It seems as photographers all over the world are having challenging times right now. The good folks at Xpozer have teamed up with SmugMug to bring you a fun Challenge for April. I am very excited to help set the challenge, so, I thought I would write a little bit about the ideas behind this month’s photo contest theme: People & Places.
As a photographer, you have the opportunity to either tell a story you have convinced or document a narrative that you have found or in other words, some photographers create, where some document.
Create or document
We are open to the suggestion that street photographers document the world as it passes by them. Some photographers choose to sit and wait until an image around them, something that fits the narrative they wish to portray. How much they engage with the subject is always a talking point. Some street photographers try to blend in and fade away among the hustle and bustle, where some photographers see the street as a set for them to build with any way they wish.
Landscape photographers are similar but different. They are chasing the climate rather than human interaction or social context. Waking up early to chase the sunrise or waiting and watching the weather reports before returning to a researched and rehearsed spot.
My style of photography
Then there are photographers like me. If you ask me what sort of photographer I am, I might give you a different answer, depending on the day or location I am in. However, over the years, it seems my work has fallen into two main genres. While I see myself as a portrait photographer, I stand by the idea that I can take a portrait of a mountain, just as much I can take a portrait of a person. This leads me neatly to the challenge, submit an image that is a portrait of either a place or a person.
Keys to success
What will we be looking for in the winning images, that’s a simple one. Context. We want to see elements of storytelling that link parts of the image together, something that says the image is designed to say something – as most portraits are.
To understand more about ‘context’, we can look at what a portrait is, in a photographic sense. A good place to start is to look at the working that sometimes is used. ‘I want to take your portrait’ or ‘Can I make a portrait’ are two common sayings.
The key here is that a portrait is normally a deliberate action. Something planned and thought about, usually depicting only the face or head and shoulders, but that is a more old fashioned view and mostly referred to as a ‘classic’ portrait. The environmental portrait is one that I much prefer and seems more common today.
These sorts of images but the subject into a world they would be at home with or linked to, but posed rather than depicting them working – which would fall into a reportage style. Reportage portraits are awesome, but not what we are looking for with this challenge. We are looking for the photographer to lead the story with both direction, framing, tonality and lighting.
The extra challenge.
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, physical distancing & travel is vastly limiting. So, this means we can look towards our immediate surroundings for inspiration.
Maybe you want to submit an older image or maybe you can create something new with a family member, spouse or roommate. Points will be given towards creativity and telling a story.
Summary
So this is what we are looking for in this month’s Photo Contest Theme: People & Places. Create an image that shows elements of narrative & context. They can be themed around people or places, but extra points for those who can combine these elements. Images should stay photographic in style unless the context of the image is requiring of heavy digital artistry.
About Dave Piper
Dave Kai-Piper is a British born photographer living in-between Ireland and the UK. His work is based in the portraiture world with fashion and beauty elements blended together. When not working he is exploring the world on two wheels shooting and documenting the world around him. Over the years he has been an ambassador for Fujifilm, SmugMug, 3 Legged Thing, Peli Cases, Trek Pak and many more international brands, alongside teaching photography at Wolverhampton University + writing for many known publications about the world of photography.
More info and photos from Dave at: www.davekaipiper.com
