HAMPTONNE OBJECTS

What is an environmental portrait?

An environmental portrait is a photograph of a person, often posed, taken in a location that is individually relevant to the subject. Environmental portraits are frequently photographed in an everyday setting such as the home, place of work, or another personally meaningful locale. Good environmental portraits will tell strong stories of their subjects. Their immediate surroundings will give the viewer insight into where these people are, what they do, and who they are.

Some environmental portrait photographers..

Paul Strand (1890–1976)

Arnold Newman (1918–2006)

Daniel Mordzinski (1960 — )

Michelle Sank

Annie Leibovitz (1949 — )

Mary Ellen Mark (1940–2015)

Jimmy Nelson (1967 — )

Sara Facio (1932 — )

Photoshoot ideas development

1. Two or more people — parents gardening
   1. take two photos of parents in morning evening to capture lighting changing throughout the day
2. Take photo at skatepark of two or more people
   1. Photo taken in afternoon
   2. Person 1 – Ben holding skateboard
   3. Person 2 – somebody skating in the background
3. Take photo at newlook of cassie
   1. photo of her working behind the tills

Michelle Sank

Michelle Sank was born in Cape Town, South Africa. She left there in 1978 and has been living in England since 1987. Her images reflect a preoccupation with the human condition and to this end can be viewed as social documentary. Her work encompasses issues around social and cultural diversity. ‘I am interested in how adolescence is marked by rites of passage that are reflective of cultural values and how this is expressed within ethnically diverse communities in the Black Country. I am exploring the way these rituals often mark a socially recognized transition to adulthood and responsibility and to some recognition of sexual maturity. I will document how these rites of passage can differ from male to female and how the emphasis on body image, performance and dress are a personal means of expression.‘ She has once visited Jersey and made a collection of photographs she took there, titled ‘Insula’.

Whilst editing these objects I tried to enhance the colours that were already on screen in order to create a set of peaceful yet old images.

Editing One of My Photos

I decided to edit this image as I thought the framing and angle that the image was taken at looked interesting especially with the natural light falling upon part of the chest, enhancing the shadows and the details carved into the wood. I think I could enhance this image further by giving the light a warmer look [which’ll make the image look softer] then tint the shadows red so they don’t look clash against the light.

I started the edit by increasing the temperature of the photo, giving it a warm look before increasing the sharpness of the image, making it so the details of the chest and objects on the chest were visible. Next, I tinted the highlights so they were orange and made the highlights a subtle magenta which complimented the image nicely. I finished off the edit by adding a soft vignette, making it white as the image was already quite dark, which created a small light leak at the bottom of the image.

My Final Edits

Whilst editing my photos of buildings, I tried to keep the lighting warm and bright in order to make Hamptonne look peaceful, inviting and almost nostalgic for the viewer.

Editing One of My Photos

I chose to edit this image as I liked the lighting in the photo along with the framing. I felt as though I managed to capture a lot of the scenery around the building whilst still keeping the building the main focus of the photo. I thought I could improve the photo as it was slightly overexposed which made it difficult to see some of the details in the courtyard and the colours were also muted due to this.

I started off the edit by decreasing the exposure slightly in order for the details in the bricks and trees to be clearer then increased the temperature of the photo in order to get a warm and inviting look. Next, I saturated most of the colours in the image so it would look brighter and more vibrant, making sure to keep down some of the yellow tones so it wouldn’t overpower the rest of the colours in the image. I finished off the edit by sharpening the image and increasing the contrast slightly so each object would be separated from each other and not one blob of colour.

My Final Edits

Here are some of my best images from my first environmental photography shoot. I pictured Ruby in her bedroom as it expresses her interests and general life.

I based this shoot on Arnold Newman, I wanted to include the dishevelled look to my images which he has in his, I did this through the clutter of posters on Ruby’s wall, the stack of CDS and the rustic looking chair.

Original photos – unedited

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Edited

The Process

I used a camera stand to keep my camera level and directed Ruby to pose how she felt comfortable to keep the authenticity of the photographs. I chose to conduct my photoshoot at mid afternoon to capture the bright sun peaking through the window, highlighting the details of her bedroom.

I chose the placement for the images where Ruby is sat on the chair to capture the reflection of the mirror which also gives us a look into her interests, her wardrobe which expresses her love for fashion, a globe suggesting her interest of the world and two stuffed animals from her childhood. I believe Ruby’s choice of clothing was great as her minimalistic fashion choice made the background pop.

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before editing my photos I wanted to sort through the good and bad images, I used the star system which helped me group the good images together.

When editing my images i wanted to capture the black and white theme which is a prominent feature within Newman’s Work, i also adjusted the shadows and exposure to capture that subtle shadow which can be seen in many of Newman’s black and white pieces.

Further Experimenting

Using photoshop, I edited images to create some further edits of my images.

For this image, I took another one of my images from the same shoot and placed that in the reflection of the mirror. To do this I used photoshop, I then used the lasso tool to select the part of the image I wanted to remove. After erasing the original reflection from the mirror I inserted another photo and placed that layer underneath my original.

For this image, I wanted to contrast the vibrant colours of Rubys wall with the black and white of the Arnold Newman style edit. To do this I used the same image in colour, then i used the rectangular marquee tool to select the parts of the coloured image I wanted to include.

To create this futuristic mirror portal image I once again selected the original mirror reflection with the lasso tool and deleted the reflection, I then placed this image with a frenzy explosion of colours in its place, creating a portal mirror.

PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGE ANALYSIS

Image analysis is very important in your understanding of photography. Both from learning how an image is composed or structured to the actual content and meaning of an image. You may need to understand or find out its social, historical, or political context.

Light: Light in the photo are coming from the skylight windows and from a single train light, the rest of the image is filled with morbid colours. The Harsh blacks and greys contrast the light colours. The image consists of lines of machinery and window leading to a window that hovers over Alfred Krupp’s head.

There’s a lot of repetition within the structure of the building and there’s light reflecting on Krupp’s head. All of the lines are geometric. This image to an extent has a shallow depth of field as Newman wanted to highlight.

The darkest part of the image surrounds Krupp and the frame that allows you to see the factory. Dark colours are constant throughout the image

I think that the elements of Newman’s photograph were purposely placed in such way to portray an implicit meaning of Krupp and his factory to be the angle of death.

Contextual Information

He inherited the factory, the factory created all the bombs and missiles for the Nazi’s, he was 14 when he inherited the factory taking over after his Fathers death

My Perception

Idea of the sarcastic halo, triangle shape with his hands, Lines all lead to the sarcastic halo, Angel of Hell and death, Lighting is coming from the sides creating a dark shadow around his eyes. He sorta reminds me of Mr Burns ngl…

Who am I photographing?

For my outdoor photoshoot, I will be photographing my grandad.

What am I photographing?

i will be photographing him his bee hive, and his bee suit

when am I conducting the shoot?

the weekend

where am i working/ location?

I will either be producing this shoot at his home or bee hives

why am i designing the shoot in this way?

i am designing the shoot in this way because my grandad has really enjoyed Bee keeping as a hobbie for many years

how am i going to produce the images (lighting / equipment etc)?

i am going to make sure it is a good lit day to be able to capture the best quality images possible.