The Great British Photography Challenge - General Discussion

[ElectricBoogaloo]

The Great British Photography Challenge follows world-famous photographer Rankin as he mentors the contestants, providing a unique masterclass in the art and craft of photography. Every shot counts as Rankin's ‘students' build up to the task of creating and presenting a portfolio of their work, to be revealed at a climatic exhibition in the final episode. Although a winner is ultimately chosen, no-one is eliminated from the series, which takes a nurturing approach and embraces different perspectives as we follow all six throughout the process.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S1.E1

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The search for Britain's best amateur photographer begins with a blustery Brighton seafront, a nature assignment in the New Forest with Chris Packham and a celebrity portrait with Anna Friel.

Original air date: 5/24/21

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I really like that no one is being eliminated until the end. It gives everyone equal time to learn and grow. Whenever I watch competitive reality shows, I always feel bad for the people who get cut in the first week or two. This way they get to show what they already know how to do, get lots of feedback, and incorporate what they learn into future assignments.

I also really like that they were given so many different assignments in one episode so that we could see their skill level and their style (especially since they come from different backgrounds/specialities). And I love that they get so much concrete feedback from the photographer and his two coworkers. I loathe when the feedback is generic or too foofy. In contrast, one of the judges pointed out that the photographer had cropped their photo badly (either show the shoes or crop above the ankle!).

They were lucky that Anna Friel was so open to suggestions and feedback and that she gave them so many different poses.

[TVbitch]

I also liked that they had lots of different challenges in just one episode, and that the experts aren't shy about giving their critiques. I tend to have a bias about photography shows because I am an amateur myself and some of the stuff I see on these shows I either think is no better than mine, or, I think it's worse! Or pretentious! I did like some of the photos, but agreed with a lot of the critique. 

I do kind of miss having an elimination though. I do feel for early rejects, but for me it ups the drama and emotional stakes, and I like to try and guess who stays and who goes. Rankin said he "is not interested" in eliminating people, which is nice, but it is a reality competition show, so he might need to get over it! Although... I can't even remember if they announced a prize. Did they?

I concur the actress did a great job during the shoot, giving them all so many options without them having to direct her much, (cuz most of them were not great at that). 

Sounds like this is only 4 or 6 episodes, so that's pretty short.

[GaT]

I didn't know this show had so I had posted in another thread about it. I'll copy what I said here:

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I watched this & it was OK, but I don't understand how anyone wins. They kept having things they had to photograph, but there was no winners or losers. Am I missing something?

I found it confusing not to have an elimination or even just a ranking. Are they going to get to the end & just declare someone the winner? It doesn't seem fair to the contestants to me, they get a critique, but that doesn't tell them why someone else might be ranked higher than them. I don't think it was mentioned how the winner gets determined (or even if there's going to be a winner)  so we're watching a competition show with no real idea of what the competition actually is, how it could be won, or what the prize is. I think everyone needs a lot more information as to what is going on.

[TVbitch]

Didn't they say at the end there would be an exhibit of each contestants best shots? But that still doesn't say how a winner is determined. Maybe all the visitors will vote or something. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

They said that at the end of the competition, each of the contestants will present a portfolio of 15 photos and that's how the winner will be chosen.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S1.E2

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This week sees 'The Six' challenged to use their smartphone to capture the fast-moving arena of the boxing ring, with Rankin offering the opportunity for one image from each to be uploaded to his social media platforms. Whose images will capture the imagination of his followers?

The students then travel to Birmingham's wholesale market to meet with award-winning artist and photographer Maryam Wahid, who takes them into the world of documentary photography. The third challenge featured in this episode sees them tasked with their first high-end fashion shoot, under the guidance of Rankin and creative direction of international stylist and fashion editor Cheryl Konteh.

Original air date: 5/31/21

[GaT]

Did he pick his favorite photo of the week? I didn't see anything & I don't know if my recording was cut off or if he didn't pick one like he did last week.

I'm not loving this show, something is just missing. At least I caught how they pick the winner, but now I feel like it's missing something else.

[Aulty]

3 hours ago, GaT said:

Did he pick his favorite photo of the week? I didn't see anything & I don't know if my recording was cut off or if he didn't pick one like he did last week.

