Posted on by Leslie

Assignment No. 2 Results

(in case you forget what the assignment was, click here)

Rather than spend a lot of text talking about each image, I thought I’d just post them all (yes, all… lots of people who said they were going to participate didn’t, more later on that) and talk in general about the results. Btw, the crops on the thumbnails below are a WordPress default I can’t figure out how to change. The whole images are linked to the thumbs, uncropped, so look at those to see the work as intended by the photographers. Also, I posted two images each from two different photographers– don’t get used to this. The rules are going to have to be followed more tightly as we get more participants and that means one photo to a photog. But for now, let’s just look at everything. 🙂

The photographers, in order (L->R)

David Zaitz / Michelle Alger

Tony Novak-Clifford (both)

Justin Thornton / Ken & Lois Wilder (funny, the two last names here make a famous Am. playwright)

Kevin Halliburton / Jay Goodrich

Kelly Ng (both)

Rodney Yardley / Ryan Gibson

Adelio Trinidad / William Cardoza

First of all, I think you’ll notice that several people made images using the same basic subjects– that is, a fish bowl and toy house. This is not a bad thing! Just because several photographers thought of the same basic idea doesn’t mean there was a lack of creative thinking on their parts. When you are given an article to illustrate, finding something that communicates the major theme of the article to the masses will generate similar results. In fact, while some of the non-fishbowl images are great, a photo editor may not be thrilled with all of them as visual solutions because some of them weren’t as clear.

But even those that are similar aren’t the same. I have to say I have a fondness for Alger’s thumbs-up diver, but as I have said before, I have a warped sense of humor. And others went in very different directions, like Zaitz’ twisted homage to the famous Iwo Jima image. But I think everyone thought about the assignment, and that makes the work successful.

That being said, while only one photographer actually used text on the image(s), several sent explanatory notes. Here’s a hint: if you have to explain an image that goes with an article, it’s not strong enough (or, you don’t have enough confidence that the image is strong enough). Remember, the idea behind this assignment was that you were suppose to illustrate an article. So, the readers will have all the words already– you just need to visually represent the theme.

One of the photographers very kindly included his concepting worksheet and has given me permission to share it… that would be that last thumbnail, of course. I wanted to do this because I think it is great to show how at least one person thought through the problem. Thank you Kevin Halliburton, for being so willing to share.

He’s got an awful lot jammed onto this one page of notes and sketches! But he starts with the “Key Concepts” and that is really smart of him. From there he explores other ideas and you can see that his final concept is included on the page. Hard to tell if it was first or last or if he played with everything before deciding on that one, but whatever the system he used, he didn’t just pick one and not explore.

Of course, if this were a real assignment, the photographer would be talking with the photo editor throughout the process so the explanatory notes would not be needed either. I wanted to bring up those notes and the use of text above because, mostly, of the confidence issue. When you send an image, you need to believe it does what it is supposed to do! Moreover, you need to believe it’s good. One photographer sent an image with a note expressing that the photog did not expect to make the cut. Don’t say that! If you don’t believe in your work, who will? (It was a strong image, btw).

Generally, I am really proud of the growth and thought coming from some of you–especially those who don’t usually do conceptual work. There is a lot of thinking in these images, and that is what is most important. Anyone can learn the technical stuff, but the thought is harder– it really has to come from inside the artist.

So, for those of you who submitted, I am really pleased. For those of you who meant to but didn’t, I’m sure for some of you it was a case of getting busy with “real” work, but for some of you it was a case of just not getting your shit together. You know which category you’re in. I encourage all of you to try and do the next assignment. Make it a significant priority–don’t give up paying work, of course, but PLAN and SCHEDULE to make it happen otherwise, that includes time to concept.

I’ll post the next assignment within a week. I have some thoughts swirling about it.

In the meantime, how about some comments from all of you about this one…

10 Replies to “Assignment No. 2 Results”

  1. Thank you Leslie, your feedback is always invaluable. I missed the deadline on the last assignment due to the unexpected death of my Grandfather, and was beginning to think I would have to go to one of my back-up ideas on this one. I needed a clear day for the rooftop shot and the weather didn’t cooperate until late Friday afternoon. My son also had a regional pinewood derby contest that took most of the day Saturday which didn’t leave much time to composite the final shot.

    I bring that all up for two reasons. #1 – Once I promised you a shot, missing the deadline wasn’t an option. You haven’t let the other pressing things in your life keep you from your commitment to this blog and I was determined to honor that. Thank you. #2 – If I had PLANNED and SCHEDULED better the deadline would not have been an issue. Kick in the pants noted and appreciated.

