SELECTING, FINALISING AND DISPLAYING…

I grouped the above images together as they portray the same vertical leading line architecture both with each other, and with the gallery they are displayed in.

These images I decided to display in a digital zine format. They follow the same tonal and textual features showcasing the sandpapered clouds in a dark underexposed style.

The above images follow the same desaturated and geometric rectangle features which coincides with the gallery I chose which features grey walls and geometric rectangular architecture.

These images feature the same experimental focal style. They all have unconventional focus features with varying depths of field which made it suitable to use the immersive gallery which provides depth of field as some images look closer than the others.

The above images are curated together into that setting for the way they look like a portal into a different universe.

Method

I first gathered my my images according to how aesthetic they would look simultaneously, into five sub-galleries

I then chose a fitting empty background to stitch the clusters of images onto. I chose backgrounds that possessed similar shape and form of the images and also any other visual elements such as similar cloud patterns.

I then used photoshop to transpose these images onto the coinciding backgrounds by making use of free transform and warp to make the images look naturally apart of the background. I also added a drop-shadow to the images to help achieve this.

Environmental Portraits

Photoshoot Plan

Artist References

Exhibitions — August Sander - August Sander | Hauser & Wirth
August Sanders (1930) ‘Lack Arbeiter’

August Sander was born in Herdorf, a small rural village east of Cologne, in 1876. He was one of nine children of a peasant and miner family. Sander is now viewed as a forefather of conceptual art and a pioneering documentarian of human diversity. In his project entitled ‘Menschen des 20. Jahrhunderts (People of the 20th Century)’, a project that spanned four decades of his life, Sander strove to systematically document contemporary German society. (https://www.hauserwirth.com/artists/2859-august-sander).

The photo above is one of the images taken by Sanders in his lifetime of a Varnisher. The background is black which allows all the detail of the person and objects to prominent. The image also has high contrast and is in black and white due to the time in which it was taken.

‘I hate nothing more than sugary photographs with tricks, poses and effects. So allow me to be honest and tell the truth about our age and its people’ – Sanders

Chosen Images

Candid Portraits And Street Photography

Candid portraits involve capturing the photo when the subject thinks the photographer isn’t working. However it will still be staged and they would still have direction from the photographer. What they do not know is exactly when the photograph will be taken.

Examples of Candid photography:

Street photography, a genre of photography that records everyday life in public places. Being in the public setting enables the photographer to take candid pictures of strangers, sometimes without them knowing. Street photography does not have to be taken on the streets. You can do street photography anywhere. The aim of street photography is to capture culture and lifestyle.

A good street photo needs a clearly defined subject and use composition techniques such as rule of thirds, negative space, symmetry etc. Images should tell a story or document a moment. Some street photography is created to make the viewer pause and question themselves.

https://photographylife.com/what-is-street-photography

Examples of Street photography:

http://www.artnet.com/artists/lee-friedlander/

Press the above to view Vivian Maiers work

CANDID PORTRAITS AND STREET PHOTOGRAPHY – Photo Shoot

Photoshoot Contact Sheets

Final Outcomes: Favourite Images

Editing Process:

I used Adobe Lightroom to edit all of these images. The process was similar with each image:

  • First i crop and rotate the image to the desired size and angle.
  • I altered the exposure, highlights, shadows, whites and blacks of the image so that the image is perfectly exposed to how i want it.
  • I then change the contract, vibrancy and saturation of the image to create an overall tone of the colour for the image.
  • I then make any additional colour and/or texture changes to finalize the image

CANDID PORTRAITS AND STREET PHOTOGRAPHY ~ Blog Post 2

Henri Cartier – Bresson and “The Decisive Moment”

Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Decisive Moment examines Cartier-Bresson’s influential publication, widely considered to be one of the most important photobooks of the twentieth century. Pioneering for its emphasis on the photograph itself as a unique narrative form, The Decisive Moment was described by Robert Capa as “a Bible for photographers.” Originally titled Images à la Sauvette (“images on the run”) in the French, the book was published in English with a new title, The Decisive Moment, which unintentionally imposed the motto which would define Cartier-Bresson’s work. The exhibition details how the decisions made by the collaborators in this major project—including Cartier-Bresson, French art publisher Tériade, American publisher Simon & Schuster, and Henri Matisse, who designed the book’s cover—have shaped our understanding of Cartier-Bresson’s photographs. Through vintage gelatin silver prints, first-edition publications, periodicals, and correspondence, Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Decisive Moment brings new insights to this iconic work.

Mood board

Contribution to MAGNUM Photo Agency

Two years after the apocalypse that was called the Second World War ended, Magnum Photos was founded. The world’s most prestigious photographic agency was formed by four photographers – Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, George Rodger and David “Chim” Seymour – who had been very much scarred by the conflict and were motivated both by a sense of relief that the world had somehow survived and the curiosity to see what was still there. They created Magnum in 1947 to reflect their independent natures as both people and photographers – the idiosyncratic mix of reporter and artist that continues to define Magnum, emphasizing not only what is seen but also the way one sees it.

CANDID PORTRAITS AND STREET PHOTOGRAPHY ~ Blog Post 1

Candid portraits are when the person who is the main subject of the photo is unaware that they are being photographed, the idea of a candid portrait is to capture people acting naturally. The reason why they have to be unaware that they are being photographed is because when they do become aware their behaviour in front of the camera changes and they become aware of what they’re doing.

