The document summarizes the student's extended project which involved taking a series of photographs depicting aspects of youth culture. Some topics like fashion and art were ultimately left out due to issues with the quality of the photographs. The student feels the overall outcome still conveyed the theme but could have been improved with better time management, more topics covered, and addressing issues with photograph quality and obtaining feedback.

1. Extended Project EvaluationFor my extended project I chose to do a series of photographs which was influenced by the youth culture of today. I originally decided to break my project up into section which were as follows; graffiti, tattoos, fashion, nightlife, fast food, the homeless and art. I personally felt that these specific topics covered today’s youth culture in a nut shell. I took all the photographs in Manchester, mainly in the Northern Quarter where there is a vast amount of professional graffiti, the nightlife photographs were taken at Sankey’s Nightclub on a night called “Bugged out”.Due to my project making small changes throughout, I chose to leave the fashion and art out of the topics, even though I still feel fashion is a large part of today’s youth culture, I felt the photographs that I had taken didn’t fit in with the other photographs, also I couldn’t capture the style of photography I wanted, which led to make the decision to leave fashion and art out of the series of photographs mainly due to not being able to capture what I was initially going for, with the photographs looking unprofessional. I feel that the overall outcome still achieved what I was originally going for but yet could have been improved with more topics to show the theme that I was going for more clearly an to show there are other influences in today’s youths lives, than the limited ones that I have covered. This is the main aspect of my project that should have been looked into further, as trying to cover a large amount of topics in a certain amount of time, wasn’t possible due to circumstances getting the actual photographs also more time management could have prevented this occurring.

2. How have I managed my timeDuring the extended project my time management was based around my Gantt chart which focused on the A01 and A02 sections, that covered my research and planning of my project. Then I focused on my photography log, which I used to manage the time I had to take the photographs, which could have been managed to a more extensive degree as I had problems during my time taking my photographs. As I needed to gather nightlife photographs which caused problems due to circumstance and not being able to get the appropriate venue to complete the photograph process, as I then only used two photographs that I had taken in a Manchester club “Sankeys” . Once my photographs had been printed I then removed one of the nightlife photographs taken from this night, as I felt it didn’t fit with the rest of the photographs also the quality of the photograph wasn’t up to the same standard as the rest of the photographs as I had use a different camera due to being on a night out in Manchester, which could have put the camera at risk of being stolen or broken, which inevitably became a problem during the printing process as the photograph wasn’t the same quality as the other photographs. If the time management of the photographs was given more thought and time spent on the planning of it I feel that I could have produced more photographs to a better standard.

3. How thorough was your research?The research that I have gathered for my extended project was mainly all gathered from the internet as I have looked at a wide range of documentary photography websites. I feel the research is extensive as I have found out a lot about documentary photography which has helped during my extended project. I took out a photography book from the library as research, the book didn’t look at specific photographers , it was a book with a guide on how to capture lighting, location, setting, angles and other information on how to actually take photographs rather than actual photographers. I chose to use this book as a guideline as this was the first bit of photography that I had done myself for college, I used it whilst out taking my photographs to give myself a clearer insight into taking more professional looking photographs. I didn’t take a book out on photographers as I had gathered a large amount of research off the internet looking at different styles of photographer, there was an audio photography piece, which generally showed me the different ways in which you can express your theme through images. I feel I could have done more research without the internet but found it hard to find books on documentary photographers in the library as I was looking for a specific genre of photography. This was then easier to come across through websites, as there was a whole range of websites' offering different styles of documentary photography.

4. Are your final outcomes what you originally intended or are they different?The final outcome of my photographs was partly what I originally intended, as I did stick to them theme I originally started with, being based around the influences of youth culture. The final outcome changed when I didn’t achieve the photographs that I originally intended to get, being art and fashion, which was due to the lack of quality in the photographs that I had taken, as I personally felt they didn’t fit with the theme. Another set back was covering a large range of topics with not enough time which could have been managed to a better degree, but with the lack of time I had settled for the photographs that I had taken. I feel the final outcome did show the theme I originally aimed for, it did show the influences of youth culture, I feel that I could have been improved with more time concentrating on other topics to have completed the full series of photographs.

5. What skills have you developed through doing the extended project?The skills that I have developed throughout my project begin with the planning of my project, as I used a Gantt chart to organise and plan my time during the course of the extended project, which came in useful as it helped split the project up into sections of what needed to be completed in what order and for how long. From using a gantt chart I then went onto making a photography log, which helped me organise when I would take photographs in my own time and college time, which then helped me determine when I could focus on getting my photographs printed and exhibited. After the planning of my project I then focused on the research element, in which I gained research skills as I used a book with information and help on different aspects of photography and taking photographs to a more professional level. I also looked at a wide range of websites’ that had information on documentary photography, even though it is not a wide range of sources I have gathered a substantial amount of research on photography itself, as I found the websites useful, I also gained a lot of knowledge about documentary photography and I feel the skills that I have developed through researching would be to research in a professional manner and also not to plagiarise, but to use the information effectively. During my development I have gained photography skills whilst gathering my photographs, I have gained skills such as using particular angles, settings, location, lighting which have come in useful whilst trying to achieve a professional series of photographs also it has helped to keep the effect of the theme. Also I have gained Photoshop skills and using sites such as Tumblr to upload my photographs.

6. How have audiences responded to your final outcome?After gathering my feedback through server monkey and questionnaires, I have received mixed reviews on my photographs.The majority of feedback states that the theme of the photographs was clear but one comment in particular stands out “thought the theme was 'inner city life' when I first looked at them I don't think they clearly show youth culture” this statement reflects on the final outcome as the topics also fit this theme, in which I feel could have been presented in this way. I personally feel this is a vital part of my feedback as it has represented to a similar theme, in which I could have adopted to make my photographs more understandable to the audience. The visual quality of my photographs gained a reasonable review of being good, which I can take into consideration due to the problems I experience during the project, but also to bear in mind for future reference. I feel the comments that I have received, which have been widely mixed, some of the comments not making sense on survey monkey show that all round the theme of the photographs was received yet could have been improved with either changing into the inner city life or adding more topics to make the theme stand out and be recognised by the audience. Another comment that was given about the quality of the images being, “Some photos were out of focus (was that intentional?) however the colours were great on the nightlife photos” The photographs are purposely blurred, which I didn’t anticipate to be an issue for the audience. I feel that the over all response to the photographs was a reasonably good level, as the majority of the feedback was to a good standard and I feel that my photographs were effective and did show youth culture to a certain extent.

7. What would you have done differently if you were to do the extended project again?If I was to complete the extended project again I would have managed my time seriously and looked further into the planning of the project. As my project has come across problems which have all related back to time management, it has effected my over all outcome of my photographs as I could have exhibited more photographs but due to the lack of time I didn’t achieve exactly what I set out to do. Another problem that occurred whilst organising my exhibition was the lack of communication with the Zion Arts Centre, when I had problems with getting my photographs printed, this then meaning that the photographs were not exhibited for the public to see, they were put up in college. Which wasn’t my original intention, as I could have gathered more feedback and had a more professional exhibition. Gathering feedback has also been down to bad time management as I should have organised my time better in order to have gathered feedback earlier rather than leaving the feedback nearer to the end of the project. Taking all of these mistakes into account I could have organised and planned my time out better and would have achieved what I originally wanted to do. All in all I personally feel my extended project ran successfully to a certain degree, as with the mistakes and bad management I achieved a reasonable outcome that still represented my original idea of a series of photographs themed around today’s youth culture.