideas on how you would like to present your ideas in a personal way.

What do these have in common? Online galleries, museums and galleries, books, magazines, and art blogs, social media platforms, documentaries, the great outdoors, and art fairs.

Pause the video here while you share your ideas with someone.

Well done if you mention that these are all places that you could go to find art and photographers to inspire you.

Izzy also mentions that she likes to visit smaller local galleries and exhibitions by local artists too.

So you don't have to go very far, you can always find inspiration on your doorstep.

Are there any local places that you could go to find inspiration? Pause the video here while you share your ideas.

So you may have mentioned some ideas that are included in this list or maybe ones that are more personal to the area that you live in.

True or false question.

The only place to go to find art and photographers to inspire you is famous art galleries.

Have a think.

Well done if you recognise that this is a false statement.

And that's because there, as we've mentioned, there are a variety of places that you can go to get inspiration, and that might even be very local, smaller exhibitions and galleries or work by local artists.

Photographers often look at and analyse other artists' work as a source of inspiration.

It helps them to build on what has been done before, but also to learn new things and try out new ideas, themes, techniques, and materials.

Photographers often research the work of other photographers to enrich their art practise and to develop their own artistic voice.

Which of the following statements is true? All photographers are against researching and analysing other artists' work as a source of inspiration.

Photographers never research and analyse other artists' work.

Photographers often research and analyse other artists' work as a source of inspiration.

Well done if you recognise that the correct answer is C.

Izzy and Alex are discussing how to start their research, and this can often be a very tricky time at the start of a project.

Izzy says, I have a good list of places to go to look at photographers' work, but I don't know where to start or how to choose which ones to look at first.

And Alex comments that it's completely normal to feel overwhelmed with so many options.

What do you suggest Izzy does? Pause the video here while you discuss your answers with someone.

So you may have suggested that when you start a project and start to gather ideas for inspiration that you might start with what you enjoy and that might be within photography, within art, or even what you enjoy in your life.

What excites or interests you? And these two students are discussing that question.

First, Lucas says, I'm drawn to fashion photography and themes of fantasy and the surreal.

And Izzy comments, I love nature, colour, and texture.

My favourite photography shows stories about culture.

I know in my own practise I really enjoy taking photographs from really unusual angles and thinking about how I can play around with the idea of size and scale in my work.

Pause the video here while you think about what you might enjoy as inspiration in your work.

It's really important to get a clear idea about your theme and whether there are sub-themes within a theme.

For example, if the theme given is identity, you might look at identity and teenagers or identity and social media, and all of a sudden this then becomes much more focused and you can start to really research more ideas within that topic.

Lucas says, I've been given the theme fantasy.

I enjoy creating dreamlike images that reflect my imagination.

I'm inspired by gaming, film, and animation, so I'm really looking at extending the theme to research fantasy and dreams. You can use your theme to help you focus your search to find relevant photographers.

So in this table, the first row identifies the theme.

The second, personal interests, and in this case, gaming, film, and animation.

Third row is about your search focus.

So what is it you really want to look for? And again, in this instance, it's surreal images and things that relate to the imagination.

And then really inputting these all in for a search online.

The results that came up included the photographers Mous Lamrabat, Aida Muluneh, and Viviane Sassen.

And these are photographers I've looked into that I thought that you might be interested in if you were interested in this type of theme.

So these photographers use fantasy and surreal images to explore dreams, culture, and generation.

Mous Lamrabat blends Moroccan traditions with pop culture, creating dreamlike photos that explore cultural identity.

Aida Muluneh uses bright colours and patterns to create powerful dreamlike portraits about Ethiopian identity, African heritage, and social issues.

And Viviane Sassen plays with shadows and shapes creating surreal images that offer new perspectives on people and places.

So it's really important that we understand that one theme can be interpreted in many different ways.

And for this idea, Izzy focuses her theme on fantasy within nature.

So we can see using the same table, we have the theme, fantasy, interests, abstract photography, exploring natural forms, and experimenting with textures.

So really focusing the search for photographers inspired by textures, forms, and patterns of the natural world.

And searching using this method has come up with a number of photographers.

And I've just really selected a few that I thought would be really interesting for this theme.

