I would describe identity as being a person’s personality and character, but i can also involve a person’s gender,geographical location, political views and social standing. Identity also encompasses one’s culture and this can be influenced depending on someone’s social or geographical location, or their place.
Editing Process:
1. Original image opened in Adobe Photoshop.
2. First I used the “curves” to change the tonality of the image and to create highlights, low lights and increase contrast.
3. I then used the “black & white” feature to take the colour out of the image and cause the mask to stand out from the black hoodie and darker grey background.
4. I then added a tint from the colour library in the “black & white” menu to add subtle tint to the image
5. I repeated step 2, adjusting the curves after having set the image to black and white to ensure the image had slightly more extreme levels of contrast than I wanted.
6. Finally, I used the “brightness/contrast” function to actually decrease the “contrast” as i found this resulted in the shadows on the mask being smoother.
7. I repeated these steps for all 4 of my final images from this shoot.
Final Edits:
Editing Process:
1. Original image opened in Adobe Photoshop.
2. I began with the “spot healing brush tool” in order to clear the skin of any blemishes or marks.
3. Then I used the “blur tool” in order to minimise pores and smooth out the skin to make hiding features easier.
4. I selected the “lasso tool” and cut out a smooth area of the face with minimal amounts of colour differences so the cut out area is not noticable after blending.
5. Using “ctrl+J” and “ctrl+T” I resized and re-positioned the cut out area over the mouth. Then selecting “flatten image” to allow me to start blending out the border between the image and the cut out
6. Using a combination of “spot healing brush tool“, “healing brush tool” and “blur tool” I blended the cut out area in with the image to create a face without a mouth or noticeable editing lines or patches.
7. I then repeated steps 4-6 to cover the nose.
8. I selected the “black & white” feature, increasing the brightness of reds to create a paler complexion and help separate the face from the black background.
9. Finally I used the “sharpen tool” on the eyes to cause them to stand out more and bring the face together.
Final Edits:
place
noun
the fact of being who or what a person or thing is.
2.a close similarity or affinity
gender identity
noun
a person's perception of having a particular gender, which may or may not correspond with their birth sex.
1.Cultural identity is the identity or feeling of belonging to a group. It is part of a person's self-conception and self-perception and is related to nationality, ethnicity, religion, social class, generation, locality or any kind of social group that has its own distinct culture. In this way, cultural identity is both characteristic of the individual but also of the culturally identical group of members sharing the same cultural identity or upbringing.1.Social identity is one's sense of self as a member of a social group (or groups). Sociologists use the concept of social identity to explain how people understand who they are and why they do what they do.
1. An individual or group's sense of attachment to the country, region, city, or village in which they live. 2. The key characteristics with which a particular country, region, city, or village is associated.
1.politics in which groups of people having a particular racial, religious, ethnic, social, or cultural identity tend to promote their own specific interests or concerns without regard to the interests or concerns of any larger political group lack of / loss of identity
Action Plan:
My Response:
Best Images:
Action Plan:
My Response:
Best Images:
Looking at experimentation with in portraiture
I have decided to focus again on studio work because i find it is easy to control the variables that effect my final image out come.
When using a full studio lighting set, I was working on looking at the contrast of light and Dark and over exposure and under exposure. Also how different lights give different effects and meanings behind photos. Also I was looking at creating shadows and trying to make alive shadow with a second figure behind.
This is working on traditional portraits and lighting with a plane white or black back ground. My aim was to draw attention to the faces and make them the focal point of the picture. Worked with different angle making the focal point more to the right or left to offset the image and give it more visual interest and intrigue.
All of these images are playing upon the ideas of light and dark making the image actually contrast itself through the characters. This contrast of light and dark characters plays on the ideology of good and bad. These images are completely unedited, when I edit them I feel like the images are going to be more effective and have more of a visual impact.
Also of these images are playing upon the concepts of doubles and shadows. Looking at using color filters over the Red head/ spot lights. This creates a creepy underwater kind of theme to the image. The last image of this set is my favorite creating a ghostly double exposure feel to the image. This image was not actually a double exposure it was just done with two models and a low sutter speed to create movement with the surrounding outsides of the images while keeping the faces in focus.
