Final Portfolio Instructions

Draft of your “Thesis & Background” page (at least 200 words)

On your “Thesis & Background” page, write a short piece about the photographer and body of work (preferably a photobook) you’ve chosen. Discuss the theme you will be exploring. (at least 200 words)

Instructions:

Select a body of work to focus on in your portfolio. You may choose a subset of a photographer’s work, such as Larry Fink’s photo-book Social Graces, Nan Goldin’s Ballad of Sexual Dependency, or Joanne Leonard’s Being in Pictures. Or, focus on a theme or subject the photographer was interested in, such as Helen Levitt’s depictions of children on the street.

Start by researching your artist:

• What did the photographer write or say about his/her own work and the process of creating it? Look for interviews with photographers for potential answers.
• What do photography critics and historians say about how to look at and understand the work you’ve chosen to explore?
• What’s the relationship between the artist’s personal background, including his/her Jewish upbringing and the historical era in which he/she lived, and his/her approach to photography?
• What was liberating or innovative about the photographer’s approach? How did it take the photographer into new areas and introduce new ways of seeing?

Based on what you’ve learned from your research, draft your rationale for choosing the particular photographer and theme about the body of work you’ve chosen to explore. Post this on your “Thesis & Background” page.

In your draft, make sure to include the following:

• At least three images from the body of work you will explore

There are two parts to this assignment. You will be working on both the “Methodology” page and “Thesis & Background” page

Draft of Methodology

On your “Methodology” page discuss what methods your artist uses in his/her photography and how you will attempt to take photos inspired by his/her point of view. (at least 300 words)

Instructions:

One way to explore a photographer’s point of view is to take photos inspired by that point of view.

Study the photographer’s creative process, technical methods and point of view and use that research as a jumping off point to inspire your own creative process and vision.*

Develop a plan for taking photos inspired by the body of work you’ve chosen to explore by asking yourself:

• How did the photographer go about taking photos?
  • What was his/her process?
  • Did he/she try to get people to perform for the camera?
  • Did he/she stage the photographs?
  • Is there movement or stillness in the frame?
• How did the photographer’s choice of subjects, use of focus, depth of field, contrast, color, composition, etc. contribute to the expression of a point of view?
• Lastly, ask yourself: “How can I apply that point of view to my own work?”

For example:

• To take photos inspired by the work of Helen Levitt, you might look for something happening on the street. Start at the perimeter and work your way towards the subject, get progressively closer.
• To take photos inspired by William Klein, you might ask people to perform for your camera. What gestures or expressions can you get people to perform for you?
• For Nan Goldin, “The thing about my work is, nothing is prearranged, prethought, premeditated. In no way was I directing the pictures; they’re just fragments of life as it was being lived. There was no staging. When you set up pictures you’re not at any risk. Reality involves chance and risk and diving for pearls.” – Nan Goldin interview on American Suburban X. You might ask yourself what intimacy looks like in people who are close to you, then make a plan for capturing that intimacy over the course of a weekend. Take at least 30 photos so people get used to your use of the camera.

Discuss your approach to taking photos with a classmate before writing your draft.

Include in your “Methodology” page draft:

• Articulate the method your photographer used and how you plan to take photos inspired by the photographer you’ve chosen to explore.

• What are you going to photograph and how are you going to photograph it?
• What methods will you use to take your own photographs? *
• Where and when will you take pictures?
• How does your plan relate to your central claim and what do you expect to find? For example, you could use Nan Goldin’s statement to explain your methodology for keeping your camera with you constantly throughout a weekend and taking many photos, even though you know not every moment will be worth capturing.
• Include images by your photographer than illustrate his/her method and your approach.

*You do not need to be literal in exploring your photographer’s methods, nor do you need to use the same technology he or she used.  For example, you might use Instagram filters to explore a central claim about Alfred Eisenstaedt’s experiments with filters in natural light. Choosing your thesis will inform your emphasis on considerations such as visual aesthetics, types of locations, technical methods, subject matter, etc.

Share your draft for peer review and feedback. Make revisions.

Then, make sure your instructor has reviewed your plan before you begin taking photos.

Introduction with thesis and argument on “Thesis & Background” page

Revise and expand your “Thesis & Background” page. To come up with your thesis and argument, ask yourself the following questions:

• What about the photographer’s work catches your eye? How does it inspire you? What does it evoke for you? What does it “say”?
• What are the subjects and themes depicted in the photos?
• Is there a central theme or idea the photographer’s work expresses?
• How did he/she explore that theme? What techniques did he/she employ? Why were they effective?
• How do these themes relate to Jewish events, history, and experiences?
• Thinking back to your photo icon exercises, what makes this photographer’s work iconic?
• What about the photographer’s cultural and historical context and personal background is relevant to his or her work?
• What makes this photographer’s work relevant today?
• What about this photographer and his or her work makes it interesting for you to explore?