Photo Shoot

Street Photography

Street photography is a genre of photography which focuses on recording everyday life in a public place, street photography relates to candid portraits as the street photographs may include people who are unaware they’re being photographed.

SELECTING AND FINALISING AND DISPLAYING

These images above are my best colourful abstract photographs and I have selected them to be in my final piece of the abstract unit as for there high quality , eye catching liveliness. They relate to each other in the sense that they all come from something living such as the flowers and the fruit which would have originated from a plant. These images with a little amount of editing such as increasing the vibrancy level on the colours and changing the levels with the highlights and shadows formed in the photographs , they are all displayed in a gallery (photoshopped).

For my next selection of images used I have chosen a more street work style of photography and I have displayed my work on billboards in a city. The images selected relate to abstract photography as for the blurred backgrounds/foregrounds and the reflection work. They are effective in black and white in this scene to blend with alley ways in towns and cities and simply look better.

These black and white abstract photographs are all placed in a gallery with a more of a modern style of photography to them. They relate with the abstract work as for the tonal range of dark to light can be noticed almost instantly. With minimal editing these photos where the ones that caught my eye.

These last images I have chosen simply link with the abstract unit as for the repetition of the object that I have photographed. These images have been displayed in a sketchbook as photos. The black and white colour of the images creates a more abstract feel as there is a larger focus on the shapes of the objects as the colour is not apparent.

famous portraits

A portrait photograph may be important for historic preservation, personal branding or for personal pleasure,  it is a type of photography aimed toward capturing the personality of a person or group of people by using effective lighting, backdrops, and poses. A portrait photograph may be artistic or clinical. Portrait photographers are able to capture the personality and emotion of people around them.

Portrait photos look best if the eyes are in sharp focus, this improves the sense of eye contact between the subject and viewer, creating a powerful and engaging photo. When shooting portraits with a shallow depth of field, it is important to set your focus point carefully.

Examples of Portrait Photography

Contemporary Portrait Photography

Contemporary portrait photography could be described as a photograph from our own time, compared to an image from a much earlier period. Instead, it is a reference to an image created that reflects our values, challenges and perceptions today or, in reference to a contemporaneous period for that image.

Examining photographic portraits has been a way we practice critical thinking about identities, how images relate to social, historical and cultural contexts and how ideas, feelings and meanings are portrayed through portrait photography and ultimately how they shape our history.

Contemporary photography encapsulates or reflects back to us an opinion about our world today. Values, societies, philosophy, standards for living, technology, politics and geopolitical realities constantly change.

For the photograph to be “contemporary” it does not have to ignore a prior historical context, or that it is influenced by the work of others in the past, or by other current artists. The photographer may have combined previously taken images from any prior point in time giving that image a contemporary re-birth. 

Lee Jeffries

Lee Jeffries is a British street photographer, who resides near Manchester, England. He focuses on homeless people in England and all around the world. Lee‘s images were published in many prestigious magazines and newspapers, photography came into his life by accident when he was 35 years old.

Jeffries’ relationship with street portraits began in 2008 when he took his camera and went out. The main reason he went to shoot people out, was that he felt lonely inside and being surrounded by people helped to change that feeling. According to him, the more relationships he created with homeless people, the less lonely he felt, so his photographing activity at some point was not giving something away, but take something back too.

By making portraits of homeless persons, Lee wanted to dig a little bit deeper and get to know them at first, create a connection with them and maybe even help them to change their complicated situation. According to him, if you respect a person no matter what is his social status, he will respect you back and that is a key of trust with which you can create a certain atmosphere for making a good portrait.

The Beautifully Haunted World of Lee Jeffries | Fstoppers

What i like about Jeffries’ photographs is the deep emotion each picture presents. This photograph is filled with distress, trouble, sorrow and sadness, his images are very powerful and make the viewer feel sympathy towards the person in the photograph as the people in Jeffries’ images are homeless and express negative emotions, showing they aren’t happy with their lives.

What catches my eye the most about this photo is the deep contrast between the black and white tones and the detail in her skin, i like how the highlights bounce off of her skin from the natural light and instead of trying to hide her age, Jeffries expresses their age by capturing each small detail in her skin.

The surroundings of her face are dark and plain and all your focus gets taken to her detailed face and towards the emotions shes feeling.

Harry callahan Repetition

Harry Callahan was an American photographer and educator. His first solo exhibition was at the art institute of Chicago in 1951. Some of his works include Lake Michigan (1953), Chicago (1949) and La Salle Street, Chicago (1953).

Harry Callahan. Lake Michigan. 1953 | MoMA
Harry Callahan (1953) Lake Michigan
Harry Callahan, Chicago, 1949 · SFMOMA
Harry Callahan (1949) Chicago
HARRY CALLAHAN (1912–1999) | LaSalle Street, Chicago, 1953 | Photographs |  Christie's
Harry Callahan (1953) La Salle Street, Chicago
Harry Callahan | Biography & Art Works | Huxley-Parlour Gallery

Contact Sheets

Filtered Down Contact Sheets

Best Images and Edits

My Best Image

I believe the image showing the fern leaf is the best. First of all i believe it really shows how complicated nature is and fits with the idea of natural lines as there is many lines that connect other lines etc. Also i believe it really shows natural lines as the leaf isn’t perfect and is missing some of the small leaves showing that nature is not perfect. To create the very green and natural image, i edited the original image so that the edge of the leaf had some darker borders. Secondly, I made the fern leaf have a more natural and green colour that brighten and make the fern more vibrant.