The inspiration for this tasks comes from Henri Mullins photography in jersey in the 19th century. His work mainly focused around portraits specifically headshots and his photos were often made into cartes de visite. I am going to attempt to replicate Mullins diamond cameo by photographing different sides of my subjects face.
CONTACT SHEET
From these photos I chose my favourites from each looking direction and then using Photoshop I edited them into a diamond cameo.
After this I copied an image of old paper from google to add texture to my cameo to make it more true to Henri Mullins photography.
Henry Mullins started working at 230 Regent Street in London in the 1840s and moved to Jersey in July 1848, setting up a studio known as the Royal Saloon, at 7 Royal Square. Here he would photograph Jersey political elite (The Bailiff, Lt Governor, Jurats, Deputies etc), mercantile families (Robin, Janvrin, Hemery, Nicolle ect.) military officers and professional classes (advocates, bankers, clergy, doctors etc).
Henry Mullins Inspired work
Diamond Headshots
I took inspiration from Henry Mullins to create this idea on photoshop. I used the eliptical marquee tool to create an oval shape to cut out the headshots. I then arranged them into the diamond shape so that it resembles Henry Mullins work.
Either in camera or merge two or three images into one portrait. The use of double exposure creates a surreal feeling to the photos, with this it can show deep meaning or symbolism. A similar technique, called a “multiple exposure,” is when you combine more than two exposures in a single image.
Andrés Gallardo Albajar
Andrés Gallardo Albajar is a Spanish self taught photographer living in Estonia who was originally from Spain. He has a background in advertising and marketing but it wasn’t until the summer of 2012 when his mother and brother got him his first DSLR camera. Mostly been inspired by architecture and urban elements which his parents help impact on as they are both architects. He was also inspired in portfolio platforms and also on social media where he follows photographers on sites like Instagram not only a source for inspiration but also helps him find good locations.
Final Outcome
I took some of the portraits that I took of Lucy and layered them on top of each other where I made the only image where she’s looking to the left and no hands on her face the clearest because I want the image to have the idea that these are her emotions that is running through her head. I used 4 images to create this multi exposure with 3 of them having her hands on her head expressing emotions through that way then having one image without her hands and facing the top left corner to give the idea that she is thinking or daydreaming. This symbolises ADHD as daydreaming is a symptom, this represents the idea of lack of concentration and as she is showing different positions and the image is very noisy as though she finds it difficult to sit still.
Firstly I got Anya to sit facing 8 different directions with a neutral face where I took a photos of her. After that I opened a blank photo shop file and 4 out of the 8 images that I thought we best to use for the cameo. I then cut an oval shape with her face in the centre of the oval, with a new photoshop tab open I copied across all 4 ovals to then layer the old yellow letter making the image look old. yet there was a problem; when I put the yellow letter on the images one of them was brighter than the others so I had to go back to the ovals on the original image and make the background darker so the yellow would turn out similar to the others. After messing around with the light control making the image darker I recut the image and put it on the new tab. With the old fashioned newspaper over the top of the image, I had to experiment with the intensity of the yellow colour making it stand out but not drain the image out.
Environmental portraits: They are portraits taken in the subject’s usual environment, such as their workplace, and will typically highlight the subject’s life and surroundings.
A good environmental portrait can tell a strong story of the persons subject. Their immediate natural surroundings will give the viewer insight into who the person is, what they do and who they are. The location and person should tie together in a meaningful way. They can be used to highlight certain occupations or issues in society , for example homelessness.
Arnold Newman
Arnold Newman was born March 3rd, 1918 in New York. He was raised and went to school in Atlanta and Miami. He specialized in portraits of well-known people posed in settings associated with their work. This approach, is called environmental portraiture. He began his career in photography in 1938 where he worked at a chain of portrait and immediately started working in abstract an documentary photographer. He opened his own portrait studio in 1946. Newman saw photography as a way to express himself,k reflecting him and his fascination for people.
I have chosen this image as my final image as I feel it shows the most about the man and his job. The man is stood tall and proudly infant of all the meats clearly showing he is a butcher. He is wearing an apron and has a big smile on his face indicting he is proud of his working environment. The big expression on his face makes the viewers feel happy and makes us feel as if he loves his job and is proud.
To create a diamond cameo I narrowed my images from my shoot down to 4 images , including different angles. I then went into photoshop and opened up all 4 images. On all images I selected the Elliptical Marquee Tool to create the oval shape of the images. I then copy and pasted the oval shaped images onto a blank white document on photoshop and cropped and moved the images around to create the finishing product.
