inelsonrato
@inelsonrato6 Jun
Projects, yes or no ?
I photograph everything that catches my eye but having projects helps me to focus. Anyone uses projects? Which ones ? How many?
I'm kind of in the same boat when it comes to my approach – anything that looks interesting I shoot. I've been at the hobby awhile to see patterns of things developing, and being a graphic designer as a day job, it's only natural to want to make a zine or something similar (design and photos).
Currently I have one started that focuses on classic cars from the US and Britain. (Easy to find a car show in California). The second is one I'm considering is something with environmental portraits – most likely of members from a local camera club.
Book suggestion: The Photographer's Playbook: 307 Assignments and Ideas
https://store.aperture.org/products/the-photographers-playbook
I think photo projects are a brilliant way to keep your photographic eye in. I have periods where my "mojo" completely disappears and I really struggle to capture an image but because I have a number of projects on the go (often open ended, sometimes on my own but often with my brother) I have anchor points I can delve back into. One of my fallbacks is Kentish churchyards as there are so many to visit that I will never run out of subject matter and the other, in unison with my brother, is our local town. A brilliant photographer who had many projects on the go at the same time was Lee Friedlander - some of his came together through looking closely at his huge archive, one of which , Pickup, is my one of my all time favourite photo books. He gives me hope that even if you can't see the wood for the trees when you are struggling there is always hope that a project will appear.
I'd suggest, if you're building a project, to get feedback from other photographers on it. Find a photographer you admire, and ask them if they wouldn't mind taking a look. Or join project development workshops.
I did a project development workshop this year and it was one of the best things i've done for my photography.
Which one did you attend, I would be Interested in doing something similar
I think projects are probably the best thing you can do to raise your photography game. If it wasn’t for a clear set of ongoing projects to work towards, my photography would have probably stayed at the same level as the first ten years.
When I realised that most of the photographers I admired worked towards projects, something clicked. Just look on the Magnum website to see how many have distinct projects with shots that work so well together. As well as photography and movies, I also get a lot of inspiration from music. I see a great shot as a “single” and a series as an “album”. You’ve gotta think what works well together and in what order, to tell a good story and make everything shine.
I have completed four photo projects now, with a fifth ongoing. All completely different, and I love how I can already look back on each one and see my photographic journey progressing.
All you need to start is a good idea!
110%. I have at least two on the go, with one I've got to the point where I've shot for a year, have reviewed and have started to sequence based on what I think I want to express. Shared it with friends and photographers I've taken workshops with, and now submitted to festivals etc.
Pick something that is easy to do, you can do often and you have a passion for. Then shoot the shit out of it. All of mine are geographically limited by choice.
I think it's important you are open with your projects and get them shared with other photographers - I've learned a lot from this.
Definitely projects!!
I also photograph many things that catch my eye, for sure. Just not "everything" any more. Now I have a bit more purpose, otherwise you end up collecting a lot of unwanted material. Over the years, some repeating themes will emerge. Those are the best projects.
To be a "project", something has to matter to you... a lot. Otherwise it will likely be a passing thing and later forgotten in the digital cemetery... aka the hard drive.
In my case, when something becomes a project, it can stay a project for years. And photographers I’ve spoken to in the past tend to share the same: “this is a multi-year project”… or “I started this project when I was 15…”.
But for me all this is very difficult. In a project, you can collect umbrellas, or a person in a lit section of an otherwise dark frame… or minimalist photography and so forth. For many, those are all “projects”. But I think it’s a bit more complicated than that.
Martin Parr’s project was to document British life. Or Spanish photographer Cristina Garcia Rodero, started as a teenager to document rituals, festivals and so on in rural Spain, the deep, rural kind. Now she is a Magnum Photographer. Those, to me, are photographic projects. And they are difficult to materialise. And they take a lifetime to achieve.
So, to me, “collecting” umbrellas or silhouettes at the top of the subway stairs are more “fun exercises” than “projects”. Fun, and very necessary to develop photographic style, technique, personality and so on.
To wrap up, if you want projects, I’ll ask the question again: what matters to you? A lot? A lot a lot? That’s your project.
100% agreed. I had these kind of projects like hats etc but as you’ve said it is not a meaningful project and that’s what I’m trying to get for my photography. Thanks for your input
Everyone needs to determine what they are looking to get out of their own photography and what brings them joy. For myself, that is doing projects as well as free form shooting. They both inform the other. Sometimes a project idea comes out of the freeform shooting and other times projects are curated ideas. At the moment I have about seven projects in various states of completion. There are a couple of additional ideas that I may pursue.
I think projects are useful if you are interested in producing something like a web series, book, or some other multiple photo submission.
All day long, sometimes you can feel frustration and a little lost in your photography aim.
A couple of years ago I decided to photograph 100 strangers in my hometown, purposely to make a book for myself, my passion was ten fold!
I now pop into my local boxing club once a month, with just my Xpro2 and can move freely around and experiment with techniques and get some great results.
At the moment I like to think of street as the gym. Getting my reps in composition, getting close, dealing with my own fears of the consequences and thinking about what im shooting from the perspective of how it makes me feel.
This translates into my documentary work with people, communities and events, which I would classify as my projects. I think street as a project is hard cause it’s highly saturated with the same concepts and to shoot with a unique perspective is so hard to do.
That said i do enjoy having the frame lined assignments as something to focus on with my street work.
I do as well take photos of what catches my eye but I have noticed that I am also drawn at taking photos of other peoples hands. How they look, what they might be holding etc. So although it is not a project that I have set myself on, it is a running theme.
I like the monthly assignments that we have, they are a good way to set on a monthly project.
I also try to take a photo of my kids' rooms occasionaly, as the rooms are changing as they are growing older. But finding and putting all these photos in one location is a project in itself...
