Book proposals - 1 (Pocket Stories)

Elizabeth Chandler

Directions Within Photographic Communication 

Book Proposal 1

Another proposed idea for this assignment is a project i have being planning on completing for quite some time.

I once did i project photographing the inside of women’s handbags as to reveal a bit of their personality through their belongings.

From this i thought about men, and what they carry in their pockets.

I think it is interesting how women carry a lot more unnecessary items, whereas it would appear men ‘travel light’.

I think it would be interesting to approach men in the street and ask them to hold the contents of their pockets in their hands and i would photograph it.

I then thought it would be nice to do ‘three picture portraits’ in an attempt to reveal key elements of the subject.

For example a proportion of the subjects face would be on top, a photograph of the subjects hands holding the contents of the pockets. Then a third image showing footwear.

This would be accompanied with a list of the items, the subjects name and age.

I think that the combination of the three images and the list would reveal a lot of information about the subject of the photograph. 

For example the shoes may indicate their profession.

Book aesthetics - 

I think i would like the book to be square for this body of work. however that could prove difficult when it comes to incorporating the handwritten lists which i plan on scanning in and including alongside the images. In this instance i would make the book more rectangular. Either way, of a medium size.

Possible titles - 

‘All that you carry around’

‘pocket stories’

‘what do you’re pockets say about you?’

Initial ideas of potential titles.

Text content - 

As mentioned above i would like to have information about the subjects to accompany the images.

In addition i have considered generating a map pin pointing the locations where the images were taken and including this at the front of the book. However i later considered that perhaps selecting a location and waiting for people to pass by would perhaps be better and ensure the images all took on similar aesthetics.  

Intended Audience - 

This book would appeal to a variety of age groups and not only those interested in photography.

Although the book would be heavily image based there will be other supporting information which would create an almost story book about the people of the city in an abstract portraiture style.

The book would fit in a gallery context or even work on display in a young interest store such as Urban Outfitters / HMV.

The book would feel like more of a social exploration of the people of the city i think many people would purchase the book out of social interest more than purely out of interest in photography.

Practical considerations - 

I would use my Nikon Dslr to shoot, using a flash gun/speed light to achieve some fill flash.

I could consider the location and if to keep this the same and wait for subjects to pass me, or move around selecting my subjects. 

I would also need to consider if i wanted a plain background or one with more context.

Approach - 

I have a book named GRUNGE by photographer Michael Lavine. This has heavily inspired this idea.

in addition the works of photographers such as joel Sternfeld, Richard Renaldi, Melanie Manchot, clare strand and many others who have worked on bodies of work capturing the people of the city in their own individual way.