For my images below I Printed them out on either A3 or A4 glossy paper stuck them on a foam board using a spray glue to create a levitating look to them and then cut them out so they have a boarder around them. Then I positioned them onto Black/White card. I used the pictures that I found work well together and are similar in style. And for the Pictures that are on their own I felt had a more individual feel to them and didn’t fit well in a group.
For the image below I did a large window mount.
Who
For this photoshoot, I’m going to try to take some pictures of my friend for the femininity side, and some photos of my dad for the masculinity.
When
I think I would like to take my photos during the day time in order to have natural lighting in my images.
Where
For my Femininity photographs, I would like to take some photos in a field up by my house as well as some images in my kitchen. For masculinity I would like to take some images outside my house and next to the car.
Why
I think using the field or kitchen for femininity would play into the typical stereotype for women as them being seen as fragile or being owned. As for the masculinity I think a common stereotype among the topic is the expensiveness of the car determines how wealthy the guy is.
How
I would take the photos using my own camera
I Feel that my final outcomes are what I was achieving at the start of the project so I think that they are successful in how I captured the modern day pressures on both genders. And how the stereotypes for girls is that they are meant to be soft and emotional where as boys are meant to look masculine and have contrasting qualities to female’s such as being independent and decisive with having an idealistic strong figure and stance.
For my references I looked at Anna Gaskells work For my femininity shoot due to her using multiple different females to create a utopian reality by exploring imagination and creativity. I felt that her work really linked to femininity as the girls in her photoshoot wore old dresses and shoes which I feel explored fashion in history and what girls where required to wear in contrast to the 20th century. I also like how she uses more pastel colours in her photos as it gives them a softer tone and warmth to them. For my second photoshoot it was a last minute idea as my brother and his friend came to my house, This means that I wasn’t inspired by a photographer and just went off what I thought would look good.
Next time I would put more preparation into my Masculinity shoot as I wasn’t sure if I was defiantly able to do it due to my brother and his friends schedule. I feel that if I researched a photographer that takes similar photos to my shoot I would of had more a sense about what I was doing and someone to base my work off of. I also should of used sandpaper to sharpen the edges of the foam board before I stuck them down on the black card.
I think they turned out quite good, my plan was definitely helpful in coming out with ideas beforehand. I would want to improve on precision however, since the pictures being even slightly wonky ruins the entire mount. I believe my most successful outcome is set 1, as the middle picture contrast with the more traditional faces as it is only my legs.
My process:
At the start of these my environmental portraiture project I decided to focus on the sport industry. I chose to do this as I know many people who par take in sports and think that that area of photography is very intriguing as it captures a section of their performance. I chose to photography dance and cycling as I think that they contrast together. For my dance images, I used some of my friends who dance and photographed them in their dance studio to add more detail to the image. For cycling, I photographed my brother who rides for a team in Jersey. I decided that photographing him warming up would be the best was to do it as I was able to get him to look straight as the camera to achieve the portrait.
Along with my environmental portraiture projects I also focus on studio lighting. For this project I used my model facing in different directions with different type of lighting to make different images. I chose three types of lighting, chiaroscuro, butterfly and rembrandt. For rembrandt lighting I had my model sit on a stool on a 45 degree angle and I placed my light to her left side to create the triangle effect. For the butterfly lighting I asked my model to sit facing me and placed the light facing downwards almost over her to create the shadows underneath her nose. Lastly, for chiaroscuro lighting I had my model sit at a 45 degree angle again, however, this time I placed the light behind her to add the highlight around her head making her quite hidden.
What went well:
Overall, in these two projects I think that my images turned out well. I like how I tried different edits to see what worked well with my images and chose different colours and ideas with them to make them look the best that they could. I think that my final pieces were the strongest as they allow the viewers to see my images presented with the different backing and framing to make them look finished. I think that my environmental portraits were very bold and the ones that I used in my final pieces were very effective. My window mount of the cyclist in A3 ( as you can see below) was my favourite out of the two as it was very engaging with the contrast in colours which made it eye catching. With my studio lighting portraits I like how they turned out and this that how I mounted and backed them made them work well together. I liked my window mount with the three images as I like how they looked together as each image had elements that were the same and elements that were different. Overall, I think that both my projects turned out well.
Possible improvements:
With in both projects I think that there were things that I could have improved on. For my environmental portraiture images I think that I could have photographed either, some more models for example some of the other cyclists, or another industry like stalls at the market for example. If I had done this I think that it would have made my projects stronger as I would have had a wider range on images to work with rather than my limited selection. This would have also meant that I could have made more final prints with a difference rather than mine which were both sport ones. For my studio lighting portraits, I think that I could have also made some more images with different types of lighting by using coloured gels for example or made some more edits with different ideas. This would have also gave me a wider variety of image to use for my final prints so that I could have made more contrasting images. With the images that I did make. I think that they also could have been improved as they all turned out quite dark (as you can see below) which may have been to do with the studio or the lighting that I use. As a whole I think that my projects could have had improvements however I still think that they turned out well.
I have created a virtual gallery to show off all my final images in one space i have created this by using artsteps a online website which allows you to use your own images to create your own space to show off your work.
for this image i framed it by creating a window mount, and then stuck the window mount on a piece of white foam board.
