Photography blog post 3- Reflection

My photographic series ‘Raven’ depicts the cheerleading community of Solent Ravens, in specifics the project investigates the how an individual fits into their community as well as the dynamic of the group. Cheerleading is a sport that experiences a lot of misconception and stereotyping that debates its athleticism and culture- meeting the Solent Ravens and getting to experience first hand the physical demand of their sport and routine and their passion within it allowed me to have the opportunity to capture the reality behind the community and tell a story.

My intention with this series was to demonstrate the hard work and dedication behind the team and the individuals that make up the roles and to showcase how their physical achievements are due to their trust and bond with each other. My 11 selected shots all mirrored my intention with this project. In addition to this I needed to construct a narrative through my series, this was a challenge as I found it difficult to build a precise narrative- the order of the photos intends to show a journey and reveal layers to the community. ‘Narratives are not found objects; they are constructed by participants and observers, actors and analysts. Viewing narrative as a construction unveils the clash of interpretations inherent within it.’ (Martinique 2021).

I used a canon 5d to encapsulate strong images that looked at the individual cheerleader Claudia, the team and its dynamic and the environment that they work hard in. The process entailed of 4 separate shoots, varying in location and purpose- I am happy with the versatility of atmosphere in the series and I believe one of my works overall strengths is that it bounces between tones such as fun and then serious.

In terms of post-production and editing, my photos were saved as raw files so I could consequently edit my results in Photoshop, this allowed me to evolve the manipulation of light and shadow in the images to maximise the visual impact of the shapes and movement in the photos. This was significant as one of the prominent issues I faced with shooting days was the location and the intensity of the lighting colours in the various gym halls. The first gym location had oversaturated lighting that subsequently made my shots too warm toned, I therefore used settings like the tungsten effect to alter my shots to a less intense shade. The quality of the canon 5d gave my images great clarity and sharpness but the postproduction element meant I could tweak slight settings to create tones and contrast I was happy with.

As much as this stage helped, I believe looking at my work that my eye and creative decisions were the most influential on the outcome. As the person orchestrating the camera I felt pressure in anticipating when to shoot due to the fast-paced environment and the fact that I needed to create a narrative from what I take. Ways in which I overcame this thought was to just trust my artistic eye and to capture my experience of the scenery as authentically as I can. ‘One of the major tasks of photographers is to define exactly what the subject is. This capacity to compose and mold content is what gives clarity and cohesion to the artist’s experience.’ (Hirsch 2011, p.111)

HIRSCH, R., 2011. Chapter 7. Working Color Strategies. Exploring Color Photography from Film to Pixels. 5th ed. Amsterdam: Elsevier, p.111

MARTINIQUE, E., 2021. Reading the Narrative Photography. In: Widewalls. October 30, 2021 [viewed 20^th April 2024]. Available from: https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/narrative-photography