January 2020 Monthly Creative Photography Exercise: Photo Series
At Documentary Family Photographers Worldwide, we strive to continually provide educational opportunities for the Community in our DFP Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/dfpcommunity/). The Monthly Creative Assignment program launched in December 2019 with the goal of encouraging photographers to shoot for themselves on a monthly basis. An exercise is chosen each month from ‘The Photographer’s Playbook’ - a book that features over 300 photography assignments from many of the world's most talented photographers.
Assignments are submitted at the end of the month, and an anonymous voting process ensues to determine 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners. Each winner receives a prize from the Documentary Family Photographers organization, as well as a feature on the DFP Blog.
January Assignment
January’s assignment was written by Jane Evelyn Atwood, a Documentary photographer based out of Paris, France. Here is the assignment in her words:
'Telling a story with pictures is just like writing with words. Something is seen, or thought of, or imagined. I would like you to tell a story with images that you make and put together, one after another, to recount something - be it abstract, conceptual, documentary, or journalistic.
You can follow one person, a group, a place. Inside or out. It can be vast or very small. It can be realistic or abstract. It can be something real, an idea, a fantasy, an emotion.
You should use no more than 8 photos, new fewer than 5. Each image must add something that hasn't yet been seen in the images that precede it. The selection should be coherent'.
All photos were to have been taken during the month of January.
We received 22 submissions from our extremely talented photography community. Two series tied for 3rd place, resulting in 4 winners total. Here are your top picks for the January Photo Series assignment.
1st place: Lisa Winner
‘13 Going on Zoloft’
Name: Lisa Winner
Location: San Francisco Bay Area, CA
Website: http://lisawinnerphotography.com/
Tell us about your photography journey: I discovered documentary photography 3 years ago. I’d been taking ‘candid photos’ my whole life, and didn’t realize that not only was there an art behind it, but a science as well. I thought that by taking random snapshots of the back of my kids heads that I was being “creative”. I discovered that this genre, this act of taking candid photos, was actually the art of visual storytelling. Once I figured that out, and took the time to take classes and learn, my photography SLOWLY began to improve.
In December 2018 I took my passion for visual storytelling and decided to create a business behind it. I love capturing Real Life for other families. I love for them to see what I see: the quiet moments, the loud moments, the messy moments, even the angry and sad moments. Those moments make up the narrative of our lives, and they are all equally beautiful and powerful in their own right.
My wish is everyone - before your next family photo shoot, consider hiring a documentary photographer, even if for just a couple of hours. You will never look at family photography the same way again, I Gua-ran-tee.
The story behind your series: This is my daughter Hannah. She is 13 years old, and has had mental health challenges for the past 2 years. After many months of therapy and depressive episodes, we collectively decided to give medication a try. January was her first full month on Zoloft. I created this series not only for the assignment, but also for her. I wanted to show her what I see - her ups and downs, and everything in between. This series of photos is probably the most important work I’ve created to date, for her and for me. The acknowledgement from the DFP community is the icing on the cake, and means more to me than they will ever know.
One goal for your photography: To continue learning and growing in this genre. I don’t just want to be a good documentary photographer, I want to be a great one. I don’t know if ‘great’ is ever really achievable (I guess it depends on who you ask), but I sure as hell am going to keep trying!
2nd place: Megan Mitchell
‘Where’s Lydia’
Name: Megan Mitchell
Location: Detroit, MI
Website: www.megandianephotography.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/megandianephotos/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/megandianephotos
Tell us about your photography journey: I got my camera two years ago and have been obsessively shooting ever since. I've been drawn to documentary since I knew it existed. I love capturing the realities and rawness of life. I need to capture real life. The fun and exciting as well as the sad, quiet, ordinary or mundane. The beauty of life surrounds us every day and is a much more interesting a story than anything I could come up with. I worked this past year to start my business, shooting 3 births, a corporate event, and several newborn, senior and family sessions.
The story behind your series: My series "Where's Lydia?" showcases my youngest daughter. She's the crazy one of the family. Always getting into mischief or climbing on something. As I looked through all my January pictures, I wasn't really happy with any of the stories that I tried to make. But, I noticed that each story had a picture or two of Lydia hiding or climbing or generally doing something crazy. One series of pictures, the two girls were playing with clay. My other daughter then dutifully cleaned it up while Lydia got bored and climbed into the washer.
She definitely keeps things fun! And this series captures her perfectly. Where is she? Could be anywhere. Did you check the roof?
