Final Evaluation

When we started our photography A level we focused on the topic of the 10 formal elements; Line, Colour, Pattern, Depth, Texture, Tone, Form, Movement, Shape and Reflection. We looked at this because if we can focus on one particular element within a photograph it will help the way we photograph an image and also when evaluating an image. Towards the beginning of the topic I struggled to see what would consist of the formal elements however after a few lessons and further explanation from the teacher it gradually became easier and now towards the end of the topic I find it much easier to focus on them. I think the formal elements were a very good topic to start with because they helped to expand our knowledge and understanding of photography and the skills I have gained from this topic will help me in our next units.

I found it very difficult to photograph some topics such as depth however once I had done one shoot and gotten the teachers opinion and advice I felt that if I was to go and photograph the same topic again I would not struggle as much as the first time. My favourite formal element throughout the formal elements was probably movement because this was the most fun however also creative element. I would like to focus on movement again because I felt that this formal element was quite time consuming and because of this I could not take too many images.

After looking at all of the formal elements we began to look a little into using the studio and initially we used the studio for form so it would link to our formal elements topic. I was able to photograph studio form twice because I had some extra time one lesson and I found this very beneficial because it meant that I could use the skills that I had learnt from the first shoot within my second shoot. I like my studio form images very much because I think they are very creative and I liked trying out all of the different backdrops and lights. We also photographed back of heads, contrast and a Mapplethorpe style shoot in the studio and I liked all of these because I find them very interesting and I enjoy using the studio.  At first I struggled to photograph studio contrast because I could not think how to show contrast by using people and so in my first shoot I did take any photos that I felt clearly showed contrast. I then used the studio a further two times and managed to come out of these with a few images, although I did not have many images from these shoots however I think the few images I did manage to take showed contrast very well. For me, studio contrast would have been the hardest to photograph because I found it very difficult to understand how to show contrast within the studio.

After looking at studio contrast we then began to look at contrast more generally. We completed a mind map of all what contrast consists of and how we could show this and then we completed two location shoots. I found location contrast one of the easiest topics to photograph because contrast can be a variety of different things and are very easy to find. I also found this quite creative because you had to be able to recognise the contrast and then photograph it in a way that would show the contrast effectively, for example one of my images showed the contrast between the moss in the pavement and the stones on top of the pavement, to show the contrast of this I took a very low angled macro shot, focusing on both the stones and the moss.

Overall I have enjoyed this unit because it has expanded my skills and taught me a lot of things which will be good to use when I start my own topic, for example, what may count as a good photo, what photos work for me and how to edit them to the best of their worth. This unit has also helped me to understand the formal elements and how they are very important for photography and evaluating work. From this I have decided that I would like to use a mix of the studio and location in my next unit as I like and feel comfortable photographing in both however I would not like to focus on one particularly because I feel that this would get repetitive and become boring whereas if I used a mixture of location and studio I would have some variety.