I developed my idea to incorporate the themes of Lee Friedlander's 'At Work', but I realised that making the subject interact with their working surroundings could look forced, because my project unlike his photographs all different types of shops. What I did find out though, is that his technique works really well when photographing people who work in factory industries, aka when they use their hands, this is something I could follow up in the future. I decided that I would take a few of his ideas of interaction with the products to my final shoot on Curry Mile, but not force anything for fear it may become unnatural.
Le Mall- Revisited
I decided to revisit Le Mall after my first visit because the owner I photographed was more than willing to help me with my project, but this time I went I decided to photograph his other shop worker instead because I had already photographed him. Le Mall also took my contact details and I took theirs, because he said that he might need a photographer in the near future to photograph adverts and pictures on the wall for a cultural learning centre he is going to be opening. This fact of me taking the portraits and then giving back through work experience works very well because they get something out of it as well, and I get more experience on the job. So I will be looking forward to hearing back from them at a later date.
The shop side of Le Mall sells mostly kitchenware, but also pretty much everything you could imagine which allows the shopper to go in and get whatever they need from just this one shop. For this first photograph, I tried to use aspects of Friedlander's interaction method. I did this by positioning the subject next to the heater, so they both correspond with each other and kind of mirror one another. I think in a strange way this has worked quite well, and makes him look like he's interacting with the shop. Also I think the heater is quite a funny detail for the viewer, because it correlates to the subjects big jacket inside the shop and makes it obvious that its cold inside. Even though this image works on some aspects, I think the overall feel is that of an awkward composition.
Because its christmas time, the shop also had a few christmas decorations in it. And like how I positioned the subject next to the heater, for this angle I positioned him next to the fake christmas tree because I thought they would mirror each other and also reference what time of year it was. After getting back and looking over the image I think it just looks strange and more comical than anything, because he is again awkwardly placed within the frame and the decorations around him just give a very contrasting look to the subject, which just makes the image look comical instead of natural portrait. I think in the first two images I have shown, the subject is still quite nervous around the camera, and his body position is stiff, creating an unnatural look which is not what I want. I've learnt through this project so far that it takes time talking to the subject to make them feel comfortable, which then results with the best images usually being at the end of the shoot.
Best Image
While shooting, I changed the composition and angle a third time because I thought the first two looked quite unusual. This third angle, I think works a lot better than the first two for a few reasons. Firstly, the subject had now relaxed by this point in the shoot meaning his body position and facial expression were both more natural, this means that the portrait is more realistic which can be seen by the viewer. Secondly, I have placed him in the centre of the frame which gives the photograph a balance that was missing in the other two photographs, but this means I have lost Friedlander's technique but I think in this case it doesn't work well. The background of this image is very cluttered, exactly the same as the whole shop is, so I think it reflects the shop well. In other shops that I have shot in, I have tried to find a composition which is not cluttered to make it a more simplistic portrait, but in this shop there was no place to make this happen. Asides from this, I think its fine that this couldn't happen because the shop itself is very cluttered so it gives the viewer a true representation of both the subject and the shop, which thus creates a better portrait.
This revisited shoot in Le Mall went well in the end. At the start of it, I was still trying to incorporate Friedlander's techniques but what I thought might have happened, happened, and the portraits looked very unnatural and forced. Also at the time of these first two photographs, the subject was still quite nervous and camera shy, which also added to making the portraits look and feel unnatural. After I ditched the idea of incorporation and changed the composition to the third angle it began working a lot better than before. By this time the subject was comfortable in front of the camera, and also the composition looked much more natural which resulted in the portrait a lot better.
Satellite Vision
I starting shooting the subject inside Satellite Vision, which sells satellites, cctv's, alarms and computers, behind his desk but after one shot I asked if he could come to the customer side so I could capture his full body. At the start of the shoot he was quite tense, which can be seen in this image, with him not really knowing where to put his hands or how to stand. I soon changed this to make him feel and thus look more comfortable.
