My first photoshoot was conducted at a football match- it was night with only overhead floodlights as lighting which was primarily concentrated on the pitch making my images particularly dark with motion blurs, which was the opposite of what I wanted. Once I figured out the camera settings I needed to decrease motion blurs (quicker shutter speed) my images became more cinematic.

Although my images are dark- I can brighten them in Lightroom which will give them a grainy texture- although this may lead to a decline in the quality of the images I feel as if this will suit the colour scheme in the image and positively add to the atmosphere of the images.

MY BEST IMAGES FROM THIS SHOOT

This image above- although dark- I feel may have potential after editing. The background is blurred however the subject in the right of the image is perfectly in focus, stark artificial overhead lighting creates almost a split lighting effect on the subjects face- with the subjects face turned away from the light, bold defining shadows are created around his eyes and on his shoulder.

I like this image above as it looks very cinematic due to the highlighted subjects which are defined by dramatic shadows and are in focus while there is a blurred background. There is also a slight green tint to the images due to the light which I really like as it can be easily compared to works by Wing Shya- there is also a slight symmetry with the background floodlights which I think adds to the cinematic look.

As seen in the image above I would like to play with the natural yellow/green tinge in the lighting of the images, I plan to make these colours more prominent (subtlety) in the editing. This image is also an example of stark shadows with the subject being the main focus (background blurred)

Overall I believe the images I have taken on this photoshoot provide a good baseline for editing as the lighting captured all I wanted to capture; stark shadows, cinematic style compositions and coloured lighting making this photoshoot a successful one- however possibly a flaw in this photoshoot is the lack of successful images, although taking over 200 images very few of them are “good” images due to the presence of motion blur and darkness.

The exam theme simple or complex initially drove me to look towards visually interesting films by directors such as Wes Anderson, Wong Kar-Wai, Quentin Tarantino and Jean-Luc Godard. Through looking into the processes of how these directors created such beautiful, visually striking films I realised the process was more difficult and complex than I had thought- for example Wes Anderson’s scenes run on a metronome with the camera panning/something happening at every beat, many of his scenes (as seen in the screen grabs of “Moonrise Kingdom“ below) have complete symmetry.

I was drawn to Wong Kar-Wai’s “Fallen Angels”, especially to its aesthetic of bright lights, dramatically emotive cinematic frames, unusual perspectives and grainy quality. From researching this film I came across the photographer Wing Shya who had worked with Wong Kar-Wai as a photographer on numerous film sets.

From first reading the theme simple v complex, I wanted to explore cinematic images as I am particularly interested in films and directors which have a specific style- making this project one that matters to me as I have been interested in this style of images since starting the course. When looking at artist references I eventually settled on Wing Shya and Claudia Andujar as while researching them I found out they specialise in documentary style images which look staged and cinematic. I intend to start this project by just taking images- starting at football matches which my friends play in working on making the images look cinematic and getting the settings of the camera correct and then moving on to different types of lighting and settings- possibly experimenting with staged images. For my presentation of images I am planning to put them on foamboard with no boarder- if my images are cinematic style enough then a frame for the images may take away from the image itself- this will add to the “simple” theme of simple v complex. I may also create a CD or DVD case with my images in it: as my images are going to be in a cinematic style then I would like to display them as a professional, formal outcome which is related to the idea of cinema or just media in general- therefore a CD cover may be the best option for this as it is accessible to do as many DVD covers have the design imprinted on them but plain CD covers are accessible to me (and films obviously have soundtracks) so I feel as this may be the best option for me.

I am planning to do at least 4 photoshoots in different settings, each concentrating on different lightings and atmospheres- showcasing different emotions. As my main intent is to capture cinematic images which (like Wing Shya and Claudia Andujar) are documentary style however look staged. I also intent to stage some images in certain lighting/scenes- namely purposely using coloured lighting and staging subjects in monochrome rooms if I can find any.

