Below I have placed some contact sheets of my images after being imported into Lightroom from my camera, this is before I have gone through the selection process and looked and what images I would like to actually use in my project, as some of these don’t have enough clarity to be used as final images. Furthermore, this contact sheet of portraits of my dad and brother have been organised so that its only portraits in this specific screenshot, meaning that the presentation of my photographs is more organised and is separated into each photoshoot.
Objects
This contact sheet is only of the objects which may be used in my final project, I am unsure if they will come into my project as I have more substantial plans using my other images of old family photographs and portraits. The layout of these images helps highlight my ideas as the three components of family, portraits and objects are separated.
Old Family Photographs
Continuing, here I have a range of images that are photographs of my old family photos, I have organised them so that the first half are ones of my mums side of the family and the second half are ones of my dads side of the family, throughout most of the images its clear that the old ones (dads side) are a slightly more yellow (as seen below) tint, this might be due to them being decades old or just the conditions they were kept it over time.
Definition: Monochromatic colours are all the colours of a single hue. Monochromatic colour schemes are derived from a single base hue and extended using its shades, tones and tints. Tints are achieved by adding white and shades and tones are achieved by adding a darker colour, grey or black.
In my project: monochromatic editing and taking of photographs will play a big role in my project as all of the old family images I will be using are black and white, and as I will be recreating some of Kensuke Koike’s work, my collage of 3 faces I will create will be black and white and presented on my blog alongside his work, to demonstrate how I am taking the majority of the inspiration from his work.
Photo Montage/ Cut and Paste
Definition: Photomontage is the process and the result of making a composite photograph by cutting, gluing, rearranging and overlapping two or more photographs into a new image. Sometimes the resulting composite image is photographed so that the final image may appear as a seamless physical print.
In my project: The main reason why this will incorporated into my project is because I am very inspired by Kensuke Koike’ work. I like how multiple different images can be used to create a new piece with a new meaning, as it links to themes such as heritage, identity and family. Furthermore, it’s like creating a optical illusion but digitally (in this case in photoshop not physically) as position images to create more aesthetic than the last.
1st Photoshoot Plan:
1) Collect resources (images and old family photographs) from my dads side of the family, as my grandfather was a coal miner as has a miners statue and other various objects relating to his old profession
2) Make sure that I know the key information on the objects, e.g. when they were purchased and who is in the old family photographs so background information can be added
3) Go to the studio and take photographs of these objects and family photos, using the copy stand for these, focusing mainly on the lighting and the level of the camera in comparison to the images
4) Input images into Lightroom ready for editing and development
Here I have placed a photo of our setup, using the copy stand which includes the camera, lights, plain white surface for a background, a trigger and the tripod that holds the camera up but facing downwards. This helped me to take many legible images of my old family photographs, especially as the handheld trigger makes sure all the wires are out of the way.
2nd Photoshoot Plan:
1) Decide who I would like to photograph in correlation to creating a new face, made from three generations of family members, this photoshoot is based on first hand images I will be taking.
2) Once I have asked the models (which will most likely be my grandad, dad and brother) if they will be apart of my project and get their photos taken, I will take images of them outside in order to use the natural lighting.
3) Ideally with a plain background I will take their portraits, directing them when to smile in pose different ways, and at different angles.
4) Input images into Lightroom, I will identify which are the most useful for my project
Family identity can be defined as the following: Habits, rituals, and traditions your family takes part in. Family legacy and history passed down via word of mouth or ancestor research. Values your family subscribes to.
My definition: How your family ties/ roots affect aspects of your life such as your culture and upbringing. This means that if this is included in my project there are lots of initial ideas, as I can explore my whole family tree, through generations.
Here I have created a mood board to demonstrate my first ideas when it comes to my photoshoot to illustrate cultural identity. These photographs above consist of juxtaposition pieces people wearing clothing relating to their culture, objects relating to their culture and flags across a lady’s face. I think these images will influence my photoshoot as I can recreate images such as the middle one of the last row as I can create juxtaposition work on photoshop.
Yoshikatsu Fujii
Yoshikatsu Fujii, born and raised in Hiroshima City. He began photography work in Tokyo in 2006. His photographic works often deal with historical themes and memory lingering on in contemporary events. His works were exhibited at the several festivals.
Futhermore, Fujii is a photo based visual storyteller on long-form projects about, memory, family, contemporary events and history. His main medium is a hand-made limited edition photobook. Fujii’s project “Red String,” was highly inspired by his parents’ divorce, produced a hand-made limited edition photobook. Nominated for several awards, including the Paris Photo-Aperture Foundation Photobook Awards.
