Deadpan as passport portraits show people in their natural state, typically not showing any sort of emotion. They aren’t posed, are not dressed up for the occasion, and seem completely honest. The color of deadpan photographs is commonly de-saturated. While not completely devoid of color, the colors tend to be muted. Some photographs that are recognized for their deadpan photography such as Rineke Dijkstra and Jitka Hanzlová.
Jitka Hanzlová.
Rineke Dijkstra
Selected
In the end I succeeded in creating what I wanted to do. My model has no expression, shows no emotions and is in its natural state and shows a honest facial expression. I decided to make the image in black and white because even if some photographers choice their deadpan images in color, the color of deadpan is commonly de-saturated.
A photo. Montage is the process of making a composite photograph by cutting out segments of an image and rearranging them and gluing them once they are rearranged or oven overlapping two or more photographs into one new image.
Author Oliver Grau in his book, Virtual Art: From Illusion to Immersion, notes that the creation of an artificial immersive virtual reality, arising as a result of technical exploitation of new inventions, is a long-standing human practice throughout the ages. Such environments as dioramas were made of composited images.
The first and most famous mid-Victorian photomontage (then called combination printing) was “The Two Ways of Life” (1857) by Oscar Rejlander, followed shortly thereafter by the images of photographer Henry Peach Robinson such as “Fading Away” (1858). These works actively set out to challenge the then-dominant painting and theatrical tableau vivants.
Now that it’s over, what are my first thoughts about this overall project? Are they mostly positive or negative? My first thoughts about this project is that overall I think that I did well, although I know there are areas for improvement.
If positive, what comes to mind specifically? Negative? I think that some things I did well were my presentation of my ideas and my case study and comparison. I think I could’ve analysed and evaluated my own final images in more detail.
What were some of the most interesting discoveries I made while working on this project? I discovered that I prefer and find it easier to have a physical final piece that I can hold rather than an image on my blog.
What were the challenges? I think that the thing I found most challenging was my time management, and also making sure that I had everything completed to the best of my ability.
How did I come up with my final best solution? I took inspiration from a range of different photographers, but I also used my own imagination to experiment with different ideas.
What most got in the way of my progress if anything? I think that my time management was the biggest thing that got in the way of me making a lot of progress.
What obstacles did I overcome? I was struggling to come up with ideas for my final pieces, but once I had taken a break and thought about the type of message and feeling I wanted to present, I was fine.
What did I learn were my greatest strengths? My biggest areas for improvement? I think that my greatest strength was that I was able to produce two final pieces that I was proud of, despite changing my mind a lot. I think my biggest area for improvement is my time management skills, and putting as much detail as possible into my blog posts.
What would I do differently if I were to approach the same problem again? I would try to be as prepared as possible by making a checklist of everything I needed to produce and include in my blog posts, and tick them off as I went along. I would also try to make sure I had got enough done beforehand as possible, as it would put less strain on me during the controlled conditions.
How will I use what I have learned in the future? I will use what I have learned in the future by ensuring I know what is expected of me to produce, and make sure that I put as much effort in as possible.
Now that it’s over, what are my first thoughts about this overall project? Are they mostly positive or negative?
Now that its over, my first thoughts are that it went really well, and i was mostly consistent throughout all of my blog posts.
If positive, what comes to mind specifically? Negative?
I think that my final images were really strong, and linked back to the photographer I researched and referenced.
What were some of the most interesting discoveries I made while working on this project?
I discovered that i’m good at explaining the process and showing it in steps. I also found out that there were more steps involved then I intentionally thought, for example the work I did in the style of Evilsabeth Schmitz-Garcia, that involved printing out and taking photos of the scans.
What were the challenges?
Time was a big challenge, as I finished with 4 final images, I felt that the time spent to edit them, and explain them, as well as presenting it, took longer than i thought.
What can I improve?
I could of shown more ways of my exploration of ideas, as it was my weakest point. I did think about by didn’t write much about how, and why I chose to do what I did, which is a big part about the process and presentation, as it leads on to how i edited the final image.
How will I use what I have learned in the future?
I have a better understanding of what I can improve and what I need to go into detail about more. I also feel that my Photoshop skills are more consistent.
