Sony World Photography Awards

World Photography Organisation is a leading global platform dedicated to the development and advancement of photographic culture. Its programming and competition initiatives provide valuable opportunities for artists working in photography and help broaden the conversation around their work.

The Sony World Photography Awards is World Photography Organisation’s principal programme. Established in 2007, it is one of the world’s biggest and most prestigious photography competitions; celebrating the work of leading and emerging practitioners and attracting tens of thousands of visitors annually to its exhibitions worldwide.

World Photography Organisation is the photography strand of Creo, responsible for delivering initiatives and programming across three sectors: photography, film and contemporary art.

2022 Student Competition Finalists

Earlier this year the announcement of the winner was made for this years competition. The Brief was "Connections".

2022 Student Shortlist 

Idea1: Abandoned boat/History

Abandoned boat. I came up with this idea initially but found it was not a very strong idea for a competition for me. I was gonna look at old dock yards were boat are now not in use and look at how due to changes in environment they are no longer in use. Past-History-Now

Idea2: Gender Fluidity

I've gone through many idea as this was my strongest one until recent. My idea was to look at the Fluidity in fashion, specifically in people who are Trans, identify as He/Him or genuinely have more masculine feature but dress more feminine. Now-Youth/2022

Idea3: Female Empowerment

I didn’t come up with this idea till recently. I've had a hard time coming up with a strong idea for this topic. A lot more than any other one which found really annoying.Anyway my final idea is to look at Feminism and the positive aspect of Femininity and how it affect young girl in today world. Now-2022

Final Idea: Feminism

Final idea is to look at Feminism and the positive affects it has on young people.

I want to shoot this on location.

I already have a model in mind who I've shot in a past project. That is exactly the sort of person who would work for this shoot.

Renell Medrano

Emily Ratajkowski Interview with Office Magazine

Presentation of Idea

Empowerment Feminism

Examples of Feminism:

Right to vote

Run for public office

Work

Earn equal pay

Feminism

Feminsim is the advocacy of Women's Right's on the ground of the equality of the sexes.

All gender have equal rights and opportunities- its about respecting diverse women's experiences, identities, knowledge and strength and striving to empower all women to realise their full rights.

Narrative

Younger Generation define what it means to be a girl...

-Self exploration 

​​​​​​​-Finding Identity

-Gender norms

This is my initial idea mood board. My idea is to look at feminism. Juxtaposition .The model will be wearing a suit but the whole look of the images is very playful and soft. My idea is to shoot this in a large grass field.​​​​​​​

Ryan Croxton

Ryan Croxton is a British photographer based in London. I Found this photographer and I'm really intrested in this series of photos, I like how it a fashion shoot possible for a magazine but shot in a simple way in a large open field it give a Juxtapostion. I like how warm the tones are in the image and how the photographer has used the greener and trees as backdrop and props and the colour of the fabric and tones contrast well with it. In this series they have different styling in every images. 

Location

Richmond park 

My Idea for location is to shoot in a very open field with long grass. My initial idea was Greenwich park or the large grass areas around the park as i live a small walk away from the park. But then after doing some research I found Richmond park which is a lot further away but after looking at some photographs taken there I though it would make a lot more interesting g photographs.

After talking to Chris this week he talked about how I need to do a recce of the location before shooting as it a large park. He also said about being away of park rangers as they might try to stop the shoot if they think I'm doing a commercial shoot.

I'm planning on going to Richmond park this week and scouting out the locations.

Fujifilm X100V Fashion Photoshoot | First Impressions by Cammackey 

I've been watching a load of photographers on Youtube lately as i found it inspiring and interesting to see how different photographer go about shooting. When watching this video I found it interesting as they were shooting in a small town and i also found it interesting how they composed their images and posed their model. In these screenshot of the images that he got out of this shoot they all warm tones. This come straight from the camera with not much editing. The camera he used was a Fujifilm X100V (shown in the title). The camera known for "having the film look without the film". 

BTS Model Card on Film // Experimenting with Cinestill 50D & Flash Photography 

Again another Youtube video I found inspiration from. In this video it another walk through a on location shoot. This location was really beautiful. Shot in Shanghai, China in Jing'An district. In some of the shoot they used a flash on the film camera. I didn’t think of that idea before but think this could be interesting to experiment with on my own shoot. I've also not really experimented with my on camera flash much outside of studio shoots.

