Post Shoot Reflection

You've now uploaded your images to your main design sheet from your shoot  -now you do the most important thing - Reflect.

Reflection is the process of looking at what you've done and critically analysing it, identifying whether you've learned anything and moved forwards in any meaningful way. You also identify where you went wrong and what mistakes you made and what opportunities were missed and how these issues can be recognised and resolved as you move forwards and develop the project. Also look at the work in terms of what your intention was (Operational context) and ask critically is it fit for purpose?

 

What happened: This only requires a sentence or two. Explain what you’ve done in terms of the type of photography you’ve produced and where it was shot using what camera…  “I’ve shot under-water shots of a model in a flowy dress in the pool at the studio in Basildon, these were shot on a Nikonos camera and they’re intended for use in a fashion magazine e.g. editorial”.

How do you feel it went: Similarly, a short emotive response e.g. it was a disaster, frustrating, went really well, useful etc… “It was okay, I’d booked it for 3 hours and for over an hour of the time I had to do a lot of health and safety stuff which limited the shooting time, so was disappointing”.

What value was there in the activity: This requires a lengthy and detailed response and allows you to look at the value of what you’ve done in relation to the all-important criteria. You should aim to discuss this in terms of each of the criteria AC1 to AC5. *Note, this requires that you have an awareness of the criteria and that you refer to it when working on your project. 

Look back at the work you’ve just completed and analyse (Question) whether the work is coming together in the form or manner that you explained in your initial intention in stage 3?

Look critically at your work – is it fit for purpose at this stage? Does it look anything like the finished article at this point, could the work be used/seen at this point in a professional scenario? Analyse why it does/doesn’t. If it doesn’t at this stage – what do you need to do to get the work to a professional standard, what needs to be improved – developed further? 

Is your work looking like it fits within the operational context you identified in your initial plan (Stage 3). Analyse why/why not?

If you were vague about your operational context initially in stage 3 – are you clearer having now produced this body of work? Update your thoughts on the operational context – what sort of photography are you producing, who might the client be, where might your images be seen and used, who is the target audience for your images and what are their demographic signifiers?