What do we see in images?

Shortly after being handed the brief we completed an exercise to get us thinking about photography on a very basic level. We looked at a series of photographs, pinned them to the wall and wrote down what we saw.

At first we were stating very obvious things, where the locations were, what techniques were used, why we think it would be taken? After speaking with the tutors about the images they pushed us to look a little deeper into the photos. One particular example was of a door, there was a shadow of another door shining onto it. At first we thought it would just be that someone left the door open. Upon further inspection we realised it was an external door with a peephole, maybe in an apartment corridor. It was shot from a POV perspective which we ignored at first. We came to the conclusion that it was someone peering out of there own door to see what was in the corridor.

Of course there were no wrong answers but it was a great exercise which got us thinking looking deeper into photographs and there meaning.

Gregory Crewdson

Gregory Crewdson is a photographer best known for his huge staged photographs. He creates images that could easily be a snapshot from a hollywood blockbuster. He controls every element and creates a very cinematic photograph.

All of his photographs have a narrative and are taken to convey an idea or message. Aesthetically they are very pleasing, using complex lighting to control the mood of the scene.

His series "Beneath The Roses" (seen above) featured photographs that share a classic american feel and explores a strange sense of drama. The images themselves are very striking, they feature a lot of information which leads you into several potential stories. To me the photographs seem to speak of dark secrets that lie behind closed doors. On first glance the images seem to reflect a typical American lifestyle but when you take a second to look around the images the context begins to throw you. Is there something more sinister going on? The smaller details seem to play a large part in Crewdsons photographs, we are given clues that only appear if we look for them and with each clue a possible narrative becomes apparent. For me personally there is something quite disturbing about most of the photos in this set, the characters seem to be glazed over and somewhat non-human.

I think his work is very fascinating, they could easily be snapshots from a hollywood blockbuster but I think it's interesting that he chooses to use photography although it's apparent he would be quite capable of being a director and creating feature length films. The level of details in the shots is astounding, every element is controlled and each shot can take up to 3 days with a team of 30+ people.

Although not related to my own ideas, his work is very influential. I'm interested in the controlling of environments within photographs and think this is something to think about with my own shots in this project. Especially since I'm trying to convey a narrative, I will have to control what I show my audience which in turn controls what information they are given. If I was to include things in my images that didn't really add to the narrative it may throw people off and begin to distract from the message I'm trying to get across.

Initial Briefing

We have just been introduced to our first module of the year, 'Areas of photographic practice'. This module is about understanding narrative and meaning through the use of visual language. The aims for this module are:

• The importance of context 
• Critiquing photographs
• Understanding your audience
• Sequenced/circular narratives

Narrative Codes;

Open Structures - Often found in TV dramas, very open ended and never fully reaches a resolved end. Very little or no structure to show a begging, middle and end.

Closed Structures - The most common structure in films. A very structured story with a clear beginning middle and end. Often we are introduced to characters, a problem arises and then is solved.

Circular Structures - The start/narrative of the story relays to the end. You are introduced to the ending at the start and taken on a journey to show how you got there. (Eg Fight Club, Pulp Fiction)

Linear - A story told in chronological order, we see the story unfold as it happened it real time. The most common style for films etc.

Non-Linear - Not told in chronological order, the concept of time becomes some what irrelevant and you are shown things that may be further along in time in order to understand events that are yet to happen. (eg. 500 days of summer, eternal sunshine)



Photographers can adapt the above styles to convey there messages to the audience. This is something I will have to develop with my own ideas but to do this I will first research a mix of photographers who have adapted these techniques to there own work.


Tableau Vivant - A term borrowed from the French language meaning 'Living Picture'. A group of performances re enacting an event throughout time. The term has been adopted by photographers who create single images that are used to portray a message. The image often contains vast amounts of people in costume and can be very complicated productions.

Red Saunders - Recreates significant events in England adapting Tableau Vivant. They all took place before the invention of the camera and he re enacts scenes that would not have been painted due to higher powers not wanting to document certain events that would undermine there authority or show that they were unpopular. They have a very strong political viewpoint.

Dina Goldstin - Fall off the princesses
A series of photos that depict disney characters in very modern day scenarios. A rather comical set in which she says 'The happily ever after' is replaced with a realistic outcome and addresses current issues.