I am enrolled in a fine art advanced photography class this semester at the University of South Carolina. I’ve wanted to take this class for over a year now and finally this semester I was able to make my schedule mesh with family life, etc. The goal for this class is to build a cohesive set of images that can be used in a professional fine art portfolio. We have 3 critiques throughout the semester and will need to present 5-10 images for critique. Our professor has explained the different processes of getting your work published, such as via portfolio reviews and participating in exhibitions. She also discussed self publishing our work through a book site called blurb.com.
We were given a week or so to explore topics and to figure out what theme or subject matter we wanted to photograph. I struggled with this for a long time. My goal in taking this class was to go beyond my technical capabilities and commercial subject matter and venture into the world of aesthetics and fine art photography. I thought I would continue with the faces series of my own children and my professor Kathleen had me look at several photographers who's work revolves around their children and families, those such as Sally Mann, Julie Blackmon, and Elinor Carucci among others.
After looking at their work, I liked Julie Blackmon’s the best, Sally Mann’s the least and was intrigued by Elinor Carucci, wondering how in the world she got her parents to agree to be photo documented in their underwear! I do not understand her work and that is what intrigues me about it.
So after looking at their work and others from sites such as photo-eye, Flak Photo and Fraction Magazine, I was trying to figure out an avenue to explore regarding my own children since that is whom I take the most photos of and whom I have practiced on a zillion billion times.
I came up blank. Nada, nothing. Showed some examples of my work and thought well, yeah so? How is this relevant to anyone else besides me? I wasn't sure it was. So I began to think of other things I wanted to photograph and immediately thought about the female nude portraits I took in 2008 for another photography project. And I started thinking.