Female Protest/Riot's

Mary Beth Edelson, Some Living American Women Artists / Last Supper, 1972

Angelina Jolie Elle Magazine photoshoot

Casting

I've had a changing of model and idea as problems with availability and found an interesting model who I thought would be interesting to do a photoshoot with.I found a new model very easily though with no problems.

Carls who Transgender. My styling of the model wont change much as it still looking at the androgynous just in a different perspective. My sketches will still work with this idea It will just be shot internally in a studio in East London. 

Carls is currently going through their early stages of their transition from Female to Male.

I thought this would be a really Interesting shoot and found there instagram really interesting as they have a lot of images from before they started their transition.

I've talked to my model and have decided that they would bring a few outfits as this would work with my idea of shooting more documentary style portraiture and it shows their identity. I've outlined a base line of bring a suit and then two other outfits that best represent their personal style.

Moodboard

Research

Transgender Awareness

Every year between November 13 – 19, people and organizations around the country take part in Transgender Awareness Week. The week is to help raise awareness and visibility for transgender people and address issues members of the community face.

The purpose of Transgender Awareness Week is to educate the wider community about transgender and gender non-conforming people and the issues associated with transition and identity.

 Marsha P. Johnson

Renee Richards

Renee was an American transgender Tennis player. Before the 1977  US Tennis open, she won a legal battle to compete in the women's event.

There was disapproval from rule makers and other players who believed she should not be allowed to play as the match would be unfair. Many players walked off. People didn't believe she had a rights to play in the women's event due to her being a transgender Female who was 6ft 1.

Craig Fleming

How I got this Picture: IlfordPhoto (Article)

Title: Ursula

Camera: Mamiya RZ67 Proll

Lens: 110mm f2.8

Erik Carter

Erik is a La Photographer. They do Documentary style portraiture. I found them interesting because of this as it also links to research on how you can narrate the images in two very different ways for similar subjects. These are all shot on very low f stop separating the model from the background.

James Brodribb

I found James work really interesting as it made me be inspired to do my photos in Black and White. I like how Black and White has it helps the viewer focus be on the model and the texture of the clothes without the distraction of the background, these are all shot possibly with white backdrops with I think works the best when doing black and white images as then the model stands out a lot more.

Mood board

I've decided to do my images in Black and white photography as this removes any distraction of color and helps the viewer focus on other aspects of the photo, such as the subject, the textures, shapes and patterns, and the composition.

Sketches of Poses 

I did quite a few sketches of ideas of how i want to pose my model. There nothing extravagant but i wanted to just look at how posing my model can help narrate them as a transgender person.Looking at more masculine positions, And they are not a model so i thought this would be good to look at so they are not looking awkward and I don't waste time in the studio.

This is me sketch up of my lighting. As I'm using the studio. I still want to you the idea of using a flash in my shoot from my initial idea. When I was gonna initial do the shot on Location I was gonna just have to flash directly on camera, But as of using the studio I've decide to set it up on a tripod and umbrella this way I can create more diffused and larger light, whiles it also being able to move it around. The studio I'm shooting in is all White walls which will be helpful in reflecting some of the light.

Model Release Form

Treatment 

This is a more refined Treatment that I'm gonna sent to my model. These are focusing on Black and White photos as that how I want my final images to look. These are the photos i took inspiration from. They all seem to use or have very white backdrops and not be using much studio light. I like how bright but still have a lot of shadows.They are also all shot in a very simple composition with the model being the focus with no distractions around which I want to use when shooting in the studio.

Submission for Sony Awards

Final Submission 

This is my final submission for the Sony awards. I'm very pleased with my final selection. I faced some problems with my lighting on this shoot. I was using an on camera flash with and umbrella on a stand but for some reason it was not firing properly so it would only go on certain times I clicked the shutter to release it wont fire. I believe I had my camera and the flash on the correct setting but maybe I did not. If i was to do this again I would probably of used a flash from the kit store.

Overall the shoot went really well and working with Carls has got me an opportunity to work with them again in the future. A project taking photos every few months of their transition. It also has got me another opportunity to do a shoot with them and their brother.

Identity through The Transition

Conclusion

In this brief I've learnt that I could have managed my time a bit more when doing two brief as I felt I neglected this brief a bit. As Men's File took a lot more of my time.

I'm really happy with the outcome of this topic despite the issues I had when planning and shooting. I'm really happy with shooting with Carls as this has got me an opportunity of working with them again.