PHOTOSHOOT #1

For my first photoshoot I plan to take photos at football matches- making use of the bright white flood lights surrounding the pitch. These football matches take place every Monday so I am going to bring my camera and take images every week as it will be particularly difficult to get my camera settings correct on the first try due to the darkness and motion attempted to be captured- I want clear, bright, focused images with no blur. There may be a slight grain to the images due to the darkness of the setting as the floodlights are concentrated on the pitch- not on the side lines.

PHOTOSHOOT #2

For my second photoshoot I plan to take images using cars; emphasising on using windows as frames for the images, concentrating on lights both inside and outside of the car, and playing with unusual perspectives. I want to make use of coloured lights to make the images more interesting instead of them just being pictures in a car- this will also help with me configuring the ISO and shutter speed on the camera as I do not want to use flash however I still would like sharp, clear images.

PHOTOSHOOT #3

For my third photoshoot I plan to find rooms with interesting atmospheres- such as monochromatic rooms and rooms with interesting walls etc. Using monochromatic settings means I would like to place an emphasis on stark lighting including creating distinct, bold shadow while with busy rooms I would like to place an emphasis on a narrative within the subject- similarly to Wing Shya’s on set photography where he captures images which display the breakdown of an actor where they transition from a film character to their authentic self.

PHOTOSHOOT #4

Some of my best images have came from me just bringing my camera around with me and just taking images of whatever catches my eye- I am considering using this strategy as a separate photoshoot as it was have no distinct timeframe however it will still be generating images that I may be able to use and edit in lightroom- as both of my artist references are documentary photographers (with a mix of staged however the style of documentary makes the images look staged) I feel as if this may be a good strategy to create images in the style I want.

WING SHYA

Wing Shya‘s skills are translatable between film, art and fashion. Born in Hong Kong 1964, completing fine art studies at Emily Carr Institute in Canada, Shya founded the award-winning design studio, Shya-la-la Workshop based in Hong Kong. Since then Shya has made his name in many publications (including i-D UK and Vogue Italia) and films (such as “Hot Summer Days,” 2010 and “Love In Space,” 2011).

Working with acclaimed director Wong Kar-Wai as a behind-the-scenes photographer on film sets (In The Mood For Love, 2000) Shya specialises in capturing the atmosphere surrounding his subjects- usually couples- while they are off camera in aestheticised scenes. I am highly interested in the use of cinematic prose throughout his images- showing a narrative from an outsider perspective with the camera rarely being acknowledged by the subjects except through a mask, like sunglasses (bottom left image of mood board above). Similar to my first artist reference (Claudia Andujar) I have decided to study Shya’s work as a response to the exam theme of simple v complex due to his use of cinematic compositions, including the lighting in a scene and the atmosphere the image creates, where a narrative and story can be taken from the image- Shya’s images, although cinematic, much like Andujar’s are not staged, Shya says himself “I won’t try to overshadow the moment. I always try to make myself as ‘small’ as possible. I just enjoy the process of photography; I want to take in the atmosphere and people I’m photographing.” (https://neocha.com/magazine/the-moments-in-between/, December 12, 2017 accessed 27/03/2023).

This image taken on the set of “Happy Together” showcases the two main characters, as on movie sets, there can be no interruptions when a take begins Shya can only take images before and after filming- capturing the transition moment, where an actor takes their guard down and is between their character and their authentic self. There is a consistent theme of waiting and suspense in Shya’s work, proven in this image where there seems to be a narrative which has been captured in a moment (since the image is from a film set, this is the case). The image itself is saturated in colour; presenting vibrant purple, orange and red- usually quite positive colours- however the use of stark overhead lighting (artificial) to create bold shadows creates a more emotionally turmoil, impassioned image. This idea is shown through how the subjects are binary opposites, one veiled in shadow and the other in light: one seeming more aggressive and one seeming more open as portrayed through the lighting where the butterfly lighting technique is used- revealing very little about the subject itself. The image itself- although grainy- is in sharp focus to the subjects with no blur except in the background, making the surroundings look more hazy and dream-like. The red writing on the left side of the image is also a central focal point- drawing the viewers attention to the more open subject along with the draw of the purple wall.

