IB Art: Photography

[summer1h]

I'm doing my first year of IB art, and I'm choosing to focus on photography. Does anyone have any tips for how to score well on the IWB and projects using almost only photographs?

Any tips would be super helpful! Thanks!

[Flippy]

First of all, I should warn you that IB Art is not just about focusing on one particular discipline. The examiner will be looking for experimentation in a variety of media. Make sure you've done some drawings, some sculpture, maybe a video or graphic work, as well as photography, because photography alone might show that you're afraid to experiment and try new areas.

Having said that, I did quite a bit of photography for my IB Art (though not for all of it!) and here are some tips:

-If you are doing staged photographs, draw and plan out the compositions in your IWB. Write about the theme or message you want to explore.

-Look at artists (not just photographers!) that deal with your message or theme and comment on whether you like it, why you like it, and if it has influenced you in any way.

-Once you've set up your general idea, go take some test photographs. Experiment with different angles and types of light. Print these photos out onto a contact sheet, and stick them in the IWB. Also pick out a few key test shots and write about why the work, or why they don't work.

-Once you've taken your photographs, print out the contact sheet and stick them in. Pick a few key shots you want to edit.

-During the editing process, take a few screenshots and print them out.

-Stick the edited photos in your IWB and critique them. Talk about their composition, use of colour, light, if they work or not. Do they capture what you're trying to say?

I hope that was helpful. Please just remember that photography alone won't help you. You need other mediums to show that you are a well-rounded student (because that's what IB likes in the end!) Good luck!

(Sorry, before when I mention researching artists, stick the research into your IWB, cite it properly, and comment on the pieces that they do. Just realised the sentence I typed was a bit ambiguous!)

[Guest]

I think Flippy has summed up everything nicely. Make sure you say everything there is to say in your IWB book. For the computer graphics part of this you must show your process because it's required by the IB so that they know that it is your work.