'Hold Still' National Portrait Gallery competition

During lockdown I was sent a link to the ‘Hold Still’ portrait prize hosted by the Duchess of Cambridge at the National Portrait Gallery. This competition is to create a collective of portraits to show the ‘new normal’ we are living in today. You can also show portraits of helping your community, heartache, positivity etc. You do not have to use a professional camera to enter, an entry taken on your phone is also accepted. It is free to enter for all.

At the beginning of lockdown I took doorstep portraits of people around my town for a small fee to the Alexander Devine children’s hospice charity. For the competition I submitted a portrait of Jo and her grandmother Maureen as it showed positivity and unity amongst the generations. As nobody in the photograph was under the age of 18, I did not have to worry about filling out a form for consent.

This competition is a good way to show my work to the public eye. As I am a focused landscape photographer, submitting a portrait of mine gives me confidence in my portraiture work. I do enjoy taking portraits so this is a great opportunity to build up my portfolio of portraits.

Case Study - Becoming a Photo Editor

Whilst being at university and learning about book design and setting up exhibitions, sequencing is something I have thoroughly enjoyed. When having to sequence my own work for a book publication, it is exciting to see the project come together through the layout of images. This is a crucial part in any project that the images sit right with each other and fit well on the page. I enjoy looking at the tones within images and their subject matter and coordinating with one another to match in the sequence. There is a strong feeling of accomplishment when this is put together well.

 There are many companies that you could work for as a photo editor. Newspapers, magazines and book companies all need editors so there is plenty of opportunity to work with a company in this field. To get into these jobs having a bachelor’s degree in photography is a great boost as it shows you know how to read photographs. Also, with my book designing experiences that I have built up during university, I will also be able to show my publications. This will show the employer that I have already undertaken the job role in photo editing within my own photo books. Some of my publications have very different styles of image placing, so this will show future employers that I can be both creative and traditional with my layouts.

The challenges I may face with this job role is experience. So far, I have had experience at university with my own books and books of my peers, however this may not be enough. Taking the route of an internship and gaining experience this way with either smaller companies or even well-established ones such as The Telegraph or The Daily Mail etc, will help to build up my experience and knowledge for the job role.

Entering Competitions

Entering competitions is a great way to get your work shown by professionals in the photographic field. The arts is a very competitive world with everyone striving to be the best. However, this means that it is important that you market yourself well in order to make your work stand out from others. Even if you do not win the competition you entered, it does not mean you have not succeeded. The judges on some of the panels can be well known photographers, curators etc that have looked at your work when judging. This can lead to great recognition in the future.

A few weeks ago I entered the Palm* photo prize 2020. This is set up for new generation photographers and is exhibition based. There were 4 prizes to win including First prize, Second prize, People’s choice award and People’s choice Instagram Award. On the judge panel were some well known names such as Karen McQuaid, senior curator of the Photographer’s Gallery, Sarah Allen, assistant curator at Tate Modern and Alastair McKimm, editor-in-chief of iD. Although I was not successful in this competition, my work has been seen by those high up in the art world which is a success in itself. It means my work is getting seen by professionals in the field.

I am currently in the process of entering the South West graduate prize 2020. This is a well known photographic prize for the South West of England which previous graduates from Bath Spa University have been successful in winning and having their work shown at a collective exhibition. This is another great opportunity to get my work seen by other professionals within the industry. I will be submitting my current work that I have produced over the course of the lockdown period, as I feel it is a strong project to show.

Artist Statement

Writing about yourself is never easy. I find more comfort when writing about other artists and photographers than myself. When writing my artist statement, I found it difficult at first to talk about my skills and my practise.

What is important to remember when writing an artist statement is to be concise with what I write. Trying not to ramble is key, however this can be an issue if you are not great at writing about yourself! However, the statement does not have to be long, you could even sum yourself up in one sentence if you feel that is right for you.

When setting out my statement I followed a guide of writing who I am, what I am interested in and what I have achieved. Within this I discussed my interests for landscape photography and how I am interested in looking into the historical side of the landscape, so that my photographs can contain a deeper meaning. I feel that I have not rambled in my artist statement but instead, have clearly discussed my interests in photography and what it is that makes me want to create photographs.

Artist Statement

‘Having a long interest in history, my practise includes a strong focus of the diverse landscape and its historical representation. Discussing the hidden meanings and looking into how a historical place evolved. Being able to connect with a landscape photographically, looking deep into its characteristics, but also being able to look further into its history is what really inspires me to create photographs. Being able to walk along the oldest road in Britain in its entirety and explore the hidden meanings behind certain artefacts is freeing.’