Now that it’s over, what are my first thoughts about this overall project? Are they mostly positive or negative? My initial thoughts after the controlled conditions exam are both positive and negative.
If positive, what comes to mind specifically? Negative? In terms of positive, I think my written work was good quality as I spent most of my time on those pieces, however I think my actual photographs could have been better.
What were some of the most interesting discoveries I made while working on this project? I enjoyed learning about Francesca Woodman as she died at the early age of 22 so I think her life story was very interesting.
What were the challenges? I think the hardest part of the project was capturing the photos themselves, as we had a timed limit and COVID made it difficult to take images of people.
What is the most important thing I learned personally? I’ve learnt that I need to take my images earlier in case I don’t like the outcome and need to take them again. I also need to plan my final plan for my images in advanced.
How did I come up with my final best solution? I decided to use Woodman’s simple method of long exposure and black and white for her study and I edited my images inspired by Carolle Benitah on photoshop rather than physically.
What most got in the way of my progress if anything? COVID got in the way of my progress as the bus times were limited so travel was difficult and there was a lack of people I could take photographs of. Also the time limit made the project difficult.
What obstacles did I overcome? I managed to finish my project within the 5 hour time limit.
What did I learn were my greatest strengths? My biggest areas for improvement? I think my strengths are my written work and detailed analysis and my weakness was my photographs and editing.
What would I do differently if I were to approach the same problem again? I would explore more ideas for my final photographs and prepare more in advanced with taking the photos.
What could I do differently from a personal standpoint the next time I work? Manage my time better in the 2 weeks leading to the exam and become more motivated to go above my expectations.
What can I improve? Taking physical photographs and exploring ideas.
How will I use what I have learned in the future? I will plan my photoshoots in the weeks leading to the exam and practice photoshop techniques.
I wanted to create a set of images in the style of Birthe Piontek. This is the image that inspired me.
Firstly, I chose 2images to edit. I would edit 1 with no face, and create the hole in the head effect. And 1 of the face inside and 1 outside the head, as I think it relates to hiding your identity and the opposite showing your identity.
I chose these 2 images to edit :
Process of editing the hole in the head.
I started off by removing the background. I used the object selection tool then select and mask option then I refined the edges to make it smooth.
I then put the background in, which was a normal cloudy day. The problem was that the subject was a different colour to the background and it didn’t match. I used the curves adjustment and used the dark colour picker to select the darkest colour in the background then put that on the darkest colour on the subject. I did this for the mid-tones and highlights. This made it so both the subject and background matched. I added gaussian blur to the background.
I used the pen tool to create a smooth mask of the face then I deleted the selection, which made the hole in the face effect.
It didn’t look normal, so I used the pen tool again to create an edge, I changed the colour to a skin tone so it looked normal. Although the whole of the image was 3D except from the hole in the face.
I used the pen tool to create the second layer which signified a 3D aspect. I added a shadow by creating a clipping mask, then using a black brush tool with 0% hardness. To contrast the shadow I added highlights by using a white brush tool with 0% hardness, after I added a soft light blend option, which made it more smooth.
These were all the layers with adjustments, so you can see the structure.
Final Image – 1
Reviewing my image, I really like how it turned out, as it is similar to Birthe Piontek’s image where he removed the face and you can see behind it. The background is clean and fits well. I feel that the gaussian blur in the background makes you focus on the subject more. I also like how you can clearly see through the background through the hole.
Critique
I don’t really like how the inside of the hole is fake, maybe I could of taken a sample of the skin off the face and textured the inside to make it realistic.
Birthe Piontek’s Image
My Image
Process of editing face inside the head/off the head.
Firstly, I used the pen tool to create a clean mask selection of the face. For the face inside I had to make sure that the mask wasn’t touching the edge. For the face outside the head I had to make sure that it was over the edge, to get all the side of the face. I moved the face outside the head to create the effect that it was coming off.
Next I used a black brush tool to create shadows and to blend the face into the shadows, which create a nice blend.
I used a black and white adjustment layer and put it on everything except of the mask of the face, because I think it gave a unique touch.