The main reason why I like his work is because it is relatable to myself, as I can use my own images of family to recreate Fujii’s pieces of work. Furthermore, the message behind is work one that is relevant to many people’s family situations. The fourth image in this gallery is composed of 1/3 colour and 2/3 is a monochromatic image, this would good to recreate in photoshop and apart of my project where I used older materials.
Role in my project: I really like how Fujii’s work is displayed and represented as it tells a deeper story with a deeper meaning behind his work. In addition, I am going to recreate part of ‘Red String’ project in the exam using an old photograph from my grandparents wedding, cropping their heads off in Lightroom, getting it printed in good quality, sticking in onto foam board and threading red string all around the white boarder.
Photo Montage- Zed Nelson
Born in East Africa, Nelson graduated from Westminster University, London, with a degree in photography and filmmaking. Having gained international recognition and numerous awards as a documentary photographer, Nelson’s recent work adopts an increasingly considered, in-depth approach to reflect on contemporary social issues through long-term personal projects.
Love Me, Nelson’s most recent book, reflects on the cultural and commercial forces that drive a global obsession with youth and beauty. The project spanned five years, involved photography in 18 countries across five continents, and was recently nominated for the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize.
Carmen – Opera – The Royal Opera House
Carmen – Opera – The Royal Opera House
Nelson’s seminal first book, Gun Nation, was a ground-breaking reflection on America’s love affair with the gun. Gun Nation has been exhibited internationally and awarded five major photography prizes (including First Prize in World Press Photo Competition, the Visa d’Or, France, and the Alfred Eisenstaedt Award, USA).
Nelson’s work has been exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery, the Tate Britain, the Institute for Contemporary Arts (ICA), and is in the permanent collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London. Nelson has had solo shows in New York, Stockholm, Copenghagen and London.
Role in my project: I have some old family images that I am going to recreate, I am planning to use the same style as these but with my own family photos. Furthermore, I like how these images are composed of somewhat serous family photos, which match perfectly with what I am. I think the similarities and juxtaposition with his work and mine will make for a substantial artist reference and I like how they feel like they are deadpan family photos.
Distinct from chronological age, “age identity” refers to a subjective, rhetorically constructed awareness of age. … As a social identity category, age identity includes the relative sense of feeling “young” or “old,” which does not necessarily coincide with chronological age.
Above I have created a mood board, looking through many images in search for initial inspiration, to demonstrate how images can tell a story of heritage and age. These photographs above are a mixture of antique objects, old family photographs, photoshopped portraits and aged hands. I like how they all link together to illustrate the contrast between the young/ new and old. This has helped me visualise photographing the concept of age and now I can recreate these image with my own resources and taking and editing photos of my family members.
Kensuke Koike
Biography summary: Kensuke Koike was born in 1980 and was primarily inspired by the 1980s. The 1980s were an era of developing global capitalism, political upheaval, worldwide mass media, wealth discrepancies and distinctive music and fashion, characterised by hip hop and electronic pop music.
Using found objects like vintage postcards, Kensuke Koike works with archival images to create new narratives. Hear the Venice-based artist give insight into his sculptural works and his playful approach to image-making in this online discussion with art historian and curator Lena Fritsch. Linking to my idea of exploring age identity as I can link the idea of old images to illustrate the experience of ageing.
Born in Nagoya, Japan, Koike moved to Italy, pursuing studies. He graduated from Accademia di Belle Arti, Venice, Italy in 2004, and he spent the next three years further expanding his knowledge at the IUAV University, Faculty of Arts and Design in Venice.
Teresa Ruffino: How did you get interested in photography and art in the first place and why did you decide to move to Italy to study them? Kensuke Koike: I started using photography by chance and I chose to come to Italy to improve my knowledge of History of Art by being able to see it first-hand.
How I would like to use this work for inspiration: Firstly Koike’s work is very eye catching and aesthetic, I really like the idea of combining many images/ portraits together to create a new piece of work, like creating a new person out of people that are related and connected to each other.
Furthermore, I know that I have many good old family images that I can use to create Koike’s work in my own style, adjusting the exposure of the monochromatic images to create high levels of contrast, then an either physically cutting and sticking to create new pieces of work, or using photoshop to make art like Koike’s. In addition, I could adapt his work, for example. the first image in this gallery of 6 could be remade with vertical instead of horizontal lines.
Full definition of identity– 1a : the distinguishing character or personality of an individual : individuality. b : the relation established by psychological identification. 2 : the condition of being the same with something described or asserted establish the identity of stolen goods.
