Over the course of time, identity has come to mean several different things and people interpret the word in their own unique ways. A dictionary definition of the word will tell you identity is ‘the fact of being who or what a person or thing is,’ however identity is a word that holds many meanings. You may define identity as your culture, where you are from and how you’ve grown up- yet somebody else may have a completely opposite perception of the word such as identity meaning gender, personality or looks. Identity has been explored through photography for decades, it gives an understanding into people’s lives and beliefs by presenting them in their truth, or opposingly in how they want others to believe is true. Frequently, identity is changing and being influenced by our views on the world- some may say your identity is moulded by your surroundings and environment.
Identity Mood-board
Identity Mind-map
Initial Ideas
Personally, identity is influenced by countless things, but specifically upbringing and family. I like the idea of doing a project focusing on the identities and lives of my grandparents, as they have been extremely influential to me throughout my life and inspire me daily. I plan on documenting certain moments of their day and producing a sequence of images showing how their relationship is so important in their lives and mine. My concept is to demonstrate how family relationships and love can shape someone’s identity and how my grandparent’s past and upbringing has impacted my family today. To experiment with the ‘place’ aspect of this project I plan on experimenting with scenarios around my grandparent’s home as it is a place of safety and security for them, full of memories from over the years and things that bring them comfort. I want to show how identity is not only formed by our perception of our self- it is influenced by past memories of nostalgia and our changing passions in life.
In photography and cinematography, a multiple exposure is the superimposition of two or more exposures to create a single image, and double exposure has a corresponding meaning in respect of two images. The exposure values may or may not be identical to each other.
Some examples of double or multi exposure-Looking at Man Ray
Man Ray was an American visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealist movements, although his ties to each were informal. He produced major works in a variety of media but considered himself a painter above all
Turning my headshots into double exposure images through photoshop-
Procedure-
I opened 3 to 4 images of my model that I took for the ‘headshot’ blog post and I copied and pasted them over on top of each other in the area that I wanted it to be in. Once I was happy with where all the images were placed I used the ‘overlay’and the ‘opacity’ option to alter how strong I wanted them to over lap each other and how visible each image was. I changed all my images to black and white for a much clearer effect as I didn’t want different colours to clash with another when I overlay them. Using black and white also creates a more sad and mysterious effect which I wanted as using double exposure makes images look abstract and changes the way you see objects or people. Overall I really like how my images turned out and how I edited them because it makes you analyse the image in more depth a lot is going on and makes you focus on different areas of the image.
FINAL IMAGE-
This is the final image I have edited. Once I got comfortable with the overlaying tools and did a few edits prior to this one I knew how I wanted my final image to look like. I selected three of my favourite photos of my friend and turned them black and white as well as decreasing the brightness and increasing the contrast as I wanted all 3 images to be a lot more darker and have sharp contrasts between the white and black tones. By using the overlay option this makes the image look a lot more abstract and using 3 images instead of 1 shows you every side of the model which creates this idea of multiple personalities. Using double exposure is very useful when you try to show a model expressing loads of different emotions on their face and then creating and merging it all into one image however I didn’t do that as I wanted to create a simple image for my first try.
the collection of his photographs are owned by the Jersiaise Society, many guards arranged on the island were willing to pay half a guinea to have their portrait taken by him . His specialty was business cards . He was popular with officers of the Royal Militia Island of Jersey, at the time it was very popular to take portraits, He made portraits of their wives and children, for older and richer officers. In these photos we can notice the fashion at that time: long hair, whiskers and beards … Indeed the appearance was very similar.
David Hockney was born July 9, 1937 in Bradford. He is a portrait painter, draughtsman, engraver, decorator, photographer and theorist of British art. These photos look like a collage. it looks like he takes a picture, cuts it into several pieces and then reconstructs it differently way like a puzzle.
