In my previous blog you read that I attended the Summer School of the Nederlandse Fotovakschool (Dutch Photography School) this summer. I did this mainly to improve my technical knowledge but also to challenge myself more creatively. In recent years my photography consisted almost exclusively of commercial work. Which I of course really enjoy, don't get me wrong! The fact that people pay to be photographed by me will always be an honor. However, I noticed that the many commercial jobs sometimes came at the expense of my own creativity and free work. Where in the past I often went out to take pictures with friends or to shoot selfportraits, that has stopped recently. And that's a shame... because developing yourself creatively is just as important as keeping up with your technical knowledge. So I was pleasantly surprised when I was presented with the final assignment of the photography school. "Making or Taking”. Create a photo series with one central theme: storytelling. Good, exactly what I needed at that moment! But with freedom also comes endless choices. What do I want to photograph? And what will my story be? I quickly came to the conclusion that I had one important goal: to evoke emotion.
Emotion in photography
How do you evoke emotion in people through photos? I could only come up with one logical answer: by evoking emotion in myself and then processing that in my photography. The strongest emotions I have ever felt in my life were around trauma and grief. Three phases were central to this: seclusion, breaking open through vulnerability and acceptance. I have (like perhaps many of you) a Pinterest board with quotes that touch me. Some sad because they remind me of the mourning period after the death of my mother, others hopeful because they motivated me to listen less to fear and more to my common sense. To get into the right mindset for my final assignment, I tried to bring myself back to my periods of trauma and grief. I read the quotes, listened to music that touched me and looked at photos that evoked emotion in me. I did this before taking the photos and during the editing. And yes, quite a few tears were shed. You can find the photos at the bottom of this blog. I want you as a viewer to look at the photos with an open mind to see what emotion they evoke in you. However, I have placed the quotes in the captions that I used as inspiration for the photos in question.
Final assessment
And then you have to present this personal piece of yourself to a class of eleven fellow students and a teacher. That is quite intimidating because in the end a grade is given to a raw, emotional part of yourself. I had already decided in advance that the grade would not matter to me. The process surrounding this final assignment has given me so much in the field of creative thinking. And regardless of all the intense emotions that the photos evoked, I noticed that I had so much fun making free work. I really found a bit of happiness again during this final phase of the Summer School. And with that it also became clear to me that I have to make free work more often. Without the pressure of a paying client. That being said, the final assessment was of course still very exciting. After the presentation we were asked to take some time for ourselves, after which we were allowed to receive our assessment one by one. When I was sitting with the teacher I heard the words: "I've never done this before". I raised an eyebrow and then she pointed to her screen. A ten! The first ten of the Summer School. And I know I mentioned earlier that I would not care what grade I would get. But this ten was of course a wonderful appreciation for a photo series that was very personal to me. A great conclusion to the Summer School where I learned a lot.
This photo for me shows the phase of seclusion. I took this photo in the forest using natural light.I used this quote as inspiration: “What happened to your mother was a tragedy, but this is a tragic world. You cannot live your life in fear, or you will forsake the best parts of it.”
This phase shows the breaking free of your feelings. Eventually you come to a point of change. You want to break free from the closedness and loneliness that you feel but that can only happen through vulnerability. “Make sure the walls you build to protect yourself do not become a prison.” Is the quote I used for this phase.
Acceptance is the final stage. Although acceptance brings relief, the pain surrounding these emotions will always remain. That’s why, if you look closely, you can spot a small tear in the model’s eye. The quote that goes with this photo is: “But the thing is, even if I could go back, I wouldn’t belong there anymore.”
© 2024 – Anne-Wil Meulman Photography