Mind Map
Identity in photography– A photograph resembles the likeness of what appeared before the lens. So, in the case of a profile picture, family album or mug shot, identity is based on the repetition of sameness that is evidenced by the image produced by the camera. Here I have combined the idea of a mood board and a mind map to illustrate my initial ideas both through words and images, this has helped me visualise my first ideas, meaning that I can more easily identify what I would like to explore further.
Gender Identity
Definition– Gender identity is the personal sense of one’s own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person’s assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the individual’s gender identity.
Gender identity as a concept was popularised by John Money in the 1960s. He founded the Gender Identity Clinic at Johns Hopkins University and formulated, defined, and coined the term “gender role” and later expanded it to gender-identity/role.
Role in my project– I have a few ideas I would like to explore including one where I link my family history, focusing on the idea of the role of woman when my grandparents were middle aged.
Claude Cahun
Claude Cahun was a French surrealist photographer, sculptor, and writer. Schwob adopted the pseudonym Claude Cahun in 1914. Cahun is best known as a writer and self-portraitist, who assumed a variety of performative personae. Cahun’s work is both political and personal.
Cahun made ambiguity a theme in a lifelong exploration of gender and sexual identity as a writer and photographer. Decades after her death, she has a growing following among art historians, feminists and people in the LGBTQ+ community. The photographs are by far her most compelling work. At first, scholars thought of them as self-portraits. But the gathering consensus is that Cahun choreographed and posed for the photos, and that her romantic partner, Marcel Moore, who was born Suzanne Malherbe, often took the photographs.
As writer and photographer, Cahun worked at upending convention. “My role,” she wrote in an essay published after her death, “was to embody my own revolt and to accept, at the proper moment, my destiny, whatever it may be.”
In the 1990s, she received a rush of attention as gender issues were gathering steam around the world. “Suddenly,” said Vince Aletti, a New York photography critic and curator, “she seemed incredibly of the moment.”
Cahun’s photographs have been displayed in group shows in the last two years in nearly a dozen museums in London, Paris, Washington, Melbourne, Warsaw and elsewhere. She is featured in a group exhibition running through early July at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco. Another group show opened in Bonn, Germany, in late May, and one opened in Sweden in mid-June.
Image Analysis
4th photo in this gallery: The main feature of this image, is clearly the face, with the significance of the face paired with the fact that the image is composed of a reflection, help to tell a story. It can be implied that this is linked to gender identity as the reflection means Cuhan doesn’t know their true self despise looking in the mirror everyday, this image could link more to a search for identity mixed with the confused on not knowing your own self. Furthermore, Cahun is looking lost in this reflection which may mean they are suffering of the lost of identity, and this idea is supported by the sad expression on their face, I like how this work is relatable to many people who are apart of the LGBTQ+ community and how much revolutionary these ideas were a5t the time. As during the time of World War II concepts such as gender roles and sexuality were not usually openly discussed and challenged, making Cahun’s work even more remarkable.
William Hall originated from Scotland. William Hall was, according to his own account, born in the Scottish county of Roxburghshire around 1826. In the 1891 census, William Hall gives his place of birth as Selkirk, a Scottish town located in a neighbouring county. When he was in his twenties, William Hall moved to England, where, around 1853, he married his wife Eliza (born c1826, Portsmouth, Hampshire). The couple settled in the Sussex seaside resort of Brighton, where, during the 4th Quarter of 1854, their first child, Eliza, was born.
General Photographic Institution was unusual in that the photographers offered to take portraits using all three of the available photographic processes. – Daguerreotype, Talbotype and Collodion Positive.
During his business association with the photographer Stephen Grey, which lasted for over 4 years, William Hall had fathered two more children. William Hall junior was born in Brighton towards the end of 1856 and his brother James Hall was born in Brighton during the 2nd Quarter of 1858. William and Eliza Hall’s fourth child, Christiana (or Christina) Hall was born in Brighton during the 4th Quarter of 1859.
What I like about the image above: I think that the boarder on this image makes it more interesting as it makes the oval portraits stand out from the background, as its very light and the black contrasts with this. Furthermore, I think very warm tones in the ovals means that the portraits stand out more, and when I recreate diamond cameo I think I will do this but in a more modern way, maybe in black and white as this will be putting my own twist on this old fashion diamond cameo work, and I like how to can use some of my existing work (portraits) to do this.