Artist CV's

An artist CV is presented in a different format to a regular CV. What is different between them is the type of information you include. For example an artist CV will include exhibitions you have taken part in and a short summary of your practise. Whereas a regular CV would not include these facts but instead, a summary of your interests and hobbies. Also skill for the specific job role you are entering for example, till training, customer service etc. When including skills about an artistic job role, listing your knowledge on Adobe suites is important for example Photoshop, InDesign etc.

Features that are the same on both CV’s are your contact details (obviously.) Your education, however you may not write your education in its entirety onto your artist statement and references from previous employers or in my case, tutors from university.

When writing my CV I have included both exhibitions I have been involved in, both held at the art space in Bath at 44AD. Adding this will show my future employer that I have experience in installing and curating work in a public exhibition space. I have also included my skills that I have learnt throughout my university years. For example my knowledge on Adobe suites including InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator. When applying for a book design job which I hope to achieve in the near future, having skills such as InDesign on my CV is important. Also having publications of my work listed will show that I have experience in book design, even up to the point of printing and publication.

Laia Abril

Laia Abril presented a talk about her work a few weeks ago in which she creates photographic projects that are based on hard hitting topics that we may find challenging to talk about. When carrying out this project, Abril explained that around 70% of her projects are research based so that she has enough knowledge to carry through.

‘Chapter One - On Abortion’ (2016) Is Abril’s first project which documents the dangers and complications of illegal abortion methods. These are carried out due to women’s lack of access to safe abortion as women’s rights on abortion are still illegal in some countries. Abril explains that when meeting with her subjects to retrieve their stories about their experiences of abortion, text needed to be included in her book in order to get their stories heard.Some of the objects shown in Abril’s images are what these women used to carry out their abortion. Some women used a coat hanger and some sat in hot baths.

Abril spoke about how women that go though abortions are ‘killers’ because you are discarding life forms. However, this has been opposed because not allowing women to have an abortion legally and safely means they would have to take matters into their own hands. By carrying out illegal and dangerous abortions can lead to injuries and even fatalities. Thousands of women have died from having their own abortions and so it is just as bad not allowing women the access to have safe and legal abortions.

Her work is very powerful and contains images of those who have experience with having their own abortions, alongside images of methods used. These images put into perspective just how important it is to allow women the right to safely abort. The project has also led to women opening up about their experiences.

Susan Bright

Curator and writer Susan Bright gave a talk about her experience in the art world. Beginning her career as a curator at the National Portrait Gallery, London Bright then moved onto other institutions world wide and is now based in Paris.

When looking through ‘Good House Keeping’ cookery book of 1969, Bright found that the images sat beautifully on the page; a traditional style of cookery book layout. However when ‘White Heat 25’ by Maro Pierre White released, the layout of his book had a drastic change and this is where cookery books started to take on more of an art approach when presenting images and text.

When constructing her own book, ‘Feast for the Eyes,’ Bright did not want it to look like a cookery book. It’s contents is made up of different photographers from all eras who had photographed food. She would then compare how each photographer had captured food and explored the journey of food photography over the years. Much of the photography within the book is in different styles. Some food is photographed with a fine art approach, whilst others are captured with a contemporary style. This is followed through with the front cover. When viewing the cover which is a bright yellow with a fine art image on the front, you would not think about it being a cookery book.

When curating for different exhibitions, Bright thinks outside the box about how to enhance the images presented on the wall. When curating ‘Feast for the Eyes’ at the Photographer’s Gallery London, Bright divided the exhibition into three sections all painted with a bright colour in which the photographs sat on top. Blue, red and yellow. This was done to match the idea of the aesthetic of Instagram, a platform that is growing daily for photographers and other artists.

Websites!

Choosing the right website for you is important as this will sometimes be the first port of call for potential clients. Your website needs to be clear and easy to manoeuvre, but can also tell people about you.

There are many different companies out there, all trying to entice you into using their platforms. The big names out there at the moment are Squarespace, Wordpress, Wix, Cargo, Format and more. Each company have their own styles with some being more flexible than others when it comes to designing your website. Square Space has a wide range of templates to choose from with simple gallery layouts to more contemporary tiled layouts. However there are limitations on where you can place your images within the template you have chosen. Whereas with Format and Cargo, you have a lot more freedom to choose and design exactly where you want your images and text to sit on the page. It does depend on what your personal preference is. What platform you choose may also come down to pricing. Wix do a free version however you will always have ‘wix’ somewhere in your URL. If you do not want this then there will be a monthly or yearly fee to pay.