Best Image
After speaking to him for a while, he became more comfortable with the camera, and I told him to rest his arm on the desk. I did this because I remembered about Friedlander's technique, but I didn't want to over complicate things and make him hold something, so I decided that him resting on the desk would make him look like he was more of a part of the shop and it also worked to make him look a lot more comfortable. I am happy with how this image turned out, because the composition is quite simple and also its obvious to the viewer that he is the main subject within the frame. Also his body position and facial expression are a lot more relaxed than before, this results in the viewer feeling like they're viewing the real side to the subject and not a false front.
After being happy with the image I had just captured, I decided to try a different angle to see if that would work, this was because the subject wasn't busy dealing with customers so he didn't mind taking some more photographs. This one is quite different to the last because it has a lot more angles going on, with diagonal and straight lines which does make it look a lot more complicated and not as simple as the portrait previous. In saying this, I do still like the image because he is still very relaxed, which meant capturing him looking natural was easy. I think that his facial expression in this image looks more prominent than the previous image, but his body position looks like he's just been put there and isn't part of the shop. Where as in the other photograph he looks a lot more relaxed in the space, I think this is because of him resting on the desk and also because this image has awkward lines.
This shoot in Satellite Vision, was a good experience to use some of Friedlander's techniques, which actually resulted in making a portrait that was a lot more comfortable looking. Also because the subject wasn't busy it gave me a chance to try a different angle, in which I didn't use his technique to then compare both images after. The result of this was that the image in which the subject is resting on the desk actually looks more natural and comfortable which is why I've chosen this for my best image.
Janan
This shoot was very laid back compared to some of the other ones I had done over the course of the is project, this was because the subject was very friendly and we had a joke about the whole thing. I think this resulted in here, instantly warming to the camera and me, which meant she looked natural in front of the camera quickly. The only problem with this, was that a few times she found it very difficult to not laugh or smile, this just meant I had to wait until she had collected herself to carry on shooting. As soon as I walked into the shop, I knew that this would be the best angle to shoot from because the viewer can tell what kind of shop it is, but also the composition and framing is still very simple which makes it look like quite an elegant portrait. But because of laughing and smiling between pictures it resulted in her facial expression looking a bit too posey than a serious portrait which is why I haven't chosen this image, but it is close to what I wanted.
This image I have included just to show further show how the subject acted throughout the shoot, which made the whole thing very relaxed for herself and me. Hopefully for future portrait shoots I can make them as laid back and relaxed as this one was, because it is a lot easier to get the wanted result when conditions are like this. Also luckily for me the shop was very well lit, meaning it was easy to get my exposure correct and highlight her face properly which is the main focus for the portrait. I didn't use Friedlander's technique to try and make it look like she's more involved with the background, because I was already happy with the results I was getting and felt the portrait already looked natural enough not to change anything, this is also why I didn't try a different angle.
Best Image
This was my final image from this shoot in Janan, and was also my favourite. This portrait is arguably my favourite from the whole of my project, which does make good sense as its the last image I took for the project. Using the same simple composition I talked about before, I managed to capture this image when she was looking friendly but serious, in between all the times the subject was laughing. I have lightened her face and also brought out the colours in the image so they pop out of the screen, making it obvious to the viewer what the purpose of this clothing shop is. Her arms are by her side, which in many portraits before this one didn't work which is why I asked the subject to rest them on something or at least pick something up, but in this image I think it still works. As I've said before, her facial expression is very natural and I feel she looks like she gives herself to the viewer which then makes them feel like they're viewing the real person and not a false front. The white walls and floor, help to make the picture very bright and also simple, which with the few colours on the side create a very elegant looking portrait. This image will definitely be used in my portfolio, among others.
This shoot was quite different from many because of how natural it all felt, I think it was to do with me having practised this technique a lot throughout the whole of my project before this point and also how friendly the shop worker was to photograph. It was difficult to work in between her laughing and smiling, but this meant that she was very natural in front of the camera when she had stopped, because she was then comfortable with the camera. Also I came away with one of my favourite images from the whole of my project, which I think represents the subject and shop very well for what they are, which I'm hoping can be seen by the viewer. I didn't use Friedlander's technique for this shoot in Janan, even though it had helped me in previous shops, I started getting very good and natural results from the start so I didn't want to change anything which could've made it look forced. Overall I am very happy with how this last shoot went.