LO3 operate in complex commercial contexts requiring the application of specific interpersonal, professional and business skills within an ethical framework
The process of submitting my work to my printer shows ability to operate within a commercial context using interpersonal and business skills. I met printer specifications using professional publishing software, liaised on physical proof checks, negotiated discount, and overcame commercial difficulties when there were errors on their part https://nkssite6.photo.blog/2024/10/06/sustaining-your-practice-assignment-4learning-log-part-2/
Researching Assignment 3 analytical text on the benefits and challenges of self-publishing and publishing. I applied interpersonal skills at a professional level in a commercial context to obtain primary research. This blog post evidences the way that I operated to gain primary sources, and learn about the publishing industry, and my outcomes: https://nkssite6.photo.blog/2025/01/22/assignment-3-the-photography-industry-learning-log-for-crs-copy/
LO5 confidently engage a public audience with your practice and analyse, review and evaluate information relevant to your practice, identifying opportunities for professional development
Sociologist Tonnies, wrote on Community and Society types, human relationships, and social structures. He describes:
Gemeinschaft: Close knit communities characterised by a sense of togetherness shared values and norms, collective social bond where everyone knows each other, has shared values and a sense of duty to community
Gesellshaft: Impersonal, transactional, and self-interested communities
He suggests as societies modernise, communal bonds weaken giving way to more individualistic relationships.
His concepts have implications for individuals’ sense of identity and belonging, especially with globalisation, the rise of digital communities, urbanisation, modernisation, and the erosion of traditional communities. Here there is a tension between preserving ‘Gemeinschaft’ like bonds and embracing ‘Gesellshaft.’
Tonnies ideas are tools for understanding dynamics of social organisations under the impact of Modernisation. His work inspires reflection on the nature of human relationships identity and social change.
Its relevance to my work:
My ‘town’ (population only 1000) is rural and the ‘locals’ are traditional and close knit. However elements of Gesellshaft (self-interest) are more evident now than in time past. I would attribute this more to the rise of digital communities, than ‘incomers’ moving in. Though incomers bring elements of modernisation they are no more self-interested or lacking social conscience than the ‘locals.’ Certainly, during Covid 19 and continuing on using social media the ‘locals’ hide behind comments and posts that are divisive and self-interested. This I evidenced in a previous body of work ‘Layers of Truth.’
Reference:
Sociologylearners (2023) Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft by Ferdinand Tönnies | Unveiling the Social Structures of Modernity. At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVmKi3g9DTw (Accessed 09/11/2024).
To combine the images and poetry in a way that offers audiences a platform to reflect on the nature of community. It is intended for two purposes:
To accompany artist talks in the woodland where shot, with local audiences
For exposure to professional via open calls, networking and reviews.
EVALUATION:
I am pleased I paid for a laminated hardback cover as this gives it the durability it needs to be handled and used in the woodland.
The green end pages give it a professional look.
The section dividing pages in green provide good punctuation.
The alignment and margin revisions work well, especially the tip to have a larger margin underneath an image.
Advice given to print text in only 85% black to help the images to ‘pop’ works well
The change to a lighter font (I used Calibri light instead of Garamond) is effective.
The change of label ‘Introduction’ to ‘preface’ in this final version gives a more professional tone to the page and book, as does the considerably shortened ‘preface’.
The sub title ‘Residents’ instead of ‘footnotes’ or ‘Constituents’ hits the right note.
I am glad that I added an image to the cover, looks more interesting and creates some intrigue.
The quality when delivered as my order: inner pages silk 170gsm not 115 gsm, and the cover laminated not un-laminated were important and I am glad that I picked these order errors and insisted on a reprint.
Professional feedback:
I showed the finished book to a printer, framer, photobook publisher who was impressed with the design, layout quality and content. He commented favourably on:
The way that the 85% black text is softer on the eye and makes the images ‘pop’
The uneven top/bottom margins like Polaroid pictures
The tone of the green colour used for the cover, end pages and section breaks
The small size of the text
The placement of text on facing page not below the images
That the design complements the subject and message well
Overall he was surprised at the professional outcome I’l achieved whilst self publishing.
Final reflections
Revising the design and product over time seems to have paid off. Some compromises are inevitable. Had the budget been limitless:
I would have chosen a linen embossed cover, I was quoted an extra £250 for this.
I would have experimented with end pages and section breaks in a natural brown paper, for texture and look.
However I believe I found the best solutions for my budget for the final product.I paid a total of £278 for 5 copies. Quite an outlay but I budgeted £350 and saved £60 bu using affinity software 6 month trial.
It is a good quality hardback book, with the durability needed for artist talks. It gives the professional look needed for audiences and the final images, text content and overall design exactly meet my intention to provide a platform for audiences to reflect on the nature of community.