Yeah he did. Ali's boxer was his favourite and he also liked one of Paul's and Chelsea's fashion pictures.

TBH what I expected from a show like this helmed by Rankin was a lot more guided challenges like the fashion shoot. So far the results from the smartphone challenges have been disappointing and the professionals they've invited for the outdoor and documentary challenge are just there for inspiration. Why don't they have them give the contestants a short masterclass beforehand?
There is very little in this that helps me understand the basics of photography or helps me to take better pictures. Not that watching Blown Away has made me a better glass blower but its given me enough armchair expertise to judge if an idea is gonna work, plus to appreciate the work that goes into glassware or .

The best part of the show is Rankin's female assistant (or creative director??) - she is beautifully eloquent.

Edited June 1, 2021 by Aulty

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I liked that last week before they all shot Anna Friel, Rankin shot the photographers so that they would understand what it was like to be a subject and give them an idea of what was helpful to a subject. I really thought we would get more stuff like that (and like the brief lesson they had for the nature shoot), but this week the contestants were just taken to a location and kind of let loose with a vague idea of what was expected of them. I wish they'd been given more instruction or guidelines or anything before each assignment this week, especially when there was an expert introduced. Why have an expert is they aren't going to share their expertise?

Last week when they shot Anna Friel, it seemed like a pretty level playing field because they had the same subject. Same for when they were at the gym this week. But giving them different models with different outfits for the fashion assignment this week made me think that some of them might just get lucky with a great model who was good at posing or who had a really good outfit.

What I think the documentary assignment and the fashion assignment demonstrated this week is that as a photographer, you are going to have to communicate with people and some of them don't seem entirely comfortable with talking to people, giving them feedback, giving specific direction, etc.

But my favorite aspect of the show is that all of the photographers get very concrete feedback on their photos after each assignment. I always feel bad on shows where only the people with the highest and lowest scores get feedback because it leaves the people in the middle of the pack unsure about how to improve their work. It's also really helpful that the judges on this show know how to give good feedback (unlike judges on some other competitive reality shows where their critiques are usually a whole lot of nothing).

Seeing how unevenly the photographers did this week on their various assignments reinforced how much I love that they aren't eliminating anyone until the end. If you're a nature photographer and the first assignment is fashion, it sucks to get eliminated for being given a challenge that is outside of what you normally do. Seeing the variety of success in the different assignments makes me glad that they are all getting a chance to do all of the assignments and learn along the way.

During the first episode, I wondered why there weren't more contestants, but knowing that they all get feedback and no one is eliminated, I think they picked a manageable number of people.

[GaT]

7 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Last week when they shot Anna Friel, it seemed like a pretty level playing field because they had the same subject. Same for when they were at the gym this week. But giving them different models with different outfits for the fashion assignment this week made me think that some of them might just get lucky with a great model who was good at posing or who had a really good outfit.

Yes, I thought this too. If they could have the same actress posing, why can't they have the same model?

[TVbitch]

I know they are often out of their genre, but these photographers seem VERY amateur to me. Aren't they all at least working  free-lance as photographers? I've only liked a couple of pictures so far. I can't believe they went to that bustling market, full of vibrant produce and activity, and most of them took close up shots of workers. Where is the creativity?

In the fashion challenge, they again seemed to have a hard time directing their subjects and/or verbalizing what they want. There was a lot of dead air. When I am just doing a casual portrait, I probably give a couple hundred directions!  

Anyway, I like Rankin, but he was more fun when he showed up on "Glow Up," cuz he was more snarky there. He tries to be really supportive here, which is kind, but come on, some of these photos are lame! Of course, I don't want more tears, so maybe his approach is for the best. 

I'm okay with them not eliminating anyone now that I see it is obviously going to be about who grows the most throughout the competition.  

[ElectricBoogaloo]

On 6/1/2021 at 4:34 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

What I think the documentary assignment and the fashion assignment demonstrated this week is that as a photographer, you are going to have to communicate with people and some of them don't seem entirely comfortable with talking to people, giving them feedback, giving specific direction, etc.