For my next photo shoot I will be playing around with the colour of the studio lighting , making strong shadows and creating detailed portraits. I will be asking my model to pose with their hands and where to direct their face. My camera set up is the following….
Camera settings (continuous lighting) Tripod: recommended to avoid camera shake Manual exposure mode White balance: tungsten light (3200K) ISO: 400-1600 – depending on how many light sources Exposure: Manual 1/60-1/125 shutter-speed > f/4-f/8 aperture – check settings before shooting Focal lenght: 50mm portrait lens
The invention of photography came around from a guy named Louis Daguerre, who first introduced the concept in 1839. That same year, Robert Cornelius produced what’s considered the first photographic self-portrait. Portrait studios started to become more popular in the next year. This was used to identify someone’s self in ID cards for upper class people. Or studios were used to create books to log in photos of wealthy locals in a particular country. Here is some examples of early portraiture…..
What Is Portrait Photography? –
Portrait photography, or portraiture, is a type of photography aimed toward capturing the personality of a person or group of people by using effective lighting, backdrops, and poses. This captures different facial expressions which indicates on a mood that the person is in the photo. The use of colours effects this, for example – The use of red indicates anger or love. Portraits can be used to show someone’s personality such as what they wear or what makeup they have on. Backdrops/scenery suggests what the models life is based upon or simply to make the photograph more effective. Here is an example of a more modern portrait photographer…
David Bailey
David is a British Portrait Photographer who was born in 1939 (age 81). He is known for his advertising, celebrity, and fashion photographs. Having been interested from his youth in painting and photography, in 1959 he apprenticed at the John French Studio, where he became involved in fashion photography.
Mood Board –
Photos By David Bailey
Analysis –
Jude Law – Photo By David Bailey – 2004
This Portrait above of Jude Law taken in 2004 is a studio portrait photograph. We can indicate that this photo was taken in a studio as for the backdrop – a white infinity backdrop. This is a long white thick paper like material which has a curve when reaching the floor. This creates the curve which on a camera looks like a white setting with no ending or any corners ect. This photo , edited in black and white, has a quite harsh artificial light coming from the left side of his face. This contrasts with the dark shadow formed on the right side of his face. The colour balance between black and white is equal as for the black blazer being one type of shade as well as the shirt being on type of shade of white. This is known as a dull image for any colour captured. The portrait is symmetrical as for the face and body facing the camera straight on. As for Jude’s eyes, they give off a deep gaze directly into the camera. No emotion seems to be shown from his facial expression. The cigarette suggests more of a reckless personality to viewers.
Photoshoot 1
Studio Set Up –
Camera Settings –
(flash lighting) Tripod: optional Use transmitter on hotshoe White balance: daylight (5000K) ISO: 100 Exposure: Manual 1/125 shutter-speed > f/16 aperture – check settings before shooting Focal lenght: 105mm portrait lens
Contact Sheet…
My Best Portraits –
Here , above is one of my images that I have related to David Bailey’s work as for the strong contrast between the light facial features and the shadow formed on the left side of the face. To capture a more sophisticated image , using a more of a harsh key light to bring out a more white colour on the right would link to David’s work better.
A studio portrait is a large photograph for which the sitter is posed, typically taken in the photographer’s studio.
Mind map
Photographer
Jocelyne Moreau
Vulnerability and trust are essential aspects of the relationship the model and I have during a photography portrait session. The model literally needs to expose him or herself in front of the camera. To give something personal, he or she has to trust me. I try to create the greatest possible sense of safety, so that there is an exchange of energy; a bond or circle between the subject and myself – an absolute must for a successful photograph.
A diamond cameo is a format of displaying head shots. One photographer who commonly presents their work in a diamond cameos is Henry Mullins, a Jersey photographer who photographed over 9,000 portraits of islanders from 1852 to 1873 at a time when the population was around 55.000. The record we have of his work comes through his albums, where citizens are displayed in a social hierarchy. The arrangement of Mullins’ portraits of ‘who’s who’ in 19th century Jersey are highly politicised.
Portrait of Philip Baudains, by Henry Mullins
My take on diamond cameos
In these head shots, I used 2 soft boxes on flash heads to give the photos a softer lighting, this also helped eliminate shadows as the large soft boxes spread out the direction of the flash. I replicated Mullins use of angles and how they’re presented in the diamond.