Take Photos and embed Photo Selections, Gallery, Slideshow on your “Photos & Analysis” page

Take your own photos inspired by the methodology of your chosen photographer. Make sure to take at least 20 photos, the more the better.

Review the photos you’ve taken, compare them to the photographer’s body of work you’ve chosen to explore and make decisions about what to include. Consider how your photographer selected and presented his/her work. Did he/she show or select a few carefully selected photos, or did s/he arrange and rearrange many photos?

After you’ve taken the photos, show your photos to a classmate and discuss how you will present your selected photos on your portfolio site.

On your “Photos & Analysis” page, post:

• Gallery
  • Create a gallery with all the photos you took. This is a chance to show the bulk of your photos in addition to your selections.

• Selected photos
  • Select at least 2 photos that you took that you will discuss in your analysis. Insert them into the page as large images.

• Slideshow 1
  • Select at least 5 photos you’ve taken and create a slideshow.
  • When creating the slideshow, think about how showing photographs in sequence, rather than viewing them as individual images affects the meaning.
  • In a series, the sum (the series) is greater than the parts (the individual photos).
• Slideshow 2
  • Create a slideshow of the photographer’s photos that matter to you.

Technical instructions are available on the Blogging Resources page.

This is an intermediary step, in order to develop the image content for your portfolio and show the photos you’ve taken as well as the ones you’ve selected. The inserted photos, gallery and slideshow can be placed on other pages in your Complete Draft of Portfolio Site.

1,000 words

Integrate your analysis into your “Photos & Analysis” page and revise your photo selections.

First, discuss with a classmate how you plan to organize your multimedia portfolio.

• How will you present your own photos? How will you present the photographer’s body of work you’ve chosen to explore?
• How will you discuss examples of the photographer’s work in relation to your own creative process?

In your analysis, consider the following:

• By taking your own photos, what did you learn about the photographer and his or her process?
• What did you discover in looking at the photographer’s photos after you tried taking pictures of your own?
• Were there characteristics that you didn’t notice while you were taking the picture?
• What is challenging about trying to take photos like your photographer? What worked well and what didn’t work well? What surprised you?
• Did your approach to taking pictures evolve from your original idea? If so, why?
• What was liberating about the process?
• How does Jewishness matter in your own work? Since you are learning about Jewish photographers, what does this added dimension bring to your own work?

Make sure to references and quote from assigned course reading in your analysis.

Complete the content for each page of your portfolio site and make revisions based on peer and instructor feedback.

• Add your “Conclusion” page.
• Revise the “Thesis & Background” page
• Revise the “Methodology” page
• Revise the “Photos & Anlaysis” page
• Make sure you have all your sources cited and hyperlinked.

In your “Thesis & Background” page:

• Include images
• Decide which page to put your video or audio interview source
• Include links to support your thesis and background

In your revisions for “Methodology” page, make sure you address:

• Revise language into the past tense and edit
• How did you apply your photographer’s process in taking your own photos?
• How did your research influence your process and the results? Include relevant sources by linking to online sources.
• Include more images

Questions to address for your “Conclusion” page:

• Did you come to understand your Jewish photographer differently after taking your own photos? What did you learn about the central claim you made in your earlier blog post?
• What did you learn about your thesis?
• Did your thesis change?
• How did doing this project in the 21^st century influence your own interpretation of the 20^th century?
• Include images

Revise the full portfolio based on peer and teacher feedback.

Make sure to include:

1. Thesis & Background: Your thesis about the body of work and point of view you’ve chosen to explore, as well as background about the artists that lead you to your thesis.
2. Methodology: What are the methods your artist uses in his/her photography? How did you attempt to see through his/her point of view by taking your own photos?
3. Photos & Analysis: Presentation of your own photographs inspired by that point of view. Text articulating what taking your own pictures taught you about the photographer’s point of view and its relevance. What is liberating about the point of view you’ve chosen to explore? How does it challenge you to look at the world differently?
4. Conclusion: Did you come to understand your Jewish photographer differently after taking your own photos? What did you learn about your thesis?
5. Sources: List of all your sources with hyperlinks.

In your portfolio, you must include the following:

• Embed at least 1 video or audio of interview source that supports your thesis
• Hyperlinks in your narrative to at least 5 webpages that enhance or support your claim by giving additional context.
• At least one photo gallery
• At least one slideshow
• Photos by your photographer
• Selected photos you took inspired by your photographer

These elements should work together holistically to support your thesis.