Narrative and Illustration
The Aim of "7: Narrative and Illustration" was to help me to approach photography from the point of view of the subject and to show how to tell a story both in a set of pictures and within a single picture. This includes learning the techniques of visual analogy, juxtaposition and certain special effects.
During Narrative and Illustration I have learnt how to tell a story with a single photograph. Single shots are useful when a scene needs no explanation for a viewer to see what is happening or what has just occurred. Another use is within photo journalism, the subject will often be the most important factor and therefore if the shot is poorly composed or even unfocused it may still adequately tell a viewer something important. Narrative picture essays are useful for telling a story. They’re particularly useful as part of tutorials/guides and sets of instructions.
Narrative has further reinforced the importance of planning a shoot, which was touched upon in 5: Natural Light. Planning is important when capturing events so that viewpoints can be decided upon before the event occurs. It is then a case of getting to a your chosen viewpoint during the event instead of wasting time looking for one after it has begun. The same applies for shooting the sunrise. It is much easier to find a viewpoint in daylight the day before and then return the next morning when it is dark and simply await the sun’s arrival on the horizon.
Completion of My First Course
I have now (finally) completed my first course with the OCA (Photography 1: The Art of Photography) and have enjoyed it immensely. I feel it has helped me to vastly expand my knowledge of Photography and also my practical skills. Before beginning the course I had hardly used a DSLR and now I feel I’m a very competent user. I already had a vast interest in photography and have owned a number of compact digital cameras and a digital video camera and I felt I wanted to expand this hobby into something more. It’s taken me a little over a year to complete this course but I’m hoping to complete the next a lot faster. My work is due for Assessment in September so I’m eagerly awaiting my final result!
Next Course
Having completed the Art of Photography I have just enrolled on my next course Digital Arts 1: A Creative Approach in order to continue my journey towards a BA Hons in Photography. I’m very much looking forward to working on the projects of A Creative Approach as I feel I’m already a very confident pc user. Having seen a number of the projects, most involving the use of a scanner, I am not at all worried that I’ll have any problems as I’ve been using scanners for many years.