Just wanted to add that I thought it was surprising (in a good way) that the bald guy (Paul?) who said he had major PTSD and is happiest when he's hiding in a blind for days waiting for an animal to come by so he can get a good shot ended up being very chatty with Anna Friel in an effort to get her relaxed. Based on what he'd said earlier, I thought he would be one of the silent photographers so it was nice to see him jump right in with some casual conversation.

Now that there have been several assignments that required them to talk to their subjects, it's obvious that some of them are not very good at giving direction or feedback. One girl kept telling Anna "love that!" which is positive but it's not very helpful. She said it like ten times in a row.

17 hours ago, TVbitch said:

He tries to be really supportive here, which is kind, but come on, some of these photos are lame! Of course, I don't want more tears, so maybe his approach is for the best. 

I thought it was kind of sweet to see Rankin and the creative director at the fashion shoot be so supportive of the photographers. They were very encouraging because it was obvious that a lot of them were uncomfortable or unsure. Then I thought about how bizarre it must be for the models to hear people cheering on the photographers.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S1.E3

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This week sees the six photographers challenged to capture the character of flowers in rural Herefordshire and the adrenalin of urban free running, and impress Rankin with a brand advertising assignment. The pressure is on!

Original air date: 6/7/21

[Aulty]

That was a really good episode which had everything I was ranting about last week.

The smartphone challenge was a bit underwhelming again, but the street photography task was quite interesting. Odd that most contestants didn't how to set up their camera properly for that environment. I liked Jacksons 90s skater style - very grunge - but man his lack of enthusiasm is getting a bit annoying. Paul really stood out because he knew what to do with his equipment - and I liked his photos.

Loved the concept and setup of the third challenge. Interesting briefs and products.
Why they were so hot for the picture of the bike in Picadilly is beyond me. The picture was alright, but the bike looked like an abandoned Boris bike. But good on Ali for learning a new technique.
The cacti pictures were straight off of Pinterest.

Edited June 8, 2021 by Aulty

[TVbitch]

I am also tired of Jackson's eeyore attitude and whining about being out of his comfort zone. Dude, you entered a photography competition meant to challenge you, and you knew you would not be doing only your stuff in your genre! Try to have fun and learn! 

I did not understand what the client or Rankin where on about in Paul's branding shot. It wasn't the most original concept, but Paul's shot with the dead flowers on one side and the cactus on the other would clearly illustrate the "which would you rather have" difference between cut flowers or a living cactus. Nestling the dead flowers around the cactus made no sense to me.

The bike photo would be cooler if they photoshopped it so the bike popped more. It's soft blue color got a bit lost among the lights. I can't believe the abstract guy picked the most boring photo to send over! 

The show is growing on me, and I'm happy to finish it out. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

My sister was a gymnast so I know enough about people being photographed while tumbling to have a very strong opinion on the parkour photos that were taken in this episode (mostly because I've seen a lot of bad gymnastics photos, and most of them were awful.

Saying that you were going for a 90s/00s skater aesthetic translates to "I don't know how to photograph humans in motion and I don't know how to photograph in low light so here are my shitty blurry low resolution pictures." And Jackson even said during the photo shoot that he didn't know what he was doing but if his pictures didn't turn out well, he would come up with an artsy excuse for why they weren't good.

How did Rankin and his team fall for Jackson's obviously bull shit excuse for having zero technical skills in this situation? At least Ali was honest during her critique and said that she had no idea what she was doing but that lucked into an okay photo. It helps that she also listened to the advice she was given. She specifically told the expert that she got some better photos after she listened to him and adjusted her settings. I thought Georgie's photos had more of the old school skater aesthetic that Jackson claimed he was going for.

I did appreciate this this week's expert made sure to give the contestants pointers about using a lower ISO and a higher shutter speed, which is more useful information that some of the past experts have shared. I found it kind of hilarious that Paul's expertise with wildlife photos really helped him with this challenge. It's no coincidence that the one person with the technical skills needed for this assignment produced the only photo that I really liked. Paul's photo of the parkour guy upside down was great.

Tyrone had a similar picture but the background was completely blacked out because he used his flash. As I said, my sister was a gymnast. I was a dancer. In both instances, photographers are NOT allowed to use flash in performance settings, so for that reason I disqualified Tyrone's photo. Technically, he wasn't told he couldn't use a flash but that's a pretty cardinal rule when shooting dancers and gymnasts.

