PLANNING: Write a specification that provide an interpretation and plan of how you intend to explore A Love Story. This must include at least 3 photoshoots you will be doing in the next 2-3 weeks (these could include photo-assignments). How do you want your images to look and feel like? Include visual references to artists/photographers in terms of style, approach, intentions, aesthetics concept and outcome. Remember the final outcome is a 16 page photo-zine so you will need to edit a final series of 12-16 images that sequenced together as a set forms a narrative that visualises your love story.
STORY: What is your love story? Describe in:
3 words- boy meets girl
A sentence- Photographing the love story of two of my friends from an outside point of view
A paragraph- boy meets girl at school and after 3 years fall in love
NARRATIVE: How will you tell your story?
Images > new photographic responses, photo-shoots
Archives > old photos from family albums, iPhone
Texts > letters, documents, poems, text messages
AUDIENCE: Who is it for?
The audience will be for Ella and charlie to look back on their high school relationship in the future.
Reflect and comment on this in your specification (age group, demographic, social/ cultural background etc.)
For my personal response to the stimulus of ‘Love’, I’m aiming to take formal and candid images of someone who holds significant sentimentality to me. To capture this person successfully, I’m interested in experimenting with environmental portraits, in order to incorporate aspects of my subject’s personal life which have aided in developing them as a person – a hobby, like dancing, for example.
Why am I photographing this?
The reason for this is that it’s a response to Chloe Jafe’s work, who empowered Yakuza women and captured their dedication to their male counterparts. In my shoot I aim to express the applaudable commitment and enthusiasm my subject has towards their passion.
Where do I intend to carry out this shoot?
I’m planning on carrying out this shoot in multiple locations, preferably ones that hold significance to my subject.
Location 1- Begin in the Photo studio. Practice formal and candid images to get the subject comfortable in front of the camera
Location 2- St Ouens. Beach and Sea holds significance to my subject.
How am I capturing these images?
I’m concerned with the aesthetic quality of my images. Due to the theme being on Love, I intend to capture the lighthearted nature of the concept. A step towards achieving this is using a photogenic person as my subject; someone who is confident and comfortable in front of the camera. I also aim to capture someone who’s exuberant and able to express the childlike and playful nature of love.
I’m going to take 3/4 body shots, full-body shots and head-shots to capture both body language and facial expressions in detail. Additionally, I’m going to experiment with the axis of the frame, having the subject take up the entirety of it or just the ‘golden third’ to see the difference it makes from a viewer’s perspective.
Photoshoot
Studio: Formal
Studio: Candid
Outside/Environmental: Formal
Outside/Environmental: Candid
Final selection:
Editing process:
1.
I began by using a spot removal tool in Lightroom to remove the smudges that have appeared on my image due to damage on the photo lens. The tool colour matches each area selected with a similar shade found within the image.
To enhance the image, I decreased the exposure and increased the contrast to set the base for my photo. I then increased the highlights and whites to diminish the dullness of the background. Having done this i decreased the black tones (-17) and increased saturation, resulting in a more vibrant and contrasted image.
To improve the composition of the image, I experimented with cropping. Using a 4×3 aspect, I lined up the image so my subject is present within the ‘golden third’. Having the plastic wall feature placed in the top left hand corner creates a ‘spot’, allowing the audience’s eyes to be directed around the image. The horizontal lines of the background act as a composiotnal tool to fill them frame and direct the viewer from the top corner back to the subject within the photo.