CLAUDIA ANDUJAR

Claudia Andujar– a Brazilian photographer born in Switzerland, 1931- began working in photojournalism through a project on the Karajá people in central Brazil, a project which is her most renowned one. As well as being a photographer, Andujar is also an avid human rights and environmental activist: co-founding the Comissão Pró-Yanomami, an advocacy organization that supports the rights of the Yanomami people.

Andujar’s images are in documentary style- starting her career as a journalist her work was orientated around news reports. Andujar’s style in these images features very much on lighting and vibrant colours- these images are from two different projects of Andujar’s: one of which is a photojournalist perspective documenting psychodynamic therapy which was accompanied by an article published in Realidade magazine, January of 1970, with text by Jorge Andrade (collection titled “They’re Looking For Peace”) and the other being a photoshoot with a model called Sônia, who was from Bahia who was working in São Paulo (collection titled “A Sônia”). I have decided to study Andujar’s work as a response to the exam theme of simple v complex due to her use of lighting and dramatic, almost cinematic compositions which give an outsider perspective towards subjects- as Andujar was a photojournalist her images were always an outsider perspective however the compositions and how Andujar took the images makes the images look staged and painting-like, making the viewer question the true origin of the images and I would like to recreate this style and intention of images using staged settings and models.

“They’re Looking For Peace” although a piece of documentary photography, the images look as if they have been staged- showing dramatic, film-like snapshots of the emotional stages of psychodynamic therapy: the editing of this image also maximises this perspective due to the flood of vibrant colours (which based around the time of these images release would have been done in a darkroom or would have been the actual lighting in the room) and stark overhead lighting which emphasises shadows where, due to the nature of the subject focus, creates an idea of a mask surrounding the subjects- specifically the ones which seem to be the patients of this therapy. The saturated colours of the works also add to the high emotional turmoil which is perceived- a large part of colour theory is it’s adaptation to emotions and human psychology- possibly something Andujar was aware of when taking this image where orange and red are defining colours: where based on colour theory, orange represents comfort and happiness while the gradient into red represents danger and caution making this image possibly present a snapshot glimpse of peace (while undergoing psychodynamic therapy) this is further reinstated by the open body language of the main subject lying on the floor: however as the colour gradient goes more into red the subjects become darker toned, more closed off and surrounded by shadow. Andujar uses practical methods such as applying vaseline to the lens of her camera, using flash lighting devices, oil lamps and infrared film- creating visual distortions, streaks of light and saturated colours. “A Sônia” is an example of these methods: Andujar retook the pictures and superimposed them on top of each other then added filters, the series is then presented as an x-ray of the female body with inverted tones and vibrant colours: the image above may also be an example where Andujar used oil lamps to create the high saturation of colour.

Learning about the theme simple/complex, I started by bullet pointing concepts, art forms and ideas which related to either of the binary terms- binary terms consist of two opposite terms i.e. simple/complex, love/hate, male/female.

COMPLEX

Busy textures- William Morris 

Persian carpets 

Knots 

Stained glass 

Technology 

Human body and its relation to nature 

Nature including animals and plants 

Different environments- the sea, woodlands 

Human nature- routine, relationships

Emotions, thoughts, behaviours, actions- anger, love, loss 

Religion, society, laws, politics, culture, rights, stereotypes, expectations 

Clothing, subculture, style I.e., punk movement- Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood- 90s heroin chic movement 

SIMPLE

Birds eye view 

Industrial 

Geometric  

Black + white 

Minimalism, brutalism and architecture  

Lighting 

From making my mood board and researching artists, I realised I was interested in dramatic staged images- possibly ones which reflect classic paintings. To further research a dramatic staged image style, I watched films where lighting was an important factor in the cinematography (such as Fallen Angels, 1995)

I also watched films where the style was softer, such as French new wave films (“Pierrot Le Fou”, 1965). My main interest for this theme as the minute is cinematic style images- dramatic, emotional yet staged.

POTIENTIAL INSPIRATIONS

SAM TAYLOR-WOOD

CLAUDIA ANDUJAR

WING SHYA

CINEMATOGRAPHY- JEAN LUC GODARD