Furthermore, I think that the the formal of these diamond cameos gives me a good opportunity to use some of my good portraits that weren’t suitable for other aspects of this portrait project. In my opinion these pieces are a good way to use both monochromatic portraits and colour photographs and showcase all angles of the face, especially the side profile, as stronger noses and jawlines are shown off great in these pieces of work, and the fact that the oval profiles of the faces and that fact that they can be edited makes modelling for creating diamond cameos even easier and the majority of the time, these models end up looking good and liking diamond cameo work.
Process of creating a diamond cameo:
Choose images and edit them in Lightroom
Find a diamond cameo piece that already made
Open this on photoshop and use this as a template
Cut out the portrait areas on the existing diamond cameo
Drag the new image you would like in this area into Photoshop
Repeat so that all of the portrait areas are filled
Position the ovals so that they are symmetrical
My examples and Analysis:
Here I have created a diamond cameo of Leticia, finding four separate images of her looking in different directions was easier than expected as we had instructed most of our models during our shoots to look in multiple different directions, as we knew we had to create diamond cameo pieces, but only using one persons face with four different photographs of the same person. I think that this image came out successful despite the small darker yellow tones around some of the oval portraits, as it was hard to position the pictures of her so that these darker tones were not visible, one other weakness is that the portrait on the left hand side has a slightly different background and this means that it stands out in a bad way, but i think the fact that she is still looking in the opposite direction, meaning this is still a good diamond cameo, makes up for the fact that it doesn’t one hundred percent fit with the other portraits.
Above I have created a diamond cameo piece using photographs of Diana, finding a good variety of images to use to create a good piece was difficult, as we didn’t take any photos of Diana looking to the left during her photoshoot. To overcome this problem I put the image on the right into photoshop and flipped it around so i had an identical image but just reflected, this meant that I could still create this piece, as I couldn’t do this with images of a wider variety of people as photographs of them were just not suitable or of good enough quality to create diamond cameos out of. I think that this example is good as the ovals in the middle are slightly bigger meaning that the darker yellow tones around the ovals that appeared in diamond cameos of Leticia and Katarina did not occur, as this takes away the positive attention from the actual portraits. However this did made this piece not as symmetrical which could be seen as a weakness.
Final/ Best Piece:
I have selected this diamond cameo of Katarina as my final image as I think that the original photographs of her are better compared to the the ones of Leticia and Diana above as they required no editing and no need for using photoshop other than to create the actual diamond cameo. I think this piece is really good as Katarina has a good side profile and the lighting whilst taking the original portraits is better compared to when other modelled, as we got her to look in different directions and got her to laugh whilst doing so, these images came out looking very natural and only the top, deadpan aesthetic portrait, came out looking serious, and i think that the other ones are so unposed creates great contrast within this final piece. Furthermore, my favourite part about this diamond cameo is how symmetrical these portraits are without the same image being flipped to do so.
In art, as in literature, juxtaposition refers to the side-by-side placement of two or more contrasting things. As with colour, shape, and cropping, juxtaposition can become a key component of photographic compositions, helping to tell a story and emphasise differences or similarities between objects or people.
I have created this mood as an inspiration for how I will create/ take some of my juxtaposing images, the main idea of the layout of this mood board as to create a blend between photographs of objects and the ones of objects and landscapes. What I like about these images impartially is the wide use of portraits as they have been contrasted with other individuals or for example their younger self or landscapes such as mountains.
Why do writers use juxtaposition? When a writer juxtaposes two elements, they invite the reader to compare, contrast, and consider the relationship between those elements more closely. Also, Writers create juxtaposition by placing two entities side by side to create dramatic or ironic contrast. Juxtaposition is a form of implied comparison in that there is no overt comparison or inference on the part of the writer.
Beyond that, juxtaposition is a theme that spans genres, from street photography to landscapes. Below, we’ll take a look at some exciting and unexpected examples of juxtaposition within the 500px community. Any photo that uses proximity to make a subject appear larger or smaller than it is, is an example of forced perspective. It works particularly well in street photography, where your position can make a person look tiny—and a dog or a cat appear huge in comparison.
Robert Rauschenberg
Robert Rauschenberg was an American painter and graphic artist whose early works anticipated the pop art movement. Rauschenberg is well known for his Combines (1954–1964), a group of artworks which incorporated everyday objects as art materials and which blurred the distinctions between painting and sculpture. Rauschenberg was both a painter and a sculptor, but he also worked with print and paper making.
Rauschenberg received numerous awards during his nearly 60-year artistic career. Among the most prominent were the International Grand Prize in Painting at the 32nd Venice Biennale in 1964 and the National Medal of Arts in 1993. Rauschenberg lived and worked in New York City and on Captiva Island, Florida, until his death on May 12, 2008.
