Emotional response

I like this image because It looks like a photograph that would have an interesting story or meaning behind it. I feel this way due to the almost sinister feel to the image. Lots of things help to create this atmosphere in the image, like for example how the image is quite dark and also how the man in the image is presented. His pose makes me feel that he may be quite evil, or thinking of something dark.

Visual

This image is really interesting visually too due to lots of aspects. Firstly, the long depth of field means that there is a lot going on in the photo, and it also means there is a lot of detail to notice, which means you are engaged for longer. The lighting also makes this photo successful as it is dark and adds to the mysterious feel of the photo, which also makes the figure look even scarier.

Context

The man in this portrait was Alfried Krupp. He was known for using slave labour to make weapons for the Nazis. Krupp contacted Newman for a portrait but later found out he was Jewish, he no longer wanted Newman  to take his photo. Newman insisted that he take the portraits, and showed Krupp his portfolio of images. After seeing his work, Krupp agreed to let Newman take the images. They both then went to one of Krupp’s factories, where Newman made sure to make Krupp look as evil as he possibly could. When Krupp saw the image he was very angry, and Newman said that as a Jew it was his “own little moment of revenge”.

concept

When I first saw this image, I got the sense that the man being photographed looked quite evil just by the techniques used and without knowing any context. Perhaps Newman was trying to create an underlying concept of trusting your initial feelings about things. I think this because Newman made sure he made Krupp looked sinister so we would all get a gut feeling that something wasn’t right about him, and when finding out the context it turned out to be correct.

As my first experimentation with portraiture didn’t produce many successful outcome I decided to do a 2nd photo shoot in order to get some better photographs. For this photo shoot I plan on taking pictures of my family all out together at a bonfire. I though this would be a good idea as It would be very interesting to capture a family environment dynamic in my images, rather than taking more photographs of people in work environments.

Contact sheet

My most successful outcomes

Analysing my images

Visually, this image is very successful for various reasons. Firstly, both the people are centered in the frame and they’re also both smiling while slightly engaging with the camera. Although they’re not fully looking at the camera, I think the image is still successful as it turned out to be a more candid shot. Another reason why this image is visually pleasing, is because of the emotion in the portrait. It is clear to see that they are both very happy, and their body language shows that they must be very fond of each other.

The technical elements of this image also helped to make It successful. This image was taken with a shutter speed of 1/100 meaning that it wasn’t extremely slow, but still allowing a good enough amount of exposure time for the image not to turn out very dark. I also used flash to take this image as it was dark outside, and I also set the white balance to flash so that the colouring would be accurate. I also used an f/5.6 so that the photo had a shallow depth of field, as I dint want the background to be too distracting.
Visually, I really like this image. In the frame you can see a male and a female with a child on her shoulders. I think that is a successful outcome as all three subjects are engaging well with the camera, and they are all well centered in the frame.

The technical side of the image was a bit more challenging for me as it was difficult to get good quality pictures in the dark while shooting manually. The ISO of this image was quite high, and the shutter speed was quite quick, around 1/250, but i had to be careful not to have it to quick as it would make my image turn out very overexposed. I also made sure to use flash, and to set the white balance to the flash setting also so that colours could be photographed as accurately as possible.

Evaluation

Overall I think this photoshoot was for more successful compared to my last one. This time I made sure to direct people more in order to capture the images I wanted, instead of just photographing them naturally. This meant that I had more images where the models were interacting with the camera, making the photographs more successful. I also think that the quality of the images were far better too. Although at the beginning it was very hard to shoot good quality images in the darkness while using manual settings, through trial and error I was able to find suitable settings to get me good quality images. I made sure to use a flash, and a fairly quick shutter speed of around 1/250, making sure that it wasn’t much slower or quicker so my images wouldn’t be blurry or underexposed, I also had my aperture set at around f/5 as I didn’t wanted to get a fairly long depth of field so that the surrounding environment could be seen in order to give the photos a bit more character and context, as I think that’s what truly makes an image appealing and interesting. However, next time I will experiment using a higher aperture as I think some images would also look nice with a shallow depth of field as it would mean that there would be more focus on the people as they would be the main focus of the photograph.

Here I will be editing the best outcomes from my previous photo shoot. Although these were my best images, I think that some are slightly over and under exposed so I plan to attempt to fix this by editing them on Photoshop.

Original image

Final outcome
To edit this photo I adjusted the curves so that it was slightly more saturated, as I thought this would make the overexposed white part at the bottom a little less noticeable, as the background colours would stand out a lot more. Doing that also brought down the brightness slightly, meaning that it also contributed to making sure the whiteness was less prominent. Lastly I also turned the hue and saturation right down so I was able to make the image black and white. I decided to make the image black and white instead of highly saturated for 2 reasons. Firstly, because I thought that if the image was in black and white, the overexposed part wouldn’t be as visible, and secondly, because I wanted to add an element into my image that shows I was slightly inspired by Sander as all his images were in black and white. I think this was a really good idea as it meant that I added a vintage touch into my modern day inspired environmental photography.

Original image

Final outcome

When looking at this photo, although it was far too underexposed I thought that it was an image with potential because of how the model was making intense eye contact with the camera. To edit it, I turned the brightness all the way up, so that the image wasn’t so dark. To make it fit in with my other image, and did the same technique that I mentioned previously and turned the hue and saturation all the way down to make the photo black and white.. I think that the intense stare that the model is giving, combined with a black and white filter makes the image far more successful as it makes it more dramatic and mysterious.

