For this photoshoot I wanted to experiment with photographing objects that I had around the house. I had no set plan as I wanted to use this photoshoot to spark and inspire ideas for my connections themed project as I am currently unsure which route to take. I'm starting with objects to show connections as I think it could be used in an interesting way, additionally, it is a different direction for me to explore creatively, with most of my previous work revolving around landscapes/ nature.
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When photographing, I sought out interesting compositions and objects that I found to be engaging and interpretable while maintaining a key motif of 'everyday' objects and environments. I also knew that I wanted to crop all images into squares when editing, there were multiple reasons for this, including: I find this format to be nostalgic in the way it references original square formats provided by cameras such as the Hasselblad, this sense of nostalgia helps with the idea of familiarity and connection through the presentation of everyday objects, additionally, the square format introduces equal visual weight on all sides encouraging viewers to look around and also enhancing geometric shapes and diagonal lines which I have captured in these images. Keeping this in mind when shooting meant ensuring there was enough negative space around the objects that I wanted to remain central and planning ahead to which parts would be cropped out.
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In a technical sense, I had to change camera settings very frequently as I progressed through different lighting conditions. I used natural daylight as a primary light source however, the sun was beginning to set during the shoot which meant light became gradually lower throughout. When necessary, before changing camera settings, I used the overhead lights in each room to add an additional source. I then amended my camera settings to work in these conditions, often increasing ISO to around 1000 at maximum and decreasing shutter speed to 1/80 at its lowest to avoid camera shake. I could've used a tripod to allow me a lower shutter speed and lower ISO which would've reduced the considerable amount of noise in these photographs, however, this wasn't ideal with the way in which I was shooting - switching locations regularly, inserting the camera in hard to reach places, and achieving specific/ individual angles.
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During the shoot, I had the idea to use these images as a sequence of decontextualised photos and create a way in which different people could group them together in whichever way they connected with. This also worked with my desire to crop every image and give them all a balanced and equal base. I didn't want this idea development to influence what I was photographing as I didn't want to unintentionally contrive any distinct groups or connections. However, I did ensure that before ending the shoot, I had taken enough photographs to create a sequence big enough to be grouped and in multiple different ways. I also didn't construct any compositions during the shoot other than removing any objects obstructing the subjects I was capturing. I wanted the images to remain authentic and not feel manufactured and disrupting to the 'everyday' structure.
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I'm happy with the results of the photoshoot and think they will work well in what I plan to do. It was a new challenge to work with man-made objects and especially with no concrete starting plan. However, after a short trial and error period in the beginning, I was able to better detect compositions in which I wanted to capture. If I re-did this, I would pick an earlier time of day to utilise natural light more aptly, and I would also continue to look at objects - particularly the ones I would never think to focus on.
I used lightroom to select and edit the images. Cropping each into squares and curating the frame that I wanted. I also focused on colour and giving each photo an atmosphere of its own while simultaneously trying to remain cohesive in my editing in order to not create any specific groups of images. With how high my ISO was during some parts of the shoot, I also added some noise reduction to a select few of images to reduce that effect. Other than that, I didn't change the images too much as I wanted to preserve the familiarity and 'everyday' theme.
For my image-grouping idea, I wanted to find a way to present the images publicly in a way which was easy for people to engage with. I also wanted to make sure it was a place in which visitors did not need to have an account or sign in to make the process easier. I started with the sandbox feature on padlet which I found to be adequate for what I wanted, but the interface was slightly confusing for someone who has never used it and also, the amount of space available to show images was minimal. I kept looking and discovered the whiteboard feature on canva in which I could upload the images onto a sheet with abundant space and a much easier interface as well as canva being a site more likely to have been used by my audience.
I uploaded my images and duplicated the page to provide blank set-ups for each person. I then wrote brief instructions on the first page to make it even clearer and added an example page after that. I then shared the link with individuals and also pulled the page up on my computer to allow people to engage in-person.
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I found the results to be very interesting in how they differed. Some categories were similar among all variants however, there continued to be new ideas and interpretations of the images which led to differentiating individual connections made by each person. My intention with this experiment was to explore how the same images can appear differently to individuals and how they then choose to connect them together. This was successful in showing that. It has also given me inspiration for future experiments as I realise that connection is often reliant on context and meaning and while these dependents are all subjective to some level, the images that I presented all carried a sense of context, through subject, surroundings, and colour. Therefore, I think it would be interesting to explore how decontextualising the images beforehand - either in camera or in post-production - could influence the grouping of them. The absence of context and immediate recognition, forces us to look at something differently and in turn, form new connections with it.
Example Page
Results
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