Portraiture: the aim

 

Portraiture can be obscure. It can be taken and interpreted in different ways to fit the viewers state of mind. Sometimes the actual image can have a vague meaning, luring you in to construe the ideas in your own way. Others are more up front and obvious about what the photograph means and what it is trying to say.

 

 

The different types of portraiture:

  • traditional portraits

Traditional or Classical portraiture would refer to an photograph where the face is the predominant element

  • environmental portraits

The term Environmental Portrait refers to a photograph where the subject is photographed in the person’s natural environment.

  • candid portraits

A candid portrait is taken without a subject expecting or acknowledging the photographer.

  • surreal portraits

Surreal Portraits are created to emphasize the other reality. A depiction of a person’s interpreted subconscious mind.

  • conceptual portraits

Conceptual Portrait refers to images where concept adds a fourth dimension. The hidden meaning of the concept will leave the viewer guessing as it is often open for interpretation

  • abstract portraits

a means of depicting a visual image that does not have an immediate association with the object world and that has been created through the use of photographic equipment, processes or materials.

 

MOOD BOARD

 

 

 

 

Street Photography

STREET PHOTOGRAPHY

Street photography is also known as candid photography but they are very different. Street photography feature unmediated chance encounters and random incidents within public places. Street photography doesn’t have to have a street present within it or even an urban environment. It can focus on people and their behaviors in public, it is similar to social documentary as you are capturing people in their natural state. A street photographer can be seen as an extension of the flâneur. A  flâneur is a french noun that is an act of strolling with all of its accompanying associations. It is to “wander with no purpose”.

Examples of street photography;

 

CANDID PHOTOGRAPHY

Candid photography is a photo captured without creasing a posed appearance. Photos like these can be achieved in many ways such as, when the subject is moving, avoiding prior preparation with the subject, by surprising the subject or by not being a distraction to the subject during the process of taking the photos. The photographer has to work with the lighting they are presented with and the environment they are in.  When taking a candid photo camera are normally quite small and black as it avoids disturbing the subject.

Here are examples of candid photography;

BRUCE GILDEN 

Bruce Gilden is a well known American street photographer who captured close ups of people on the streets of New York. Gilden didn’t care if he annoyed people out on the street whilst taking his photos, he had the confidence to take a photo and carry on with his day even if he had to deal with conflict from the people in his photos. He used flash whilst taking these photos, to really help capture the detail and facial expression of his subject. His images are also in black and white which really draws attention to the subjects facial expressions and what they look like. Gilden photographed a variety of different people to show the type of people around New York. Here are a few of his photos that I enjoyed looking at;

 

IMAGES FROM MY EXPERIMENTATION WITH STREET PHOTOGRAPHY

I didn’t enjoy street photography as I found it awkward and uncomfortable of taking candid photos of strangers. Also when taking most of my photos I struggled to get the sharp focused images, so most of my images where blurry, along with either too dark or over exposed. This experiment gave me a feel of a different type of genre of photography and has taught me different techniques.

MY FINAL IMAGE

EVALUATION

Taking street photography was very nerve-raking as you had to take photos of strangers, and some of them may have not wanted you too. The struggles I had during this shoot as trying to get steady images that were in focus and sharp ,whilst maintaining the correct settings, this was hard as I was always on the go, quickly trying to snap something before the moment was too late. I found street photography pressurizing but it was lots of fun.

Street Photography – Introduction

Street Photography

Street Photography, known also by the name candid photography are genres of photography which involves random incidents and chance encounters on public places/streets. Street Photographers can be seen as Flâneur (an observer of the streets).

‘Flâneur, from the French noun flâneur, means “stroller”, “lounger”, “saunterer”, or “loafer”. Flânerie is the act of strolling, with all of its accompanying associations.’

Framing and timing are some of the key aspects of this craft, with the aim of some street photography being to create images at a decisive or moving moment. Street Photography mainly focuses on people’s behavior which in turn also records people’s character and history. This genre of photography can be seen as relating to social documentary photographers and journalists who also work in public places and mean to capture newsworthy events.

Here are some examples of Street Photography:

MEXICO. Mexico City. Prostituées. Calle Cuauhtemoctzin. 1934.