Robert Rauschenberg
Rauschenberg merged the realms of kitsch and fine art, employing both traditional media and found objects within his “combines” by inserting appropriated photographs and urban detritus amidst standard wall paintings. Rauschenberg believed that painting related to “both art and life”.
Rauschenberg had experimented with technology in his artworks since the making of his early Combines in the mid-1950s, where he sometimes used working radios, clocks, and electric fans as sculptural materials. He later explored his interest in technology while working with Bell Laboratories research scientist Billy Klüver. Together they realised some of Rauschenberg’s most ambitious technology-based experiments, such as Soundings (1968), a light installation which responded to ambient sound.
Why I would like to use his work to influence my ideas: I like how these pieces of art allow for a lot of creative freedom, as they could be seen as random and sporadic. Thinking my work could benefit from this inspiration, I am going to recreate these types of pieces with my monochromatic portraits, combining multiple different peoples faces together to create final pieces. I do like how Rauschenberg’s work is full of colour and therefore life, but I will not copy his work, just apply his techniques to my editing to attempt to made combinations of portraits.
Artist Contribution: In 1969, NASA invited Rauschenberg to witness the launch of Apollo 11. In response to this landmark event, Rauschenberg created his Stoned Moon Series of lithographs. This involved combining diagrams and other images from NASA’s archives with his own drawings and handwritten text. Also, International travel became a central part of Rauschenberg’s artistic process after 1975. In 1984, Rauschenberg announced the start of his Rauschenberg Overseas Culture Interchange (ROCI) at the United Nations. Almost entirely funded by the artist, the ROCI project consisted of a seven-year tour to ten countries around the world.
Other Ideas
Here I have no use any inspiration from any artists to create photo montages, but have just combined some of my favourite images, mostly to just experiment and to learn what works and what doesn’t, but furthermore to showcase my strongest photographs and illustrate and multiple images put together can show a story throughout time.
This piece was created using some images of Katarina and Diana, the whole aim of this piece was for both of them to be looking in the same direction, like they are both smiling for the same reason. I think that this images compliment yet still contrast each other well as the left of Katarina has no shadows is a very light and subtle image whereas the portrait of Diana on the right of Diana is very dark, containing the focus onto her face and only that, whilst Katarina’s focus is more on her hair and eyes. It could be implied that this could be linked to the idea of night and day and the image of Diana looks like it was taken during the night time. Furthermore, it could be thought that the initially thinking of this montage would be to compare these two individuals, but it’s actually to allow them to relate to the same things, this is all linked back to them looking in the same direction.
Above I created a photo montage in photoshop, using 3 photos of Niamh from the same photoshoot, I ordered them so that the most zoomed in image was in the middle, making this piece symmetrical. In addition, these images are actually placed in time ordered, with the first being taken before the last, the aim of this way to create a story through time and me and Lottie were behind the camera attempting to make her laugh, as in my opinion her best features are brought out this way. I really like how this turned out as her smile gradually gets wider and the placement of the photographs compliment each other well.
Another experimentation I created when making photomontages was this one of Leticia on the left and me on the right. In my opinion, the main contrasting element of this piece is us looking in opposite direction, with Leticia looking very natural and happy. Whilst the photo of I juxtaposes this as its very serious and posed, despite being very different I still like both of these images and i think thats why this piece turned out so successful.
Definition: Close up photography refers to a tightly cropped shot that shows a subject (or object) up close and with significantly more detail than the human eye usually perceives. With close up photography, you reduce the field of view, increasing the size of the subject, and creating a tight frame around your selected shot.
Role in my project: I could use the images taken from this photoshoot to create diamond cameos and multi-exposure edits. I also think that being able to see models’s facial features more easily makes for interesting photography on my blog as it means I can display a good range of different ways to photograph, showing skills.
Mood Board
Bill Brandt
Bill Brandt (born Hermann Wilhelm Brandt; 2 May 1904 – 20 December 1983): 14 was a British photographer and photojournalist. An English photographer of German birth, Brandt travelled to Vienna in 1927 to see a lung specialist and then decided to stay and find work in a photography studio. There, in 1928, he met and made a successful portrait of the poet Ezra Pound, who subsequently introduced Brandt to the American-born, Paris-based photographer Man Ray.
Bill Brant
Example of his work
Upon his return to London, in 1931, Brandt was well versed in the language of photographic modernism. During the 1930s he published his important early monographs The English at Home (1932) and A Night in London (1932) in addition to becoming a frequent contributor to the illustrated press, specifically Picture Post, Lilliput, Weekly Illustrated, and Verve, his published pictures exemplifying his technical skill and his interest in building visual narratives.