Hockney commented that photography is all right if you don’t mind looking at the world from the perspective of a paralyzed Cyclops for a fraction of a second. Her harsh opinion, however, changed when in February 1982 a curator visiting her home in the Hollywood Hills forgot a Polaroid movie and Hockney began experimenting with it, trying to capture the three dimensions of the surrounding reality. What was born of these experiments are the most amazing composite photographs/photocollages (you call it) that you will see in a long time.
My photos
I took pictures that I used for another work (portraits with differents lights) I use my favourites pictures from this work. I wanted to create a very fashionable style for my photos. I was inspired by David Hockney.
Plan
Who: For this shoot I asked my mom to pose
Where: I took my pictures in a studio
Why: I needed different pictures for my montage
Here are the results:
pictures used for the first montage First montage
pictures used for the seconde montage seconde montage
Satoshi Fujiwara is a Japanese photographer who has been based in Berlin since 2012. In one project of Fujiwara’s work, he has taken inspiration from Michael Haneke’s 2000 film ‘Code Unknown’, in which there is a scene where a character secretly photographs different people sitting opposite him on the train. Fujiwara was influenced by this technique of candid photography and similarly captured images of strangers on Berlin trains. In an interview with Lens Culture, Fujiwara described how he shot and edited his images in a way to keep his subject’s identities anonymous. It is clear that Fujiwara captured these images during daytime, as the direct sunlight provides natural lighting on his ‘model’s’ faces.
Photoshoot Plan
Due to having to isolate from school because of the COVID-19 pandemic, I will not be able to use the photography studio to conduct this photoshoot. Instead I plan on creating a ‘home studio’ using a blank white wall as a background and lighting my subject with a multi head floor lamp. Although it will be more of a challenge to re-create Fujiwara’s up close work from home, my idea is to only take inspiration from his project and work with the lighting/set up I am able to create at home.
Who – I plan on photographing my mum for this shoot as she is comfortable being in front of the camera and will be relaxed while I capture images that are quite invasive and close to her face.
What – I will be capturing images of close-up facial features such as lips, jaws, cheeks as well as close-ups of the full face. I plan on asking my model to have a conversation with me while I take some of the photos in order to capture natural images.
Where – As previously mentioned, I will have to conduct the photoshoot at home by creating a studio and using lighting I have around the house. I plan on taking these images in my lounge, as I have a blank white wall that can serve as a plain background for the shoot.
How – I will attempt to create shadows on and around the subject’s face by moving the different heads of the lamp I plan on using to different positions to highlight contrasting parts of her face.
Why – I wish to experiment with how close-up images can distort someone’s face so it is almost unrecognisable, taking inspiration from the works of Satoshi Fujiwara when he was influenced by the film ‘Code Unknown’.
Contact Sheets
Selected Images
Comparison to Satoshi Fujiwara
Satoshi Fujiwara uses natural sunlight to capture his candid images, I have recreated this in my shoot by directing my lighting to form harsh shadows across my subject’s face, similar to those Fujiwara took on the Berlin trains. This reflects the chiaroscuro technique used in renaissance paintings to create drama and atmosphere in images, it shows the strong contrast between light and dark. This use of shadow and highlight creates a more intense mysterious atmosphere in mine and Fujiwara’s images, which is furthered by the subject’s longing facial expression looking away from the camera. Similarly, both image’s direction of light on the subject’s face create a clear focal point for the observer at the subject’s eyes. They appear to have a glossy texture that catches the observer’s attention against the otherwise shadowed face. Nevertheless, Fujiwara has captured his image from a low camera angle whereas I have angled my camera at eye-level. I chose to photograph the subject in this way in hopes of creating a more ambiguous image and allowing the observer to interpret the subject in their own way. I believe an eye-level angle helps achieve this as it does not give the impression that the subject is looking up or down on whomever is looking at the image, therefore not giving them a set status.
