For this photoshoot, we went into the studio and took pictures of different objects provided by Jersey Heritage and the school. There were three different camera stations that were set up. One was positioned at bird’s eye level, one had a plain white infinity curve and the last one had a pink and yellow background. We split up into small groups of around 3 or 4 and took turns using each set-up.

Bird’s Eye Set-Up

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It was a bit tricky using this set-up because we had never used it before and getting the objects in focus and frame was hard because we had to get on a stool and carefully try and look through the camera without touching anything.

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Infinity Curve Set-Up

This was the easiest one to use because the lights that were there were really good and we had no difficulties with them. Most of the pictures turned out bright and clear.

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Pink and Yellow Set-Up

This was the hardest and most annoying set-up to use because the tripod we had was wrong and we couldn’t use it properly. The lights were also quite bad which made the pictures turn out dark and there were lot of shadows that we couldn’t get rid of.

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Walker Evans

Walker Evans (1903-1975) was an American photographer and photojournalist that was best known for his work for the Farm Security Administration documenting the effects of the Great Depression. He began to photograph in the late 1920s, making snapshots during a European trip. In 1936 he travelled with the writer James Agee to illustrate an article on tenant farm families for Fortune magazine; the book Let Us Now Praise Famous Men came out of this collaboration.

The ‘Beauties of the Common Tool’ collection has around 22 photographs in total and was published in July 1955 by Walker Evans. These images consist of a reamer, an awl, a bill hook, an auger, various pliers, and a couple of variations on a T-square and some wrenches. He used a nail to stabilise these tools and make them float in order to get rid of shadows and make the photographs seem cleaner.

Darren Harvey-Regan

Darren Harvey-Regan is a photographer interested in the concept that photographs do not exist just to show things, but are physical things that become objects themselves. He was influenced by Walker Evans’ pictures of ordinary hand-made tools, such as a ratchet wrench and a pair of scissors. He first constructed a montage of Evans’ images to make new forms. He then sourced matching tools, cut them in half and re-joined various halves together, with the resulting physical objects being photographed to create his final work.

Harvey-Regan’s ‘The Erratics’ project focuses on abstract rocks of different shapes and sizes. For this project he spent months in his studio photographing rocks, concentrating on composition, geometry and line. I really like the way his pictures turned out because each rock is different and can tell a story. I also like how in some rocks there are straight lines and clean corners because it looks interesting and you don’t usually see anything like that in nature.

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Comparison

Both of their works are quite similar because they both focus on taking detailed still life pictures of objects on plain white backgrounds and turning them black and white. The main difference is that Evan focused mainly on tools rather than rocks like Harvey-Regan. Harvey-Regan takes his pictures from different angles and has them placed them on a white table, he also seems to use some light source to get shadows on his rocks and accentuate the details. Evans just takes his photographs from a high angle and minimalises shadows as much as possible, he also makes his tools look like they’re floating by placing them on a nail that can’t be seen in the picture.

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Contact sheets

1st Photoshoot – Inside of one person

For this photoshoot, I used my sister who enjoys baking in the kitchen and does it in her spare time. I like these photos because they show experimentation with different angles, lighting and facial expressions.

2nd Photoshoot – 1 person outside

For this photoshoot, I used my dad who likes gardening and when he moved house has built the garden up from nothing so it is his pride and joy. I like the photos because it experiments with faceless portraits and different angles.

3rd Photoshoot – More than 1 person

For this photoshoot, my stepdad and sister are being photographed in our garage where my stepdad has all of his bikes and cars which he has an interest in and she is helping him.

Image selection on Adobe Lightroom

These are the images which I think that are my most successful from my photoshoots. On Adobe Lightroom I used Z to pick the photos which I thought were the most successful ones which are seen below.

Experimenting with my successful final images

Single person inside editing on Lightroom –

Compared to Mary-Ellen Marks work

Inside

For this photoshoot, I asked my friend if I could go to their house and take pictures of them doing everyday things. I let them do whatever they wanted to make it seem more casual and realistic. I took pictures of them in their room while they played the guitar, read a book, played games on their switch and watered their plants. I used the window as my main light source as it was still sunny outside and there were interesting shadows on the walls.

I tried using low and high angles as well as different positions because I wanted my images to look unique and different from each other. I used some close-ups to focus on what my model was doing in order to get a better understanding of who they are as a person.

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Contact Sheets

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Editing One Image

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I really like this image because it shows my model’s interest and a bit of their personality. I think the way the lighting was hitting their face and the guitar looked interesting and I wanted to make the image livelier. I started by changing the tint to give it a softer and warmer look. I then turned the highlights down and exposure up in order to make the details stand out more.

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Final Edits

Outside

Photoshoot 1 + Contact Sheets

The weather was nice so I took some pictures of them on the roof listening to music, reading and then looking out of the window.

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Photoshoot 2 + Contact Sheets

I went to the market and asked an old lady at the flower stand if I could take some pictures of her and her shop. She was quite busy, so I was only able to take pictures of her whilst she was working and doing her own thing. Them being unposted is a good thing because it made the pictures look more realistic. The lighting wasn’t that good in there and the camera settings were a bit tricky to figure out however I think I managed to get some shots in the end.

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Editing One Picture

I decided to edit this image because I liked the way they were looking in the distance listening to music making it look mysterious. I also wanted to give it a more sombre look and that’s why I turned it black and white. I increased the texture and clarity to bring out the details and I also played around with the shadows and highlights.

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Final Edits

these photos where taken inside the Hamptonne buildings. these are images of farm equipment and horse equipment.

Here are my sets of contact sheets for my first shoot – my first sets of images at the dump, my second at the plant waste site, and my third at a local food kiosk. I used the P and X keys to select my best and worst images, and used the loupe tool to go through my images one by one – I then used the grid tool to take my contact sheets as below.

My first two sets of subjects were taken at the dump in St Helier – my first subject is a well known character, who always has his favourite hat on, with his name on. He was more than happy to be photographed and directed. My issue with my pictures of him is that the backgrounds of some of my images are overexposed – it was a very bright day. To combat this, in the future, I would try to shoot on a slightly more overcast day. However, I did the best I could to capture my subject in a way that he was not overexposed.

My second pair of subjects for this shoot, were two workers at the plant waste dump. They were slightly more shy on camera, but I did my best to photograph them how I wanted. The two gentlemen are good friends, so I wanted to photograph them together for my two or more people shoot. Furthermore, I decided to do close up shots of each subject to capture the interesting hats they both had on.

My last set of subjects for these tow shoots were the owner and employee of the Quayside Food Kiosk: Steve and I decided to photograph these two because as a regular of the kiosk, I wanted to capture the funny working relationship between the two, as well as the lady’s kind and giggly nature. One issue I had when photographing was, because of Covid, the shop window had a screen – it created too much reflection in my images. To combat this, in future, I would photograph my subject elsewhere in the surrounding environment relating to their workplace.

For my last set of images, I shot in my local corner shop, Bay Stores. I chose this location because of the interesting items within the shop, and the representation of those employees and workers who people often forget we need in the island. Again, I had trouble with a screen in front of the till, but in future I would photograph away from the till maybe.

In this shoot, I tried to photograph those in Jersey who we often forget in the background – who the island wouldn’t be the same without.

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’.