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’.

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.