A reference to Justine Kurland

Masculinity vs Femininity

Masculinity vs Femininity

The idea is to get specific parts of the muscles with good lighting to pop out or show, as for a lot of Males and even Females there are a lot of people who go to the gym to grow muscle, for themselves and for other peoples sake.

Contact Sheet:

Edits Vs Originals:

I have edited both of the images above very similar, however in one image the saturation is a lot lower in order for the image to be in black and white. I also turned the highlights all the day down to -90 in both images which again takes away from the harshness to the sky and adds more detail into it. In the black and white image, I lowered the ‘blacks’ as it creates more shadow into the image.

I edited the image above by increasing the exposure up +1.32, by doing this it brightens up the whole image making it more clear and less gloomy. I also increased the shadows up to +65, this helped to highlight the centre of the image doe to the cupboards around the mirror and where the lights are placed.

Who is Doug Dubois

Doug DuBois is a photographer and professor at Syracuse University, known for his work that explores family dynamics, community, and the complexities of human relationships. His photographs are striking, often capturing intimate and emotional moments that reveal the depth of human experience.

My Last Day at Seventeen

Dubois has an interest in community and the ways in which people come together to form bonds. His series “My Last Day at Seventeen” is a powerful exploration of youth and community in Cobh, Ireland. The photographs show the lives of young people in a small town, revealing the joys and struggles of adolescence. Through his photographs, Dubois captures the energy and vitality of youth, as well as the challenges that come with growing up. Dubois’s photographs are not just beautiful, they are also thought-provoking. His work raises important questions about family, community, and the human experience. Through his lens, Dubois shows us that life is complex, messy, and beautiful all at once. His photographs are a testament to the power of art to capture the essence of the human spirit.

Examples of his work

Doug Dubois is seen as influential due to his ability to capture the subtleties and complexities of everyday life in his photography. Dubois is known for his intimate and honest portrayals of people and their relationships. His work often explores themes of family, memory, and identity, and he has a talent for capturing the emotions and experiences of his subjects in a way that is both authentic and relatable and I admire this. His unique perspective and approach to photography has earned him critical acclaim and a dedicated following among photography enthusiasts.

Doug Dubois often explores themes of identity, masculinity, and family in his photography. In his series “All the Days and Nights,” he focuses on the relationship between a father and son, examining the complex dynamics of masculinity and power within the family structure. Through his images, he challenges traditional notions of masculinity and explores the emotional and psychological impact of societal expectations on men and boys.

I can respond to Doug Dubois’ images by using them as inspiration to create my own images. Trying to capture the same emotions and themes that he explores in my own unique way.

Image selection

By going through my images and selecting the images which I think go well as a set. Flagging my chosen images allows me to exclude the images which I do not want to edit.

 I went into the studio to complete my androgyny self-portrait shoot and ended up with about 89 images.

 After picking and editing my favourite images, I had narrowed it down to around 50 images.

My favourite images from this shoot:

Analysis of an image from this shoot:

I really like the set of images this image comes from – the lighting is in the correct place, slightly shadowing half of my body and face, I like the contrast between the brightness of the right side of the image and the slightly shadowed left side of the image. The colouring of the image also fits in with the term “androgyny” which was my aim, I think that the neutral tones (e.g. black and grey) really solidify the idea of androgyny that I wanted to follow. When I see this image, I immediately can see how confident I seem in it, I’m stood in quite a confident position with my head held high. Personally, I think that this image could link to Claude Cahun’s work in expressing her androgynous identity, especially since, like she has in a lot of her work, I have quite a blank expression

For my photoshoot I’m planning on using the studio to take portraits of my friend using blood and make up to appear to have just been in a fight. which is showing a common masculine stereotype that boys ar strong and aggressive just fight . i believe this fits well with the theme and can prove that these stereotypes are unrealistic.

For the mock exam, I wanted to create a piece that shows more of a shift in identity, from who I was to who I am now. I wanted to achieve this using my recent medical issues as the subject, as I’m unfit to drive for six months.

This was more of a mini-photoshoot just to get some extra photos, so I wasn’t looking for too many final images as I wouldn’t need them. I wanted to display masculinity within my identity through my love for motorcycles that I had developed over the year or so that I’d been riding, which I did by wearing the gear I typically used – my helmet and jacket. I also wanted to create the illusion that I was outside, as opposed to a more classic photography studio style, but I didn’t want too much in the background to distract the viewer, so I used a red LED lightbulb in the hopes that it would create a reflection on my visor similar to that of a traffic light or brake light.

When I edited these two photographs that I’d selected as the best of the shoot, I realised I could change the colour of the other key light that I’d had on to increase the overall quality of the image in Lightroom, and I think it looks rather similar to the lights on a police siren, which creates connotations to rebellion and crime, which is a typically masculine thing. Overall, whilst I like the way both of these images look, I think that the first photo would suit this project better and is in general more visually appealing.

For my self-portraiture project, I wanted to take images that captured me in my home environment. While practicing on my guitar in the evening, I thought the lighting was perfect for an impromptu photoshoot, so I set up my camera on a tripod and used the self-timer to take some images.

I shot some photos whilst I used my phone, practiced with my guitar, and listened to music. I tried moving around to see how the light reacted on my face and was left with some rather interesting compositions.

I was particularly interested in the way the light formed somewhat of a white outline around the back of my body when I faced the right-hand side of the frame, as it brought me more into the foreground of the images. I also used masking tools in Lightroom to lower the sharpness of the background.

These are all of my final images from this shoot.