French Moroccan photographer Carolle Bénitah, who worked for ten years as a fashion designer before turning to photography in 2001, explores memory, family and the passage of time. Often pairing old family snapshots with handmade accents, such as embroidery, beading and ink drawings, Bénitah seeks to reinterpret her own history as daughter, wife, and mother.
Benitah has a series of photographs called “I Will Never Forget You”
Jamais je ne T’oublierai
She describes her family photographs as “Ghosts who follow me quietly, and I take them over to build an imaginary family album in order to repair oblivion.” …..”I am rebuilding the memory of my family that I missed, I am inventing another one made to measure where I resurrect all the ancestors who have disappeared, the territories that I did not know and that have been praised to me.”
My edits inspired by Benitah
Benitah’s image
My edit
Benitah repairs old family photos and rebuilds a memory that is missed, in her work she resurrects ancestors who have passed. I took inspiration from her work as I related to her loss of a loved one. Benitah covers the people in the pictures who will never be forgotten. She also covered parts of people related to the passed relatives to resemble that, because they died, they’ve lost a part of themselves as well.
Carolle often pairing old family snapshots with handmade accents, such as embroidery, beading and ink drawings, I took a technological approach when inspired by her work. I had my old family photograph as the background and the yellow background as another layer, used a lasso tool to select the part I wanted textured then replaced it with yellow to represent who had passed and how the family relatives notice they’re missing and the big gap in their family and their heart.
I chose to have my photo in black and white, partly to match Benitah’s work and to give it an old fashioned look, however I also chose to have it greyscale to represent the loss of brightness and colour that the passed relative gave the family’s life. She covers parts of her photos to identify absent memories, the image below was taken before i was born, therefore a time I cannot remember.
before
after
I particularly liked this image of Benitah’s as she creates the sense that all family members of the passed lost their identities when someone significant died, like they’ve lost a part of themselves. Her project “jamais je ne t’oublierai” creates the feeling of despair and sorrow which her viewers can empathise towards. Benitah’s photos are a good way of bringing back happy memories of times when the family was unite. The use of black and white emphasises the way the families life has lost it’s colour now that they’ve lost that one person. The greyscale tones also vary from light to dark and the contrast emphasises the highlights and shadows in the photograph.
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.
The first two pictures are from the same shoot “Mexican identity”. This shoot helped me demonstrate one of my origins … Mexico. Why did I want to do this shoot? Since I was little my mother shows me this culture which also mine. I grew up with Spanish, Mexican music, Mexicans in their daily life … One of the famous people I knew from an early age was Frida Kahlo. She is a very famous Mexican painter and around the world. I love Frida Kahlo’s paintings. I have always admired the way Frida Kahlo expresses herself behind her paintings. She is not afraid to show her fears nor passion or her pain. I decided to take inspiration from one of her self-portraits. Not to express my feelings but to somehow honour her. To show the great pride of Mexico. The second photo is a way for me to represent the past that’s why some parts are in black and white.
The third picture is from my “multiple cultures identity” shoot. I was very lucky to have grown up Mexican cultures I was able to grow up with two completely different … Austrian and French. So for this project I had to show this part of me because is very important for me. To do that I search for traditional and stereotypes style that represents the countries I grow up in. The first (pink) I chose a short blonde wig for this photo. As accessory a crown of small pink and purple flowers and as clothing a small traditional Austrian shirt. The second one a long black wig, a wreath of large red flowers and as clothes a typical Mexican t-shirt. The third (red and blue) we can notice the famous Parisian beret that I combined with a sweater with black and white stripes. The last photo is to show me how I am, without stereotypes and traditional clothing. What I want to demonstrate with my photos and that I do not always show my cultures outside but they, as always, mentally.
Review and Reflection
I like the rendering of my photos I think I managed to interpret what I wanted to show but if it was to be done again I will focus more on small details because in presenting my work I have several ideas for the photos that I took and unfortunately I did not have the time to infiltrate these small details. What I mean by “small details” is like for example the inspirational image of Andy Warhol I would have liked to have different colours on my hair, my lips really like Andy Warhol the problem is I have think about it too late. Another problem that i have seen in my images especially my first shoot is the light. Many of my photos were quite obscure but apart from that I’m very happy with the result.
I have chosen these final images due to their strong link to family identity and their reflection of my grandparents love. Additionally, I decided to subtitle this project ‘Identify With What, Who and Where You Love’ as I believe it completely encompasses my project’s aim to highlight the importance of how family relationships, childhood memories and nostalgic surroundings all have an immense impact on somebody’s identity over time.
