Using continuous lights and flash lights for 3 photo shoots;

Photoshoot 1– different lights- soft and hard

Photoshoot 2– different face expressions and moods on model.

Photoshoot 3– taking really close headshots so all you can see is the face and a small part above the shoulders.

Taking inspiration from; Henry Mullins is one of the most prolific photographers represented in the Societe Jersiase Photo-Archive, producing 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, in which he placed his clients in a social hierarchy.

CONTACT SHEETS-

For all my photos I used two point lighting- flash heads in this case. Every time I pressed the camera the flash lights would go off. I took the photos in the dark so that when the flash comes on the lighting would be very bright creating no shadows on the face.

Diamond cameo background-

The Patent Diamond Cameo photograph was registered by F.R. Window of London in 1864. Four small oval portraits (1″ x ³/₄“) were placed on a carte de visite in the shape of a diamond, each portrait being of the same person photographed in a different position. A special camera made by Dallmeyer was used in which the one glass negative was moved to a new position in the back of camera after each portrait had been taken, and when the paper print had been pasted on the card a special press was used to punch the four portraits up into a convex cameo shape

Taking inspiration from Henry Mullins-

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. Initially he was in partnership with a Mr Millward, about whom very little is known. By the following year he was working alone and he continued to work out of the same studio for another 26 years.

Using photoshop to create a diamond cameo;

Using two different images and adding an old paper effect-

Procedure– I cut out oval shaped sections of my images and copied them over to a ‘New’ layer. I then flipped one image horizontally and afterwards I took an ‘old paper effect’ image from google and pasted it on top of my diamond photos. Once it was pasted in, I over-layed the image so that it creates a subtle effect as the original old diamond photos.

One point lighting is a single source of light, which creates a very natural , sometimes dramatic look that will draw people’s attention to the single lighted person or surface. The use of only one light creates dark shadows which frame the face.

Chiaroscuro is a type of one point photography which is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition.

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Edited images:

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This is my favourite image out of the shoot. I like the contrast of the shadows on her face and how the shadow splits her face in half , which creates a mystery. To create these images I used one point lighting, which created the shadow formed on her face.

HENRY MULLINS – DIAMOND CAMEO

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.

He was known for presenting his images in a diamond shape, in oval frames:

My Diamond Cameo

Deadpan Aesthetic/typology – Passport

In summary Deadpan photography is a cool, detached, and unemotional presentation and, when used in a series, usually follows a pre-defined set of compositional and lighting rules.

Thomas Ruff wanted to mimick the setup for a having a set of passport images taken, here are some of his images:

Typology:

These images are also classed as typology. Typology is ‘a single photograph or more commonly a body of photographic work, that shares a high level of consistency. This consistency is usually found within the subjects, environment, photographic process, and presentation or direction of the subject.’ In this case it is the deadpan aesthetic, framing of the images, colour tones and background.

My Deadpan Images

Because of the social distancing rules of the time of this shoot, these photos were taken at home with natural light and one front facing directional light source.

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Up Close

Close-ups display the most detail, but they do not include the broader scene or the whole image.

‘Satoshi Fujiwara: Code Unknown: In Michael Haneke’s 2000 film Code Unknown, there is a scene in which the protagonist’s lover, a photographer, secretly snaps pictures of passengers sitting across from him on the train.’

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My Closeups

Because of social distancing rules at the time of this shoot, it had to be shot at home with one directional light.

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Studio Lighting

We use studio lighting because it allows us to create natural lighting effects in a variety of situations. This lighting can be manipulated to the users living to create the desired final effect of highlights and shadows. In a studio, 1, 2 and 3 point lighting can be used. By using three point lighting the photographer can light the subject whilst controlling shading and shadows produced by direct lighting. By using two point lighting the subject is lit and the shadows are controlled by the second light source. By using one point lighting the subject is only lit from one direction, creating string dark shadows. If two lights are used, this is called fill light, it is used to fill the shadows created by the fill light.

Chiaroscuro

‘The term “chiaroscuro” has come to define images in which there is a strong contrast between light and dark areas that help inform the shape and form of a subject.’

Camera Settings

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

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

Photo shoot’s from the studio

Portrait photography is aimed towards capturing the personality of a person or group by using effective lighting, backdrops or poses.

Mood Board

Contemporary Portrait Photography

Contemporary portrait photography is described as being comparing a portrait photograph of your time against one of that from a much earlier period.

Environmental Portrait Photography

An environmental portrait photograph is a portrait in which he subject is in their usual environment such as their home or workplace. For example a mechanic in a garage or a police officer in a police station.

Annie Leibovitz

Annie Leibovitz is an American Photographer and is most famous for her portrait photography of some of Hollywood’s most famous celebrities.

Photo-shoot

I will take photos of first line workers in a medium-close up similar to what Annie Leibovitz does in her photos. I will go to different first line workers that might not be usually described as first line to show that more people are classified as first line that we first think.

Mind Map

My Photo Shoot

Best From Photo Shoot

Best Front Line Image

I like the image above because it shows an elderly woman with glasses on looking at the camera with a sense of despair but also hope. This image is strong because she is wearing a mask preventing full understanding of her real emotions so everyone will interpret her expression in different ways.

