Group Photo Project Report

Four Girls and a Guy was, overall, a successful team. We completed the project on time and were able to work cohesively. There were, however, a few challenges that we had to overcome in order to finish the project on time. We used Facebook messaging as our primary source of communication to organize when and where we would meet, and what the deadlines would be.

This worked well for a few days, until people started to take a lot longer to respond on the thread. As more and more time passed I became increasingly concerned that no one was taking pictures and that we would not be able to compile them in time for the presentation. Because Facebook seemed insufficient for group communication we had to expand and be more aggressive with our methods of communication. Text messages, voicemails, phone calls, emails were all necessary to keep people up to date with where the group stood in relation to the project deadline, but even then one of our group was still impossible to get a hold of. Our methods of individual photo collection and compilation via email worked well, as did all of the communication methods we utilized, but there were limits to our solutions for group friction.

I learned a lot about how to execute a photography project, but two things in particular stood out from the experience. I found it difficult to recognize the point at which it is best to stop trying to get a hold of someone and decide to finish the project without his or her input. We set deadlines for when each member would be responsible for submitting their photos for compilation. When members of our group failed to meet the deadline we worked to include them despite the fact. Next time I want to try and stick with self-enforced deadlines better; that way members who are following the deadlines do not waste time waiting for unresponsive members to participate. I want to be able to better recognize the point at which group harmony takes back seat to productivity. Secondly, I learned how much time it takes to collect photographs. Allocating enough time for photo field trips and for experimentation can be difficult, and is not something that can be done in spare time.

The final composition worked very well, and I feel that all of the images communicated force in a variety of ways. It was interesting to see how all the pictures represented each member’s individual conception of how force manifests itself in the world. My pictures focused primarily on abstract and natural forces, whereas other group members illustrated human or manufactured force. Out of all of my pictures me favorites were of the fresco above the cathedral. The fresco of human forms twisting and straining in a maelstrom was a clear expression of force. The cathedral offered many impressive opportunities for photography, but I found this particular fresco to be a rather abstract representation of force. My photo of the fresco in the presentation uses the fresco’s surrounding walls to emphasize the relative chaos that immediately surround the subjects. The curve of the arc enclosing the fresco also offers contrast to the random lines and curves of the bodies and background inside. I chose this particular part of the sculpture because it seemed to me as though the human forms were pushing out against the edge of the fresco, almost as if to push it out of the photo’s frame. To me, this photograph conveys an abstraction of internal human forces.

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