MADWAG Confirmation Letter

PROGRESSION PLAN

Starting from the deadline of my last project in May 2018 I will be focused on applying for photography job roles around the UK. Since my recent projects photographing models wearing clothing stock for marketing and advertising purposes, I have enjoyed the structure of this type of work and would like to start by working in this industry. Over the next few months after graduation I will be reaching out to retail clothing companies like New Look, Topshop, Miss Selfridge, Oasis, Dorothy Perkins to apply for a photographer role for their stock. I will also apply to virtual online shops based in the UK such as ASOS, Miss Pap, Missguided, Boohoo and InTheStyle for photography jobs. As the online world is constantly adapting, plenty more online stores will be popping up, hopefully with opportunities for a photographer to advertise their stock. These are also the kind of stores I currently shop with so I know how up to date they are and the themes of their trademark. I feel they would need a young photographer to capture the essence of their company and be able to input new ideas.
In this day and age, every company needs photography to advertise their business - whether it be in the form of TV adverts or online website photographs of their stock. I feel that I have a positive input into advertising and what looks good to the public, what will look more appealing and will pull customers in. Working in this type of advertising industry will always keep you on your feet, thinking of new ideas to market the company and come up with new ways of publishing the business. Whether this be for a clothing company or supermarket chains needing photographs of clothing stock, I am confident that I would be able to work comfortably in this type of industry.
I would like to have been to numerous interviews by the end of the year and be starting my career in the commercial photography industry whether it be with one of these large companies or a smaller, local company. I would like to work within this industry for a few years to gain experience of working within a team in a photographic environment.

WORK EXPERIENCE REFLECTION

For my work experience element of this project I completed several photoshoots for Bristol based clients needing photographic work for their social media websites and marketing, this included doing work for musician Liam Everett and fashion clothing company ‘MADWAG’ owner Sarah Wagstaff. These projects allowed me to work independently in terms of contacting clients and putting myself out there confidently for people to be interested in my photography work for their own marketing purposes. It was a great opportunity to focus on my skill set and be able to confidently apply them in my work for clients and to see them use the photographs on their social media sites. This type of work is a great example of the type of industry I would like to work in within the next 18 months, photographing products for a clothing or accessory company involving models to gain more portraiture experience. Working for Sarah was insightful for this type of work and being able to understand and create the right vision for her festival-style brand. I am confident I would be able to work independently for clothing companies such as ASOS, New Look or Topshop to capture their stylish, on trend, unique brand through my photography.

On Wednesday 31st January 2018 I completed a studio photoshoot for Liam Everett, an upcoming musician who needed head-shots for his album covers and social media accounts found here - http://liameverett.com

He wanted a variety of artistic shots with his guitars (both acoustic and electric) with high key and low key lighting. I experimented with both lighting techniques and also tried out a few low key poses from existing musicians' photographs that Liam liked and wanted to experiment with.  This opportunity to photograph Liam gave me the chance to boost my studio skills and focus on different aspects of the photograph other than the model. It was important to get the guitars as the focal point as well as Liam himself. I enjoyed photographing for Liam and hope he will be able to use these photographs confidently on his social media sites and future album covers.

I contacted Sarah Wagstaff through her Facebook page ‘MADWAG Clothing’ - https://www.facebook.com/madwagclothing/  on 17^th January 2018 and she was keen and quick to take up my offer of my photography services. I provided her with a series of studio portraiture work I had previously done and she was happy with the skillset I have and was open to meeting to talk about photoshoot ideas for her products. This was good timing for Sarah as she had recently received new stock and needed some photographs for her website and social media sites. We discussed dates to meet up to borrow garments and where we could also talk about her vision for her festival clothing brand, as her products are new to the market it’s important to keep the photographs current with recent festival styles so it’s appealing to customers coming up to the summer, festival months.

In my first photoshoot for Sarah, I shot at Ashton Court Mansion because I wanted to use the yellow stone house as one of my backgrounds as I was really intrigued by it and thought it would work really well with the outfits. This was one of my first outdoor photoshoots, therefore the images turned out quite dark as I didn't take any portable lighting with me and it was quite a dull day. I was quite disappointed in these photographs and they needed a lot of post-shoot editing to correct the lighting but as it was my first outdoor photoshoot, I realised my mistakes from this photoshoot and will correct them next time I shoot outdoors. However, the composition of the shots shows off the outfits and the festival theme of the products. I wanted to add in some accessories to show how the outfits could be worn, but not too much that it would seem as if the added accessory was also for sale, so I had to add it in discreetly (jacket around the waist or thrown over the shoulder and sunglasses on the face or on top of the head). I wanted to experiment with different locations around the Ashton Court Estate to benefit from all the different backgrounds that were available so I photographed in a variety of places to create some comparison to choose from in each outfit.

