All About Me

FROM a young age, Abigail has shared a passion for animals and, from the age of 16, she has worked as a photographer of dogs.

Having studied for a degree in the field of photography, while piecing together a lenghty plethora of projects in the area, Abigail has gained a high level of industry-standard experience.

Over the past three years, Abigail has volunteered her time within leading pet charities, photographing dogs of all breeds in order to gain vital experience, in addition to adding to an ever-growing portfolio of work.

Abigail takes pride in dog photography, providing memories for owners, families and friends, which can last a lifetime.

All about animal photographers

Once finding who you want to be as a photographer the next steps after collecting photographs is presenting your work. Every photographer should have a website and an 'about' page. This post is going to explore the about pages of my favorite photographers as well as some new dog photographers I have not looked at before.

The first photographer I will be looking at is Tim Flach. I have admired his work for many years and so this will be very interesting for me to comment on how his BIO is presented. 

The first thing I noticed was the amount of text that has been written, which is a good amount. The first paragraph is informative, it tells the reader what Tim Flach photographs, what he is interesting in as a subject matter and what his intentions are. The second paragraph talks about the work he has done including the names of the books he has made. A good way to promote his books. The last paragraph promotes him as a professional photographer by flaunting his participation withing the Royal Photographic Society and an award from Norwich University. Followed by where he lives and works including his family. 

In my opinion I think his 'about' page would be better if it only had the first paragraph. I understand how it would be important to include the work he has done, as well as rewards for potential clients. However, there are more pages on the website that again repeats the projects he has done and the books he has made. 

At the bottom of the about page is a link to 'View Wikipedia Page' which I think is unprofessional. It makes me feel like the author could not be bothered, as though it has all been written before. Because of this I still believe the second and third paragraph should have been deleted. 

 I have recently discussed The Phodographer in another post because her work has become a new inspiration to me. I like the way she has written this herself and it is not in third person like Tim Flach's about page. Her information flows well by telling it like a story. She starts by telling the reader how she began photographing dogs to what she offers. I do think the start of the page could have been condensed down. 

Nick Ridley is a dog photographer I have not looked at before which mixes this blog post up a bit. The first thing to point out is the text at the top of the page that tells the reader he has been a dog photographer for over 30 years, something a reader is not really bothered about and could have said 'Nick Ridley is an experienced dog photographer..'. 'During 2015 he took over 45,000 dog related images' again some more useless information. Reading on I began to get bored, it goes on and on about what he has done. I think it would have been better if he had told the reader what he does and what he will offer you as a client. 

How to find out more about your subject matter

Understanding where and how you can learn more about your subject matter is important for a photographer. You need reliable information that is up to date. Gathering knowledge about the genre
you would like to work in is also important firstly because you need to know what photographer you are and secondly because becoming a photographer is a lot of hard work as it is a competitive business to get into.

How to find out about your subject

• As a starting point read about your subject online.
• Go to your local library and read books that are relevant to your subject. 
• Read E-books.
• Find articles in news papers or magazines.
• If your subject is exploring a current issue watch the news to see if there is anything relevant.
• See if there are any blogs with information that you can use. 
• Look at websites.
• Find out direct knowledge about the subject by interviewing people and photographers.
• Go out and photograph

How to find out more about your genre (fine art documentary)

• Visit Galleries.
• Look at photo books.
• Email photographers.
• Email gallery curators.
• Experiment with your photography.
• Look into how other photographers present their work.
• Find out how to make your work stand out.
• Experiment with promotional material.
• Work with others.
• Ask people about your work.

Knowledge and Understanding of the Professional and Contextual Location of my Practice

A discussion in class took place where we separated into the photographic genre we are interested in working when we leave college. I decided that I would best suit either Documentary or Fine Art because I document memories for customers by photographing their pets. In addition to this I enjoy working on personal projects where I explore current issues with the intention of raising awareness. It is important for me to understand the skills that are required to be a dog photographer and these were discussed when I was with people in my class who were also interested in documentary photography.

The skills we decided are required to be a documentary photographer was firstly to have a moral standing, because there are times when we are working on a project that could be offensive to other's.  Being culturally and ethically aware is another skill that contributes to having a moral standing. It is also important to be comfortable talking to people. This is most commonly used when your project involves gathering information on a specific place or subject. In my case I find this skill most useful when I am talking to a customer or finding out different viewpoint on an issue I am exploring. A good skill to have is being able to capture the moment and in my opinion is something you can't learn but must come naturally to you. Being familiar to the camera follows the last skill because when you see a moment you want to capture it is important to know how to use your camera fast. There's nothing worse than missing a great photograph because you didn't change the camera setting fast enough. Attention to detail is also a key skill required for a documentary photographer because this can influence how the viewer will interpret your work. Researching is another skill that is needed because this contributes to being culturally and ethically aware, having moral standing, knowing who to talk to, learning as much as possible about your subject or project and to learn skills with your camera.

