Mind Maps

Mind Maps

Everyday Activities

My main idea for the component 2 project is question 1, everyday activities. I have chosen this as my main focus as it is the question that I was immediately drawn to and had the most initial ideas for. Upon deeper thinking, I realised that the ideas I had could develop and would be easily accessible to me, therefore produce some really good images. From the mind map above you can see all of the 'categories' that I am going to photograph, family, my sister, around the home, friends and my upcoming trip to Barcelona. As I spend a lot of time with my family and go to events with them I think I could get a good series of photos from them of the different people and how we interact together. I am hoping that these images will be cheerful nd happy to reflect the feeling of family. Next, I thought about my everyday activities that go on in my home which is where I came up with the idea of taking images on the traditions and how my house is run with my closest family. My sister is a very interesting character who on a daily basis has a lot of hobbies that she enjoys, her cheerful nature would reflect well in a series of photographs if I could show different sides to her. I then thought about what I do in my spare time, which is when I spend time with close friends, whether that's chilling together of taking our dogs out for a walk. This is one of my everyday activities that I could easily portray through photographs. Lastly, I have an upcoming holiday to Barcelona whereby I want to document not only the people there but how my family adapts on holiday and the 'tourist' side of traveling. I think this will make an interesting collection of photographs that will be original but also show a cultural contrast. 

Self-Identity

As a second idea, I chose self-identity, question 3, which is expressing identity through photographs or documenting a certain aspect of your life. The ideas I have come up with to portray my identity are self-expression, living and family and friends, all of which are accessible to me and would show important parts of my life. Self-expression, being the main idea, would allow me to show who I think I am, firsthand. By showing the way I choose to express myself through clothes and make-up I am showing the way I would like to be received by others, this is an important part of my identity. Secondly, I thought about showing my life through my family and friends as they are who socialise me into the person I am and are my support network. To do this I would take photos of traditions we have and what we usually do together to show our closeness and relationship. Lastly, I thought of showing my identity by my home life and the area in which I live. For this I would take photos of the places that hold memories for me or that I regularly go to, this would show my background and how my upbringing has shaped my identity. All of these ideas would show who I am just in different ways, some in a more personal way, for example how I live and others from an outside view, my self-expression. 

Final Decision

Out of the two questions, I have researched and come up with ideas for, I think the everyday activities one is my final decision. Not only do I have the best ideas for this but I am also more passionate about them and feel I will execute them really well. The ideas I have come up with can tie into the self-identity question as much of what I am going to photograph is my own everyday activities, however, I still feel the first question gives me enough room to explore other areas if I wanted to. The second question requires me to include myself in some of the photographs which would mean portraiture photography which I am not extremely passionate about, unlike documentary. For me, the first question requires a documentary perspective and doesn't need a lot of setting up, it's an 'in the moment' type of project whereby I am documenting what happens around me and not making things happen. The nature of this excites me as you do not know the outcome of the images until the moments are happening, this means that at any point during a shoot and exciting event could happen that you are lucky enough to record. This isn't possible in the self-identity question.