What is Tableaux Vivants?

CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO TATE DEFINITION

A tableau vivant (often shortened to tableau, plural: tableaux vivants), French for ‘living picture’, is a static scene containing one or more actors or models. They are stationary and silent, usually in costume, carefully posed, with props and/or scenery, and may be theatrically lit.

Tableau Ideas and Starting points

• re-create or re-enact an existing story-based photograph or painting, or scene from a film or even an album cover
• You could …illustrate a poem, story, song lyrics, fable, moral, mythology, legend, dream etc
• You could portray…one or more of The Ten Commandments
• You could elaborate on…one or more of The Seven Deadly Sins

             Tableau Photography is staged. Think of it like theatre.

              Tableau Photography is dependent on a defined NARRATIVE, theme or storyline

Blog Post 1 / TASK 1 .(extend and complete for homework)

1. You must develop and PLAN a story / part of a story that involves at least 1 x character.
2. You could / should explore gender roles, masculinity, forms of social commentary, sexism, feminism, equality, isolation, belonging, alienation, disenchantment, political agendas, hierarchies, power, status, imperialism, bullying, environmental concerns etc
3. Include props, backgrounds, costumes and outfits and mise en scene that connects to your theme somehow.
4. Introduce symbolism and metaphor in your image(s) and produce a series of images (like stills from a film)
5. You may want use the lighting studio…or experiment with suitable locations (connect the location to the theme / storyline)

Final Outcomes : a choice of

1. 3-5 photographs that clearly show your understanding of TABLEAU and STAGED REALITY
2. GIFS / TIME LAPSE / SLOW-MO
3. STOP FRAME ANIMATIONS
4. A SHORT FILM (can include sound , soundtrack)

Blog Post 2 / TASK 2 (minimum 1 x blog post)

1.  Choose a Tableau photographer to research from the list below
2. Analyse and evaluate a key image by your chosen artist : A CASE STUDY
3. Demonstrate creative links to your own idea

COMPLETE TABLEAU UNIT BY FRIDAY 14th DECEMBER

Example 1 :

Just a few notes on DiCorcia’s working methodology:

• Dicorcia’s work is a mixture of documentary and staged tableaux for which he is best known
• Well known for his use of lighting in street photography
• While shooting Hustlers, he paid his subjects, causing controversy in the photographic community
• DiCorcia only plans / stages his photographs up to a point and then relies on something unexpected to happen
• He does digitally manipulate some of his images by removing or adding items
• He does not direct people
• Very often he does not know his subjects
• He usually has his camera on a tripod
• Sets his photos up so that the viewer can assert his/her own interpretation to the image – open narrative

DiCorcia has no patience for visual passivity. “I’ve been trying to create photographs in which the emotional and psychological content is time-released… From the very beginning, I was fighting against this media-created idea that imagery is so disposable that it’s exhausted within a very short amount of time.” His tendency is to slow time down, an apprehension that has nothing to do with entropy. Instead, it is a seduction into the act of looking.

Example 2 : 

• He uses a large format camera and tripod
• He uses polaroids for planning out his scenes
• Draws inspiration from iconic Victorian paintings and recreates the scenes in a contemporary setting
• Infuses the mood of the Victorian paintings into his modern industrial settings
• His work is socially aware and pays tribute to art history
• He uses well known art motifs in his work, e.g. the window as in Vermeer’s paintings
• His portraiture pays tribute to the Dutch Renaissance and pre-Raphaelite master painters
• He simulates similar colours and tones as those used by Vermeer
• His portraits are of the disenfranchised people living close to the margins of society
• His work is a blend of fictional and factual
• He most often replicates Vermeer’s methods of portraiture:

… amongst the art historical references glimpsed within Hunter’s oeuvre, the voyeurism of Vermeer is most discernible. Subjects are often shown full figure, in private spheres (e.g. sites of domesticity), and set in the mid-ground in order to include something of their environment.

Birch, Tim

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You must show that you know and understand that…

Tableau Photography makes use of symbolism and metaphor.

