I will test and try out different methods of editing my photographs, in order to see which best suits my ideas of identity and place, using Carolle Benitah as inspiration.
Photoshop Experimentation
In Photoshop I attempted to practice editing my photographs in the style of Carolle Benitah. I did this by using the magnetic lasso tool to cut out the shape of the subject in the image, and then layering a plain sepia toned piece of paper underneath it, to show a link to her themes of loss of identity. I then also converted the original image into black and white, also similar to Benitah’s work, allowing for a contrast between the image and the cut out section.
Next, I followed the same method of cutting out the subject with the magnetic lasso tool, in the style of Benitah, but instead of layering a plain background underneath I played around with my idea of identity and place and used sepia toned maps instead. These map images used link to the subject in the image, as it displays the place their families came from before Jersey.
Hand Experimentation
I also tried printing off my photographs in a black and white, then cutting out the subjects by hand using a craft knife, as this is similar to the method Benitah used to create her final pieces. I then printed of my map images that relate to the subjects identity, and layered them underneath the cut out sections.
I think for my final pieces I will use the Photoshop method of editing my images. This is as even though the hand cutting out method links more to Benitah, I will be able to produce a more precise and neater final product with Photoshop.