Week 3 PHO703 Learning with others

For most of my work i’d say the subject is of the main interest to me,of course once I start to make photographs that is the icing  on the cake and takes over from the excitement and enjoyment of the research period.For me the process and of research,production involved in reaching my objective of taking the images are one part,the taking and telling of the story another,both equally important and both useless and pointless without the other. For me the story telling,the discovery of something or someone new to me is the exciting moment,I use photography sometimes within my commercial work but mostly in my own practice to inform others but more often or not to educate myself.

I have a strong moral compass and feel it is important in my work to have the co operation of the subject,for them to realise my true outcome goals and be happy to participate,if I was to feel I was exploiting them in some way i’m not sure I would feel comfortable with that the proviso being it was something or someone I had empathy with.

It is important to remain impartial in most circumstances and try to avoid the influences from the subject but also it’s fair to say by taking some things on can lead to a more informed judgement as to how the project may develop.

For my next project I envisage meeting people as it develops and I fully expect to be informed about things in the stories they tell that will influence the way the project develops and most likely who and what I photograph.What I will avoid and have had to in the past is perhaps straying to far off the original path to maybe shoot something more out of a sense of obligation than necessity or any real use towards the end story,sometimes this can really take the project off on a tangent that must be avoided.