Find your feedback in the headings below, and read the details for more specific advice on how to improve
1. Explain all photoshoots
Above each photoshoot gallery (aka contact sheet) should be a title and underneath a couple of sentences to explain it. Focus on including: - What did you hope to get out of the photoshoot? - What skills and ideas did you develop during it? - What were the strengths and weaknesses?
GOING FOR GOLD: Where they identify a weakness, the top students will address it. Eg. if you point out that lots of your photos were blurry, or the background wasn't very good, they would do another photoshoot to correct the problem. This photoshoot would then be uploaded under the previous one to show the progress you have made, along with another paragraph to explain how you improved.
2. Edit your photos further
So you probably have a couple of good edited photos, but I have suggested you do more versions. Go back to those edited photos and try to edit them further. Eg. do a black and white version and upload it. Or try a different technique and upload it.
Each time, make sure you explain what you did, how and WHY... what was the purpose of your edit? What were you trying to show with your work?
If you get stuck for ideas... look at your artists! They should be inspiring all of your experiments.
3. Explain what you did with links to artists
For each experiment, you should write a sentence or two to explain: - What you did - How you did it - How your artists inspired you - What you will develop from here
Sentence starters For this experiment I... I did this by... The artist _______ inspired this experiment because... From here, I will develop my ideas further by...
To help you... Did your artist inspire your: - Content eg. model pose - Background - Colours - Camera technique - Lighting - Composition - Editing techniques
4. Plan a new photoshoot for your final photos
For the higher marks, your final photos must bring together all of your ideas and everything you learnt from your artists and experiments, and demonstrate the best of your ability in photography and editing.
Plan through sketches and notes (either by hand or on the computer - straight onto weebly or on a powerpoint - up to you) what you will do for your final photos.
Include: - What will be in the photos? - How will you take the photos? - what lighting and backgrounds will you use? - How will you link to your artists? - What will you bring together from previous experiments? Make this clear. - How will you edit? - How many final images will you have? - How will they be presented?
5. Your early edits look very similar - make changes
You have all made massive progress since the start of year 10, so looking back at your early experiments, you'll probably agree that some aren't as good as they would be now, or that they look too similar to each other.
Go back to your early experiments for the Human figure project (not close up) and either improve or add to your experiments with what you know now.
6. Analyse your photographer in more detail
You should have a clear paragraph for each of your artists that analyses their style and technique. Use the following to help you improve:
- What does your artist photograph? - How do they take their photos? - What makes their photos interesting? - What do you notice about the way they use the formal elements (colour, lighting, composition etc)? - What do you like about their work? - How could this artist inspire you?
Going for gold: If you want to push yourself further, add an extra comment to compare this artist to your other artist. Make comparisons and comment on how the two artist's styles could come together in your experiments.
Sentence starters Name (full or surname of photographer takes photos of... He/she takes their photos by... Something that makes their work interesting is... The way the artist uses colour/lighting/composition has the effect that... The reason I chose this artist to inspire my work is because I like... I will take inspiration from their style by...
7. Link to your artist more clearly in your experiments
Look back at you artists and see what you could use from their work in your own photography. Eg. - Content eg. model pose - Background - Location - Colours - Camera technique - Lighting - Composition - Editing techniques
You should all have two or more artists that you are linking to - make sure you take elements from both photographers styles and techniques.
It is essential that the links are very clear in order to get good marks for AO1.
8. Check spelling, punctuation and grammar
This should be obvious, but just like any other lesson, it's important that these things are correct. It is useful to get a friend to check your writing sometimes, as they might pick up on errors that you have missed.
9. Going for gold: edit some of your gallery photos
This could be your slow shutter speed photos or maybe others - the idea is that if you do an edit or two with the best photos, then you will get extra marks for AO2. As long as they demonstrate effective skills! Can you link the editing to your artists?
10. You need some better photos
Don't be offended by this - you probably have some good photos but there are some weaker ones in your gallery too. If you are showing blurry photos or silly photos to the examiner, it is going to stop them from being able to put you in the 'Consistent' category which is where you need to be for grades 4+. Make sure your photos are of a consistently good standard. Delete any that are not good - but only if you can replace them.
11. Remove silly photos of your friends
They're fine for snapchat, not for your GCSE. All photos of people must be purposeful photoshoots, not just random shots.
12. Going for gold: Create a second version of each experiment
Where you have good experiments, you can earn easy marks by doing a second version (or even third!) and editing the edit to look different. Eg: - Change the colours - Change the contrast and curves - Move things around on the page - Change the composition by cropping your image - Try a lighting filter (in render)
Upload the photo under the original experiment, and remember to explain how you have developed from the first version, and more importantly WHY. What did you hope to achieve from your second version that you didn't in the first.
13. Do NOT copy and paste.
You will get no marks, and possibly be pulled up for plagiarism which could lead to your GCSE being failed.
14. You have lots of work missing
You might have missed some lessons or worked slowly for some reason - whatever the reason, you need to catch up asap. We will be working pretty quickly over the next few weeks, and I don't want you to get behind. Come and work through a lunch time or devote an enrichment each week to get back on top of your work. Or even better, get ahead.
15. Plan a new shoot with different types of lighting
Go back to your lighting research (or do some more!) - how can you change your photos with more effective or different lighting?? Research the following again, and plan a new photoshoot. Bring your camera in next lesson!
- front lighting - lighting reflectors - coloured filters - torch light in a dark room - slow shutter speed in a dark room - natural lighting - back lighting
16. Think about the focus for your project
For each project, you are given a title. From there, you develop your own project, and you each take a different approach. Eg. it is not enough to look at Lighting as a whole which is why some of you chose 'Mood and Atmosphere'. From there, you would want to decide on something to represent throughout your project within this title. Eg. is it emotions? Is it facial expressions? Is it atmospheric landscapes?
Whatever you decide, it will be important for you to stick to this throughout your project so that you can 'develop a personal and meaningful' project and 'realise intentions' which is the marking criteria for AO4. If you jump around all over the place and your project doesn't read properly, then your marks wont be as high as the person that is very clear with their project, meaning that it flows really well
16. Remove any photos that don't show your best skills
Looking back at your early photos, you will know that you could do better now, so do! Start by removing any photos that are blurry or badly taken, then take new photos and add them to the gallery in the right place.
Leaving the weaker photos in your galleries could hold your marks back from falling in the 'consistent' bracket for the higher marks.
Going for gold: Add a third artist.This is not necessary for everyone! And you could certainly get the top grades with just two artists. However: If I have suggested it, it is probably because you have already done a lot with your two artists, and risk getting repetitive with new experiments if you don't add something extra. It'll be a bit of extra work so only do this if you are happy to do a bit more at home/lunch.
Find an artist. Choose carefully, with an idea in mind of how well they will work with your first two artists. Analyse their work, do a new photoshoot and edit in their style, then combine with your other two artists. The quickest way to do this would be to edit some of your previous combined edits to incorporate elements of the third artist.