    I debated on sending you my brainstorming sheet but I thought it was a good chance to get some feedback on my process and ideas. If anyone can make heads or tails of it I would welcome feedback on whether they think I choose the strongest concept.

    Clients don’t usually see the concept sheet. It’s a mess by the time I finish one but I find it is helpful to keep everything on one page if possible. The ideas can feed on each other that way. Once an idea begins to dominate I will make a MUCH more refined sketch to work over with the client if necessary.

    If anyone is interested I detailed more of my story telling process in a guest post on Jason D. Moore’s blog here.

  2. I’m in the first category 🙂 – at least this time. I had started working on it but was not able to complete the image for the given deadline (only one shot of the three I had in mind).
    No excuse, but I will complete it anyway for myself.
    I don’t have to mention that in case of a real assignment, I would have lost the client !!
    Looking forward to the next one.

  3. This is stunning and wonderfully diverse collection of work. I found myself acting as if I were 10 different creative directors and finding just the right image for my particular take on the story. What fun!

  4. Thanks for another great assignment Leslie! All of these are great stand-alone images. However, I feel that some fulfill the assignment better than others.

    My favorite image from the group is David Zaitz’s Iwo Jima shot. I don’t know how he does it but it’s the same as last month’s assignment. His images don’t immediately catch my eye but kind of slowly sink in and after a few minutes I’m thinking what a great shot it is.

    If taken out of context, I really like Kelly’s images. I agree that for this particular assignment if you have to explain the image it doesn’t really work. That said, I think this would be fantastic as some sort of ad campaign or something like that. The images are very moody and I like them.

    While all of the images are great, there are a couple that I really don’t understand at all (within the context of the assignment) and I’m left scratching my head. I do want to stress again that I really think visually each image is very strong with a lot of varying styles.

    Here’s a little insight into my thought process. For this particular assignment I wanted to create an image that was self explanatory. I wanted it to convey the message by itself without the aid of the accompanying story. Next, I wanted to do it not in a literal way but more of a figurative way so I began brainstorming ideas. I came up with a few ideas and finally decided on one – only to come across another image similar in concept to mine – the day before my scheduled shoot. The general idea of my concept stayed the same but I had to change up some details. It’s not the image I originally envisioned but this assignment was definitely a very good exercise for me.

    I love that you posted Kevin’s concept sheet. It’s great to see how other creative minds work. For me ideas pop into my head and I can map them all out in my head and see them clearly. I very rarely put anything to paper though. Perhaps I’ll give that a try for next month’s assignment.

  5. Leslie,
    First and foremost, thanks for the opportunity to participate in these assignments. It has to be a big investment of time for you, and I think I can speak for all the participants by saying thank you for that.
    There were some truly great images in this assignment, from being underwater (even underwater on the roof), surrendering (or leaving in triumph), throwing in the cards, and a couple takes on meltdown. I really am proud to have had my image included with these.
    Yes, I’m the one who didn’t expect to make the cut. I was way far out of my comfort zone on this, but I do think I had an ok image. I shot this assignment “42 different ways from Sunday”, and I had quite a few (in my opinion) more technically perfect shots than this. Thing is, everytime I look at my shot, it kinda makes my head hurt and makes me feel off balance (and yes, believe it or not, that’s what I was goin’ for). Just curious if anyone else takes that away from this?
    Anyway, to all the other participants, I really feel lucky to be included with you guys, and look forward to the next assingment.
    Rodney

  6. At risk of repeating my comments from assignment No. 1, once again my hat is off to David Zaitz and Ryan Gibson. If I were picking the shot for the article, instead of submitting one for this assignment, it would be a runoff between those two, and if I had the guts, I think I would run David’s on the cover.

    David’s shot turns one of the most recognized symbols of American victory on its head, and as such, has a controversial side that is going to make some people howl with laughter and others howl with outrage. For me the shot gets stronger, and the message weightier, the longer I look at it. I lament the fact that cover shots like that are few and far between these days.

  7. Nice work, everyone!

    I was pleased to see Ryan’s image. I had originally planned to use a card game theme. Suffice to say that my concept called for at least 4 people, possibly 5 and infants, and ultimately the complexity doomed the effort. It was refreshing and humbling to see Ryan pull it off with one person.

  8. That was fun, and I must say the thumbs up from the scuba diver is pretty dang funny. It’s one of those things I wish I would of thought of…

    Now off to the next assignment. Makes me feel like I’m back in school.

  9. Thanks for sharing the last image on the thought process… it definitely looks like a good exercise to go through for each project. Love the scuba diver and the monopoly image — they definitely are strong. But everyone else had interesting work as well…

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