Diamond Cameo

A diamond cameo is when 4 oval-shaped portraits of the same person are taken and arranged into a diamond shape on a ‘carte de visite’, each portrait having the model in a different position/looking into a different direction. They were taken around 1864 onwards with a special camera that automatically moved the photos once they were taken so they could be printed in the diamond shape. Henry Mullins was a famous photographer in Jersey back in the 1840’s who took some diamond cameos, however, despite how interesting the diamond cameo looks, it wasn’t very popular as one bad photo would cause the whole cameo to be rejected and all 4 photos would have to be retaken, making it a time consuming and expensive process.

My Edits

To create these edits I pasted some of my images, making sure they’re cropped into an oval shape, onto a background and placed them into a diamond shape in order to replicate the diamond cameo style.

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Adding Overlays

In order to make my diamond cameos look older/aged I added some overlays by using images of scrunched and yellowed paper on a separate layer and lowered the opacity, creating a vintage-esque filter.

I prefer these edits more than my original ones as it looks similar to Henry Mullins work.

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Sequence/Grid

A sequence/grid is when a group of photos are arranged in a particular way either to create a sequence/story or to present the images as a group, linking all the photos together through the visuals rather than relying on words. It also allows photographers to convey a message without relying on one single shot to express their feelings towards the topic they’re photographing.

A good example of a photographer that is well known for his use of sequences is Duane Michals. Although his images look good individually, he combines them together to create a sequence of successful photos that work together to create a story. His photos are imaginative, tackling topics such as mortality, memory and desire, with little changing from image to image which have led them to be compared to stills from a film. Michals particular style of sequences requires him taking multiple images at the same scene, causing them to look similar and ensuring the sequence will be successful.

Another photographer called Shannon O’Donnell also uses her photos to create a sequence. Her series ‘That’s not the way the river flows’ involves her taking a variety of portraits at different locations and with different angles, props etc. Her style of photography still creates a sequence despite them being taken hours to days apart due to the story/topic of masculinity and femininity and gender experience that she chose to portray throughout the series.

My Sequence/Grid

To create my sequence/grid, I carefully chose photos that I thought would go well together and arranged them to look coherent with one another.

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Double Exposure

A double exposure allows two or more images to be seen at the same time and create one image, usually by one photo being more transparent as it lays on top of the other. There’s a variety of ways double exposures are created as any combination of images can be used. For example: portraits & portraits, portraits & still life, still life & landscapes etc.

My Edits

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Juxtaposition happens when there are two or more elements in a scene that contrast with each other. Or one element contributes towards the other to create a theme. It’s all about making the viewer wonder why the photographer chose a certain viewpoint for the picture / combination of pictures.

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To create a point of juxtaposition, the picture or composition must contain at least two elements with strong visual weight. The viewer looks at both of these at the same time, coming to a conclusion about the purpose of each element.

Photographers create juxtapositions by placing two things side by side, to highlight their differences. Photographers often choose to create juxtapositions to showcase differences often in society such wealth and poverty, but also things like beauty and ugliness, or darkness and light. Furthermore, they can also be created with differences or similarities in shape, line and colour.

Michelle Sank – Editions Emile

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Henry Mullins and Michelle Sank represent 165 years of the practice of photographic portraiture in Jersey. That period has seen the island undergo major social and economic changes. Through these photographers’ works, we examine those changes and the power structures that remain in place within this society. Between 1850-73, Henry Mullins made over 9000 “carte de visite” portraits of Jersey’s ruling elite and wealthy upper classes – The collection that exists of his work comes through his studio albums, in which he placed his clients in an ordered grid with reference to mid-nineteenth century social hierarchies.

Pairing his images with portraits made in 2013 by Michelle Sank as the inaugural Archisle International Photographer-in-Residence reflects upon a culturally diverse and more inclusive demographic of islanders as Jersey has evolved as a community supported primarily by an agricultural, maritime and emerging tourism economies to a contemporary international finance centre.

My Experiments

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Photomontage

A photomontage is the process of manipulating two or more images in order to create one final photo by splicing, cutting, sticking and more. This can be done digitally, like I’ve done, or through the use of many items such as paper, paint, tape, books pages etc.

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I took inspiration from Russel C. Smith, a mixed-media artist who cuts/tears photographs and glues them down in a variety of different ways. Sometimes the order of the images are mixed up, occasionally part of the photo is enlarged and in colour, often newspaper/magazines are also cut up and placed throughout the montage. Although each piece follows the same structure, no piece looks the same

My Edits:

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Here’s a small progression of how I got my final image:

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I began editing by increasing the brightness and adjusting the contrast of the original image along with increasing the vibrancy a little. From there, I copied and pasted a block of hair from a different image and pasted it on top of her eyes and erased around the fingers, making it appear as if the hair is underneath her fingers. Then, I pasted the block of hair again, this time on top of the mouth, and increased the brightness of it in order to make it appear different from the other block.

[I wasn’t sure which edit I liked best, even though both are very similar]

A headshot is a tightly cropped photo of the face, from the shoulders up. The subject is camera aware — typically looking right in the lens. Years ago, headshots were reserved for actors and models. In today’s socially connected world, a modern headshot comes in handy for anyone looking to market themselves professionally.

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Bruce Gilden

Bruce Gilden is an American street photographer. He is best known for his candid close-up photographs of people on the streets of New York City, using a flashgun. 

Right from childhood, Gilden has always been fascinated by the life on the streets and the complicated and fascinating motion it involves, and this was the spark that inspired his first long-term personal projects, photographing in Coney Island and then during Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

Contact Sheets

I have done one main photoshoot which some images have already been edited. For these photos we took them from many different angles and different styles.

Editing

For most of my photos, I only changed them to black and white and then slightly adjusted some other elements to improve the edit.

Final Images

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