Am I crossing the line?

[Gary A.]

Firstly, these images are great, they illustrate and capture an element of great uneasiness and projects that to the viewer. Well done. Both the image impact and the image quality is very good. Converting/using B&W was an excellent choice.

Secondly, what is the course that these images/story are intended. If it is a journalism course, as an example, you failed because you did not document an actual event, person, story. So different courses have different requirements. The statement of giving the camera to a mentally ill person, is just outright stupid. Generally, the other professor is correct about not using yourself in a journalistic context, unless the story is about you. Both print and electronic media will illustrate stories with 'art' which is not of the actual subject. Typically these stories will have the appropriate disclaimer ... which your story does not.

Again ... the course for which these images were taken will have a bearing on how the images are to be judged.

 

[Gary A.]

As to crossing the line, Yes or No ... depends on the course and the intent of the assignment.

 

[ddelplato]

I think the set is superb and a very worthy topic for study.

I totally agree with @Derrel in that you have one professor who has an enlightened view of the world and the naysayers are simply uncomfortable with the topic, are in some way jealous that they hadn't thought about the project so deeply, or are simply idiots.

I simply don't understand the phrase "He went on to further tell me that if I want to produce images about mentally illness i should "give the camera to someone who is mentally ill and claim the images as my own". In my opinion, that shows a complete lack of empathy and understanding of what your project was about.

Why didn't one professor think you should be producing this type of work? What did other people in the class do?

The one professor thought I shouldn't be producing this type of work because she thought it was unprofessional to make something about a mental illness I did not have. She assumed that I didn't research the illness and knew little to nothing about it. I tried to reassure her that I had done research, but I think her mind was set on the fact that she didn't like the work I was producing. She also did not like the fact that I did not have the illness but I was the subject in the images. Her comments basically alluded to the fact that it was politically incorrect even though it's a fictional narrative.

The assignment was drawn out over three weeks. Each week you would bring in another installment of the narrative. Some of my classmates chose to take the prompt literally. They shot blown out portraits with glitter on their subjects, while some just shot simple studio portraits. Most of the images were dark, but I distinctly remember mine really made my class cringe.

 

[ddelplato]

Firstly, these images are great, they illustrate and capture an element of great uneasiness and projects that to the viewer. Well done. Both the image impact and the image quality is very good. Converting/using B&W was an excellent choice.

Secondly, what is the course that these images/story are intended. If it is a journalism course, as an example, you failed because you did not document an actual event, person, story. So different courses have different requirements. The statement of giving the camera to a mentally ill person, is just outright stupid. Generally, the other professor is correct about not using yourself in a journalistic context, unless the story is about you. Both print and electronic media will illustrate stories with 'art' which is not of the actual subject. Typically these stories will have the appropriate disclaimer ... which your story does not.

Again ... the course for which these images were taken will have a bearing on how the images are to be judged.

It is not journalism. I thought it was pretty obvious by the images that they are not documentary whatsoever because of the story prompt that goes with them. But i may be wrong. These images are intended to be a fictional narrative. I appreciate your feedback.

 

[otherprof]

Hello, I am a student and I am studying photography. As a freshman I have a lot to learn.

Recently—for a critique class—our assignment was to illustrate a story prompt with our images. I created a very dark set of images entitled "Schizophrenia" (which was extensively researched). My professor loved the images, and said that they were "unexpected and have a great amount of depth". Later on, I showed them to another professor, who said they were "unprofessional" because I am not mentally ill. He went on to further tell me that if I want to produce images about mentally illness i should "give the camera to someone who is mentally ill and claim the images as my own". I also showed this series to a group of professors for my portfolio review. At first when I told one professor about the concept she thought it was an incredible idea. However, once she saw that I was the subject she said that I should "not be producing work like that" and that if i want to create a series about mental illness, my subject would have to be mentally ill.

I can't explain how thoroughly confused I am about this series now. I have received multiple mixed reviews and I am looking for any closure to tell me whether these images are crossing a line or not. I think the thing i can't comprehend the most is the fact that filmmaker/writers/actors have done the same thing I did with this series (direct/write/act out a mental illness and the issues that follow). What's the difference between me creating a fictional narrative about mental illness through images and filmmakers creating a fiction film about a mental illness.

the series can be found here:
Behance

You should have handed the camera to the second professor. What a missed opportunity. It would have definitely been worth the "F".