August Sander was a German photographer who was born November 17, 1876 in Germany and died April 20, 1964. He got his first camera in 1892, and began taking up photography as a hobby then, after completing his military service time he eventually took up photography professionally.  In the 20s, after his service in World War 1 his friendship circle included painters and photographers who were part of the “Neue Sachlichkeit”, which was the “new objectivity movement” where artists began to move away from expressionism to capture things more realistically. He was known for documenting different types of German people by capturing portraits that represented different groups of people rather than representing the individual. One of the most interesting parts of his portraits, is how each photo has interesting context and meaning behind it. When the Nazis came to power in 1933, Sanders work was disapproved. Much of his work including his negatives were ruined either by looters or by air raids. During this time he moved away from portraiture to things less controversial like landscapes.

August Sander mood board

Analysing his images

The context behind this image is what makes it stand out to me. This image was taken in the 1930s, and captures a blind miner and a blind soldier sitting on a bench. The context helps make this image really successful as it shows that Sander captured people in everyday and realistic situations, showing realism. The realism captured, helps attract the audience to the image as they can relate to it more.

The visual elements of the image are also really interesting. in the image we see 2 blind men sitting on a bench, as I mentioned previously but what makes this image visually interesting is the fact that it was not taken in a “perfect” setting, and it could be considered quite “messy”. The audience can clearly see how the wire gate behind the 2 men is quite scruffy, and also uneven, and you can also notice how the floor is also quite unclean. Normally, these qualities would mean that an image would be quite unattractive, but in this case it helps make the image very successful. Because the image doesn’t look perfectly polished and staged, it helps depict a real life situation, This helps make the photo more attractive to an audience because it allows them to see a real story behind an image and not a fake reality, which is something not normally seen in modern portraiture, where a lot of effort usually goes into making everything look picture perfect.

The technical elements, although not incredibly important, also help make this image further interesting. The image appears to be taken in a well lit area, which means that the image is very clear.

The context of this portrait is also very interesting. This is a portrait of a political prisoner that was taken in 1943, which would mean this was captured during World War 2. This portrait is very interesting because without the background information it would just be a regular photo of a man, however knowing information about who is in the image, instantly makes it more interesting. This is because learning about this person, means that we instantly feel more empathy toward the photo and it becomes more meaningful as it reveals a personality.

Visually, The image doesn’t do too much to attract attention as without the background information, it is just a regular photograph of a man. However, the subject is well placed in the frame so no unnecessary background is visible, meaning the audience can focus more on the person.

Conceptually, this picture is also very interesting. This photo shows how someone who looks so ordinary, can actually be very unique and have an interesting backstory. This photo could teach people not to be so judgemental and to not judge someone by how they look.

1st photoshoot intentions

From Sanders’ images it has became clear that he captured people in their everyday environments. My intention for my photoshoot is to also capture someone in their regular environment, but in the modern day. I plan to take photographs of my friend while she is working. As I want the images to look realistic -like Sanders’ photos- I will need to be using a quick shutter speed as I wont be able to stop her to pose. I will also have to capture a large amount of images, as it is likely that not very many of them will be too successful as they will be taken quickly and on the spot. I also plan on not making the images look very polished, and perfect in regards to the background and things in the frame, as I like how Sanders’ images look more realistic when they haven’t been perfectly planned.

Contact sheet

Best outcomes

Overall, I think my photoshoot went well however it could’ve gone better. Next time, I want to focus more on having the subject interact with the camera more as I think this way, I would get more successful images. These were the 2 best outcomes of my photoshoot. I like these images as they depict life, working as a waitress.

Visually I like the first image as you can clearly see that prior to it being taken, the model was busy making coffee, and this makes the image look a lot less planned, therefore making it more realistic.

Technically, however I think that I could’ve changed my camera settings in order to make the image look better. For example, I think the image looks slightly dark. Next time I think it would be a good idea to put the ISO higher in order to make the lighting better. On the other hand, I think that the shutter speed used was successful as it allowed me to capture the image very quickly with minimal distraction to the model

Another reason that I like this image is due to a potential underlying concept. The image was taken very quickly, just as the model looked at me and you can see that there is a lot captured in the frame, like the till and the board that has been written on to her right. All these ‘distractions’ along with the image being taken quickly, and along with the fact the model is multitasking by attempting to make coffee and looking into the camera, it shows how modern working life can be really hectic and busy.

Visually, I think this photo is quite pleasing as it uses the rule of thirds, with the model on the first third of the image. Although the model isn’t directly looking at the camera, you can still see part of her face. It is also clear that she is working, making the photo more realistic and therefore a lot more interesting to look at.

On the technical side of the image, I think it could have been improved. I think that the image turned out too bright. I think it would’ve turned out better if the ISO  was turned down slightly, to darken it a bit more. This photo was taken with a quick shutter speed, meaning that I was able to capture it quite quickly, as the model wasn’t posed like this for long.

mood board of types of portraits

Portraiture can be done in several different ways. Its important to pick the type that’s most appropriate according to what your responding to. Below is a mood board showing different styles of portraiture suitable for different occasions.