Photographing the City: London

Jenna Bernadyn

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Final Introduction // What Does London Mean to You?

The series below includes a diverse group of people living in London. I wanted to capture them in a calm, natural environment. This being said, all of the subjects were photographed in parks throughout London. This allowed them to answer the main question of “What Does London Mean to You?”, in a more relaxed environment. I chose to do diptychs for this series. One being the photograph of the person, and the other being a graphic with the text of how the person answered the question. I wanted the response to the question, to be as equally as powerful as the photograph of the person. Please enjoy getting to see different Londoners’ perspectives.

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Final // “What Does London Mean to You?”

This is part 2 of 2, of my final series called, “What Does London Mean to You?”

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Final // “What Does London Mean to You?” Pt. 1

This is part 1 of 2, of my final series called, “What Does London Mean to You?”

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Photobook // “What Does London Mean to You?”

I also envisioned this project in a printed photobook, to have a tangible copy of it. These are templates I created in photoshop to show what 2 pages of the photobook might look like. 

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Instagram Series // “What Does London Mean to You?”

This series is a social media series, primarily designed for Instagram. My diptychs are each 1080 x 1080-pixel squares, perfectly measured for Instagram’s format. When seeing this on Instagram, the viewer would first see the photograph and then swipe left to see the second graphic of the text. The Instagram caption would also be the full text/quote from the person pictured.

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Research // Beat Streuli

Streuli is a Swiss visual artist. He uses photography and videos to capture people on the streets. His photographs are very colorful and seem very natural. Nothing seems forced about them. He also uses the rule of thirds in a lot of his photographs with people. This helps to make the photographs look more concise and visually appealing. Throughout my project, I have also tried to use this technique.

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Experimenting // Regent’s Park

Enjoying getting a few last photos & interviews in before the final. I am continuing working with focusing on the person and having their background blurred. This emphasizes the person more. 

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Influence // Gillian Wearing

These are some of my favorite photographs from Gillian Wearing’s series, “Signs that say what you want them to say not Signs that say what someone else wants you to say”. My favorite is the photograph of a woman with a sign that reads, “I really love Regents Park.” Most of my interviews and photographs for my project have been taken in Regent’s Park, so I love how relatable this is. Wearing’s photography tells a unique story about people in London, just like how I wanted my project to tell a unique story about what London means to those who inhabit it. 

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My Website // Photography

This is a link to my Graphic Design portfolio, which also has a section of my “What Does London Mean to You?” project. 

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What Does London Mean to You? // Regent’s Park

I am really happy with how this picture’s overall quality and lighting turned out.  I also enjoy the blurred background. 

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What Does London Mean to You? // Regent’s Park

What a humbling experience this was. This man was incredibly sweet, even with a persisting language barrier between us. I love being able to engage with so many different cultures in this city.

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Inspiration // Phillip-Lorca di Corcia

These photographs are from Phillip’s photography series called, “Heads”. These photos were taken in Times Square, New York. I love the emphasis that he puts on his subjects, by blurring and darkening the background of the photograph. It makes the viewer want to know the story behind the main subject in the photograph. 

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What Does London Mean to You? // Regent’s Park

I feel like my photographs are starting to look a lot more clear, and that the lighting is better. I am enjoying growing through this project and seeing how my photography is progressing. 

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Shoreditch Project // Texture

In our photography class today, we explored 3 main exhibits throughout the Shoreditch area. My group decided to unite the exhibits by looking at the texture in each piece. The first photo was taken in the Charlie Smith London exhibit, done by Michael Boffey. The second photo was taken in the Tom Lovelace exhibit. The last photo was taken in the third exhibit, done by Phoebe Boswell. Each piece of artwork showcases a form of texture in some way. 

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National Portrait Gallery // Martin Parr

This photograph from Martin’s “Everybody Dance Now” series absolutely captivates me. I love the concept behind his idea. I love how freely he captured these women expressing themselves through dance. His exhibition was brilliant.   

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What Does London to You? // Green Park

“It’s my home. I’ve lived here for five years. I’m from France.”

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Research // Melanie Einzig

I came across Melanie Einzig in the book called, “Street Photography Now” by Sophie Howarth & Stephen McLaren. This book showcases different street photographers. Melanie says, “At a time when staged narratives and rendered images are popular, I am excited by the fact that life itself offers situations far more strange and beautiful than anything I could set up.” This inspires me to keep capturing the people of London, in the way that they feel most natural in. I think that forced expressions don’t portray authentic emotions as powerful as relaxed and natural expressions do. Also similar to my photography, Melanie chose to keep her photographs in color, and also expresses where she took her photographs.