Page 21 - Cape-Camera-July-2022

July 2022 Cape Camera

Photographic Technique

Bodies of Work. Your Next Step?

by David du Chemoin

There are, or can be, many steps on the journey of craft (and Choose Your Constraints
vision!). The moment we stop paying so much attention to Now choose some constraints. In other words, which limitations
how much light is in a scene and begin to notice its quality is will you work within to give the resulting images some cohesion
one such significant step forward. Another for me was when I so when they’re presented together as a series of 12 they clearly
changed my thinking about my lenses and started choosing my belong to each other? Will all 12 images be a certain aspect ra-
focal lengths based on the behaviour of the optics—what they tio or frame orientation? Will this be a black and white series or
made the scene look and feel like—not just how much stuff colour? What kind of colour palette? Will it be soft and muted
they allowed me to squeeze into the frame. or bright and alive? Will you constrain yourself to one lens, one
These steps forward happened a long time ago for me, but oth- kind of light or time of day? To make these choices, you’ll be will-
ers took longer to learn—the shift from thinking about photo- ingly challenging yourself and owning some of your particular
graphing things to photographing ideas, for example. That was preferences and tastes. Not everyone finds this easy. And yet....
a big one for me. So too was the change from a focus on sin- This is one of my highlights as a teacher: to see photographers
gle images to bodies of work, though that wasn’t so much an awaken to their own voice as they’ve made tighter decisions
epiphany as a long, slow awakening that began as I realized all and forced themselves to work within them, to do only what’s
the photographers I truly admired were shooting longer series most important to them, to be creative in their own way within
of images: bodies of work that allowed them to go deeper on a a set of self-imposed constraints and personal tastes.
subject, theme, or idea than just one lucky shot here and there. Twelve images on a theme, within chosen constraints.
It is bodies of work to which I now give almost all my focus Sounds easy, right?
as a photographer. That simple assignment has changed the way I photograph.
Bodies of work push us harder as photographers. They demand It has encouraged greater creativity, decision-making, depth,
we find a through-line in our work. They force us to make choic- and discipline. It has forced me to see my edits differently. To
es about what we photograph and how, especially as we work think of sequences. To choose through-lines for my work and
to create those collections of images in a way that allows them seek out the images that might best connect to those themes.
to work together. It has made me a more thoughtful photographer over the years,
one who asks “what am I try-
ing to accomplish here?” while
making the kinds of choices
that help answer that rather
than shooting blindly or only
opportunistically. To seek and
not only to accept what comes
(though I do that, too). And as
I’ve pursued this, my projects
have gone from 12 images to
24, to 48, and more. One year’s
work has added to another, and
then again to another, and the
work has found new rhythms
and the occasional unexpected
but beautiful detour.
A single image can only do so
much—can only say so much.
It gives fewer opportunities for
nuance, to tell a bigger story.
I think one compelling single
Nine frames from a short series exploring the light and colours—mostly after dark—of Venice image can too easily convince
us we are further along in our
Choose a Theme craft than we are. One image is a lucky shot (and yes, ultimately
Go wander with your camera, and decide what you want to they’re all lucky, and so are we to do what we do), but a body
explore photographically. In other words, go find a theme. It of work is a more challenging thing to get to. And for me, it is
might be life in a specific neighbourhood. It might be expres- much more rewarding.
sions of faith. Some of my students have chosen themes that I wonder if this is the next step for you? Have you been working
include celebration, urban decay, food, craftsmen, and tourism. in this way and noticed the benefits? If not, what would it take
One did self-portraits in Rome. Another photographed people to make this your next move forward? If you’re like many of my
taking selfies. The idea is to find a hook on which to hang your first-time students, the reaction is, “I don’t think I can do this!”
photographic exploration for a week.
20 Cape Town Photographic Society