Facing the crowd: Photo Scratch, March 2023
Photo Credit: Hanna-Katrina Jedrosz

Creating images that resonate with a wide audience, or any audience for that matter, can be like sifting for gold. The pioneers have long left the scene, and the chance of catching that glint of gold in a viewer’s eye amongst a million grains of sand, in the form of the photos we make is a hard task.

Photography as an industry has always been competitive. Add to that its now widely accepted place in the art-world, and the proliferation of imagery in our digital age. There are millions of images accessible to anyone with a smartphone and a signal throughout the whole world, every second of every day. Does anyone know what they are looking at, what they are looking for? With the most eyes on images having no training in how to ‘read’ images, the value of the pictures we see can be easily degraded.

I’ve seen changes, felt changes, and made changes, and I am most certainly still here. But who sees my work and how?

I am pretty sure, at some point in my career, subconsciously at the least, I thought I had done enough work to constitute a return on my investment. I had studied (mostly theoretically and technically), I had worked years as an assistant in various settings, and I had taken a lot of pictures. I guess I felt that I had earned my stripes, and that the work would follow. It did to a certain degree, and by this time I was raising a small child, which did change everything about the direction I had planned to go with my work, but still…this was a time when I took pictures by rote. That doesn’t mean I was taking bad pictures, but they were tried and tested pictures, especially those for paid work. My personal work was suffering, as I had little time to create new images, and even less time to think about what I was creating and why.

Roll forwards to my mid thirties, and I found myself working and hanging out with various artists. I felt like I was part of something again: conversations were about life, world affairs or art. We would share the work we were making, and discuss and offer constructive feedback to each other. This is probably when I realised the importance of showing my work, and getting comfortable talking about it. Putting your work (yourself) on the line, and being visible is an important part of improving one’s practice. People who lack confidence in their own work, or themselves are more likely to take offence to well-intended critique. Being able to listen to how your work is being received is a learned process for most. It doesn’t mean you have to take every word as gospel, but I would also urge against dismissing other’s opinions all together. Even the way we ‘hear’ feedback needs to be learned: does the commentator have credibility, can they reference your work in art history, or social familiarity? How many times have we heard in the halls of art galleries ‘I could do that!’. Put your money where your mouth is, and your ears where they can listen!

This is where having an awareness of your own practice, and being really honest about what you are putting into it - be that measured in effort, time or discomfort, you really need to dig deep, raise the bar, and to lay your work bare. This is where the most improvements are made.

Last summer I gave my first talk about project 4 x 4 x 4 to a group of friendly faces at London Independent Photography’s Members Day. I based this talk around the process of the project, my notebooks, and travels. More recently I saw a call out for Photo Scratch on instagram. Photo Scratch is a unique social, networking and feed-back event for documentary photographers, photojournalists and people involved in the associated industries of photographic picture making. It is also free to attend and be part of! Quoted from their website

Photographers have to make an application to show a particular project, and I was really pleased to have been selected to present 4 x 4 x 4. Last month I was one of six participants who presented a work-in-progress project at Fixation (a photographic sales & repair company) in south London. Each participant takes a box in which to receive written feedback from people in attendance. I was really pleased to have got fifteen feedback forms, offering constructive feedback, and references to consider. The setting was friendly and informal, and I got to speak to lots of people about my work - most of which had no prior knowledge of the work. Putting my work in this environment was invaluable, and I learned something very important for the next time I present this project!

I am very grateful to the organisers and supporters of Photo Scratch, and I offer another quote from their website, which sums it up beautifully:

At the core of Photo Scratch is the opportunity for photographers to understand how their work is perceived and gain valuable insight into how to take their projects further with the benefit of a range of perspectives. For spectators, Photo Scratch is an opportunity to preview projects in their development stage, offer feedback, and engage in conversations about photography with colleagues in the industry in a democratic setting.

I would highly recommend this to any photographer working in the fields mentioned to apply. I was told that they take a broad view of what Documentary photography is, so if your work swings to the artside, or you have a new approach to Documentary photography, then give it a go!

These are busy tines, so I have to make a big effort into questioning the value in what I spend my time doing. This is an important part of my commitment to making consistent improvements in my life and work. It’s not easy, but it is necessary, and I know that the outcomes are richer for it. One can only hope that through continuous practice, and learning how to be honest about your work, and how it is received that one keeps pushing their own boundaries, whilst accepting their limitations.

My last piece of advice is do not lose yourself! If you start to feel like you are disconnected from the life you are living, give yourself time to reflect on where this is stemming from, and take steps to bring yourself back in line with your true path. I am not saying it will be easy, but the journey back to oneself is revolutionary. Beware! The work never stops!

As always, feedback, and constructive criticism are welcome!

Cheers,

Amanda