During my Negotiated Studies unit I felt the need to challenge myself in the form of something that would benefit my professional portfolio, as this project was key in focusing on preparing us for the process of final year. My fellow peer and good friend Sarah Barlow happened to be focusing on children's wear for this particular unit and so we decided to collaborate with a view to organising and art directing a photo shoot. We set ourselves a pretty tight schedule having really only a week once we had spent plenty of time discussing the matter as usual...
Once we knew what we were after though it all seemed to pull together neatly. We managed to persuade Compton Acres to let us have full access to their gardens for the day as our location, then there was just the problem of a photographer and child models. Sarah knew Bryony Sly who is on one of the photography courses at our university and she was more than happy to work with us as it would also benefit her portfolio from a fresh angle. Finally for my toile critique in this unit I managed to get two child models after thinking my only chance would be through a proper modelling agency with great expenses. So as they say if you don't ask you don't get I approached the parents with the proposition of them modelling for the shoot and they were very welcoming to the idea with the incentive that we would pay for all the entrance costs, provide them with food and drink for the day and give them some professional prints and a selection of photographs on CD.
A significant matter that was a positive in terms of boosting my time management was that I had to try and achieve as much completion as possible on my two outfits for the shoot! This meant putting a lot of extra hours in... however it did make me realise that if i spent less time fussing and more time doing I achieve far more in a day and having mini deadlines is a very good way of turning the pressure on... I only had one garment that wasn't quite ready to go in the shoot, overall a fairly successful outcome. The last thing to do was source a selection of clothes, accessories and shoes from the highstreet which Sarah would style at the photo shoot.
To summarise the shoot went extremely well and the children were a delight to work with, full of beans and different ideas for where they wanted their pictures taking once they had settled into the swing of things. It was certainly a challenge to get to the point where it felt so worth while. It was a positive experience that has given me some key ideas for my final year and it was brilliant to work with new people... I would certainly not have these pictures for my portfolio if it wasn't for the skills of Sarah Barlow and Bryony Sly :)
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