Personally, I have chosen Squarespace as the platform used for my website. I like their clean designs and was happy with where my images sit on the page and has enough room for me to change the font of the text and background and font colours. It was easy to connect my domain name from GoDaddy to my Squarespace site and I find it is easy to move around the site once complete.

When thinking about what to add to my site, it is important to write that I am no longer a ‘student’ and instead a ‘photographer,’ graduating in 2020. Doing this will enable me to start my professional career.

How to show your work?

Getting your name out into the world can be a difficult task to fulfil immediately, as everyone is after the same role. This is why how you show your work is so important to stand out.

Blog posts, instagram posts, websites, books and magazines are just some of the ways in which you can present your work to future employers and clients. Having a strong portfolio of work to take with you to meetings and social gatherings is important because you can get your work out there physically, as well as electronically. In order to gain a strong portfolio it is paramount that you document everything you do. For example exhibitions you are part of, awards you have won or been shortlisted for, published work and projects completed, published writing and your degree. All of these aspects will build you up a more substantial portfolio that will help to impress!

Photographers such as Wolfgang Tillmans and Andreas Gursky hold very strong bodies of work in which when viewing their websites, they only contain a few selected images that stand out. This makes their websites clear and precise and have taken the decision to trust in their strong work to make them stand out.

However as we know it is expensive to print work. Hundreds of pounds can be spent processing and printing photo-books, printing for exhibitions both group and solo, arts fairs etc. Applying for a grant or art fund is accessible to all providing you convey a strong reason for the money. This is very helpful for financing the printing of work etc, and will in tern help build up your portfolio.

Setting up for our third year interim exhibition.

Case Study - Becoming a Book Designer

Becoming a book designer is something I have thought about carrying out only recently. During the course I have learnt how to size, design and print photo-books for my finished projects. Working with Ripe Digital, I have really taken an interest in book making and design and so I would like to peruse a career in book design post university. I feel this pathway is something I will enjoy, as design is an area I am keen to peruse.

 With the knowledge of InDesign and previous book making experience, I would like to hope that this will be enough to obtain a full-time job working in a publishing house. To get jobs in this field I will also use my CV containing my experiences and achievements to showcase where my knowledge is based. When at interview it is important that I physically show, the books I have made during university.

 One publishing house I would like to work for one day is the Penguin Random publishing house, as I have had great experience with their books throughout my life and see them as a good company to work for. Their creativity responsibility is something that attracts me to their company, as it is clear they work in a respective manner, but also one that brings together everyone’s creativity. However, being such a big company, I thought it would be better if I was to work for a smaller company to begin with to gain as much experience as I can in order to better my chances at working for Penguin. It will also allow me to see if working in book design is definitely something I want to do.

 Challenges I may face when applying for this role is the competition that I may be facing. Making sure I present myself well and ensuring I speak about my work in a unique way that is different from others may become a challenge that I will face. I feel my design is different in that I tend to challenge the traditional styles. This will hopefully make me stand out.

Case Study - Becoming Freelance

Becoming a photographer was not something I thought about until later on in my A-levels. The feeling of accomplishment when having taken a good image is what I strive off of and motivates me to create more work. The idea of being a freelance photographer interests me because nothing is ever the same. Whether you are working on your own personal project or collaborating with someone or a company means not every day you will be in the same place photographing the same thing.

 With the knowledge I have gained throughout university about marketing yourself well and getting your name out there will be helpful in starting up my own photographic business. Having already set up a website with the help of tutors and peers, I am already one step ahead of creating my brand and getting myself known. Making sure my website is clear and easy to use for potential clients is important. How I am portrayed online is just as important as how I show myself in person. Also, having social media platforms such as Instagram to show my work is vital. With the growth of Instagram with over 1 billion users, it is important to show yourself well on these types of platforms also. These are the main marketing strategies to gain clients.

 Flexibility is a positive that comes with being a freelance photographer. Being your own boss is a great way to be able to control how much work you do and how much time off you take. You are never pressured into having time off if you need or want it. The hours you work are also flexible, so you are not set to a certain number of hours a week. Cost of living is also considered and how much you charge clients. You can charge as much as you want, as long as you have expenses covered which can work in your favour a lot of the time. You have to ensure that your day rate does cover the cost of all your expenses and leaves you with a bit of spending money afterwards.

