Lauren Jackson April 11, 2013 Dummy Book Response The feedback from the responses on my dummy book was very helpful and definitely gave me a new perspective on my work. I received advice on everything from layout, to sequencing, to thematic concepts. The first suggestion I received was to potentially make the book smaller, because the topic is intimate. I am taking this suggestion seriously, as it was something I was also considering before. The 10� by 8� book ended up being larger than I had originally thought. Although it will be somewhat smaller than my dummy book (because I did not trim the excess paper) I still feel like the book could be more interesting significantly smaller. The clarity of the smaller images on an alternative spread I presented was also better liked. Another suggestion was to consider what I am portraying by my opening layout. The dummy book does not actually open with the spread I intend for it to open with. I am actually going to use an outdoor scene to open with, and an outdoor scene to end with. Because of the positioning of the bodies in the opening and end spreads, they will bookend the spreads well. I do think I will more carefully consider the placement of my indoor shots though. One person pointed out the fact that using non-natural items in the indoor shots somewhat changes the theme. This is something I had considered and feared. There were simply not enough natural objects, and I eventually realized I liked the idea of man-made object emulating nature. I think when there is more than one non-natural object there will be less confusion. Overall, the process was very helpful. The suggestions and criticisms were nicely balanced with praises that helped me to feel that my book is progressing in a positive way. I plan to take some of the suggestions to heart and potentially alter my book in ways to improve the
overall layout and theme.