LO5: confidently engage a public audience with your practice and analyse, review and evaluate information relevant to your practice, identifying opportunities for professional development
At the outset of the project (Project Proposal draft Assignment 2) I was adamant that wanted to attract limited local attention, due to local sensitivities. My Tutor challenged this as did my peers as my work began to take shape. I revised my intention a few months later as feedback told that the narrative was common to many localities, and decided to offer artist talks to a range of local people, to engage with an audience and offer the opportunity for them to reflect on the nature of community
I chose initially to do these 1:1 as I thought this would be more likely to give frank responses. I invited people via promotional postcards and offered another of their choice to takeaway and as potential promotional material:
As I gave publicity postcards away, word got around and I had locals ask me if they could see my book
Part 2. EXECUTION
Artist talks in the woodland where the images were photographed
21.10.24 with Kathryn
She said that the preface prepared her for the upcoming content well – the what and the why.
As she viewed the main images and couplets, she said “it made me reflect on my previous experience of human relationships, in fact ones away from this locality”. She spoke of her experience of others often not being generous, and how a lot of social etiquette is in fact ‘bollocks’. She liked many of the word choices such as ’festering’ which she called evocative. Kathryn said that the images and words relating to the woodlands conveyed a softness and peacefulness which is what she experienced in the woods at that moment, and of a sadness that is evident in the work. She particularly like the ‘residents’ images and definitions, saying it brought it home that diversity in a community can be quite simple.
She offered an interesting suggestion that the ‘residents’ images would be good behind ’flaps’ as readers may expect to see human portraits next to the definitions, and then be surprised.
My learning from this first artist talk was that the 1:1 talks are an effective method for sharing and gaining personal feedback on the work. It seems to create a mirror for a reader to reflect on human relationships in a fruitful way as well as offering an opportunity to enjoy the woodland community featured in it.
A big learning point was that the work is not obviously about one particular place (e.g. This local community) as the experience described in the work is very generic and applicable to most locations and networks; she believes I am reading too much into it with my fear of discovery.
Kathryn also said that the work doesn’t come across as harmful in any way, as it is sensitive, and not at all negative; it just has a feeling that it was made by someone who has experienced sadness and wishes for better relationships. She actually said I had “boiled the pettiness out of it”. I was able to explain about ethics in photography and how this project meets my aims.
She said she was very ‘affected’ by the photography, and enjoyed the self-reflection it provoked.
23.10.23 with Marianne
Beginning with the preface she immediately recalled a conversation with some tourists she bumped into recently and a conversation shared about locals an incomers. They related that where they have lived for 30 years they will never be considered local. Marianne referred to herself a ‘blown in’ though she’s lived here for years. She concurred with a line in the preface that incomers contribution to communities are rarely acknowledged.
Viewing the 1st image, and looking around herself at the woodland, she reflected how diverse the woodland is and it yet adapts over time; conversely that humans seem resistant to change. Reading on she commented on the layering there is in the words and how it draws her into the images.
When musing on the ‘residents’ section of the book, she reflected on how in small human communities there can be a lack of perspective as they lack context, and the feeling that you can’t sneeze without someone knowing. This led her on the recount an experience she’d had with a local neighbour.
Marianne said that she found the book very honest and that I had done well to share my thoughts in a way that isn’t harmful to others but causes you to reflect and respond.
We discussed how I could share with a broader audience locally as she thought it could be shared more widely and that it could be beneficial for others. I said I should be conscious not to restrict my sharing to certain sectors. She commented that we have a very eclectic mix of people living here and that actually to tick all bases would be impossible.
29.1.24 with Jane
She remarked straight away on the quality of the book and paper. Then the strength of the images.
She pointed out that you could construct the same work and point to a different view of human community. Also, that those with less friendly behaviours are just an element of the community and that it is possible that thier expressions are simply their way of functioning in a community – you get gossipers in every community.
She went on to say “the work is very thought provoking as I don’t normally dwell on community behaviours”. She has lived here for 30 years and said she is aware of conflict in the community, but tries to insulated herself from it, by not dwelling on it.
We talked at the end about how the woodland might respond if it had ‘incomers’, aka invasive species; this was a reflection point for myself.
2.11.24 with Rachel
As sat in the woodland the leaves fell around us. Rachel read the book to the end of the ‘community’ section before asking me the background. She then commented that the poetry made her feel sad.
She queried that all is harmonious in the woodland if you widen out from the flora I focused on, for instance the elements and the fauna (food chain) but agreed that for such a diverse community it is relatively harmonious.
She then focused on the images and said the 1st image conjured up a feeling of protection. and spotted that main images 2 & 5 appear chaotic on the surface, though they were ordered underneath. She also commented that image 6 seemed hopeful and spring like. I shared that she was perceptive as images 2 & 5 were taken when I photographed elements that appear chaotic and image 6 for a subset I called rebirth.
