Assignment 5: Feedback

I have received feedback for my final Assignment for DPP1. The feedback was generally very good, my tutor recognized the amount of work and that i have presented a coherent body of work, which I am pleased about. The comments were technical in nature, specifically that a couple of my images still had some sloping lines. This is something I did spend a long time on, but obviously it just takes practice, and I need to look and re-look again and again to check them. I have edited the photos in question and will have them re-printed ahead of assessment. In addition, he suggested that some of the colours were a little too vibrant. This is probably a fair call, though I have decided not to go back and repeat the edit, as it was a long process and I am happy with the colours, particularly in the prints I have had made, but it is something I need to watch for in the future. I plan to purchase a printer later this year for use in my next course, so I shall have to fine-tune my colour management skills when that happens.

Why am I aiming for ‘consistent’ colours in my set? I guess I was looking for a set which held together and didn’t have large differences in colour/tonal range. It certainly dictated the days and times of day when I went to take the photos. I then processed them all in a similar manner, aiming for fairly bright strong colours in my final set, probably for aesthetic value. I manipulated the colours slightly in Lightroom using the selective colour sliders, mainly to bring out the blue skies, as I could have done with a polarising filter (perhaps I should have done this instead?)

 
In addition, he was surprised that I decided to present my images in the grid of 9. It's funny, this is the one aspect of the project that I decided on at the start and failed to question along the way. And fail is the right word here, because the one big thing I learnt with this assignment was that it is so important to continually question why I am doing things and what I am doing and is there a better way I can do it. But the grid of images is the only aspect  (probably not the only, but the main one I can see!) that I did not question during the course of my project, until my tutor pointed it out, at which point I agree totally that these houses are all different, and despite the project by typological in nature, it is not purely typography, and would be better presented in a my typical style, ideally blown up huge on a wall (30 by 40cm say). Each house is individual and should be presented as so. So that is how I would present this project if it ever got that far :) In my defense, I have never had an exhibition, so I have not encountered the issue of how to present my images before!

In summary, my tutor had some excellent advice which I include below when planning for projects:

Start off by writing your aims and objectives.  What do you want to be able to demonstrate by the end of the project? What do you want to have achieved? What processes do you want to learn or develop? What ideas or concepts do you intend to examine in your work?

Examine theories, articles and exhibitions that are relevant for your area of study.  Give yourself a reading list.