Group Crit with James S

I haven't been to a group crit since the start of the unit. From the snow days and being ill it put a stand still to my work which was unfortunate and now I feel behind. Which now is not a good time to feel behind! 

I began by showing my project from the start, which I've just been experimenting with environmental and minimalistic portraits and landscapes. I haven't edited much of my shoots yet, and mentioned that they were too dark so will need to adjust that. However they said they liked the darkness of the photo, because the highlights were in the right place and created something interesting. The colours were subtle and enough to grasp the concept. Just because I had been working with lighter images previously didn't mean that I needed to continue that unless I really wanted to. I do worry a lot about my work looking cohesive which is probably why I was so fixated on making my work light. James S said that actually it would look better in my portfolio to show a mix and range of light and dark that I can work with and create work from. It gives it more diverse and different images for the viewer to look at. 

I do need to watch my highlights, especially when windows and mirrors are present within the frame. After being shown this in some of my images I couldn't believe I had missed it before. I need to consider the hierarchy of the image, whats most important and where do the highlights need to be to direct the eye. 

When I showed my recent images it was a house, inside and outside shots. The day was perfect for me, bright and casting enough light into the house as I wanted to work with ambient light mostly. But the feedback was that I needed to consider working on a less brighter day in order for it to fit in with the concept and style of my portraits. I need a more flat and overcast landscape. I also need to use a longer lens to capture the landscape better. I was using a 24-70mm lens but my images were looking distorted.
Here's a few artists to consider for research... Alec Soth, Bill Owens - Suburbia, Fiona Yaronfield, Lydia Goldblatt - Still Here and And The Word Was God.

Besides my image making we spoke about a portfolio and what I had planned. At the moment I was thinking a book because of its presentation and how it would fit with the context of my work. James gave me a few sites to look at. Plastic Sandwich, Silverprint and Hartnack and Co. There is a mix of boxes and portfolio books. If I do a book I should consider a screw post one so that I can swap images around if necessary. I could also consider inner covers to protect the first page. If I decide on a portfolio book then I was advised to speak with the company to discuss the size of my images. I will need to think about the space around the image so that it is not cut off by the screw post.