1. Recap Formal Qualities
• Shape
• Colour
• Pattern
• Form
• Line
• Texture
• Homework = work on Worksheet Guide 6
Next Week Worksheet Guide 7

2. Today’s Lesson
Intro to Unit 1 - Thematic
Project
1. Identity
2. Environment
3. Abstract
What do you think these topics might involve?

3. Identity
This option is basically focussed on
‘people’ as a subject for your project.
However, your images do not
necessarily have to consist of
traditional portraits or even contain
‘people’. A wider response is
encouraged to explore the notion of
‘identity’.

4. Possible Approaches
• Traditional Studio Based Portraiture
• Environmental Portraiture
• Self-Portraiture
• Creative / Abstract Approaches - e.g.sections of the
body(e.g. hands), models and masks, props and
make-up, shadows, use of ‘objects’ instead of
‘people’ to reflect identity of particular individual or
group / section of society.

5. Possible Themes
• Character Study - Traditional portraits?
• Human form / The Body - Abstraction, perceptions on body
shape / form, sociological attitudes towards ‘the body’ etc.
• Representation - How we are represented by Photographs how
we represent others. Stereotyping (positive /
negative), sociological aspects of representation, ‘the
Media’, problems associated with categorizing others.
• Gender - Issues specific to gender.
• The Family - Issues around the representation of ‘Family’ and
the re-examination of the ‘family album’.

6. Photographers Identity
• Look at the following photographers work
• What do you notice about their photographs?
• Do any of the photographs use formal
qualities?
• (colour, form, line, shape, texture, pattern)

7. Yousef Karsh

8. Richard Avedon

9. Ruth Bernhard

10. Steve Pyke

11. Diane Arbus

13. Photographers Identity
• Look at the following photographers work
• What do you notice about their photographs?
• Do any of the photographs use formal
qualities?
• (colour, form, line, shape, texture, pattern)

14. Robert Mapplethorpe

15. Jo Spence

16. Martin Parr

17. Cindy Sherman

18. Rineke Dijkstra

19. Identity
• Bullet point on your notes any ideas you
have for this topic
• Discuss this with your partner

20. Environment 1 - Rural
• Rural Landscape - Images of the countryside / natural
environment, natural form- e.g. plants, flowers, trees, clouds etc.
• Pictorial approach - Emphasizing the aesthetic appeal
of the natural environment or natural object.
• Documentary approach - Producing an issue based
response in the form of, say, a photo-story.
• Creative approaches – Producing a personal
interpretation of nature, landscape or natural form which moves
away from objective representation

21. Possible Themes
• Topographical study - The lie of the land.
• Beauty of nature
• Light, Mood and Atmosphere
• Water
• Time of Year (differentiation between perceptions of place due
to weather conditions / seasons)
• A sense of place - Personal or emotional response to a
particular place.
• Issue based - e.g. pollution, farming, man’s influence on the
environment etc.

22. Photographers Environment
• Look at the following photographers work
• What do you notice about their photographs?
• Do any of the photographs use formal
qualities?
• (colour, form, line, shape, texture, pattern)

23. Ansel Adams

24. John Blakemore

25. Fay Godwin

26. Fay Godwin

27. Wynn Bullock

28. Minor White

30. Photographers Environment
• Look at the following photographers work
• What do you notice about their photographs?
• Do any of the photographs use formal
qualities?
• (colour, form, line, shape, texture, pattern)

31. Michael Kenna

32. Michael Kenna

33. Richard Misrach

34. Joel Meyerowitz

35. Charlie Waite

36. Chris Harris

37. David Hockney

39. Environment = Rural
• Bullet point on your notes any ideas you
have for this topic
• Discuss this with your partner

40. Environment 2 - Urban
• Images taken in an Urban setting
• ‘Documentary’ style / approach, examining urban settings and
our relationship with them. Social issues relevant to living in a
town / city.
• Creative approaches can be used to express specific emotional
responses to that environment or to create imaginary versions of
it.
• Architectural studies.
• Suburbia.

41. Possible Themes
• The aesthetics of the ‘city’ environment - possibly concentrating
on buildings / architecture.
• ‘Street Photography’ - Documentary style images of people.
• Urban culture and sub-culture.
• Poverty / affluence - potential for contrasts.
• Crime.
• The City at night.
• The variety of social activities available in city life.
• Transport.
• Work - huge variety of jobs that are important to the function of
the city etc.

42. Photographers Environment
• Look at the following photographers work
• What do you notice about their photographs?
• Do any of the photographs use formal
qualities?
• (colour, form, line, shape, texture, pattern)

43. Berenice Abbott

44. Eugene Atget

45. Lee Friedlander

46. Lee Friedlander

47. Henri Cartier-Bresson

48. Henri Cartier-Bresson

49. Gary Winogrand

50. Joel Meyerowitz

52. Photographers Environment
• Look at the following photographers work
• What do you notice about their photographs?
• Do any of the photographs use formal
qualities?
• (colour, form, line, shape, texture, pattern)

53. Joel Meyerowitz

54. Andreas Gursky

55. Andreas Gursky

56. Beat Strueli

57. Beat Strueli

58. John Davies

59. John Davies

61. Environment Urban
• Bullet point on your notes any ideas you
have for this topic
• Discuss this with your partner

62. Abstract Option

63. Definitions of ‘Abstract’
• Art in which the artist has started with some visible
object and abstracted elements from it to arrive at a
more or less simplified form.
• The idea that art can be like music – that just as
music is patterns of sound, art can be created by
pure patterns of form, colour and line.
• Abstract art is seen as carrying a moral dimension, in
that it can be seen to stand for virtues such as
order, purity, simplicity and spirituality.

64. Possible Approaches
• Macro Photography
• Natural Form
• Man Made Objects
• Light and Shadow

65. Macro Photography
• Macro generally refers to extreme ‘close-up’
photography where you can explore objects
or creatures in close detail.
• Macro photography needs to be done with a
lens that allows ‘close focus’. However, true
Macro lenses are expensive so it can also be
done with ‘extension tubes’ or ‘Macro
Bellows’ attachments.

66. Macro Photography

67. Macro Photography
Kiwi
Leaf

68. Natural Form – Karl Blossfeldt

69. Natural Form – Edward Weston

70. Natural Form
Rose Shell

71. Man Made Objects – Peter Keetman

72. Man Made Objects – Albert Renger-Patzsch

73. Man Made Objects – Keith Arnatt

74. Light & Shadow
Alexander Andre Kertesz
Rodchenko

75. Light & Shadow
Andre Bill Brandt

76. Light & Shadow
Ernst Haas Harry Callahan

77. Abstract
• Bullet point on your notes any ideas you
have for this topic
• Discuss this with your partner

78. Task
• In groups create a ‘mind map’ that
explores how you might approach these
three topics
1. Identity
2. Environment
3. Abstract