Image analysis of his work
I have selected to analyse this image as this portrait is not of a face, and I think that I will recreate this in my project. The fact that this image is in black and white means that the shadows that are in between the fingers are more prominent, this also makes the texture of the skins more obvious, adding depth to the image. It can be implied that this portrait is composed of a male and a females hand as the different in hand sixes and textures is apparent, and they could have a big age gap. Furthermore, the fact that they are their fingers are interlocking like holding hands means they could be in a relationship or have been positioned this way to make it appear as in the linking of fingers is the connection or their love. Additionally, their is a variety of the shapes in this piece as the ovals around the tips of the fingers and the stronger outliners around the stones below contrast each other, but still compliment each other. As this could also represent the theme of the living and the inanimate as the hands are laid above the stones to create a part of a contrasting image.
Satoshi Fujiwara
It was through a career in advertising, working as a graphic designer and planner, that Satoshi Fujiwara, born in Japan and now living in Berlin, became interested in how visual information and photographic images influence people and society, and how he could attempt to redefine photography to make cross-sectional inquiry within his artistic practice
Satoshi has also published several books, including : Code Unknown, published by IMA photobooks, 2015; 5K CONFINEMENT, Luigi Alberto Cippini, published by la Fondazione Prada, 2017; HORSES, Satoshi Fujiwara & Yngve Holen, published by Walther König, 2018.
Second picture below: It was taken at 12:37 p.m on September 10, 2014, a couple of years after relocating to Berlin where I started working as a photographer. Since the beginning, I’ve had a strong interest in the various fuzzy boundaries in relentlessly reproducible contemporary imagery. To focus on portraiture, the right of likeness is something that has long-troubled photography since the invention of the camera. Today, with the rise of social media, we have become even more acutely aware of photographs and those who appear in them when they are posted on digital media.
With furthering technological developments in digital photography, it will be even more difficult to make legal judgments in cases involving the right of likeness. I won’t mention anything about this specific subject. How she/he actually looked like, so-called ’fact’ or ‘background’, and so on except for the date photographed which is visible in the data. Because only the image that is detached from the ‘original’ context allows the viewer to be read with subjective interpretation.
Image Analysis: These images are very different from Brandt’s as they are full of colour and warmth, and these pieces of work are of the full face and not just part of the faces such as the ears and nose. Firstly, I think that the clarity of this photograph and the lighting make for a part more interesting image and better final product, as other aspects such as the lighter line on his cheek bone and the freckles and wrinkles on the face of an older individual creates more depth of the image. Furthermore, the grey/ blue colours in the eyes creates a nice colour difference compared to the red of the food packaging, and the fact that this is scrunched up means that it adds additional texture to the image despite the wrinkles on the face already being there. My favourite part of this photograph is actually the hand at the bottom and it creates an end to the image and you can see that part of the smallest finger as been cropped out, I think this is an effective way to combine these piece together, as the skin from the forehead and at the bottom on the hand make the image more cohesive.
How to create a close up portrait:
Make your model’s face stand out with makeup or face paint
Take face close ups using a zoom lens
Use a large aperture for a softer focus
Use natural side light to make every close up look good
Use direct light to create portrait lighting patterns
Make sure a range of lighting techniques are used
1 and 2 point lighting should be included
Additionally the Rembrandt and butterfly effect
Contacts Sheets
Below I have placed some contact sheets to show that I have placed them into Lightroom and organised them, as the third contact sheet is full of images i think are usable for this project, along with some being edited. To do this I created a quick collection to better help organise my images.
Best images, before editing
Editing
Below I have placed some screenshots of the editing process, done in Lightroom Classic, to alter these photos I have changed setting such as the exposure, saturation and white balance to make these images look better.
Final Images
Here I have edited an image of Katarina, in the same way in which Bill Brant does, making the image monochromatic so that the texture of the skin is more prominent, this means that it gives the final image more depth and even more clarity then it did before. My favourite part of this up close image occurred by accident, and that is the light reflecting off her eyes, as this mean that the bright light in her eyes matches with the light reflecting off of the end of her nose ad some areas of her cheeks, making the piece more cohesive. Furthermore, I decided that this image would look better in black and white as the darker tones in Katarina’s hair and eyes means that tones in the image can link together better.
I have selected this image of me as one of my final ones as I think the lighting of this images of some of the best in our taken collection of images meaning that my facial features are clear and the pigment on my lips and in my eyes stand out as the best aspects of the image. Furthermore, I changed the exposure of this image so that its on the verge of being too exposed an I think this was a good choice because it means that the light reflecting on my eyes is more apparent, and this matches with my pale complexion whilst still leaving the shadow next to my nose.