Firstly, I chose three image sequences from my Julian Germain inspired photoshoot which feature my grandparents doing the activities they value the most. My effective use of vibrancy and colour illustrates the joy and contentment they receive from even the smallest things, such as fixing a flower arrangement or cooking up a family dinner. Furthermore, I believe my composition of these sequences powerfully alludes to the cyclical theme of love and how a certain thing one does, such as gardening, can hold so many positive memories that when its repeated over and over again it reminds us of the moments that shaped our life. I plan on positioning these three sequences in the order seen above, as each lead on from the other reflecting the changing time of day in a repetitive pattern. As my photographs document afternoon into evening, my arrangement of images grow warmer as they go on. This orange glow that surrounds each photo paints a welcoming safe atmosphere around my grandparents home, giving the impression they feel comfortable and at ease.
My final two chosen arrangements are from my David Hilliard inspired photoshoot, using multi-panel compositions to reflect specific moments of my family’s past. I selected these two arrangements due to their link to special areas of my grandparents home which remind me of my childhood as well as reminding them of theirs. The first piece shows my grandmother cooking in the kitchen, depicting her passion for providing for her loved ones. I love the way my David Hilliard inspired editing emphasises the contrast between the dark blue sky to the bright orange wall. This reflects the idea that even if its cold and dark outside, warmth and love will radiate through the home that holds my family’s memories. The second arrangement highlights the importance of place influencing identity over time- as these chairs have been around in my family for decades they echo remembrance to the moments that have shaped our lives.
Julian Germain Comparison
Julian Germain | For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness
My Original Images | Identify with what, who and where you love
I have decided to compare these three images by Julian Germain to one of my favourite sequences as they hold many similarities as well as some differences. Firstly, the most obvious similarity is that both arrangements show someone either cooking, eating or drinking- reflecting the trivial aspects of everyday life. Additionally, the compositions of each image are related in the way that the first of each set shows a still life image, the second displays someone cooking and the third presents these subjects as the main focal point. Germain’s project ‘for every minute you are angry you lose 60 seconds of happiness’ has a very naturalistic candid nature, his images resonate with the observer in a way of reminding them about appreciating the small things in life. I have mirrored this idea in my images by presenting my grandparents in their home environment, conducting activities they feel talented at and proud of. This strongly links to Germain’s ideas on presenting people without self-importance and showing how what someone may see as tedious or mundane, others may pride their whole identity on. Furthermore, our pieces link in terms of repetition and theme of colour- although Germain uses a motif teal colour in his images and I have used the repetition of orange, we can still see the similarity in how colour can represent meaning. For example, the blues seen in Germain’s images create a calm serene atmosphere, reflecting his subjects contentment in life. However, the bright sunset orange tones in my sequence evoke a warm feeling from the observer and successfully radiates the hospitable atmosphere inside my grandparents home.
David Hilliard Comparison
One clear similarity between David Hilliard’s image and mine is their focus on place, an area that has obvious meaning and past. Both images show old chairs with stories behind them, connoting the idea that your identity may be influenced by the rooms in your home holding special memories from childhood, or even present normalities you anticipate seeing everyday. Hilliard’s image implies his relationship with his father is breaking down, made clear by his use of composition separating where he would sit from the rest of the room; perhaps symbolising his fathers disconnection to their life. However, as my project focuses on the positive aspects of family relationships, my image displays two chairs close together, symbolising my grandparents closeness and love for each other. Furthermore, Hilliard has captured an image with more cold colours and a central theme of emptiness, whereas I have photographed a busier image with hot colours revolving around the topic of intimacy and affection. This contrast effectively shows the difference between families identities and how they maintain or dispute relationships with each other. Moreover, there is a similarity within the lines of each image, Hilliard has captured the thin straight lines of his window which could epitomise the little family he has left. Nevertheless, I have photographed the repeated thick lines from the blinds, indicating towards my large family and strong relationships we have with one another. Although mine and David Hilliard’s work have differences, both still emphasise the theme of identity while embodying the contrast between a positive family relationship, and an negative one.