So first is Christian Cassiel, second, Liz Orton, Levon Biss, and Rania Matar.

So these artists explore the theme of fantasy using natural forms, textures, and patterns.

So Christian Cassiel takes peaceful photos of plants and landscapes using light and shape to create dreamlike moods.

He also looks at other themes, but I've really just picked out what's relevant to what Izzy wants to look at within his whole kind of series of work.

Liz Orton combined science and photography to reveal strange, hidden patterns in nature.

Levon Bliss uses closeup photographs of insects to show magical details and textures we don't usually see.

And again, it's really just picking out what aspects of that photographer's work really resonate with you and seeing if you can focus your search in on those particular parts.

And Rania Matar captures people in natural spaces, blending reality with imagination through setting and pose.

So let's think about your task for today.

So consider your chosen aspect of a theme, your interests, and which type of photographers you might search for.

So using this table and these different kind of subheadings, you can start to think about your theme and your interest, what you might like to search for, and really see if you can come up with some results.

And it may just take a little bit of time to click onto those photographers that you come up with on your searches and just see is there a series of work within their kind of larger body of work that they've been working on that you might be really inspired by, or it might even be one photograph.

So really have a look and see what results you can come up with.

Pause the video here while you complete this task.

So let's take a look at what your search may have looked like.

So in this example, the theme is conflict.

The interests are fascinated by dramatic stories of war and peace and enjoys documentary photography.

The search for has been photographers known for capturing historical and social conflicts with emotional intensity in their work.

And the results that this search has produced included Lynsey Addario, Misan Harriman, and Don McCullin.

And these are all photographers that work with themes like humanitarian crisis, social activism, and also documenting war and conflict.

So let's move on to learning cycle two, research and analyse a photographer's work.

Researching and analysing, so really thinking about those key words again, a photographer's work helps you understand their techniques, ideas, and how they create their images.

And this is really an important part of really developing as a photographer yourself.

True or false question.

By researching the work of others, photographers enrich their practise and develop their own photographic voice.

Have a think.

Well done if you recognise that that's a true statement.

And that's because researching the work of other photographers help you learn new techniques, understand different styles, and see how others express ideas visually.

Research and analysis can be shown through annotation.

So we can see in this example that there's writing about what they're noticing in a photographer's work and how it might inspire the practise.

And also your own visual responses, so creating your own images inspired by another photographer's style and ideas.

So that doesn't need to mean that you copy, but it means that you're really taking some of those key aspects that you are drawn to that you are inspired by, and really seeing if you can integrate some of those ideas into your own work.

Annotation helps you break down the artist's work by describing what you see, and that might be considering the formal elements, interpreting the meaning or message within the work, and also helps you to understand the bigger picture.

So maybe that's looking into the time, place, culture, or personal background of the photographer that you're looking into.

Looking closely at photographer's work can help you to analyse how they use style, composition, lighting, props and setting, focus.

True or false question.

Recording and analysing a photographer's work is essential for copying and making work exactly like theirs.

Do you think that's true or false? Well done if you recognise that that's a false statement.

And that's because analysing a photographer's work helps you understand their techniques and ideas.

You don't need to copy exactly, but you take and apply the inspiration to your own work.

Style is the overall look or feel of the image.

Examples might include vibrant, moody, surreal, minimalist, or gritty.

What kind of mood or tone does this image have? Pause the video here while you share your thoughts with somebody else.

Well done for your discussion.

I'm sure you've come up with lots of different ideas.

And it's really important to remember that there isn't one right answer for this.

We're all going to interpret images differently.

If I was looking at this image here and thinking about style, I might say that I can definitely see a surreal element.

This idea that things are out of place.

We wouldn't usually see butterflies placed on the face like this and the face is kind of almost wrapped up in some kind of fabric.

So that really gives it a dreamlike quality.

There's also an element, I would say, of minimalism, because the person's wearing just a very plain black top set against this cream background, so we have some different elements going in there.

And maybe you've picked up some of the other key words and can explain why you've chosen those words for this image and that's perfectly valid as well.

So let's look at the next one.

Lighting includes how light is used in a photo.

Examples include natural daylight, soft and even, dramatic shadows, or coloured light.

