further improvements

KTA1: Topic of Research:

Photography is the basis of most modern industries such as Graphic design, film and the magazine industry. I have chosen to research the production roles in a Photography organisation such as lighting, photographer, make up artist, developer, set designer, event manager for the exhibition and wardrobe design. I am focusing on consist of Development and Photography. Within the industry there are many types of photography such as wedding, sport, fashion and many more. I chose this organisation as I have an interest in this industry and I hope to carry my education in the industry further. I chose these roles specifically as the industry has limited roles because most independent photographers will carry out these roles alone to save expense. The pre-production team includes: the lighting professional, make-up artist, set designer and the wardrobe designer. This ensures that the content of the images are in order before the shoot begins so that there are minimal interruptions throughout the shoot. The photographer is then the main job in the production of the shoot and the models (if necessary). The post-production team includes: the photographer, who will edit any images, which they feel, are suitable to meet the brief they are working to. The developer will then take the edited images and by using equipment:

The equipment will include safelights, enlargers, EM10 exposure monitors and multigrade filters.

·      The EM10 exposure monitor determines exposure from one slide to another, from black to white or colour to negative. This is simply measuring the level of light of a particular area on the image.

·      Safe-lighting depends on 3 major things- the colour of the light, the exposure time and the intensity, which depends on the strength of the illuminating source, density of the filter ad the distance between the filter and the material. These factors all contribute towards ensuring safety.

·      Multigrade filters provide the simplest way of controlling contrast through the whole of the range achievable depending on the type of the filter:

-Contrast control for multigrade papers

-Current multigrande filters

-Older multigrade filters

·      Enlargers - there are several types of enlargers, varying the way they handle the light they project:

-     Contrast control for multigrade papers

-       Colour enlargers

-       Multigrade heads

-       Diffuser vs. condenser enlargers

-       Digital enlargers

Once the images are ready to be printed the exhibitionist and event manager can organise alongside the photographer how the images are to be presented to the public.

KTA2: Roles in the industry:

A Professional Photographer shoots images and displays them with the purpose of making money whereas an amateur photographer takes photos for personal enjoyment.  Professional photographers can work either independently, and choose their own style of photography where they work to contracts to cover events such as weddings or sport; or for companies such as newspapers where they will have to take photos that meet a specific brief or criteria. 

The responsibilities within being a photographer require you to know all the camera settings and which would be appropriate for the shoot resulting in the best quality photo. This depends entities such as light, weather or time of day. If a photographer has studied the subject at higher education and has qualifications in the subject, then they tend to know how to do development, as it is included in the course. However photography companies employ people specifically for development. A photographer tends to have a specific camera make, which they work with most of the time, depending on the photographers personal style and preferences. Being a photographer requires skills in communication both verbally and written as being able to communicate with the customer is crucial. Written skills are needed to carry out tasks such as health and safety forms, location reccee and call sheets. Verbally, a photographer must be able to communicate with a client, as they need to make sure the photos are comfortable and if that includes models then they need to appear confident in front of the camera for the best result. Being able to communicate with people well verbally also helps in this industry as the job includes negotiating with people to use their equipment and space.

A Film Developer creates printed images in high quality from raw film footage. A film developer must know how to use the correct chemicals on the printed images, highly technical instruments, darkroom equipment and photographic processing machines. Certain careers in the photography industry require different abilities when it comes to film development. Photographers who work in Black and White tend to stick to the more traditional development in darkrooms whereas photographers who work in fashion and retail tend to operate computers, printers and high quality machinery. A developer must have the skill to use this equipment and treat the work with delicacy, as it is art. The equipment they use depends on their personal preferences and abilities but the more equipment they are able to use the better as it allows a broader range of outcomes from the images.

KTA3: My suitability for the role:

Photographer:

To have assessed my skills to carry out the role of a Photographer and I think I am suitable to work in this industry because I have good communication skills both written and verbally. In written communication I am able to write health and safety reports for all circumstances as well as fill a location reccee to a great standard. Also I am able to make call sheets and release forms for all people who will be involved, as well as this I have the full ability to email all team members and keep everyone organized and aware on any changes that could happen. I have previous experience making production and contingency plans, so in conclusion I am fully capable to handle all written communications in the industry. In the practical production side of photography I am able to; operate the settings on a Cannon 650DSLR camera, assemble a tripod securely and use image-editing software such as Photoshop. In the creative aspect of the role I am able to come up with my own ideas and making a shoot unique and eye-catching. Through my college course I have met a local professional photographer Chis Saunders, who has shown me his personal work and who has given me critical feed back to improve my work.

Development:

My skills are less in development of photography than photography its self, however throughout the next two years I will be developing these skills as I progress through my A level of photography. Through out the course I will be learning how to use all equipment in the traditional development of images in a dark room and I can carry my education on to study photography at a degree standard where you learn to use all chemicals and advanced equipment in photographic development.

Areas for further development:

Although we used a lot of equipment, I did not get the chance to use equipment such as a crane or a dolly, which are used to stable the camera on to get a smooth pan motion in filming.  If I was to carry out this role in the production of film development again, I would aim to be more organized with my time as I believe some of the work was left to last minute and as a team we could have been better prepared. I would try and use less time filming because I believe that some time was wasted due to work getting repetitive and the cast loosing enthusiasm because the filming days were very time consuming and required focus throughout.

To learn the skills in order to take this further and make it into a career I will be able to go to Hallam University to study further film and editing at a degree standard.

The course includes:

Key areas of study
Key areas include 
• film form, narrative and style 
• different types of film, including documentary and alternative cinemas 
• a variety of film genres, film makers and film movements 
• a range of films from around the world, including America, Britain, East Asia and Europe.