Above I have chosen this photos of Diana as one of my final pieces as I have cropped it so that the background and some of her hair are now taken away so that more focus is on her face.
Aim: this photoshoot was to create effective deadpan photographs, and to look as similar to passport images as possible. Furthermore, we wanted the lighting to be as similar as we could throughout all these photos so they created the same aesthetic. Mostly lighting from the front would be used, keeping the attention on the models facial features.
Here I have displayed some of deadpan images in a types of sequencing styles that I think best compliment each other. After going to the studio and shooting in black and white, then adjusting settings such as the exposure and temperature, I put the images into Photoshop to create galleries like done on the blog, but in slightly different layers, with portrait and landscape images stacked alongside each other.
Strengths of my work: with the lighting being the main factor of these photographs, we used lights mostly from the front of the models to create this deadpan aesthetic. This create a contrast between our lighter skin tones and darker shades of hair, giving the monochromatic images more depth. In addition, the majority of these images don’t have shadows, allowing for the models to be the main focus of the image, meaning our individual facial features are clear.
Weaknesses of my work: I am aware that some of these images, as some are landscape and not portrait, despite capturing the rest of the deadpan aesthetic. The shadows in some of these images are not strict to the rules of deadpan images, as the lighting should 100% be on the face, however the models are in the middle of the frame, following the rest of the rules such as no other objects such as headphones or hats.
Above I have taken my best deadpan images and created a grid to better match with the aesthetic, placing all of these landscape images in photoshop, then making them the same sizes to create this 6 piece grid. I have arranged these images trying to spread the ones with stronger and weaker lighting around each other. Furthermore, the original concept is kept as despite the changes in lighting the most important deadpan concepts are retained.
How this work could be improved is for us not to have shot every image in black and white, creating more variety, however, I decided to keep them all this way as all of the models look better with the lack of colour and drastic tones. Alternatively, we could have taken more photographs as this would have made the editing and selection process a lot easier, however I do think these final images are successful.
Here I have taken some of my deadpan images and created another mini gallery with a slightly different layout using photoshop. I like how the lighting on the model’s faces in all 3 images is prominent, making their skin looks smoother.
Moreover, I like how this aesthetic represents everyone in the same way, no matter of background or past experiences, creating a new version of photography by putting everyone in the same perceptive, preventing prejudice/ judgment. Not judging one person against the other, this could be helpful for decisions such as cast certain individuals for films, as specific features could be required.
Best Images
I have selected this final image of Diana as it if a good example of a successful two point lighting image, as the light is coming from the left of her face and the front. This means that there is still some light on the right side of her face this is creating a triangle on her cheek, but the lighting contrasts. As with the other image the dark tones in her eyes matches with her hair and the background with the tones in her face, bringing the whole image together. Furthermore, I cropped this image so that the white surroundings wouldn’t distract from Diana’s facial features/ the focus of the image. I have taken these photos in black and white, this is mostly because most people look best with this type of editing.
I have selected this image as my best one to analyse, as I think that it looks very professional, with the lighting being a vital part of the final product turning out well. In my opinion, this lighting makes her face look smooth and helps show the best of her facial features, as the lighting is soft and not too harsh, it means that shadows on Katarina’s face are created on the right side of her face, the use of the Doran 1 Point Lighting technique is an important part of the successfulness of this image. Furthermore, the eye contact with the lens of the camera and the shine of her eyes make the focus of the image the middle of her face, particularly her eyes, which match the tones in her hair and creating a more cohesive final product. Furthermore, we took many all of these photographs during this shoot in black and white, I think this makes for more interesting portraits and the textures on her face are more visible and other details such as the hairs in her eyebrows are more prominent.
Deadpan photography goes back all the way to the 1920s. It’s a very distinct style of photography that has somehow made its way into the 21st century, quietly and persistently influencing you in a way you might not even be aware of! Today we’ll dig a little deeper into what deadpan photography is, talk notable names of photographers that shoot in this style, and show you a collection that is in line with deadpan aesthetics.
This style originated in Germany and is descended from Neue Sachlichkeit, New Objectivity, a German art movement of the 1920s that influenced the photographer August Sander who systematically documented the people of the Weimar Republic. Much later, in the 1970s, Bernd and Hilla Becher, known for their devotion to the principles of New Objectivity, began to influence a new generation of German artists at the Dusseldorf School of Photography.