These images were taken using a ring light to create a brighter more ghostly light. Where as the soft box lights create more of a over all surrounding light which is warmer and has less of a directed focus. That why I chose to use a ring light because it works more on the light that is already preset and brightening it up . Also the ring light gives more of a crisp bright contract from the background.
Francesca Woodman is best known for photographing herself. She is usually seen half hidden; sometimes by furniture or by slow exposures that blur her figure into a ghostly presence. She photographed herself in empty interiors. The images convey an underlying sense of human fragility. The fragility is exaggerated by the fact that the photographs are printed on a very small scale; they seem personal and intimate.
Francesca Woodman’s entire body of work was produced as a young person and created over eight years. Her photographs explore many themes that affect young people such as relationships, sexuality, questions of self, body image, alienation, isolation and confusion or uncertainty about personal identity.
Francesca distorts reality into a surreal fantasy by squeezing herself behind mantelpieces or into small cupboards. She hides herself by pulling wallpaper over herself like a blanket. She often seems to be retreating into the material of the building. This makes her seem vulnerable, isolated and alienated.
She continuously explored and tested what she could do with photography. She manipulated light, movement and photographic effects and used carefully selected props, clothing and decaying interiors to add a mysterious and gothic atmosphere to the work.
Identity – In psychology, identity is the qualities, beliefs, personality, looks and/or expressions that make a person (self-identity) or group (particular social category or social group). Categorizing identity can be positive or destructive. A psychological identity relates to self-image (one’s mental model of oneself), self-esteem, and individuality -Wikipedia
My initial instinct thoughts about identity and place are very varied. Personally, I am being drawn to lack of/loss of identity, due to the nature of being able to heavily experiment with props and photoshop. I feel that I would be able to express clear view points about loosing an identity through my photography. Moreover, I am also liking the idea of social identity as I would be able to explore more serious topics which are relevant to todays society. Although this would provide many opportunity’s, I feel I would be able to produce a stronger outcome and more in-depth if I went down the loss of identity root.
Loss of Identity:
The identity of a person is the characteristics they have that distinguish them from others. One’s identity can be influenced by many factors such as place, belonging, environment or upbringing. Identity can be explored through multiple forms, especially through photography, and many photographers have expressed their identity through their work.
Gender identity: how a person sees themselves. Only the individual can determine their own gender identity. Many people have a gender identity of a man or woman, but some people do not. People who do not identify as a man or a woman may identify as both genders, neither, between genders, or not gendered at all.
Cultural identity: the identity or feeling of belonging to a group. It is part of a person’s self conception and self perception and is related to nationality, ethnicity, religion, social class, generation, locality or any kind of social group that has its own distinct culture.
Social identity: how we identify ourselves in relation to others according to what we have in common.
Geographical identity: An individual or group’s sense of attachment to the country, region, city or village in which they live.
Political identity: a specific political party affiliation or partisan identity. Political identity can be shaped by race. Another possible factor that shapes political identity can be economic class.
Lack of / loss of identity: People who have no idea who they are or what they believe in. Sometimes they say that they simply feel non existent
After looking at the work of Peter Kennard, I was inspired to also make montages that express my opinions and views on political matters that are currently happening in the world.
This photo montage about Brexit. In the background I put an image of anti-brexit protesters, and covered it with an image of Theresa May, a faded EU flag and newspaper headlines. The fact that the protesters are being covered by the other layers, symbolises how their views are being neglected and not particularly cared about. The faded EU flag is symbolic in showing how, little by little, Britain is no longer fully part of the European Union and continues to make plans to leave. The particular image of May that I chose, displays her looking rather confused and not particularly sure in what shes doing as this represents that fact that some people view her as not being a good enough leader to take Britain out of the EU on successful terms as the the UK’s economy and social stability may be effected by the decision for Britain to leave the EU. The newspaper headings contrast hugely with the expression on May’s face, as 2 of them show quotes where she sounds like a strong, and capable leader. This contrast represents the fact that many people are divided on whether or not Brexit is a positive thing or not. The third newspaper headline is a negative one showing the other side of the argument.
For this next photo montage I wanted to do something more creative and fun. For this montage I used an image i took of someone sitting down, and i also used a picture I took of the same model’s arm. I duplicated the arm several times and changed the colours. I then used a galaxy background from google. There is no specific underlying concept within this image, but i think its a very interesting montage just because it looks very unusual and unrealistic.