For my second shoot for MADWAG, I shot inside the studio as I wanted to get some more basic shots that purely focused on the clothing rather than the scenery. I used a different model as I wanted to show off the different ways people can wear these clothes and also how it looks on different body types. I also wanted to use a grey backdrop so the colours of the clothing are really enhanced and I feel this wouldn't be achieved with a white backdrop - a white backdrop would look more forensic rather than stylish. I think I have achieved this with the grey back drop as your eye is drawn to the clothes straight away as the backdrop is darker than the model. This shoot was a lot longer than the first one as my model was more comfortable inside the studio - rather than the outdoor shoot in the freezing cold. I experimented with a variety of poses for each outfit change as I wanted to show off the clothing at every angle possible, using different types of shots and props to enable this. I am really pleased with these shots and I feel a lot more comfortable shooting inside the studio as oppose to outdoor shoots. These photographs show off the product and look appealing for advertising and marketing purposes, of which I hope Sarah will be able to use on her website and social media platforms.

Overall, I have enjoyed both aspects of my work experience brief and have felt confident when working independently for both clients. I’m comfortable I would work well inside a team of photographers for a clothing company but will also be able to work individually. This experience has opened my eyes into working with two different clients on a freelance basis and after graduation I will be confident in approaching new clients to offer photographic services.

MOCK INTERVIEW REFLECTION

In preparation for my mock interview, I practiced to apply for the role as a photographer for ASOS for their stock base. The interview lasted roughly 15 minutes with Nick and John,  with added time at the end where I was able to ask my own questions. I asked about the structure of the photographic/production team and how many members were in each department, how man people I would be working with while photographing the products. Even though it was a mock interview I know I wasn't very confident in the interview and struggled under the pressure to answer the questions and remember the things I had researched about the company. I didn't sell myself well and therefore need improvement listing my skills and qualifications. I also need to improve on my confidence, to slow down and think about my answer before saying anything - instead of rushing to answer the question quickly and tripping myself up and forgetting the point of my answer.
I know I am a bubbly happy person so I need to present this in future interviews so that I represent myself as approachable and friendly.
In future interviews I need to spend more time researching the company, I spent too much time trying to find hidden details about ASOS rather than just looking on their website for the basic details. I know that when it comes to the real thing and I know i'm eager to get the job role then my motivation will be stronger when researching the company and answering questions in the interview.


This was Nick's feedback:

·         You came across well at interview, coming across as personable and approachable – you were positive and genuine in your interest in the role.

·         You have a tendency to under-sell yourself and your technical skills set – be careful of using qualifying phrases like ‘quite familiar with…’ or ‘done a few studio shoots …’. More practise beforehand will enable you to minimise these negatives and accentuate the positives.

·         You can summarise your skills set through by compiling a ‘hit-list’ of overarching photographic phrases that you want to communicate; rather than listing every specific item you have worked with (your CV can do this more effectively.)

·         Your personal attributes are good in relation to the role but you could present your ability to work efficiently alongside interpersonal skills.

·         Your CV has some good content but needs more refinement in design and layout.

·         Your response to the ‘define the brand in 3 words’ question was uneven and could have utilised some more positive, aspirational words - ‘simplistic’. Referring to the core values of the business (on their website) would have been a good place to start.

MADWAG SHOOT 2 PHOTOS

I am really pleased with the outcome of this photoshoot for MADWAG, the grey backdrop highlights the boldness of the clothing and really makes it stand out. I could have used the same model from the first shoot but I wanted to add some variety to my images and show the different ways in which these clothes can be worn. Lighting a grey/dark backdrop was quite tricky when getting the light to fall evenly and it took some time fiddling around to get it in the right place but i'm happy with how the photographs have turned out. I will definitely think about using darker and coloured backdrops in future portrait shoots as it makes the model stand out well. As my model is well lit in my photographs, there wasn't as much post production editing to complete as the studio set up took quite a long time getting the lighting right. I am more confident in the studio rather than shooting outside but I will continue to improve my skills in both areas. 

