The focus for our coursework this week was to explore how photographers mix art and commerce in different ways, as well as discussing the importance of developing a unique vision and distinctive visual language as this is the type of originality and consistency that clients are looking for. It is what makes a photographer stand out from the crowd and, very importantly in my opinion, makes them both recognisable and memorable. These qualities are essential now with the rise in digital technology and social media.

Personal branding is an important part of this too and must be considered when developing and online presence and creating content to be shared through these channels. The personal brand must not only be consistent with the professional image the photographer wants to create, but must also appeal to the appropriate market while remaining authentic and original. These aspects must all combine to compliment and highlight the visual language of the photographer.

Our tutor, Anna, emphasised that is is through the love of photography and the experience of practising it that we develop a personal style and visual language.  Having personal projects to work on not only helps to achieve this, but also keeps a connection to the love of photography. This is very important to allow for artistic expression, rather than having to focus on the commercial aspects of being a photographer and working within the design of the client brief.  It is important to create a balance between the art and the commercial practice

As Anna said, “Successful projects are produced by those who find interesting stories and interesting ways of telling them.” This really made an impact on me and got me thinking about the narrative aspect of photography, the visual story telling, something I would like to develop further in my own practice. It is important to create a balance between the art and the commercial practice of photography, and if done successfully, the two aspects could even merge, and personal projects may attract new clients.

As I am not yet a commercial photographer, I am predominantly working on personal projects and my MA Photography projects, so finding a balance would be about breaking into a commercial market, finding new clients and a market for my photography. I am still developing my style and visual language, which is one of the reasons I have chosen to do the MA Photography, as I believe this will help to challenge, inspire and develop my photographic practice.

 Some of the artists who inspire me and who have successfully combined their personal projects and vision with commercial photography are:

• Zed Nelson is a highly successful documentary photographer and filmmaker who makes use of long-term personal projects to explore current social issues with a scope and depth that results in his very successful books and exhibitions. His project, The Family, for example, is ongoing since 1991 and will continue indefinitely.

• Alec Soth, the well known American documentary photographer who developed his unique style and visual language by wandering and exploring to find the subjects of his work. His first book, Sleeping by the Mississippi, was born out of his travels along the Mississippi River and was self-published in 2004. It was this project that drew attention from the art world and firmly established his career.

References:

Photoworks. (2019). New Writing: Hackney: A Tale of Two Cities | Photoworks. [online] Available at: https://photoworks.org.uk/hackney-tale-two-cities/

Widewalls. (2019). Alec Soth. [online] Widewalls. Available at: https://www.widewalls.ch/artist/alec-soth/