Allegorical paintings / photographs contain metaphor and symbolism

Pictorialist Photography was the starting point for  Tableaux art

Narrative is vital to successful tableau / staged reality

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here are some examples that could inspire your own ideas…

Research each of these examples…

 

 

Historical / Contextual Example :

The Raft of The Medusa…Theodore Gericault

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/becoming-modern/romanticism/romanticism-in-france/v/g-ricault-raft-of-the-medusa-1818-19

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Ensure you have enough evidence of…

1. moodboards
2. mindmaps
3. case studies (artist references)
4. action plans
5. photoshoots + contact sheets (annotated)
6. appropriate selection and editing techniques
7. presentation of final ideas and personal responses
8. analysis and evaluation of process
9. compare and contrast to a key photographer
10. critique / review / reflection of your work

In contrast to studio photography, where there is artificial lighting used, we can used a natural source of lighting to light up the subject of the photograph. In this case we used windows around the school to light up the model. Instead of using three point lighting, we used reflectors which help to light up the opposite side of the model which is darker, to eliminate a contrast in tonal regions. For this photo shoot I used a quick shutter speed, a low ISO to reduce the noise found in the photograph, a large aperture and had a large depth of field. With regard to editing I am going to focus on leveling the images and adjusting the curves, making the edits simple like the idea and aim of this photo shoot.

• Intensity of the light – An intense lighting source is very harsh, and allows the subject of the photograph to be illuminated. If using a one point lighting rig with intense lighting, we are able to choose what parts of the subject to light up.
• Direction of the light – Changing the direction of the light helps to illuminate different areas of the subject. Having the light at the back creates a silhouette surrounding the subject, making them stand out from the background. The light at the front will usually light up the whole of the subject. A light source from the side of the subject will only light up one side of the subject creating a chiarascuro effect. Finally we can position the light up towards the ceiling which will diffuse the light and scatter the light back down on the subject
• Temperature of the light and white balance – The temperature of the light is used to help create an emotional response between the viewer and the subject. A cold light is usually more of a white light, the white balance to be used is likely to be cloudy which warms up the photograph but you can change this if you want to stay with the cold effect. and a warm light is a more of a yellow light. The white balance to go with this is likely to be florescent
• Using reflectors  – A reflector is used to reflect the light source onto a part of the subject. With regards to natural lighting we use reflectors to make the subject equally lit.
• Using diffusers – Diffuses are used to make a harsh light much softer.  To diffuse the lights we can use tracing paper, colored gels or purchasing a diffuse.
• High Key / low key lighting – High key lighting is essentially trying to over expose things. The ISO is likely to be higher and the white balance is altered in order to make everything lighter. To achieve this the lighting is usually harsh and cold.This works well on a white background. In contrast, low key lighting consists of a lot of contrasts and shadows. and its usually dark. The lighting is usually softer and use diffuses, typically this works well using a black background.

Contact Sheets

Edits

These three photographs I would consider to be the top images from this photoshoot. I have been able to use a natural light source in order to capture these images. I have also be able to use a reflector to help light up the other side of my models face.

This photograph was taken at a window, where the most light was found within the school. The main focus point of the photograph is the model who is located on the right side of the frame. The left side of the frame is slightly out of focus meaning the depth of field is smaller and and aperture was low when taking the photograph. I wanted the viewers to still be able to see the background as I felt that it added context towards my image. In this image a reflector was not used which means the left side of her face is lit up and the right side is slightly darker, creating a contrast in tonal areas. The formal elements which are clearly presented are texture, found on the models clothes and hair, and space as negative space is found in the background of the image. The model is looking directly at the lens with a neutral facial expression, her right hand is supporting her face. This creates an emotional response, it shows that she is bored or trapped and that she is next to the outside world that she potentially can not get to. This photograph I would say is my most successful image as it allows the viewers to make their own opinion about why the model is the way she is, making them involved with the image. Moreover I believe it clearly illustrates my skills of natural lighting photography and provides a contrast between studio and natural photography.

An important aspect of studio photography is the artificial lighting that is used. The lighting used helps to present an emotional responses by the viewers of the audience, it also allows the focal point of the image much clearer. Another reason why artificial lighting is important is the fact it adds temperature to the photograph, the harsher the light the warmer the atmosphere of the image, making it seem more cheerful. In studio photography there are four different types of studio lighting:

• Flat Light – This is when the light source is facing directly at the subject of the image, meaning the subject is well lit, and all emphasis is on the whole subject. This light source creates a full shadow of the subject in the image.
• Split Light – A light source which is provided at the side of the subject, which makes half of the subject lit up and the rest fading into darkness, this is where the photographer can clearly show their main focal point
• Back Light – The light source is found at the back of the subject which helps to create a semi-silhouttes creating a contrast in like and dark in the frame of the image.
• Flash – Producing a flash of artificial light (typically 1/1000 to 1/200 of a second) at a color temperature of about 5500 K to help illuminate a scene.
• One Point Lighting – This is when the photographer will only use one light, which is considered to be the ‘key light’. This singular light is used to emphasis certain aspects of the subject. Usually this light is likely to be a soft box as it turns a powerful light source into a more diffused light.
• Two Point Lighting – This is also known as the cross lighting technique and is mainly used in interviews. The first light is used to show highlights and shadows. The secondary light is known as the fill-light which is used to eliminate the shadows and allow the whole subject to be lit up. This light source is found directly opposite the key light source.
• Three Point Lighting – This is the black light, which is placed behind the subject. Its purpose is to provide definition and subtle highlights around the subject’s outlines. This helps separate the subject from the background and provide a three-dimensional look.
• Chiaroscuro Tehnique – This technique is used to create contrast between the lighting on the subject. Normally, the light source is used to illuminate one side of the face leaving the other side in darkness. To create this affect the key light is place next to the subject, on the side and a black background is used.

John Rankin

Rankin is a British photographer who is well known for capturing images of celebrities in a studio. During his careers he and his friend created a magazine where they would be able to promote their photography. Not only has his work appeared in his own magazine but also in Vogue and GQ, making his images reach out towards the younger generation.

This photograph is apart of Rankin’s destroy series, where he would capture photographs of celebrities attempting to show their emotions and personality through costume, props and makeup. He would then print out the images and hand them to the celebrities to make it their own. It was then the celebrity job to destroy, colour stitch, do whatever they wanted to the image to express their personality. Conceptually, Rankin wanted to outline the importance that no one is perfect, even if we are famous we are not perfect, which outlines issues in todays society. When first viewing this photograph I am drawn to the fact that the model has her eyes closed and has her head facing downwards, which could present her emotional state at this time as negative. The use of the plain red background is also used to help support this idea. The necklace found around her neck could be considered as something trapping her, thus she attempts to try and take away her life. The lighting used to capture the photograph seems to be three point lighting as all of the model is well lit up, having no shadows or contrast in tones. I would consider texture and  line to be the formal elements within the image, these can be found through the stitching of the image and through the different materials of clothing. The ISO in this image is likely to be low as there is no noise found within the image. Moreover, the image is not completely bright meaning the shutter speed is likely to be fast. Moreover, the whole frame of the image is in focus, suggesting that the aperture is likely to be high and informs us that the image has a large depth of field. In this example of Rankin’s work we can see the celebrity has ripped up the photograph and sown it back together using black thread, making this element clearly  visible. This could show that at this time her life is being ripped apart but slowly and surely she is sowing it back together to gain a better life. This photograph is presented in colour which eliminates a high contrast in tonal regions, allowing the three point lighting to clearly be shown. The image is taken at a straight on angle with the subject located in the foreground of the image, making her the main focus point. I believe Rankin’s work clearly shows elements of studio photography but with his own twist, making his work successful. I enjoy looking at his destroy series as I found them visually stimulating and makes you grasp an understanding of what life is truly like for the celebrity.

Plan

I will be conducting this photoshoot inside of the schools photography studio. I will be using the white infinite wall and the black curtain as the backgrounds. The lights being used will mainly be a soft box and a normal harsh light. With regards to camera settings I will be having my ISO roughly around 400-800 and my shutter speed will be around 1/100. The white balance will be put onto tungsten and I will be using a manual focus. I will be looking at using the different techniques listed above to put the theory of studio photography into practice. Moreover, I will be keeping the editing simple I will be levelling the images and adjusting the curves to make the image to be sharper.

Contact Sheets 

Edits

This outcomes are very successful considering it is my first attempt at studio photography. Due to the success of this first photoshoot, in studio photography, I decided to conduct another photoshoot where I would look at different aspects of studio photography. I will be using filters and props within this new photoshoot in order to gain more meaningful outcomes. I will be redoing my Chiaroscuro technique images as the original images where not as sharp as I would have liked them to be.

Contact Sheets

Edits

I am very pleased with the way these outcomes have turned out from this new photoshoot. I have been able to successfully show the chiaroscuro technique. I have also been able to use props and light filters in order to create an emotion for the models