MADWAG - SHOOT 2

These are the contact sheets from my second shoot with MADWAG's products, I shot inside the studio this time as I wanted to get some more basic shots that purely focused on the clothing rather than the scenery. I used a different model as I wanted to show off the different ways people can wear these clothes and also how it looks on different body types. I also wanted to use a grey backdrop so the colours of the clothing are really enhanced and I feel this wouldn't be achieved with a white backdrop - a white backdrop would look more forensic rather than stylish. I think I have achieved this with the grey back drop as your eye is drawn to the clothes straight away as the backdrop is darker than the model. This shoot was a lot longer than the first one as my model was more comfortable inside the studio - rather than the outdoor shoot in the freezing cold. I experimented with a variety of poses for each outfit change as I wanted to show off the clothing at every angle possible, using different types of shots and props to enable this. I am really pleased with these shots and I feel a lot more comfortable shooting inside the studio as oppose to outdoor shoots. These photographs show off the product and look appealing for advertising and marketing purposes, of which I hope Sarah will be able to use on her website and social media platforms.

MADWAG PHOTOS

These are a few of the final images I produced for Sarah at MADWAG, I am confident on some of them and really happy with the outcome, but using the yellow wall on the house didn't work so well in terms of lighting. The day was dull and my model was poorly lit and even in the editing stages I didn't want to over expose my subject and make the lighting look false. As it was my first outdoor photoshoot I am happy with the images I have produced, however I know I need more improvement to my outdoor shooting including location lighting and using a more powerful camera.

MADWAG - SHOOT 1

These are the contact sheets from my first shoot using MADWAG's clothing, I shot at Ashton Court Mansion because I wanted to use the yellow stone house as one of my backgrounds as I was really intrigued by it and thought it would work really well with the outfits. This was one of my first outdoor photoshoots, therefore the images turned out quite dark as I didn't take any portable lighting with me and it was quite a dull day. I was quite disappointed in these photographs and they needed a lot of post-shoot editing to correct the lighting but as it was my first outdoor photoshoot, I realised my mistakes from this photoshoot and will correct them next time I shoot outdoors. However, the composition of the shots shows off the outfits and the festival theme of the products. I wanted to add in some accessories to show how the outfits could be worn, but not too much that it would seem as if the added accessory was also for sale, so I had to add it in discreetly (jacket around the waist or thrown over the shoulder and sunglasses on the face or on top of the head). I wanted to experiment with different locations around the Ashton Court Estate to benefit from all the different backgrounds that were available so I photographed in a variety of places to create some comparison to choose from in each outfit.

Work Experience, Sarah Wagstaff - MADWAG

I contacted Sarah Wagstaff through her Facebook page MADWAG Clothing on 17^th January 2018 and she was keen and quick to take up my offer of my photography services. I provided her with a series of studio portraiture work I had previously done and she was happy with the skillset I have and was open to meeting to talk about photoshoot ideas for her products. This was good timing for Sarah as she had recently received new stock and needed some photographs for her website and social media sites. We discussed dates to meet up to borrow garments and where we could also talk about her vision for her festival clothing brand, as her products are new to the market it’s important to keep the photographs current with recent festival styles so it’s appealing to customers coming up to the summer, festival months.

We met up at a cafe local to her studio in St. Pauls, 'The Bristolian' on Wednesday 7th February 2018 where we discussed the photoshoots I would be undertaking and what kind of style she wanted in the photographs, keeping in theme with her existing photographs on her website: 

Madwag's images are party/festival themed with bright colours of blue and pink, these are her signature colours with lots of shimmer and glitter to make the products look fun and appealing. As I will be completing both an outdoor shoot and studio shoot, I want to try to stick to her festival theme. This will be achieved by the outdoor photoshoot as most festivals in summer time are outside, and therefore this will encourage the idea of the clothes being worn to a festival if they are seen on models outdoors.

GUEST SPEAKER - HARRY BORDEN, 8th Nov 2018

Harry grew up on a pig farm in Devon, discovered that his experience and cultural identity was very different to his school friends. He was about 13 when he picked up his first camera, he thought it would make him seem like a rock star, a way to attract girls.

Although he was brought up on a non-religious environment, his Jewish roots from his Father, a Jewish New Yorker, has always been apparent. It doesn’t impact him daily but he is still aware of his cultural identity.  He was told by his father that the Nazis would have killed him and his children because of their racial background, which follows on to his recent project about holocaust survivors.

Has released a book called Survivor: A Portrait of the Survivors of the Holocaust. Based on the survivors of the holocaust, a collection of 100 sensitive and dignified portraits of people whose lives have been affected by the holocaust.

He studied for an OND in Photography at Plymouth College of Art & Design before then moving to London to assist advertising photographers Barney Edwards and John Swannell. Influenced by the work of Nick Knight, he started taking portraits because all his friends were doing it, but he soon fell in love with it and discovered he had a good eye for photography. He used his friends as models to photograph, he liked the comfortable, relaxed environment it produced.

He has since photographed numerous celebrities such as David Beckham, JK Rowling, Tony Blair and Paul McCartney and is widely talked about across the UK and has been awarded with a solo exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London, June 2005.