 However, starting up your own business does come with its challenges. These being that it will take a long time for your name to get out into the industry. Many start up photographers have a job on the side bringing in their main source of income until they are able to bank on their income from photography jobs. The photographic industry is very competitive, and this is why you have to make your mark and stand out when marketing yourself. Attending social events is a great way to build your network which will help you gain clientele. This can be through exhibitions of others or of your own.

Archie Wells

Graduating from Bath Spa University in 2019, Archie delivered a virtual talk about how he has found life post university.

Applying for different awards and competitions around the country, Archie was successful enough to be shortlisted for Source Graduate, Photograd and winner of the South West Graduate prize. Archie spoke about how important it is for you to be apart of exhibitions and competitions to get your work shown in the industry. Even with the smaller exhibitions I have been apart of during my time at university has given me knowledge to be able to help put up bigger exhibitions in the future. For example, having his Archie’s work, ‘Stemming The Tide,’ shown at the South West Graduate Prize show in 2019, has really helped increase his network.

However, you will not always win competitions or get what you apply for and this should not be taken personally. Archie explained that ‘For every 10 things you apply for, you will only get 1 response.’ The photographic world is so competitive, rejection can be tough but you have to move on and keep trying. Archie’s example of this was sending in a project to The Guardian, however he was rejected. It is good when you are informed of why you were not accepted as you can learn from this, but it is also polite for companies to do this. However after many emails, C41 magazine accepted Archie’s work and agreed to work with him. So again, even though you will receive no’s, there will be yes’s too!

Social media has played a big role in Archie’s early career as most of the clients Archie has worked for post uni, has come from Instagram direct messages. Archie recently assisted a photographer who was working on a campaign for fashion company Gucci, creating content for their new watch. This job came about via Instagram. What is important when sending messages via social media is to keep it casual but show your engagement with their work. Being yourself and carrying yourself well are key factors, making sure you portray a kind persona but also showing that you are persistent and know what you are talking about.

‘Stemming The Tide’ - Knife Crime

Life after university... What's on the cards?

As we near the end of our photography journey as a student it is important to now market yourself as a ‘photographer’ and not ‘student.’

It can feel overwhelming to think about life after university and where you will be heading. It comes with worry and uncertainty, especially trying to get yourself known, that is the hardest part. However, it is important to have ambitions and life goals and to be excited about your next chapter in life. Having a plan of where you would like to be in 3 months, 6 months, 1 year and 5 years helps to guide you in the direction of where you want to end up.

Thinking about potential jobs ideas has really inspired me to think deeply about my career, as there are so many different job opportunities. These include becoming a freelance photographer or becoming an assistant. Curation, gallery manager, picture researcher, photographic retoucher are also potential avenues to go down and many more. Thinking about my career I have really enjoyed making books and especially the designing process. Therefore, working for a publishing house and becoming a book designer is something that I would like to achieve in the near future. Of course due to the circumstances we are currently experiencing, being successful in getting a job may be thin, however later on in the year this will hopefully become more accessible after graduating.

So why not become a freelance photographer? Completing a photography degree has definitely broadened my knowledge of the photographic industry and reading images is something I have become a lot better at doing. My love for image making has enabled me to appreciate the photographic industry more and I find I am inspired by so many artists and photographers everyday via social media platforms, websites and books. However become freelance is something that I do not feel is for me, as I would prefer to have a stable income.

Alexander Lethbridge

Alexander Lethbridge carried out a virtual talk in which she discussed her career in the photographic industry.

In her first years after university, Lethbridge was involved in many job roles including studio assisting for Joel Meyerowitz, studio manager for Venetia Dearden and volunteer at Photoworks until she finally landed a full time job at Photoworks whom she still works for today.

Lethbridge’s photographical work is very experimental and is open to different methods. It includes a mixture of found imagery, archives and also her own photographs. Having an interest in lay lines of the earth’s plates, Lethbridge started looking into what areas looked like via Google Earth. From this passion, she created ‘The Meteorite Hunter.’

This project is a collection of both Lethbridge’s own photographs as well as photographs from NASA. The work is based on mimicking the job of a Meteorite Hunter bringing in fact and fiction. Mixing the two together, her work contains bright, experimental images which are eye catching. They make you question what, where, how and why which I think is really important as it intrigues the viewer into the work.