She noted how the top and bottom couplet lines are the extremes of positive and negative, and the language used evocative, e.g. Contentedly and festering. She shared her own always positive attitude to human community, saying it made her consider that all may not be as it appears on the surface and there be other that have different views.
She continued with the ‘resident’ section of the book and enjoyed the close-up images. Her observation was that they could just carry a headline title each, like nourish, and not have the definition as well, leaving more to the viewers imagination.
Overall, apart from loving the images, she commented “the book has made me reflect on the nature of community and consider how others might feel about it”. She read the book quietly several times and said she would like to reread again, saying she enjoyed the layers in it and the reflection it was provoking.
6.11.24 with Sharon
She initially commented that the woodland ‘just is’, whereas words like prejudice and ….are labels that we have in human communities, as humans seem to need to put limits/labels on things. She said that the images made her realise how nature coexists naturally whilst humans need to work hard to come together/ be together.
She said the images showed the diversity and richness of the woodland community.
I asked if she thought my signposting text was harsh on humans, and she replied that no she thinks it’s a reality in communities generally, and agreed that the contrasting words chosen for the poetry was completely appropriate.
I will continue with and expand my artist talks to local audiences
Experiment with Artist talks outside of the woodland, where and will be open to holding group sessions
Capture feedback.
I have been asked to present my work to a group audience, at a County organisation, and will look for similar opportunities.
Had I not disseminated my work through Artist talks I would not know that I’d met my project intentions, nor would have evidence of this:
” The book has made me reflect on the nature of community and consider how others might feel about it” (Rachel at artist talk)
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LO5 confidently engage a public audience with your practice and analyse, review and evaluate information relevant to your practice, identifying opportunities for professional development
I have fine-tuned my artist statement and bio, and gained experience numerous experiences of adapting it for various audiences and open calls. Give examples for an LO?
I have written an introduction for my book that draws from these and adapted them for my press release for artist talks.
They:
Address the core themes that the project addresses.
Address only the current work
Address the audience, as they may be mainly not photographic professionals locally.
are enthusiastic, and stress the importance/relevance of the project.
Don’t impose a definitive statement of the work’s meaning on your audience. Leave some intellectual space to engage with it and draw their own conclusions.
Written in 1st person.
Artist Project statement and bio August 2024Download
2. Website
I already had an OCA blog, however I am aware that my website is a first port of call for interested in my work. I built a website in March 2024, using Adobe portfolio (with no annual fee for a domain name), to host my work for a wider audience: https://nikisouth.myportfolio.com/home .
This appeared a technical challenge initially but after a few days of research and trials I achieved what I wanted to. I considered:
Professionalism: I believe it stands up well against other photographers websites.
Content:
It has a landing page
About page: With my bio
Portfolio page: one for my major project What Lies Beneath and 1 for an earlier work Brexit. Both include introductions to my work.
Contact page:
Visual strength, I considered:
Considered typeface
Layout
Colours/tones
I have checked how my website looks on a variety of devices.
Navigability is simple and obvious.
It is simple to refresh e.g. my your portfolio, bio, CV.
I spent time looking at other photographers’ websites and had my website peer reviewed. As I do not intend to sell my book it will not be encompassed on the website for sale- though I may mention that artist talks are available with a personal showing of the work in a book. I have been contacted about my work via my website
3. Social media and enhancing my online presence
Instagram – I began a professional photography Instagram earlier in the year and am posting on it and extending my followed and followers. I have a widget for it on my website.
LinkedIn – I updated my profile to include my photography. I will see going forwards if I need to use it to seek specific professionals or direct them to me.
My facebook remains a personal rather than professional tool, and is geared towards local contacts so is not appropriate for the engagement that I want for this work.
Twitter – Can take a very long time to acquire enough followers on to make meaningful contributions towards publicity, so I have left this for now. Should I change my mind in the future about how much I want to engage with an audience going forwards then I can revisit the idea.
4. Press releases
If I wanted wide local engagement I am aware that I could advertise locally using event listing websites and publications. These would be:
The local facebook ‘who what where when’
The well-used village telegraph pole
I could also contact the editors of my local newspapers like the Western Telegraph
None of these are appropriate for my project/book which is sensitive locally. However in a press release I would address:
Gathering feedback for my publication after it is ‘released’ is part of this process and will help me assess the success of my publication – how much my work has managed to communicate the ideas or explore the themes that you set out to. I think this, rather than the numbers of visitors will be more appropriate for my work. I will use this feedback to help reflect upon how to develop the work further, or where or how I might exhibit it in the future.
NIKI SOUTH 