Final Image Analysis
I have chosen this image for my final ‘Up Close’ portrait because I believe it successfully mirrors Fujiwara’s candid photography and abstract portraiture technique. Due to my subject having red undertones in her skin, along with bright green eyes, it creates a dispersed focal point for the observer- as green and red are complementary colours, letting each stand out as equally as the other. Additionally, the lighting I used in this shoot mixed with the subject’s skin tone creates a warm orange hue over the portrait. The texture of this image is formed by the lines and imperfections of the subject’s skin, for example due to the creases and furrows around her lips and eyes it produces quite a rough texture. These lines don’t exactly show physical movement in the photograph, but more like movement in time. They allude to the subject’s age and past by showing change over a period of time and how it can impact or alter someone’s appearance. Furthermore, the lighting of my final image creates subtle shadows which fall across the left of the subject’s face. Due to the placement of my main lighting source, the most prominent highlight can be seen on the top of the subject’s nose. This opposes with the shadows that fall around the subject’s nostril and shows the contrast between the lightest and darkest point of the image. I really enjoy the way this photograph shows the subject in a natural relaxed position, I believe it reflects Fujiwara’s images as the model is not posing or looking at the camera.
Rineke Dijkstra is a dutch portrait photographer, born in 1959, best known for her work capturing small specific groups of people or communities, such as teenagers, mothers and soldiers. Dijkstra has claimed she does this as, “With young people everything is much more on the surface—all the emotions,” whereas as we grow older we tend to know how to conceal them. Usually, Dijkstra accompanies her portraits of these types of people alongside a seaside landscape.
Rineke Dijkstra: Beach Portraits – 2002
This colour portrait taken by Rineke Dijkstra displays a young girl positioned in the centre of the image among a seaside landscape. This positioning of the subject of the photograph creates an almost symmetrical looking image, which could be said to cause the portrait to look very formal and unnatural, combatting the background. Furthermore, the tone of this image appears to be very cold with blue being the prevailing colour of the photograph, seen in the sea, sky and the girl’s dress. In addition, the lines presented in this photograph seem to all be horizontal, for example the horizon line, the dived between the rocks and the sea, and the lines going across the girl’s dress. These lines lead your eyes across the image, allowing for not only the subject to be focused on but also the background.
Here you can also see that the lighting of this portrait, like most of Dijkstra’s work, is clearly natural, due to the seaside setting. This allows for very few shadows, meaning it was most likely chosen to be taken at midday. This light also means that this image was most likely taken with a low ISO, so that the camera would not be over responsive to the large amount of light flooding the lens, meaning the photograph would not be over exposed. Moreover, the aperture used for this image appears to be low, allowing for a large depth of field, showcasing a defined background behind the subject. It can also be said that the shutter speed used here was fast, also due to the defined and clear photograph.
Photo-shoot
Plan
Contact Sheets
Edited Images
Final Image
I believe that this is my best photograph from my natural light photo-shoot due to the fact that the subject of the portrait is well centred and displays a seaside landscape in the background, similar to Rineke Dijkstra’s work. Furthermore, it is also one of my sharpest photographs out of my edited images. I do also believe that this image displays my understanding of how to capture a clear portrait with the tool of natural light best.
2 Point Lighting – This style of lighting usually consists of 2 main light sources, a key light and a fill light. The key light illuminates the subject while the fill light removes any unwanted shadows that the key light has created. It is important to note that the second ‘light’ could actually just be a reflector or wall that allows the light to bounce off it onto the subject.
My plan for this photoshoot is to have a 2 point lighting set up in the studio at school, I will photograph my friend who is comfortable in front of a camera in hopes of capturing images of a professional standard. I am going to use a spotlight to the left of my subjects face and a panel LED light to the right. I plan on using different coloured gels over my two lights to experiment with complementary and contrasting colours. Additionally, I want to explore using different camera angles and compositions. For example, I plan on taking headshots, close-ups, mid-shots and long-shots in hopes of producing a range of images with different compositions and seeing how the camera angle effects the lighting and atmosphere of the photo.