Skills required within other genres:

Fine Art

• Innovation 
• Current issues
• Having a style
• Understanding other photographers
• Understanding the output's of work. E.g. materials, print and book formats.

Commercial

• Being Reliable
• Organisation skills
• Self promotion
• Professional presentation
• Problem solving
• Being punctual
• Being technically sound

Fashion

• Communication
• Ethical in work
• Reliability
• Knowledge of clothing
• Technical skills
• Organisation
• Problem solving
• Knowledge of others

Gathering knowledge of dog photographers from websites

To become a professional photographer it is essential that I emerge myself within the chosen profession I want to go into. As a starting point I have decided to study dog photographers websites. I will be looking for individuality from dog photographers in the local area to help me build a professional and successful business.

The image at the top of this post is a York based dog photographer's website. The thing that strikes me most was the title 'Phodographer'. I thought it was a playful way to present themselves. The sub title is also a creative phrase that captures the viewer from the first look at their website. There is a fun but professional theme running throughout the website from the catchy titles and decorative logos. The home page presents her as a successful photographer by flaunting an award as well as positive feedback from a customer. As I scrolled down the home page I picked up on some flaws. In my opinion there is too many images and information added. I think this would have been better presented on a different page.

There was only one image lower down the page that I liked. It was the last image on the left. I felt this again reflected the photographers creative personality with the theme of exploration.

Within 'the phodographers' portfolio I saw the use of two different watermarks. Both watermarks are the same as the logos on the website. I think this is good branding and is not repetitive which is admirable for my images. There is a selection of about 35 images on this page. All of the images are strong and reflect her style as a dog photographer. However I would argue that 35 may be a little too many because there are only so many dog portraits and family portraits you can look at before it gets boring. I would have liked to see more still life photography to break up the images so they are more interesting.

The information page is a bit of a let down because the content has already been advertised on the home page. Whilst scrolling down the page I felt like it was going on forever. She offers a lot of different packages but a few are similar and the page could have been condensed down.
On the website is a shop page which is interesting because I would have expected to see either some still life images or portrait prints. However she sells cards and calendars which I think doesn't present her as a successful photographer like the home page. I did notice that the cards and calendars are in support of what I presume is a dog shelter but there is no information of this, nor is there anything suggesting there will be a donation to the shelter.
Another page is a link to her blog. I had a quick peak at this and found it very interesting. Her images were beautifully composed and showed a lot more still life. I will be keeping an eye on her posts from now to learn even more about her as a photographer and to learn more about myself as a dog photographer.

3 Images that best describe me as a photographer

I haven't had chance to take any new images because I have been working on a documentary project for another module but these three images best describe me as a photographer.

What do I do as a photographer?

Even though I do not wish to pursue photography after college we have been asked to describe ourselves as photographers. Its has been very hard for me to define myself as a photographer because I have a passion for dog photography as well as documentary photography.

I have gained many skills during my time at college and I can see myself putting these to use in the future. Even though I enjoy different genres of photography I can only see myself becoming a dog photographer because I find it fun, challenging and rewarding. Therefore...

I am a dog photographer.  I make memories. I like influence creativity and fun into my work.

What do I want to do when I leave college?

I've found it very daunting knowing I will be leaving Leeds College of Art in a matter of months. Trying to finally state my photographic style has been the hardest because I enjoy photographing in a mixture of genres. Its been even harder deciding what I want to do as a job when I leave because I know I don't want to be a full-time  photographer. However if I was to choose a part-time career in photography, I would like to become a dog photographer.

I have started thinking about skills I have gained during my time at Leeds College of Art and how these can be used in the future as a dog photographer. Firstly I have experience photographing dogs through volunteering for T.I.A Greyhound rescue in 2014 and the R.S.P.C.A last year. In addition to this I have worked on three projects involving dogs where I learnt basic skills in lighting, position and patience.

For this module I wish to set myself up as a dog photographer. I am planning to do this by creating a website, a business logo, price list, legal documents, and much more.

Task One - Google yourself

What did you find?

I Googled my name a few times (Abigail Wade and Abbie Wade). I found some work I had done for Context of Practice on blogger and I  also found a very old account on Flikr. Neither of the work shown on these sites show my work now and so I have decided to delete these accounts.

The results from the task has helped me to understand the importance of presenting my work. Old accounts with old work need to be deleted. It is important to consider my images before I post them anywhere online. Images need to be up to date, the best work and show style. Social media can be harmful to my professional appearance which is why it is important to keep them separate.