Following on from this, her book contains different paper stocks to help give the viewer a different experience when reading through it. As the subject matter is very obscure, this construct fits in well with the feel of the book. Also when exhibiting her work, Lethbridge continues with the experience of the book and presents her work in ways you have to ‘hunt.’ They can be placed in a collage format which sits very different to a traditional exhibition.

Tracy Marshall

An inspiring talk by arts director, producer and founder of Northern Narratives Tracy Marshall who carried out a talk about her experience in the art field.

After studying an arts degree, Marshall worked a lot in the directing field for charities in Ireland and then moved on to a bigger project ‘209 Women’ (2018.) This project focused on photographing all 209 female MPs in Parliament to recognise how far women have come since the first women vote 100 years ago, bringing together the arts and politics. What interests me about this project is the idea that all MPs participated and gave their support and meant that every party took part. It conveys the message that women empowerment is important, especially in those sectors where male dominance is apparent.

Finding a job after completing an art degree is not easy and so Marshall set up ‘Belfast Exposed Futures.’ The organisation provides graduates with a grant of £1000 to help with expenses to get themselves started and to get their name out. It also provides a 5 year artistic plan and 2 year business plan to help start up a business if they wish to do so. I feel this organisation is important because it shows those who want to start up in the art world that there are businesses and organisations out there that want to help you achieve the best.

Working for free is something else Marshall bought up in her talk. Nowadays people believe it is okay to ask for free work from artists and this is unacceptable. The amount of time that goes into carrying out one shoot is too much to charge nothing at all. Day rates are important and should be established before executing any photographic work so that you receive the payment you deserve.

Kelly O'Brien

Photographer Kelly O’Brien shared her experience as a photographer during a virtual talk with us.

Finding photography at aged 18, O’Brien was inspired by 1800s paintings, the time of the romanticism movement. The working class were not shown in paintings like these, as they were more for middle and upper class families. The idea of communism is a unnerving concept and this sparked an interest in O’Brien to create work related to the idea of communism.

Her project ‘Osman’ was the turning point in O’Brien’s photographic practise. After Osman’s death which occurred due to the social neglect he felt and sadly committed suicide, Kelly started to document social change. She wanted to help those like Osman cope within society. She spent 5 years travelling around joining activist groups, meeting a range of people who were suffering, and she stated that she did not feel comfortable photographing these people that were in a bad way.

An interesting point that O’Brien bought up was the idea that those who photographed the migrant crisis were white and privileged. This bought exploitation into the equation because we had control over what was shown to the rest of the world. This made me think about what I had seen in regards to the migrant crisis. What I witnessed was a lot of negativity within the media, showing images of those suffering, trying to get away from danger within their own country. It makes me think could we have done more to help if the media hadn’t been so vague about the crisis and showed how we could have offered support?

When O’Brien returned home she created her project ‘Sacred Hearts,’ a political and personal documentation between her mother and grandmother. Thinking about the ideas of gender and class identity, she bases the work in the houses she grew up in. Doing this, O’Brien documents her own take on her historical landscape and did so in an intimate way. Growing up in a council estate in Derby, this usually has negative stigmas around it. However the intimacy give the entire project a different feel and the location and housing does not matter. She also has other works ‘Are You There,’ which surrounds her family life in response to not knowing her father. All these have stereotypical social class upbringings behind them.

Are You There

Dominic Davies

Commercial photographer Dominic Davies was invited to present a talk at our university to discuss his practice and how he reached his current position as a photographer today.

Davies’ main work is studio based and kick started his career photographing for bands and other artists. He would be given a piece of music and would create album covers for them using the music he had been given. What the outcome would be is a reflection of how the music inspired him. This led him out of the studio and into his environmental surroundings in which he created still life outside of the controlled studio environment.

What I find really engaging with Davies’ work is how each image is constructed in camera, meaning no post production is used. The effects and lighting is carefully considered and the outcomes are strong. The composition of each individual image is intriguing as the styling of the subject is very different to what we see a lot of the time commercially.

An example of this being his work for renowned chef Heston Blumenthal, ‘The Big Fat Duck Cookbook.’ This body of work consists of beautifully constructed still life images of food which has been assembled in an ascetically pleasing way. Close crops and dramatic lighting puts a different spin on the way food can be photographed. The beauty and the richness that comes through from this project inspires me to think outside the box about how else to capture my subjects when photographing.