The photographers really should have listened to this week's expert when he said to watch the athletes to get an idea for the timing of when to take photos because from the footage we were shown, they did the same 3 moves over and over.

Jackson's whining is getting annoying. When he complained that "everything's stacked against me" in the parkour challenge, I just rolled my eyes. Oh, boo hoo, you're being asked to do something that you don't know how to do. So it's the show's fault that you don't know how to shoot motion or low light? I know that all of the contestants have different photography backgrounds but if you're going into a competition, you should at least have a cursory knowledge of areas outside what you normally do. You don't have to be an expert in everything, but you also have to know that you might be asked to do things that you don't normally do.

I thought the client challenge was an interesting demonstration of how the photographers work. Part of me felt bad that Chelsea couldn't get the suits she wanted because it wasn't her fault that this challenge had such a compressed timeline (normally if you got hired for a campaign like this, you'd have more than 24 hours to get everything set up so you wouldn't be scrambling to get a special suit the day before), but she seemed so defeated. As Rankin pointed out, you can't just give up. Sometimes things don't work out the way you want and you have to roll with it and improvise in order to get the job done. You can be sad/annoyed/frustrated about it afterward but you can't let it interfere with finishing the task at hand. That's the difference between a professional and everyone else.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

SEASON FINALE!

S1.E4

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The photographers face three final assignments, including a wildcard challenge where they are given free rein to try and get one last extraordinary shot for their portfolios. They are also in Glencoe for a dramatic landscape challenge and, in a series finale, they must curate and mount what they hope will be a winning exhibition for the judges. Choosing a maximum of 15 images from the hundreds they’ve taken across the course of the series is a huge task in itself.

It’s all still to play for as any of the six photographers could nab the title if they impress Rankin and his fellow judges from the art and fashion world.

Original air date: 6/14/21

[GaT]

Well, that was disappointing. Two of my least favorites win. Plus, there's only 6 contestants, they couldn't pick just one winner? I was rooting for Paul. I don't know if I'll be back if there's a season 2, the episodes dragged to me.

[TVbitch]

I think the challenges picked up a lot in the last two episodes, so I do hope there is another season. The two bands they featured were delightful, and that location shoot was gorgeous. Jackson sure got the smile back on his face once the challenges fell into his wheelhouse. 

I found the final exhibition disappointing however. The judges had gone to great lengths to say it needed to be a proper exhibition that flowed and told a story, etc, but then when they judged it they just showed us a couple photos and told why this one or that one was so great. No review whatsoever of how any of the groupings worked or didn't work as far as selection, flow or presentation. Also, when they were talking to each contestant, the contestant was standing in front of another contestants photo wall which made things a bit confusing. 

And not that I want to see any of them torn down, but there was zero criticism in this last episode. I'm sorry but the band photo where everyone is draped in bits of vines was not good!

I actually thought Ali's work was great. They said she needed more technical experience, but if her photos were special, then why should that matter and exclude her from being up at the top. 

[GaT]

2 hours ago, TVbitch said:

I found the final exhibition disappointing however. The judges had gone to great lengths to say it needed to be a proper exhibition that flowed and told a story, etc, but then when they judged it they just showed us a couple photos and told why this one or that one was so great. No review whatsoever of how any of the groupings worked or didn't work as far as selection, flow or presentation. Also, when they were talking to each contestant, the contestant was standing in front of another contestants photo wall which made things a bit confusing.

I wondered how their photos could tell a story when at no time during the challenges did anyone say anything about photos from all the challenges having to go together. They were all just random photos.  Also, who decided which photos should be big & which should be small? They didn't say, & I think that makes a difference in how the exhibition looks. They should have gotten other people to judge, not the same people who have been looking at the photos & forming opinions. They should have gotten random people to come & decide which photos they liked best, like a real exhibition.

[TVbitch]

I actually thought the public might get to come to the exhibition and cast votes. Maybe they could not do that this year, but maybe in future non-COVID restricted series. Or maybe next year they could take 15 new photos that would be cohesive for their exhibition, thus demonstrating how they have learned and grown.