Youtube videos on tips for beginners and what Street Photography is:

16. Street photography:

“If your photos aren’t good enough, then you’re not close enough” – Robert Capa

“I love the people I photograph. I mean, they’re my friends. I’ve never met most of them or I don’t know them at all, yet through my images I live with them.” – Bruce Gilden

“When you photograph people in color, you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in Black and white, you photograph their souls!”
― Ted Grant

     

Street Photography Introduction

What is candid photography?:

Candid photography is the process of capturing an image without posing the subject beforehand. it usually captures a subject in their natural environment, behaving as they normally would with little to no engagement with the camera.

Candid photography helps to convey to the viewer what it is like to be in that environment, and gives a realistic perspective of what it would be like to be in that place at that time. It is the most natural form of photography available, as it requires very little preparation, and simply makes use of the situation already occurring.

The following images are professional examples of candid photography:

By: Maxphotographic.com
By: https://www.iamlivingit.com/photography/candid-photography
By: Rob Cartwright
By: https://www.glassdoor.co.uk/Photos/Studio-31-Office-Photos-IMG1973125.htm

Street Photography:

“Photography is about finding out what can happen in the frame. When you put four edges around some facts, you change those facts.” – Garry Winogrand

“If you can smell the street by looking at the photo, its a street photo.” – Bruce Gilden

“The marvels of daily life are exciting; no movie director can arrange the unexpected that you find in the street.” – Robert Doisneau

“I really believe there are things nobody would see if I didn’t photograph them.” – Diane Arbus

“I photograph to find out what something will look like photographed.” -Garry Winogrand

Street photography involves capturing images of individuals who are not aware that the photograph is being taken, in public settings. As apposed to the more vague definition of candid photography, street photography often occurs in specifically urban settings, with more noise and action occurring in a single image, and with less specific subjects (the subjects arrive by chance/ the photographer doesn’t control who they are). Street photography is used by many artists to encapsulate the genuine emotions of everyday people, using a snap shot to give a detailed visual description of a moment in an average day, that many viewers would relate to .

The following are examples of street photographs taken by professional photographers:

 

What is an environmental portrait?

What is an environmental portrait?

It has the same idea as a standard portrait, but this time the photograph is normally taken where your subject spends most of their time. Often, its somewhere relevant to that particular persons passions and interests in their life. For example if you were to photograph an artist you would capture them whilst in their working environment, i.e. their studio and take picture of them working. In addition there are hundred and hundred of different types of environmental portrait all capture different feelings and different ideas. Although for this to classify as a environmental portrait its essential that the subject is making clear eye contact with the camera whist doing the action of their work. This is a key point for the photograph to count as an environmental portrait. A good portrait should bring out the subjects personality in a stylized way, it should be an exaggeration.

For example:

Giovanni Pietrobon, Sculptor

Other examples:

Image result for famous environmental portraits

Image result for famous environmental portraits

Image result for famous environmental portraits

Environmental portrait mood board:

Ideas for environmental portraits:

  • Who- will this effect the feeling of my images
  • where- location, whether, time of day
  • occupation- what job do they do, whats their specific environment
  • Is it important to them?
  • Why might it be importation to them?
  • does it represent them and their character?
  • Is this effected by the opinion they have of themselves and what other people opinions?

 

Editing my images

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.

Street photography moodboard

I have chosen to go in the direction of either strong shapes (e.g. buildings) or showing people’s lives either in commute or their workplace.

However, I haven’t yet decided if I’m going to follow the common theme of making the photos black & white as I think leaving the colour in the photo will help it be both more eye catching, as well as helping portray certain aspects such as colours wearing out (which you can’t see in black & white).

Street Photography

Image result for street photographyImage result for street photographyImage result for street photographyImage result for street photography

“Be yourself. I much prefer seeing something, even it is clumsy, that doesn’t look like somebody else’s work.” – William Klein

 “There is a creative fraction of a second when you are taking a picture. Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera. That is the moment the photographer is creative. Oop! The Moment! Once you miss it, it is gone forever.”- Henri Cartier-Bresson

“I love the people I photograph. I mean, they’re my friends. I’ve never met most of them or I don’t know them at all, yet through my images I live with them.” – Bruce Gilden

Threshold Concept #7

Photographs are not fixed by meaning, context is everything.
The meanings of photographs are never fixed, are not contained solely within the photographs themselves and rely on a combination of the viewer’s sensitivity, knowledge and understanding, and the specific context in which the image is seen.