Diamond Cameo–
A Diamond Cameo is when an arrangement of 4 portraits are used to make a diamond shape, they were all pictures of the same person who were often Victorian men at the height of their popularity.
I used Black and White images to try to make them all seem more uniform, as having them in colour could seem distracting from the subject.
Juxtaposition–
In photography, Juxtaposition is used to create contrast between two images placed next to each other. These images could be of completely different things, have different colours and compositions and doing this makes both photos seem more interesting as the audience wonders how they relate to one another, noticing their similarities and differences.
Overall these were fun and interesting to make but would have probably looked better if I had planned to make a juxtaposition from the start instead of having to reuse my older images. I like how in the last one I made their background’s switch to the opposite colour when the picture was cropped as I think it makes the composition more unique.
I carried out a photoshoot using 2 point lighting, a lighting setup that includes a Key Light and a Fill Light. The Key light is for the basic lighting, whilst the fill light is used to fill in shadows out of reach of the Key light. These two lights are placed opposite each other so the subject is lit from both sides.
Because I did not have someone else in the studio with me, I set up my camera so my phone could be used to as a remote to take the shots.
My Final Images- I edited them slightly, adjusting the colour balance to make them warmer or cooler depending on the mood I felt fit best.
Oliver Doran is a British/French professional photographer who mostly does celebrity portraits around the world. He often shoots in black and white and uses a variety of lighting techniques in his portraits.
Studio Lighting-
Rembrandt lighting is a technique used in photography often used to make the subject appear more visually interesting. It is done by placing the light at an angle so that it lights up half of the face as well as creating a small upside down triangle on their cheek, just underneath the eye.
It is a result of the Dutch painter Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, who painted many portraits using this style of lighting.
Butterfly lighting is a photography technique which can also make portraits appear more interesting. It is done by placing a light facing slightly down on the subject directly in front of them. This causes a shadow underneath their nose, which can resemble a butterfly. It is most often used by fashion and beauty photographers.
Side light / Chiaroscuro is a lighting technique where light only falls on one side of the subject. This is done by placing the light roughly 90 degrees from the camera so that only half of the subject’s face is lit up and the other is covered in shadow. It is often done to make unique and striking portraits.
Editing-
Final Images-
I like the majority of my images but if I were do to these shoots again I would take a lot more pictures so I have more options. I prefer the black and white images as I think they are more interesting to look at and have more contrast.
Early Pioneers-
Louis Daguerre was a French artist and photographer responsible for creating the Daguerreotype photographic process, which is now seen as incredibly slow and delicate. Daguerreotypes where often used for portraits and produce incredibly detailed images on small silvered copper plates.
Henry William Fox-Talbot was an English scientist and inventor who also contributed to the development of photography. He is responsible for developing calotypes, a photographic process which can create negatives that can be printed. Details where not as clear as daguerreotypes but the ability to mass produce images was far more important at the time.
Julia Margaret Cameron was a British photographer who would mostly take portraits. Her work was inspired by mythology and literature leading to her using photography as more of a tool to express her art.
Henry Mullins was a British photographer who came to Jersey in 1848, to take portraits of the residents. He spent 26 years on the island, mostly taking pictures of officers of the Royal Militia and those higher up in society. After his death, 20,000 of his negatives were acquired and eventually given to The Société Jersiaise, an organisation in Jersey responsible for protecting and researching many historical subjects from the island’s past.
Vanitas Still Life
A Vanitas is often a symbolic work of art with connections to concepts like the inevitability of death, being consumed by greed and vanity, and how one’s life is being spent. They were most popular in the 1600’s and were mostly done by Dutch painters.
Sharon Core
Sharon Core is an American Artist and Photographer, born in Louisiana (1965) she studied painting at the University of Georgia and Photography at Yale University of Art. She has won numerous awards and has many exhibitions for her work. In this work she recreates the style of vanitas paintings but using a camera. It is incredibly recognisable and unique and her history as a painter helped fuel her to edit and create photos like this.
My Images-
I attempted to edit mine in a similar style to make them seem less realistic, making them seem softer and a more pleasant colour scheme.
Walker Evans-
Walker Evans (1903-1975), was an American photographer and photojournalist. His pictures are in black and white, due to the camera he used, and document life in the US during the great depression. He also did a series of still lifes, including Beauties of The Common Tool. The images are all of a simple tool on a plain background, focussing on how we can see beauty even in unexpected places.
Most of the interest from these come from the interesting shapes they are made up of and how light reacts to each subject, creating interesting and varying shadows.
Darren Harvey-Regan-
Darren Harvey-Regan (1974-), is a British photographer greatly inspired by Walker Evans’ work, using mostly black and white images and exploring shape and shadow. Harvey-Regan’s work is used to explore the space between 3D and 2D using a camera.
Images-
Inspired Photomontages-
Cyanotypes as a science-
Cyanotypes are a form of printing that was discovered by Sir John Herschel in 1842. It was often used by engineers in the 20th century to make cheap copies of drawings, known as blueprints. When the mixture of iron compounds are exposed to UV light and then water, the paper will turn blue, giving Cyanotypes their name and signature look, and unexposed areas would be white.
Cyanotypes as an art form-
Cyanotypes can also be used as a form of art, with artists able to place interesting and beautiful compositions onto them. Anna Atkins was a British artist, collector and photographer who illustrated a book using cyanotypes, producing detailed blueprints of botanical specimens- this book was called Photographs of British Algae- Cyanotype Impressions and was released in 1843.
My Cyanotype-
On the Hamptonne trip I had the chance to make my own Cyanotype, I used various things nearby for my composition, like petals and stones. The composition is a little faint but I enjoyed the process.
Interiors from around Hamptonne, I edited them to make them brighter and warmer.
Exteriors from around Hamptonne, I edited them to make them brighter and warmer.