Environmental

Inspiration –

Henry Mullins was a profile picture photographer who producing over 9,000 portrait photos of islanders in Jersey between the time of 1852 – 1873. In this time period, the population of islanders was 55,000. He had a base studio known as the Royal Saloon at 7 Royal Square in Jersey where he would photograph Jersey political elite, mercantile families, military officers and professional classes. His portraits were printed in albums using egg whites to bind the photographic chemicals to the paper. To create the head shot he desired to get he would first take a portrait photo of someones feet/knees and above. Then he would simply cut around the body to create a photo of shoulders and above. These photos were placed together (mainly in a group of four different head shots) by the same person to create a diamond cameo …….

As we can see Henry’s work is based upon upper class workers who seem to be wealthy locals from Jersey. They are photographed wearing their best uniform next to posh and expensive furniture to show off their wealthiness for their profile pictures. Here are some of my own diamond cameo’s….

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My Best Portraits –

Studio Set Up –

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The studio set up involved a tripod for the camera, two flash head lights to cancel out the shadow that would appear in the background as well as to capture good lighting of the face. A white infinity backdrop is hung behind the model for a blank background.

Contact Sheet –

Best Photos –

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These images relate to street photography in the sense that having to take images of people without them noticing. This captures them in that exact time with no interference of them knowing that they are getting photographed. This will indicate there exact expression and mood with everything happening naturally and no staging with what the image should look like. Candid Photography seems to be the type of photography that captures the person individually rather than more than one person.

For my street photography photo shoot , I decided to go to town to photograph people in the streets doing their own thing. As for this is what I thought would relate to ‘the decisive moment’. The people I am going to be photographing I will try my best for them to not notice that they are being photographed as for this creates a better street photography environment. Some of my photographs will be relating back to Henri Cartier’s work.

My Editing Process –

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My Best Photos –

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These photos relate to Henri Cartier’s work as for their positioning of the camera and when the moment is captured in time. Personally, taking these photos was hard in a sense that it was very awkward taking photos of random people in public without them knowing. But as for the best street photography being in Henri Cartier’s eyes ‘The decisive moment’ and many other photographers, this was the best way of taking photos for my shoot.

What do you learn in A Level Photography?

1. How imagery shapes our future and helps us discuss our past…
2. How to develop a “critical eye”
3. How to to describe the world around us…
4. How to take and make interesting,provocative and challenging imagery
5. How to use a DSLR Camera, lighting systems, Adobe Photoshop – Lightroom – InDesign and Premier Pro
6. How to curate your own online blog to present coursework
7. How to sequence images to tell an important story…
8. How to print and frame and display photographs
9. How to make ‘zines, photo-books, newspaper supplements, gifs and short films
10. How to assemble a creative portfolio and develop a career on a creative pathway…

Watch…

Look…

Tell…

1. Select 9 images from the larger group of photos
2. Discuss with a partner how you can sequence the images to tell a story
3. Ensure you have a start and an end to the story
4. Think about how each image interacts with the next
5. Present your story to the group

THE DECISIVE MOMENT-Henri Cartier-Bresson

Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004) was a pioneering figure in street photography and known for his candid photography. His book ‘The Decisive Moment’ included 126 candids that quickly received critical acclaim. Cartier-Bresson is quoted as saying about candid photography that  “There is a creative fraction of a second when you are taking a picture. Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera. That is the moment the photographer is creative,” 

Cartier-Bresson was one of four pioneering photographer who helped found MAGNUM photos, a photo agency with offices over the world that has taken many culturally and historically significant photos

MOOD BOARD

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ANALYSIS OF PHOTO

This photo is taken in natural lighting probably outside in daylight which makes the photo look less staged as you are not being forced to look at anything by use of spotlights. The child in the photo is positioned centrally but due to their posture it doesn’t look forced but you are still drawn to look at them because of where they are situated. The child’s white clothes against the black backdrop of the wall creates contrast which makes the photo more interesting to look at. Even though this photo was likely staged it still maintains a naturalness reminiscent of candid photography.

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In comparison is Vivian Maer who’s signature photography is of her reflection often in public places like the street. This blend of self portraits and candid street photography is very interesting and contrasts with Cartier-bressons work that is so focused on other people.

mind map of ideas

I chose to do two different shoots, one doing street photography which was very out of my comfort zone and another in a coffee shop taking candid’s of a friend who gave me permission to take photos which I was much more comfortable with.

First Shoot

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I really like the look of these photos as the subject is really nicely framed in the photos and the tonal orange colour is repeated multiple times in the shot through the drink, skirting, background poster and the subjects hair which ties the photo together really well. To emphasise this colour I will adjust saturation and tone on photoshop.

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These photos turned out horribly as the street was not busy so I couldn’t get the crowded kind of photos I wanted. I also l felt really uncomfortable taking these photos as I felt very morally dubious taking photos without consent so stopped very early on.

FINALIZING IMAGES

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Here are my favourite images. I didn’t select any of my street photography images as i felt they were all

EDITING

On Photoshop I turned up the vibrancy to the max and slightly upped the saturation which gave the photos a warm feeling

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FINAL IMAGE

This is my final image. Compared to Henri Cartier-Bresson it is very different. My image is very warm and colourful where his are monotone and cold. The main similarity between our photos are that they are both candid images with slightly contrived undertones. We both used the backgrounds to frame our photos using leading lines which blends the photo well while still maintaining sharpness.