Final Images – 2
Evaluation
I like how this image turned out, as it unique and in the style of Birthe Piontek. I feel like the black and white filter works well, as the saying “showing your true colours” I think that it represents it as the face is the only coloured part in this image. I think this image shows someone that is confident, and someone that “puts their face out there.”
Final Image – 3
Evaluation
I think this images composition, is better. Not only is it in the same style as Birthe Piontek, but I think it shows someone that is more shy, therefore hiding their identity. It shows that as the face is hiding behind in the head.
Critique
I think the original mask of the face could be smoother as there is some ridges in the image, such as the pointy chin in the image where the face is coming off. Also if the photo was a bit more clear, and facing towards the camera, it would be easier to mask out, instead its at an awkward angle, therefore harder to accurately mask a selection of the face.
I believe my attempt at recreating Carolle Benitah’s work with the theme of identity and place was successful as you can see clear similarities between my work and the work of Benitah, and I think I executed my ideas clearly by using inspiration of Carolle Benitah but adding my own ideas and methods to the images. I decided to colour over the eyes in each image as Benitah, herself often does this and I believe it adds a sense of curiosity and mystery as to how the individual has changed throughout their past purely through their appearance, and removing the eyes removes the emotion from the face, which allows the viewer to focus on the blank expression and the change in appearance, rather than emotion or personality.
In terms of identity and place, I think my images represent this theme well as it displays the past of both my relatives and myself, and how this formed my identity. I decided to also show the past versions of my parents as they also helped to form my identity, and it also shows how their own identity has changed from their past.
Francesca Woodman Inspired Photoshoot
I decided to study Francesca Woodman’s work for this project as she focuses on the struggle of mental illness and especially depression. Myself and my family, as well as millions of others, have struggled with their mental health in different periods of time which is why I believe it is an important part of a person’s identity, as it can affect both physical and emotional aspects of someone’s identity. I decided to use Woodman’s common method of long exposure, I feel like this represents mental illness in the sense that it produces a ghost-like movement and some may say living with a mental illness is almost like a ghost living in the present world, as they can feel excluded and lonely.
I think my attempt at recreating Francesca Woodman’s work was successful as similarities can be identified, the main similarity being the use of long exposure to give the photographs an uneasy atmosphere. I also used Woodman’s theme of the monochromatic filters for the same reason.
There is also visual differences between my work and the work of Francesca Woodman, such as the natural lighting used by Woodman is slightly softer and not as bright. Her photos also contain a lot of empty space, whereas the only empty space in my images is in the sky.
If I was to re-shoot these images I would have done them in an empty building with natural, soft lighting in order to achieve the same sort of shadows that Woodman’s images display. I also believe the use of the negative space would have added to the ominous aesthetic of the images, so I would change my location in order to shoot these images again.
I believe my work is similar to the work of Francesca Woodman but they also have their differences. They are similar in the sense that they both use the method of long exposure to capture the movement of the model in the photo in an almost ghost-like way. They both also have a monochromatic theme, which adds to the ominous atmosphere, as well as the dark coloured clothing which features in my work and the work of woodman.
However, they are different in the sense that the natural lighting used by woodman is slightly softer than the one in my photo. The setting of Francesca Woodman’s photograph is also filled with empty, negative space whereas my image contains a lot of filled, positive space. The overall composition of Woodman’s images are a lot more simple than my own, as she takes her photographs in an empty room which I did not have access to within the time limit of the project.
“Pomplondin” – Carolle Benitah (from series ‘Photos-Souvenirs’ published 2016)
My Work
My recreation of Carolle Benitah’s work has both similarities and differences to Benitah’s images, for example they are similar in the sense that the images are brought to life with thin lines of colour, which juxtaposes against the monochrome background. I chose to add colour through the paintbrush tool on photoshop, whereas Benitah uses the traditional method of embroidery.
I used old family photos in my final photographs, which Benitah also uses in her work. I chose to combine my own photography into my work so I took simple portrait headshots of my mum, dad, and myself.
The main difference between my work and the work of Carolle Benitah is that I digitally edited my photographs, and Benitah edits her images physically.
If I was to do this project again I would have attempted Benitah’s method of embroidery to add colour to my photographs, as I feel like digitally editing colour onto the images removes a sense of rawness from the images, and I think the contrast in textures and patterns would have created more interest to the viewer.
