For the first shoot in my personal study I decided to use low-key lighting to create the sense of being lost, as there is no clear mise-en-scene. I used a 24-105mm lens, but kept the focal length at 105mm for most of the photos as I liked the ‘flat’ look that it gave the images which a wider focal length would not have captured as well. I also used the widest aperture which was f/4 so I could play around with focus more in some of my images. Shutter speed was between 1/100 – 1/160 sec for most of my multiple exposures, and 8 seconds for the slow shutter speed images. In some ways this shoot was inspired by the work of Lief Sandberg, however I intend to make more of a response to his work in my 2nd photoshoot. However, I decided to use multiple exposures and slow shutter speeds in this shoot to create a slightly surrealist impression, and the low key, 1 point lighting only adds to the atmospheric feel that I was aiming to create. On top of this, it accurately represents the emotions that I wanted to get across in my original brief; that of depression, confusion and anger. This not only recreates the personal emotions and feelings that poor mental health can induce. Personally this shoot represents the stage of mental illness before getting help, when all of the emotions you feel start to boil over, and the pressure of not wanting to show “Weakness”.
elaine constantine
Elaine Constantine is a photographer and also a writer and director. She is famous for her colourful and vibrant photos that mainly feature confident women. She is known to shoot for Vogue, i-D, Vivienne Westwood and many other magazines and brands. I like Constantine's work because she captures females and bright and confident characters and I see many aspects of the females in her images that resonate with my younger sisters.
I want to use Constantine's style in my own work to capture when they have fun and are having silly moments. The flash creates a contrast of the skin with the backgrounds and the bright colours of clothing eccentuates the emotions portrayed from the subjects. In my own photoshoots I will use the flash when taking the images and when I am manipulating the images I shall increase the vibrance and saturation to enhance the colours in the photos.
Shooting Plan
First things First: Gather old family photos!!
Plane ticket to the UK in the center of the book.
Shoot 1:
Observing family life (Dad) – Try and get snapshots of daily life. – just as i go
Concept:
- Dad doing bills?
- How the house looks as a single dad
- Maybe dad having one of his naps?
- Dad doing chores
- maybe re-enacting some photos
- portraits
Technical:
- Well lit
- candid – but not bad quality
Shoot 2:
Aesthetic Shoot – Try and get images that envoke feeling (in the style of Mateusz Sorello) – just as i go
- birds
- waves
- plants
- things that create a disjointed or lonely nature
Technical:
- flash
- grainy
- high clarity
Shoot 3:
Observing family life (Mum) – Try and get snapshots of daily life. – over new years
Concept:
- Housework
- How the house looks as a single mum
- re enacting childhood photos
- family life
Technical:
- Well lit
- candid – but not bad quality
- portraits
Shoot 4: 1st week back
- Revisiting places visited in family photos
- recreate
ARTIST STUDY – Jonathan Andrew
Jonathan Andrew is a Manchester born photographer working out of the Netherlands. he has acquired many awards across his career including winning an award in ‘historical architecture at the International Photography Awards’ and an honorable mention in ‘night photography at the International Photography Awards’.
The collection photographs various WWII defensive architecture, typically taken at night with the use of artificial lighting, likely to create interesting lighting that better interacts with the monolithic structures photographed. The photos are taken in a documentary fashion, featuring a small aperture and capturing the entirety of the subject in frame. The photos feature high contrast however seem to be adjusted to prevent any overpowering shadows or highlights. Blue and green tones appear to be emphasized across the collection. The images often feature quite heavy vignetting likely to show the importance of the subject in question.
Demonstrated in the image above is the use of heavy vignetting, however the vignette selection appears to have left out a structure in the background. This structure appears smaller due to perspective, thus the viewers eyes will likely first look at the central subject then be drawn to the bunker on the right. in terms of camera setting, the image appears to stay similar to the rest of the collection; the image features a high degree of focus indicative of a small aperture, with even the shadows of the image being sufficiently exposed which implies the use of a long shutter speed, likely in conjunction with a tripod. The compositions for the collections seem similar throughout, often featuring a central subject with a generally uncluttered back/foreground. This image like many others in the collection seems to focus on the blue and green tones in frame, likely done in post due to the distinct lack of other strong tones.
Shoot 4 and Edits
This shoot went quite successful. The main difficulty of the of the shoot was being careful when removing the make up of the doll with the nail varnish.