Is the lighting in this image calm, harsh, warm, cool, or dramatic? Pause the video here while you share your ideas.

So I wonder what you come up with for this image.

So we look at it together.

So do we think that the colour here is calm, harsh, warm, cool, or dramatic? And I think we could say there's kind of elements of everything in this image.

There's also some real kind of blurred areas as we look at it as well.

And there's some bits that stick out where we've got the neon lights kind of look quite jarring and maybe a bit harsh as well.

There's definitely some drama within the image and maybe that's the way the colours almost look layered on top of each other.

And we've definitely got some warm and cool aspects, so really contrasting and drawing you in.

What does the lighting highlight? Take another look.

Maybe you've identified that some of the signage is really where the kind of light picks up and really draws your eye into the image.

Or maybe there's other parts that you've recognised.

Let's the take a look at this word.

Composition is how elements are arranged in the photo.

So composition might be centred, off balance, busy, minimal, or using leading lines.

Where does your eye go first in this photograph? Pause the video while you discuss this with the person next to you.

So again, this might be different for all of us, but artist photographers will use tricks to kind of draw our eye in to different parts of the image.

And for me, I think it's the between the hand and the mouth.

It's almost like she's pointing.

And that's really drawing me into that part of the image.

But there's also lines happening from the trees and the branches.

So maybe that's what you saw first.

How have the shapes been placed in this image? Take another look.

Maybe you've decided or looked at the shape of the silhouette of the person.

And that's really taking up about 2/3 of the composition, and it's just placed off centre to the left-hand side of the screen.

So let's look at setting and props.

So consider where the photograph is taken and where the supporting objects are used.

Examples might include symbolic or themed objects or meaningful locations.

So taking a look at this image, what extra meaning do the settings or props add to the image? Pause the video here while you take a moment to discuss this question.

So well done, you may have discussed the purpose of the book for instance.

Why a book? Why a shadow of a person? And that could be very personal in terms of what the photographer meant or what you actually interpret from the image.

So for me, books always resemble something around studying.

And it looks like the person's almost being crushed by the page.

So maybe this could be a comment on some type of revision or study or how the person is feeling.

But again, you may have come up with a completely different idea.

So that's absolutely fine.

Let's move on to focus.

So focus refers to what's clear and sharp in the photo.

Focus may have shallow depth, sharp subject, blurred background, or all be in focus.

Where is your attention drawn in this photo? Take a close look.

So I wonder what you discussed.

For me, it's really drawn into the centre, 'cause there's these real aspects of clarity in the focus in the centre parts of this image.

And there's this real idea of this abstraction going on as well.

And this image is actually a bubble, so the reflections in bubbles.

But it really is quite hard to tell, so your eyes are really drawn in to what is this trying to make sense of the image as well.

So a really kind of clever example of macrophotography here.

What mood does the focus create? Have another look.

So maybe you've said something about this kind of surreal or dreamlike mood that we've just talked about.

So well done for all your analysis of these images.

Which of these are ways to record an artist's work? Is it A, conversations and thinking.

B, visiting and looking.

Or C, visually and through annotations.

Have a think.

Well done if you said visually and through annotations.

You are correct.

So now over to you for our second task.

You're gonna pick a photographer, and I'm sure you've come up with a lot from learning cycle one, where it could even be a photo or a series of work as we've mentioned, that matches your theme or interests.

Research how the photographer has created their images.

Consider style, so like we've discussed, is it vibrant, moody, minimalist? Composition, how are the elements arranged? Lighting, what type of lighting is used? And that might be words that we've mentioned already like soft, dramatic, or even natural.

Are there any settings? Where is the setting and are there any props? So how do these elements support the theme? And then thinking about focus, what's in focus or blurred and how does it affect the mood? So pause the video here while you complete this task and I look forward to seeing what you come back with.

So we can see for this example, Izzy has decided to focus on a photographer that explores abstract photography like she was looking at in learning cycle one.

So that's a photographer that looks at natural forms and experiments with textures.

And for the second part, she's researching how a photographer has created their images.

So her and Alex have been talking, and Alex says that the style feels moody because it's in black and white, and the composition looks a bit like a bird's eye view.