Review and Reflection
My aims and intentions for this ‘Identity and Place’ project were to reflect the importance of family relationships, love and upbringing having an effect on somebody’s identity. I wanted to capture images depicting how my grandparent’s home is a place of safety and nostalgia, holding memories of family for generations. Additionally, I wanted to explore how certain lighting choices, settings and motivations impacted the atmosphere and message of an image, I found it important to display the joyful mood of their home to mirror the positive relationship I have with my family. I believe my final outcomes successfully present identity as a concept influenced by those we love and care for. My use of candid portrait photography effectively shows the naturalism of my grandparents happiness and expresses the idea that contentment can come from the smallest of things. During my photoshoots inspired by photographers such as Julian Germain and David Hilliard, I produced images with confidence, showing the significance of our surroundings shaping our lives. I love how my images use a diverse range of camera angles, colours and perspective to solidify the idea of identity linking with family and the nostalgic memories surrounding my grandparent’s home. If I were to further develop this project, or in future projects similar to this, I would like to study painters and graphic designers as well as just photographers to explore a wider range of photographic techniques.
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.
Both photos work with the idea of identity and I think I portrayed the topic well. I made sure that the objects and things that were around me that describe me were still viable and clear.
With both outcomes I adjusted the brightness, contrast and exposure to make sure they were brighter because when I took the photos they came out darker then I thought. In outcome 2 I also straightened the picture as it was slanted.
Both photos do not have the same undertone due to the initial lighting used however if I was to present them I would not put them together and would only keep one. Outcome 1 is more cool toned which I do not like as much because I think it makes it personal and makes the mood cold. Whereas Outcome 2 is warmer and gives it more life.
Alec Soth
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
Outcome 1
Outcome 2
Outcome 3
All three of these photos have the same positioning of Alec Soth’s image where he has a main subject in the centre and the background is plain. I have also incorporated the split horizontally to split the images into two. The story with outcome 1 and 3 is that I wanted to portray a sense of lost identity and emptiness. The location being Corbiere has a deeper meaning that links to me personally because it is an important place to me as it reminds me of my grandparents.
When editing Outcome 1 and 3 I cropped the images so that the bench would be in the middle. On all three outcomes I adjusted the brightness, contrast, exposure and gamma correction. I made the sky brighter and adjusted the exposure of each image to make sure the sky was plain but then adjusted the contrast higher so that the land was still darker. I also adjusted the gamma correction so that the land would still have colour and not be washed out. On outcome 1 I used the clone tool to get rid of some rocks that were in the sea in the bottom left so that the background was plain.
Image 4
Outcome 4
When taking this photo I wanted to focus on the topic identity and how these images are about Corbiere and my grandparents. When they visit they sit on the bench photographed in the above image which is what I associate with the location.
I adjusted the brightness, exposure, contrast and gamma correction so that the background was lighter and clearer but the land was still clear.
First, I cropped my chosen image in order to focus on the focal point and to make the image more central and even.
I then changed the colour of the image to black and white as Woodman’s work is mostly in black and white. This adds the eerie aesthetic of Woodman’s style of photography.
Lastly, I edited the curves adjustments to achieve the sombre darkness contrasting with the lighter areas.
Firstly, I started out to create an image in the style of Evilsabeth Schmitz-Garcia.
I would use the photographs from Photo Shoot 1. These were the photos that I took that were simplistic, and had a variety of facial expressions. This was because that was one of the key aspects of Evilsabeth Schmitz-Garcia’s work, other than the warped and manipulated effect.
Overall, I chose the photo where the subject was smiling as most of Evilsabeth Schmitz-Garcia’s work has their mouth open or semi-open, as the manipulation effect works better.
This is the photo I chose to edit :
Process
In Photoshop I would need to : – Edit the background black (as all of Evilsabeth Schmitz-Garcia’s photos have a dark background) – Add some green/yellow particles into the background (In Evilsabeth Schmitz-Garcia’s photos there is always some colouration in the background) – Add grain/noise (to get the scan effect) – Experiment with overlays, such as the hands I took in Photo Shoot 3.
After Photoshop I would print out the image and place it on the scanner. Whilst it is scanning i would move the printed photo along, this is how the manipulation effect occurs.
These are all the layers in Photoshop.
Firstly, I selected the object with the quick selection tool, then clicked the select and mask option. This would remove the white background so I could replace it with a black background. To clean up the edges, I used the refine edge brush in the select and maskscreen. This blurs the edges so any white space; cause by the lights, in the hair would get removed. This gave the cut out a clean look. After I outputted it onto a new layer then renamed it “fin”.