Personal Investigation – Post 5 (Artist Reference 2 – Daren You)
Daren You:
Daren You is a Chinese photographer currently living in the San Francisco Bay Area. His work has been published in Lens Culture Magazine, i-D, Der Greif Magazine, Phases Magazine and the official blog of San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
His work focuses on chaos photography and unique processes to achieve his desired images with a sense of randomness linked to chaos photography itself.
Chaos Theory:
Chaos Photography:
One definition of chaos is when nonlinear things are impossible to predict and control. If law and order rule the universe, chaos, is the totally disorganized opposite of this.
Daren You has been exploring how to let images create themselves and avoid manipulation by photographers and cameras. For this series, he used several techniques (both historical and contemporary) to process the same image: reticulated film through a high temperature developing process, liquid emulsion, inkjet printing, darkroom printing and en-caustic painting. He then merged all these processes together by re shooting the images.
Daren You was curious about what the image will become after so many processes. The result is random, no one knows what it will look like. It is impossible to control the result by layering these processes on top of the same image, together. The dark tone in his images references the universe. It’s infinite and empty nature. When You chose his subject matter, he was looking for subjects with unpredictable elements: they’re unstable and disordered, like wind, clouds and water. Many systems that we live wit such as landscapes and trees, exhibit complex and chaotic behaviors. They are constantly in flux.
“How does photographing on film (or using your material photographic process of predilection) inform your artistic practice?“
“Gelatin silver print is still the best way in the world to present black and white photographs; it has the tones and the texture that you can’t get from the digital print. That’s the main reason why I use black and white film. I also enjoy the random visual effects that created during the time of processing. Sometimes your room is not clean enough; you can see the ash marks on your negatives, which reminds me that I exist in a physical world rather than a cold digital world. Sometimes you didn’t adjust your processing temperature very well; you will see the reticulated grains and uneven gray tones in your photographs, they all created different kinds of beauty.”
Personal Investigation – Statement of Intent
For my Personal Investigation I intend to create a photo-book which is centered around specific people in my life and what makes them an individual, I want this to also center around the theme of youth culture. Each section of my book will be about one person and their features/interests and things that make them who they are, I want to include the stereo-typically non attractive of a young person’s being. Things like: scars, tattoos, teeth, eyes. Things that are unique to them. I also just want candid shots of their faces/bodies just doing everyday things.
Context that everything will be changing soon in our lives and the photo-book is about a brief moment in time and how we were at this age, clothes we wore, what we looked like etc, things that used to interest us.I also would like to take a multi media approach where I am going to have my photos developed and later paint and write over them in different ways which relate to my project.
-artists references: Ed Templeton – mixing art with photography on print outs – draws on photos. to talk about: litmus tests, teenage smokers etc, Jim Goldberg.
Photo shoot 1 – Planning
For my first photo shoot I will photograph three people wearing multiple sets of clothes. However, they will all be wearing the same outfits; which will be a variation of bright, high-end clothing, and more monotone worn-out clothing. I will also encorporate elements of tableaux in this photo shoot by telling the models to have positive facial expressions and body language whilst wearing bright clothing, and the opposite whilst wearing the darker clothing. I will also edit some of the portraits together into a composite image. More specifically I will combine the portraits of each of the models wearing the same outfit, to create a sort of group photo of them all dressed identically.
Although composite portraiture is normally used in large group portraits, I will use it in my much smaller group of models as I only have one of each outfit, so having everyone wear it simultaneously is impossible.
Photo shoot 1 – Planning
Planning:
For my first photo shoot I decided to photograph my grandparents archival imagery in order to enhance my understanding of my grandparents lifestyle visually. I intend to look through their photo books capturing weddings, family events, holidays and their old house. While looking through the archival imagery I intend to ask questions about what was happening in the images as well as asking questions about their lifestyle in terms of family structure, traditions, religion, all aspects which have an impact on lifestyle. In order to get a digital copy of the images I intend to photograph the images using my DSLR, manual setting. I intend to keep the ISO and shutter speed low. I did look at scanning in the imagery, however a lot of them are bundled together and are laminated which would make the outcome distorted and not a ‘good quality’. Once I have all the imagery I intend to upload them to light room and select the best imagery which showcase their lifestyle. I will slightly adjust the images to ensure the all detail of the photograph to be showcased, without making it seem highly edited and lowering the quality and authenticity.
Importance of Archival Imagery:
After previous research into archival imagery, I learnt the importance of this form of photographs to enhance a photographic project in terms of narrative and structure. Using family archives will allow me to explore my grandparents lifestyle when they were younger, allowing me to see how this underlying theme has changed and developed over time. In addition, the use of archives will spark conversation with my grandparents, allowing me to understand my subject on a deeper level, gaining more research in insight which will hopefully develop the way in which I go about capturing their lifestyle in future photo shoots.