Contact Sheets
Selected Images
Final 2 Point Lighting Portrait
I chose this image for my final 2 point lighting portrait due to its highly saturated colours and clear abstract lighting. My image was taken using artificial lighting, with gel colours providing a contrast in tones. I really enjoy the way the red lighting highlights the subjects face, creating an effect similar to sunlight shining through a window. As I had set up this light to the left of my subject, it allows the warm colour to fall across the photograph and gradually gradient to a less saturated tone. Additionally, I used red and purple gels in this image to experiment with clashing colours. I love the way the purple lighting provides a subtle background colour while emphasising the bold red highlights that fall across the subject. Moreover, I believe this contrast in colour forms a warm inviting mood in the image which is furthered by the subject’s direct eye contact with the camera. Furthermore, due to the harsh lighting of my photo, several dark lines can be seen on the subjects clothing and neck which contrast with the bright red surrounding them. The dark areas of this image clearly direct the observer’s focus, for example as my subject has dark hair and eyes they stand out against the pastel background, creating a clear focal point in the centre of the subject’s face.
Double/Multi-Exposures
I decided to experiment with creating some double/multi exposure images from this photoshoot, similar to the work of photographer Man Ray and his work during the Surrealism movement- more info on Man Ray can be found here https://www.manray.net/ and examples of his work are below. I produced these images by layering different photos, and sometimes the same photo, from the shoot on top of each other on Photoshop. I reduced the opacity of one layer to produce the ‘multi exposure’ effect which I believe creates a more abstract atmosphere in my images. In addition, the bold colours of these photos mixed with the strange composition created by the multi exposure editing makes the subject appear alien-like and resembles something you may see on a sci-fi movie poster. I really enjoy the way this editing has created such a contrast in mood and context from the previous in this shoot, I like how the repetition of the subject gives the impression she is moving quickly. Furthermore, the repetition in these photographs symbolises echoes of the past, especially in the top right image where it seems as if the subject is leaving her body behind, conveying the idea of time moving swiftly on.
Illuminating a studio configuration, portentous lighting is important. Portentous lighting can be created by adding a lot of contrast. Dark areas are just as important as light areas. This type of lighting requires a number of light sources located in a way that produce very light areas and some very dark ones. The most basic studio lighting uses a main light (1), a fill light (2), and a backlight (3). This is the most common lighting setting for studio-independent objects. A three-point configuration will immediately work well and is an excellent starting point for creating special effects. Light bulbs are useful because they allow you to control your direction and incident points to provide drama to the scene.
Thomas Ruff
Thomas Ruff
Alec Soth
My pictures :
3 Point Lighting :
Three-point lighting is a standard method of three-source lighting, I only use this technique with a few images This technique does not please me too much
1 Point Lighting :
I had a lot of fun with one light, I love the shadows found behind or on the faces of people in the pictures. I often ask people on the cheek picture with their hands their arms their body basically to create more shade.I create different types of lights just by placing the main flash in several different places.
Photomontage is the process and the result of making a composite photograph by cutting, gluing, rearranging and overlapping two or more photographs into a new image. It is often used as a way of expressing political disagreement. It was first used as a technique by the Dadaists in 1915 in their protests against the First World War. It was later used by the surrealists who explored the possibilities of photomontage by using it to bring together widely contrasting images, in order to reflect the workings of the unconscious mind. In 1923, the Russian constructivist Aleksander Rodchenko began experimenting with photomontage as a way of creating socially engaged imagery exploring the placement and movement of objects in space. Other artists who have used this technique are John Heartfield, the German artist who reconstructed images from the media to protest against Germany’s Fascist regime and Peter Kennard; whose photomontages explored issues such as economic inequality, police brutality and the nuclear arms race between the 1970s and the 1990s.
JOHN STEZAKER
John Stezaker ( 1949 – ), is a British conceptual artist. His work is surreal in tone and is often made using collage and the appropriation of pre-existing images such as postcards, film stills, and publicity photographs. Art historian Julian Stallabrass said, “The contrast at the heart of these works [by Stezaker] is not between represented and real, but between the unknowing primitives of popular culture, and the conscious, ironic artist and viewer of post-modern images.” One work included in an exhibition at Salama-Caro Gallery, London, in 1991, depicted an image of a punch clock together with the caption “Why Spend Time on an Exhibition Like This?”.
