Photography

Lens & Light based media

Start
Date:

Week Beginning 8th February 2016

Deadline:

Week Beginning 16th May 2016

Project
Length:

Weeks 16

Name:

Portfolio: Personal Investigation

Your portfolio will be made up of a combination of experimental work and coursework tasks and will be
assessed as below.

Assessment Schedule

25%
25%
25%
25%

Contextual Understanding Showing that you understand modern and historical uses of photography
Creative Making Using a range of methods and ideas to develop images and test new techniques
Reflective recording Use images and text in a personal and imaginative way to show your ideas
Personal Presentation Use a range of techniques to express ideas through photography in an individual way.

To ensure that you meet all the assessment criteria, your first year will be split into several projects to explore
different techniques and skills within photography
A final personal investigation will run over the summer and autumn terms to complete your coursework and you
are expected to submit a PORTFOLIO of work from ALL of the projects after Christmas in your second year.
Your completed portfolio is worth 60% of your final A-Level grade.

http://grobyphotography.weebly.com

Personal Investigation: the action of investigating something or

someone; formal or systematic examination or research.
The personal investigation is where you get to decide what you enjoy about photography, what
you are interested in and what direction you want to take your own work.
You need to:
Decide on a theme, this can be a key word, technique or type of art form.
Plan a range of shoots which will allow you to thoroughly investigate your theme
Find artists who work with techniques and themes similar to the one you are interested
in.

Statement of Intent:
You need to briefly explain why and how you intend to produce a particular outcome.
Describe what you have done to date which is relevant to the project you wish to carry
out.
Discuss the techniques you could use to achieve specific outcomes.
You should mention particularly important artists or techniques.

Annotation:

Annotation is your way of talking

us through how you have
produced your work.

Imagine you are talking to

someone who has never seen you
or your work before. Explain the
steps you have taken and why you
have made decisions.

Annotation is your chance to

make clear any decisions that you
have made and how you have
developed outcomes.

Talk about anything that has

influenced your decisions,
annotation allows you to connect
different parts of your project
together.

You need to make things obvious,

as if you are talking to someone
with little knowledge of art or
photography.

Key Terms:

Setting
Where has the image been taken? Studio or scene? Is the setting
distracting you from the model or is the model the main focal point of
the photograph? If it is in the studio-what is the background like? Plain?
Does the model/figure blend into the scene or is he/she contrasting with
the background (i.e. A white background but the model is black and grey
tones which therefore makes the image stand out). Has the
photographer created his own setting in the studio? What props has he
used?

Model
How is the model posing? What is the expression? What is the position
of the model (dancing/sitting etc?) Is the photograph taken so that the
model is looking directly at the camera or is it taken whilst the model is
doing something? Therefore is it staged?

Framing the image

How is the image framed? Has the image been cropped? Is the whole of
the portrait in the picture or has it been decided by the photographer to
only have a certain part of the portrait in the photograph? Has it been
decided to leave some of the background in for a certain reason?

Editing/Lighting etc.
How has the image been edited? Has the photographer used lighting on
certain sections of the model in the studio or has he used natural light
outside if the photograph not been edited in the studio? Has he decided
to blur the background out? If so, why do you think that?

Personal Investigation
Aims for the week
Week 1 Planning

Photography

Your plans:
What is the title of your project? -

What did you find the most successful

so far in the project?
What is the technique which allowed
you achieve your favorite outcome?
What words best describe the things
you like in photography.
Week 2 Write Statement of Intent:

Which techniques are relevant, which artists are relevant?

What tests do you need to make?

What are the artists that interest you
and relate to your chosen outcome?
What techniques can you use?
Week 3 Tests

What do you need? Where can you go?

Focus on shoots, what shoots can you

develop?
What people, locations or objects do
you need?
Week 4 Onwards Further tests and
improvements.
What outcomes worked well and why?
Use the best techniques to produce
further outcomes.
Easter Break Location shoots or
gallery visits.
Collect primary research by going to a
relevant exhibition or location to
produce outcomes or images to be used
in later outcomes.
Development and planning of final
outcome.
Plan and produce images for a final
shoot.
Final Outcome
Develop and present outcomes in the
relevant style, i.e. if your outcome is a
book cover, put it on a book

What is your final outcome going to be?

Portfolio: Assessment Criteria

Assessment criteria:

AO1
25%

Develop ideas through sustained and

focused investigations informed by
contextual and other sources,
demonstrating analytical and critical
understanding.

Range of evidence needed:

Wide ranging research into the work of photographers

and artists analyzed in relation to the development of your
own project.
A varied range of primary and secondary research.
Consistent sketchbook annotation linking your work with
the work of others you have researched.
Experimentation with a range of photographic techniques
that is documented methodically in your sketchbook.

AO2
25%

Explore and select appropriate resources,

media, materials, techniques and
processes, reviewing and refining ideas as
work develops.

Examples of best experimentation presented on a board to

show the journey of how you have developed your ideas.
Consistent annotation in your sketchbook that analysis the
strengths & weakness of your experimentation in relation
to your project ideas and development.
Extensive recording of your ideas and subject matter using
digital processes, supported by other photographic
methods if appropriate.

AO3
25%

Record ideas, observations and insights

relevant to intentions, reflecting critically
on work and progress.

Demonstration of high-level technical skills in taking and

producing photographs using digital processes.
Examples of best observational photographs presented on
a board to show the journey of how you have developed
your ideas.
Evaluation and annotation of ALL photo-shoots with
contact sheets in sketchbook to show the extent of your
recording.

AO4
25%

Present a personal and meaningful

response that realises intentions and,
where appropriate, makes connections
between visual and other elements.

Consistent annotation in your sketchbook that explains

and evaluates your personal ideas in response to the brief.

Regular explanation of the underlying ideas, photographic

concepts, meanings and thoughts behind your work.

Development of a personal interpretation of the project

brief through your practical work.

Best quality presentation of a personal response to the

brief in a final selection of work or piece.

SKETCHBOOK WORK
You should continuously collect visual information in the form of sketches, postcards, pages
from magazines, tickets to exhibitions, photographs, found objects, and anything else
appropriate.