Furthermore, some of the images will still be on film and/or slides which means a lot of the images I may not have access to. However, those images are very ‘old school’ and after emailing my grandparents do not hold much content in terms of showcasing the theme of lifestyle. I will also look at capturing any objects around the house, which my grandparents believe hold meaning and showcase their lifestyle.
Photo-Shoot 1: Final Images
The final products of the editing process can be seen below:
In this image, I was looking to focus on editing to paint the picture of the contrast between feminine and masculine features. The broken, split appearance of the image is meant to signify the broken and split boundaries of gender norms, that are presented in the image. The choice to include pink as the boldest colour in the photograph, was decided due to the fact that pink is often seen as a delicate, feminine colour, yet in this context is being used in a bold manner, with a bold pink tone being used to split the black and white fragments of the image. This image was created with the idea of liberation in mind, with the gender and identity of the individual being expressed as bold, proud and strong.
I have selected the above image as a final image due to the shapes and details within it. I feel that the shape of the forearm in the foreground is eye-catching, and draws viewers into the detail of the arm. It also makes it very clear that the arm is of a male, and therefor the viewer may assume immediately that the subject is male. However, the feminine clothing in the background, and the delicate, soft colours of the image give a contrast to this view, and provide contrast between masculinity and femininity in the image. I feel that this image presents a contrast between stereotypical male gender roles, and the defensive, masculine posture of the subject draws attention to the fact that the subject has to hide the feminine side of themselves (the floral dress) in order to present themselves as stereotypically masculine in order to avoid judgement from the outside world.
I feel that the simplicity of this image allows it to covey the meaning in a more fluid and subtle way. I used the split down the centre of the image to represent a split in an individual persona; how they present themselves on the outside may not be the way that they feel on the inside. The cut could also represent a split between what an individual knows is considered socially acceptable, versus what they wish they could be. I feel that the solemn, sturdy pose of the subject (hands held together in-front) helps to express the idea that individuals often have to keep these internal conflicts hidden from the outside world to avoid being judged or stereotyped.
I selected this image as a final image, as I feel it represents and brings to light the more delicate, emotional side of men, and shows that, regardless of the masculine presentation of the individual, their ability to feel, love and their need to be cared for is no less. This image is made to reflect the more feminine aspects of gender stereotyped; the subjects hands are posed in a delicate feminine manner, and the slight warm hue of pink/red is meant to give the photograph an overall soft, feminine feel. However, this is all contrasted by the masculine shapes of the hands, which are placed as the main focal point of the image. I feel that by placing the subject in a feminine pose, while also drawing attention to the detail of the masculine features, helps to reflect the way in which, although an individual may present as stereoypically masculine, clues may show the reality of hidden emotion, and delicacy.
This image, I feel has a slightly vintage appearance to it, with the slight blue hue giving a vintage magazine effect. I decided to use this image as a final image due to the shape of the subject, and the hue that is edited over the top. I feel that the simplicity of the pose helps to draw attention to the clothing of the subject (which is the focal point for this particular image) and the close up allows for the detail of the masculine, contrasting features to be shown. I feel like this image is simple enough to be used as a single image that could sum up the entire study, and its simplicity makes it appealing for a stand alone image.
I feel that this image reflects the work of Helmut Newton, in the way it presents the subject in a posed, model like way, with the focus of the image being the legs of the subject. Using inspiration from Newton, I heightened the contrast of the image in order to draw attention to the details of the shape of the legs, and the details of the clothing of the subject (which contrast one another). I wanted to flip the idea of Newtons work, using a male subject to reflect the reality of the way that Helmut presents his models. Using a male model in a similar way helps to draw attention to the way in which we are desensitised to the sexualization/presentation of women body in media, and yet are not at all used to the same concept occurring with men
For this photo-shoot, I was looking to focus on the contrast between masculine and feminine features, and show how, in the modern era, these contrasts (which were once much more prominent and strict) are beginning to merge into one another. My focus for this photo-shoot was to create a response in the viewer, as the images are bold and striking in their contrast, and therefore I attempted to present a moral example to the viewer, asking them to decide whether the images make them uncomfortable, or whether they embrace the images and the way they differ from typical gender stereotypes. For this photo-shoot, I feel like I was able to show a striking contrast between typical feminine and masculine features, in a way that draws the attention of the viewer, but also reflects the progress that the world is making towards their views on gender and the lack of boundaries that should be placed on individuals when expressing themselves.