Rebecca- Thoughts on Shoot 1

Yesterday we did our first shoot in Manchester (images below). I really enjoyed observing how the people around the Northern Quarter reacted when we asked them to draw how they see themselves. It also appeared interesting how many of the people who we photographed were men because women seem to be a lot more conscious about how they look and this tells us a lot about the society of today.

My role throughout the morning was to produce behind the scenes photographs such as shop locations and the people drawing themselves in order capture reactions. I really enjoyed the role however I may try to do the asking/ talking next time as it would be good to build up my confidence in doing things like this and if I am to do future projects with strangers I will need to break this barrier.

We chose the Northern Quarter as our location because of it being a place where creativity seems to take place through the art shops/ galleries that are there. I feel this was the right decision as there are many small businesses/ shops that maybe wouldn't be as busy as those right in the centre of Manchester so we had the opportunity to ask shop owners to draw themselves.

The portrait results we achieved were really interesting ranging from images with a sense of insecurity through to childhood hero influences. My favourite portrait to date is the one took in " Den Furniture and Interiors", as it sparked a story behind the drawing drawn.

The man drew a religious comic character named John Constantine, as that is who he inspired to be. What was interesting about this was that he said he wasn't very religious himself. He took time with the drawing maybe sparking us to consider whether he was a slight perfectionist or very creative, he also did his signature and the bottom right of the drawing. It also may reflect him being quite a confident person. Overall the drawing creates an intrigue from the viewer into who he has drawn and why this is the case. 

Rebecca