 

[Overread]

Must say I'm going to say that I don't think you've gone too far at all. If anything I would say that you didn't go far enough and that there is a long way you could have gone further before getting close to the line. I feel like you are certainly going in the right direction. You're using photos that are clearly part of telling a visual story through them which is a skill in itself as sometimes a photo as part of a visual series isn't necessarily as strong on its own. A solid photo certainly, but nothing near as strong as when it is realised in its original intent as part of the series (rather like how a paragraph in a story might be mundane on its own but as part of the story grips the reader in the whole of the chapter).

I'd have said good; you've make a very solid start and got the right thinking - and indeed you appear to be further along than I think as several very good (and respected) other photographers before me in the thread have already been moved by your work. (you even got Chiller posting!)

 

[RitchieE24]

I love these! They captured the mental illness exactly how I imagine it! I do not know much about Schizophrenia at all.

You are displaying it in a non-offensive way. How could someone ever have an issue with these? Does your teacher think that all of those commercials displaying mental illness were shot by people with the illness they are portraying? That would be silly to assume that!

Using that logic I am not allowed to photograph someone posing with a football because I am not a football player.

Cheer, keep up the great work!

 

[desertrattm2r12]

You're nuts if you think you can please everybody and that because someone has a job in an institution of (maybe) higher learning, they know anything about photography. But the real problem is you need a thicker skin. It's a tough world out there.

 

[snowbear]

Eight-month old thread; OP hasn't been here for six months.

 

[Watchful]

First of all, can light and shadow be wrong? Can it be unprofessional? Is art ever a bad thing (as long as no one is harmed in it's creation)?
I may not have used that title (some look more like paranoia) but that doesn't matter. If you like an image you captured, it's a success. You are the audience you need to concern yourself with.

Eight-month old thread; OP hasn't been here for six months.

This is irrelevant to whether a person has an opinion or not isn't it?

 

[limr]

First of all, can light and shadow be wrong? Can it be unprofessional? Is art ever a bad thing (as long as no one is harmed in it's creation)?
I may not have used that title (some look more like paranoia) but that doesn't matter. If you like an image you captured, it's a success. You are the audience you need to concern yourself with.

Eight-month old thread; OP hasn't been here for six months.

This is irrelevant to whether a person has an opinion or not isn't it?

Of course not - you are welcome to your opinion and to expressing it. If you wanted your opinion to actually reach the OP, however, then yes, the age of the thread and the disappearance of the OP is relevant.

 

[Watchful]

First of all, can light and shadow be wrong? Can it be unprofessional? Is art ever a bad thing (as long as no one is harmed in it's creation)?
I may not have used that title (some look more like paranoia) but that doesn't matter. If you like an image you captured, it's a success. You are the audience you need to concern yourself with.

Eight-month old thread; OP hasn't been here for six months.

This is irrelevant to whether a person has an opinion or not isn't it?

Of course not - you are welcome to your opinion and to expressing it. If you wanted your opinion to actually reach the OP, however, then yes, the age of the thread and the disappearance of the OP is relevant.

That is the least of my worries. thanks for the advice though. I was posting for anyone else in the same situation to get some thoughts as well.

 

[limr]

First of all, can light and shadow be wrong? Can it be unprofessional? Is art ever a bad thing (as long as no one is harmed in it's creation)?
I may not have used that title (some look more like paranoia) but that doesn't matter. If you like an image you captured, it's a success. You are the audience you need to concern yourself with.

Eight-month old thread; OP hasn't been here for six months.

This is irrelevant to whether a person has an opinion or not isn't it?

Of course not - you are welcome to your opinion and to expressing it. If you wanted your opinion to actually reach the OP, however, then yes, the age of the thread and the disappearance of the OP is relevant.

That is the least of my worries. thanks for the advice though. I was posting for anyone else in the same situation to get some thoughts as well.

Fair enough, carry on