One goal for your photography: My goals for this year are to continue to refine my skills and focus and to build in documentary and births.
3rd place (tie): Eszter Ballo
‘Wash Day’
Name: Eszter Ballo
Location: Northern Ireland UK
Social Media links: facebook.com/eszterballophotography
Tell us about your photography journey: When I was 23, I signed up for a photography school in Budapest with the intention to learn how to tell a story in images. I didn't know I had it in me, but with a Geography degree and a desire to travel, I obviously was going to end up writing and photographing stories for the NatGeo (muhaha).
Anyhow, after one year I left the school to travel and work in Africa for a while with the intention to come back and finish the three years course. Life took a funny turn and I never went back to Hungary. I met my husband and came to live in Northern Ireland.
Starting a photography business was circumstantial as I was made redundant after my second son was born, and it seemed like a good idea while I was training to become a homeopath. I dabbled in styles and presets and all of the directions with growing frustration of not actually making any money. I remember finding the website of a UK documentary photographer, feeling "this is it, this is the only way I could shoot weddings".
Following more and more photographers in this genre showed me that what I like shooting (real life) is actually becoming something in the family arena as well. 8 years and two more babies later I am more accepting of the fact that I may never turn this passion into a lucrative business, but I am content with the fact that now I am definitely on the path of finding my voice in documentary family photography and documenting our own life for my kids (for now).
The story behind your series: I have been meaning to capture this companionship between Samuel and Foxy before it is too late. They had each other since Samuel was born 8 years ago and they haven't left each other's side for more than a few hours. Naturally washing Foxy is a delicate operation and therefore it happens rarely, but a massive nosebleed one morning has made it unavoidable. Even then it took a few days of convincing and I am still listening to "Mama, Foxy doesn't smell the same, still!"
But I am sure Foxy is pretty thankful for the bath. :-)One goal for your photography: I want to keep growing as a photographer, keep learning, and to do so I will one day sign up for one of the longer mentoring programs like Chuck Anerino's here in DFP or someone else's. And who knows, maybe one day I will earn some damn money with it too. :-D
3rd place (tie): Shannon Christy
‘A Land that has no borders’
Name: Shannon Christy
Location: San Diego, CA
Website: http://shannonchristy.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shannonchristyphoto/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShannonChristyPhotography/
Tell us about your photography journey: I was motivated to get into photography once my partner was accepted to grad school in Sweden. I invested in my first DSLR in June of 2016 with the intention of documenting life abroad. I photographed everything- landscapes, lifestyle, nature, but was mostly drawn to the raw, unposed moments I sought out in street photography.
Once I (accidentally) discovered documentary family photography, my entire mind exploded in a massive epiphany. It brought me back to my favorite images of my dad and I, who passed when I was nine years old. These images are not the ones of us smiling for the camera, but the ones that are a real moment immortalized, the ones that remind me of what it felt like to be with him.
Too many of my firsthand memories have unfortunately faded and these types of images help me stay connected to who my father was and how much he loved me. I knew immediately that this is what I needed to do with my life. That I needed to photograph more than just what people looked like, but who they are and how they love each other.
I love doing Day in the Life sessions for families since I find it therapeutic and fulfilling to be a member of their family for a day and to have the opportunity to create for them the images I always wish I had.
The story behind your series: I aimed to capture a family coming together to celebrate the life of their father, grandfather, and uncle. His daughter preparing the beautifully handwritten signs to display at his memorial. Family gathering in the living room to celebrate a tiny part of his legacy that was featured as a segment on the local news.
I aimed to capture the overwhelming, desolate aspect of grief as his children walked through his empty home for the last time. His daughter taking one last moment to overlook his bedroom, where he peacefully passed away in his sleep at nearly 92 years old. The beautiful memorial, where his daughter shared a poem of his she found in his home that was a brief window into his sentiment on death.
And finally, fully taking in the love and support that carries us through the most challenging aspects of life. It was difficult yet reassuring to photograph even the tiniest bit of how it feels to lose a father and how those feelings can be relatable in all stages of life.
One goal for your photography: I am fully aware that there will always be room for improvement. I embrace the concept of a lifelong learner and I am constantly working on stepping out of my comfort zone, expanding those boundaries, and transcending fear. I want to push myself so my work is not always literal, offers new perspectives, and tells a greater story of family, relationships, and humanity as a whole. I want my work to challenge the idea of the “perfect family” and help inspire those who find my work to embrace what life means today, shamelessly.