General approaches:

Assessment Objective 3 ‘Record’ in photography underpins the achievement in all other assessment objectives. Assessment Objective 3 states: ‘Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions as work progresses.’ Qualities of photographic record can undermine experimentation and outcome. Understanding light to develop the three dimensional qualities of the subject is fundamental to photographic record. Outside the qualities of light are controlled by variables such as the weather, sun glare, day or night. In the studio you are in control of the light and although the lighting conditions are artificial, variables that affect exposure can be easily manipulated. The assessment objectives will always focus on the achievement levels of photographic record. This should be comparable to achievement levels across all specialisms and underpins all other Assessment Objectives.

Common misconceptions or difficulties students may have:

Shooting images with an automatic setting without considering qualities of light will often result in ‘grey’ images that have limited tonal contrast. A poorly shot image is almost impossible to develop to a high quality outcome through image manipulation. A high quality shot with careful consideration of lighting will often result in higher level achievement.