Business Skills

When starting up a business there are different types of business you can set up. These are becoming a ‘Sole Trader,’ meaning you are self-employed and runs your own business. A ‘Partnership business,’ meaning two or more individuals share the profits and management. Or you can set up a ‘Limited Company,’ in which the members of the company are limited to their stake of the company via investments etc.

There is a possibility that in the future I may want to become a freelance photographer and therefore become self employed. Some important factors you need to know when starting up a self employment business is that it may take you a while to get clients. Relying on your business straight away may not be the best idea so to have a part time job elsewhere in the mean time. This will come with time and it is important to remember to have confidence in yourself, to be realistic and to have the ‘likability factor’ which will come if you communicate well.

Once registered with HMRC that you have began a sole trader business, it is important to pay your taxes correctly. Keeping records of sales and income, business expenses , VAT records (if registered) and personal income is important as you are able to claim tax back on equipment for your business such as tools, which is known as ‘Capital Allowance.’ petrol and marketing can also be claimed back on your tax. This is known as ‘Allowable expenses.’

When paying tax it is advisable to hire an accountant to do the maths. They will be able to work out how much tax you need to pay for the year by providing them with your earnings and receipts of expenses to the business.

Earning up to £12,500 means you do not have to pay any tax and you will not be charged for this amount. If you earn higher than this, for example £12,501 - £50,000 then you pay 20% on the money you make that exceeds £12,500. If you start earning over £50,000 then you will be in the higher tax bracket to pay 40%. Anything over £150,000 and you will be placed in the additional tax bracket at 45%.

Tax can be very complicated but is something that you need to get right, otherwise you can fall into trouble!

Applying for Source Magazine

As myself and my photography peers come to the end of our time at university, we were encouraged to enter Source Magazine Graduate Prize 2020. This is a great way to showcase our work and get our names out into the industry post university. To enter there was a £33 fee with a submission allowance of up to 8 images and a 120 word synopsis regarding the body of work. When entered you will automatically be considered for a 6 month position as a Royal Opera House in-house photographer, a great way to learn more about the professional industry and gain experience this way.

My project, ‘The Workings of Port Talbot’ was submitted for the prize. I feel that this project is one of my best projects and definitely one that I am proud to showcase. This project is a solely landscape based body of work which looks into the pollution rates of the town, as it is known for being one pf Britain’s most polluted towns. With it’s pollution rates being on the verge of dangerous, Port Talbot made me want to explore the area and the life lived there.

When choosing the images for submission, I took into consideration the sequencing of the 8 I chose and ended up submitting the maximum of 8 images. Each image was full of information about Port Talbot and it’s characteristics, showing a different side to the town with each frame. I made sure to choose images which subject matter clearly showed to deterioration of the town and ensured they were not repetitive and flowed well in the sequence. When writing the synopsis for this project, I made sure I clearly wrote the importance of the project and what it showed in a clear and concise format.

London Trip

When in London I visited the V&A museum that was holding an exhibition surrounding the idea of Hope, ‘Prix Pictet 2019.’ - ‘Revealing how a mood of optimism can drive us towards change.’ One photographer who stood out to me was Alexia Webster’s ‘Street Studios.’ Webster set up outdoor photographic studios for passers-by and their families to get their picture taken free of charge. Love and identity was portrayed through the portraits. The photographs themselves in the exhibition were bright and colourful. In each photograph there was a different story to tell with each family. What was interesting about the exhibition was the colour of the walls that had been painted grey, rather than traditional white. I felt this really enhanced the images along with them being well lit.

I then went to the National Portrait Gallery where the submissions and winners of the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait prize 2019. The portrait that struck me the most was not any of the first, second or third place winners but in fact ‘Rosy and Herb (Stage four bowel cancer 36/100 years)’ portrait, taken by Jenny Lewis. What struck me about her portrait was the aesthetic vibrant green leaves on the curtains alongside the delicate curls in Rosy’s hair who is a new mother. The soft tones within the portrait release a sense of femininity which creates a calming atmosphere.

The third and final exhibition I visited was by Susan Bright’s ‘Feast for the Eyes,’ at the Photographer’s Gallery. This exhibition showed work from different photographers from all eras of food photography. Bright shows fine art and contemporary food photography over the years and how it has changed. Cookery books are now becoming more like art books and the layout is changing. The wall colours were bright blue, red and yellow, suggesting the three different areas of food photography. They were also painted this way to represent sitting around the table. I enjoyed this exhibition as it made photographing food more exciting and interesting and showed the potential of the future of food photography.