I created a black background layer under the “fin” layer, this made the edges of the face stand out too much and created a sharp line, which I didn’t want. To fix this I created a Clipping Mask then used the brush tool (black) with a hardness of 0% and smoothing of 0%. This made it so the brush wasn’t harsh and gave it a “gradient” effect, so it faded into the background. On the left side of his face I added some “highlights” using the brush tool (white) at 0% hardness, I used a clipping mask then used the brush to create the shine effect, where the light was coming from. I had to turn down the opacity to 65%, otherwise the white was too overpowering. I added a green tint to a part of the face, the layer named “green”. I used an adjustment layer then changed the hue to green. This made the whole face green, so I used the eraser tool with a hardness of 0% to remove the green from 70% of the face.
To add the background colours I used the brush tool with 0% hardness, the colours I used were green and yellow. I added motion blur to the colours, so they weren’t just block of colour in the background. I also turned down the opacity so the colours weren’t as bright to match the tones Evilsabeth Schmitz-Garcia used.
I experimented by adding a hand into the photo. I started by removing the background with quick selection and select and mask, which is the same process as the face cut-out. First of all, it seemed out of place as it was really bright, so I added an adjustment layer for brightness and contrast, which I turned down the brightness and turned up the contrast. After I turned down the opacity to make it so that was almost hidden, therefore not contrasting the main focus point.
I printed the image, although it was a bit dark so the increased the brightness and reprinted it. After, I placed the image on the scanner. As it started to scan I moved the image to manipulate the outcome. I did this about 20 times. I photographed the best 4 so I can take them into photoshop, and refine them. these were the 4 scanner outcomes:
I took these 4 images into Photoshop. Firstly I, found my base layer, which was the one in the top row far left in the selection above. Then, I removed the background of the tall image with the eraser, then added it on top of the base layer. I used the eraser tool with a hardness of 0% to create a gentle gradient into the base layer. Next, I only masked out the lips from the tall face, and made duplicate copies of it. I used the warp tool to change the aspect ratio of it to match the image so it would look like it is being stretched and pulled between the faces. After, I added motion blur to smoothen it out.
After it all matched, I added another face as Evilsabeth Schmitz-Garcia normally uses 3 faces. I removed the background then uses the eraser tool again to fade it into the base layer (middle face). After, I masked out the right eye from the new face then used the warp tool the connect it to the middle faces eye. I would need to use the eraser tool to get rid of the sharp edges.#
Once I had finished the composition of the image, I renamed all of the layers, then fattened the image. I added adjustment layers to make it more in the style of Evilsabeth Schmitz-Garcia. I used a hue/saturation where I added the green effect that Schmitz-Garcia uses in here final images. The brightness/contrast adjustment is a normal adjustment where I brightened the images and made the blacks more dark.
Finally I added a camera-RAW filter to touch up the final image. I started off by changing the tint, highlights, shadows, blacks, and the white. (right image). Secondly, I changed the individual colours, but mostly the greens, yellows, and oranges. The greens I increased the most as it was one of the more distinguishable colours. The yellows and oranges I also increased to counter the green. As it was too strong in some areas.
After, I realised that the background was too shiny as I took the images of the paper with a camera. So, I decided to go over the background with the black brush tool and made opacity 75%. It fixed the problem and removed the lighter areas.
That is how I edited my image in the style of Evilsabeth Schmitz-Garcia.
Final Image
Evaluation
Reviewing my image, I like how it turned out, and I feel that there is a strong connection between my image and Evilsabeth Schmitz-Garcia’s image. The main reason she displayed her images in her style was to capture people with multiple personality disorder. I feel that the manipulation in my image shows that perfectly as there is no sharp interrupting lines between images, instead it looks like it is all one image. The colours mostly match. I feel that the camera raw filter really helped me achieve this look. The scanner produced lines on the my images similar to Evilsabeth Schmitz-Garcia image. This is because I actually used a scanner and was a good idea even though it was risky, and I didn’t think it would work.
This is my image side by side with Evilsabeth Schmitz-Garcia’s image that I based mine off, and inspired me. As you can see they are fairly equal. Overall i think it turned out well.
Critique
Looking back it all went smoothly, except from when I went to print it and it turned out really dark. This is an easy fix, I could of printed it on higher quality paper or better printer. I fixed it by making the image really bright before printing, so when it printed it would be how it was on the screen.
Also if the printer saved a digital copy of the scan I wouldn’t need to take photos of the manipulated results, therefore getting a clearer version. Although, it did add more texture to the image, so it turned out better.
Originally, I was going the use the liquify filter in Photoshop to create the result. In the end I didn’t use it at all. Instead, I used the photocopier, which was a good idea.