And Izzy comments that the lighting is dramatic like a landscape.

And the focus makes it tricky to tell if it's close-up, which is macro or taken from far away.

So secondly, analyse your ideas.

You could write three things you learned about the photographer and one way you'll use their techniques or ideas in your planning.

Answer these questions.

What techniques did the photographer use, and how did they affect the overall mood or message? How might you use similar techniques or ideas in your own work? And what challenges might you face while planning a photoshoot inspired by their work? Pause the video here while you complete this task.

So for this task you may have said like Lucas does, something I've learned is how to play with the placement of objects to create a dreamlike effect.

And Izzy comments that she would like to take close-up photos of natural forms. The challenge that she's identified is maybe the lighting might be hard to really keep her photos in focus.

You could also record any discussions that you have as an audio entry.

So not everything has to be written.

So let's move on to learning cycle three, presenting your photography research.

So what do you think could be added to the presentation of this photography research page? Take a close look, pause the video, and see if you can find an answer.

So well done if you recognise like Aisha has here that she can't see what the photos look like, which really makes it difficult to understand this research.

So this example uses a clear creative layout that communicates analysis with images and personal responses.

And we can see here that there's number of ways that the annotations have been added to this page.

So it doesn't need to be like an essay, in fact, that can take away from some of the analysis.

It may be that you are kind of brainstorming ideas or you are using bullet points, or maybe you're changing the font style or even using highlighters to really zoom in on those key ideas and analysis that you're focusing on.

So really think about how you might present your work because that can really have a big impact on how others interpret your analysis and research.

So presenting a photographer's research should only be done visually.

Is that true or false? Well done if you identify that's a false statement.

And as we've discussed, presenting your research effectively includes a mix of visuals.

So that's written annotations and experiments, even inspired by your photographer's techniques.

Presenting your photography research may include.

Images of the photographer's work.

Annotations in your own words.

So that might be facts, analysis, alongside your own responses.

Your own interpretations and reflections.

And that's a really important aspect, especially for the higher level grades.

So how does this research link to your ideas, your own practise? How could you take this further in your own work? And really visually engage in composition and presentation when you start to put together your work.

So which of the following is a good idea when presenting artist research? Is it, A, be sure to only list facts about the artist.

B, include all details about the artist's personal life.

Or C, add your own interpretations and reflections to how this links to your ideas.

Well done if you noted that C is correct.

So it's really important to add your own interpretations and reflections.

So really thinking about how this work links to your own ideas.

So over to you for our last task.

Present your photography research in a format of your choice.

You should include.

Two to three images of your chosen artist, your chosen photographer's work.

Annotations, and you can use bullet points or paragraphs as we've explained.

Your own interpretations and reflections, so how this links to your ideas.

You could present this as a sketchbook page, a presentation sheet, or a digital portfolio.

So really, whichever presentation method suits your own practise.

So pause the video here while you complete this task.

So let's take a look at what your work may have looked like.

And here we can see there are many possible outcomes, but you may have.

Explained your choice of theme, and we can see that's been outlined in the centre.

Listed artists to research, so artists and photographers that you are interested in.

Identify places to find inspiration.

And presented your research in a visually interested way.

And we can see that there's been images added here that all link to the central theme and idea.

And here we can see that there's also analysis of the image as well.

So we can see in normal cycle two, we looked at these particular aspects, style, composition, lighting, focus.

And the props have not been included here because they're not relevant.

So not all of the questions will be relevant to every photograph that you look at.

So it's really picking out which ones you've got lots to say about.

So in this example, we can see that they included some analysis, opinions and thoughts in annotations, related their research to their own ideas, and presented research in a visually interesting way.

And we can really start to see a coherency between the first slide and second, so really building up that portfolio of work.

So as a summary, researching and presenting a photographer's work.

Analysing key themes and techniques used by a photographer deepens our understanding of their art.

By researching the work of other practitioners, photographers enrich their practise and develop their own photographic voice.

Inspirational photography can be found in many places, offering diverse opportunities for research and discovery.

And photography research can be recorded visually and with annotations.

Thank you for joining me today.

I hope that you've enjoyed the lesson and look forward to seeing you soon.