These young German photographers included Thomas Struth, Andreas Gursky, and others. The Bechers are best remembered for their studies of the industrial landscape, where they systematically photographed large structures such as water towers, coal bunkers or pit heads to document a soon-to-disappear landscape in a formalistic manner as much akin to industrial archeology as art. The Bechers’ set of “rules” included clean, black and white pictures taken in a flat grey light with straight-on compositions.
The criteria for passport/ deadpan images includes; neutral facial expression, eyes looking into the camera, no objects that are distracting such as headphones and hats, no shadows on the face (as these deter the natural features), from a front angle and symmetrical, showing the whole face. Other important factors include a light background and no reflections, this is why the glasses cannot be worn.
August Sanders
August Sander was a German photographer whose work documented the society he lived in. Lauded as one the most-important portrait photographers of the early 20th century, Sander focused his gaze on bricklayers, farmers, bakers, and other members of the community. Born in Herdorf, Germany on November 17, 1876, Sanders learned photography during his military service in the city of Trier. By 1910, he had moved to a suburb of Cologne, spending his days biking along the roads to find people to photograph.
Following the death of his son in 1944, and the destruction of his work in 1946, Sander practically ceased photography altogether. He died in Cologne, Germany on April 20, 1964 at the age of 87. Today, the artist’s works are held in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Wallraf-Richartz Museum in Cologne, among others.
August Sander, 1940
Sander once said ‘The portrait is your mirror. It’s you’. He believed that, through photography, he could reveal the characteristic traits of people. He used these images to tell each person’s story; their profession, politics, social situation and background. Sander did not use the newly invented Leica camera. Instead he remained devoted to an old-fashioned large-format camera, glass negatives and long exposure times. This allowed him to capture minute details of individual faces. Shot against neutral backgrounds and titled more often than not by profession alone, he let the images – and the faces in them – speak for themselves.
The main concept of August Sander’s work is how he photographed the most common and working class members of the public, and more upper class people but in the same way. This illustrates that he treated all people equally and could be to illustrate that class divides were unfair. Photographing them in the same way shows that they were all people and viewed as equals by Sander’s, demonstrating his more forward thinking considering the time.
Example of Sander’s work
Furthermore, the layout and lighting of these images is significant because of how consistent t it is, with all the of the photographs being taken in the same way. Its clear that Sander has a clear passion for his work ad I hope this is also reflected in my work. The objects that are in these image also tell a story and have a personal connection between the individuals being photographed, and their profession.
Typologies
A photographic typology is a single photograph or more commonly a body of photographic work, that shares a high level of consistency. This consistency is usually found within the subjects, environment, photographic process, and presentation or direction of the subject.
Definition- 1 : study of or analysis or classification based on types or categories. 2 : a doctrine of theological types especially : one holding that things in Christian belief are prefigured or symbolized by things in the Old Testament. Other Words from typology Example Sentences Learn More About typology. The photographic typology has the ability to reshape perception, heighten and focus attention, and transform everyday objects into a thing of art. Ironically the process and execution, often cold and systematic can be extremely emotive, and a powerful tool of communication when contextualised.
Bernd and Hilla Becher
Who created typology in photography? The German artists Bernd and Hilla Becher, who began working together in 1959 and married in 1961, are best known for their “typologies”—grids of black-and-white photographs of variant examples of a single type of industrial structure.
Bernhard “Bernd” Becher, and Hilla Becher, née Wobeser, were German conceptual artists and photographers working as a collaborative duo. They are best known for their extensive series of photographic images, or typologies, of industrial buildings and structures, often organised in grids.
Name: Water Towers
Bernd and Hilla Becher first began their still-ongoing project of systematically photographing industrial structures – water towers, blast furnaces, gas tanks, mine heads, grain elevators and the like – in the late 1950s.
I like how these objects are placed how normal passport photos, this along with the black and white images gives the image an old fashion feel despite it not being very old at all. This gives the image depth and authenticity and I think that the contrast between the different shapes makes the image more interesting, You can also notice that the more cylinder shapes are symmetrical to each other with the forth and sixth images being simirla to each other, and the same goes for the first, third, seventh and last image.
Image Analysis
I have selected this image of Bernd and Hilla Becher’s as I think that the grid layout of twelve and not nine makes for a more interesting image as there is more to looks at, and their is more opportunity to create more affective images as part of the final piece. Firstly, I think that the fact that these images are in black and white means that the image may appear more authentic and this highlights the different shadows and shapes within the water towers, for example the squares in the 8th image. Furthermore, the variety of shapes within this image creates a more exciting image, meaning that the contrast between the circles, rectangles and the cylinders placed next to eac other creates depth to the image.