With this collection of images, I aligned one A3 portrait image along side three A5 landscape images onto a piece of foam board with black card behind it.
For the image above, I created a triple window mount as all three images are similar however by placing them together it highlights its differences too.
Justine Kurland’s ‘the wall 2000’ was my reference image for this comparison as it has some similarities but also many differences. one of the similarities being how two subjects are looking into the camera and the other three subjects, further away from the camera aren’t looking towards it. However, a difference is the locations of the two images, although both images are clearly taken outdoors my interpretation has an open field behind it. Whereas in the reference photo, the wall creates a feeling that the girls are trapped and their expression and clothing suggest that they are lost.
I believe these two images are quite similar as they both involve two girls and one is doing something to another’s exposed back. However, my interpretation is taken from a lower angle without water in the background.
I believe that both images above show and highlight femininity in a beautiful way. In both images there are three girls in a bathroom which seem to be getting ready for something. Which has stereotypical links to femininity as it is known for a group of girls to go to the bathroom together.
In Justine Kurland’s image, Femininity is shown throughout by a topless girl standing in front of the mirror. This is a defining aspect of the image as it is something that all girls have however, many people could see this as a young girl being vulnerable in front of a camera. Whereas Justine Kurland views this as empowering, as the subject has confidence within her own body to show it off. Another aspect within this image is the bright pink hand soap on the top of the sink counter top which is accompanied by a girl sat near it with a glossy pink magazine which she is reading. Femininity is shown further through the girl sat on the bathroom floor next to a bag which is spewing out with clothes, who looks like she is having trouble picking out her outfit. the image seems to have been taken at dusk due to the orange light shining through the window of the bathroom. However, the bathroom is light up very bright from the lights in the ceiling and above the mirror.
When comparing my interpretation of ‘Bathroom 1997’ to Kurland’s it shows a more stereotypical idea of femininity which is less rebellious, the main focal point of the image is three girls doing their make-up. There is no natural light visible in the image, making the only light source available being the lights in the ceiling which aren’t very bright, creating a orange tint across the whole image. Towards the right of the image, you can see all of the products aligned in the shelfing which further adds into the stereotype of females.
Both Kurland and Goldberg take their images in a documentary style, documenting the lives of people who have run away from home and are essentially homeless.
Justine Kurland’s project ‘Girl pictures’ contrasts with Jim Goldberg’s project ‘Raised by wolves’. Kurland presents her images in a more ‘feminine’ way; soft and gentle, hiding the reality that the girls in the photos are ‘run away girls’ and aren’t living a traditionally pleasant life. On the other hand, Goldberg has presented his images in a more ‘masculine’, harsh way; without sugar-coating anything. His images show the jarring truth of what it’s like to live on the streets.
Jim Goldberg’s project ‘Raised by Wolves’ took 10 years to make. Throughout those 10 years, Jim focused on picturing troubled runaways, whose lives became intertwined. This is similar to what Justine Kurland captured in her project ‘Girl pictures’ which is arguably a ‘feminine’ version of Goldberg’s project. Jim Goldberg captured the subjects’ personalities, histories, dreams, and aspirations; which are presented in their own words.
For my first final piece I took three of my studio lighting images and printed them out on A5 glossy photo paper. I then took a piece of black card and measured out on the back the centre of the card and well as measured it into thirds as I had three images. I measured my images as well to make sure that the frame would over lap the image slightly so that the viewer could not see any of the white on the edge of the image. I then cut out the frame and used masking take to stick my images on the back facing forwards. Over all I am very happy with how this piece turned out as I think the three images together looks good ad they are all the same with different poses. I also think that they window mount brings the images together well as they are a greyish colour and the frame is black.
For my second final piece I printed out another one of my studio lighting portraits where I used chiaroscuro lighting to create the ring of light around the model. I printed this image on A4 glossy photo paper and then used spray mount to back it onto foam board. I trimmed this using a knife and a rule and I made sure that I left a white boarder around the image so that when I then stuck it on a piece of black card using double sided tape it separated the image from the card as they were both dark. I am pleased with how this piece turned out as I think that backing makes it look very bold and simple.
For my third final piece I used two of my environmental portraits. I decided to leave one in colour and edited one to be black and white so that they contrasted together. I printed them both out on A4 glossy photo paper and then also backed them onto foam board however, this time I trimmed it right up to the edge of the image instead of leaving a white boarder. I did this as I thought that the images were already quite light so they would look better without the white boarder. I think backed them on black card to present them together. I like how this piece turned out as I think that they image both stand out with the bright colours compared to the dark tones from the black and white. I also think that both the models contrast with the sports that they are doing.
For my last final piece I used the same environmental portrait as my previous final piece however, this time I edited the image on photoshop to make the image all black and white and then used the eraser tool to add all of the red in the image back in. I did this as I thought that the red with the black and white would make the image stand out and catch the viewers attention. To make sure that it stood out I printed it on A3 glossy photo paper. I then presented it in a window mount like my first final piece. I used the same process as the first one but this time I only made one cut out in the centre of my piece of card. I then stuck it too the back with masking tape facing forwards. Overall I think that this is my best final piece that I produced. I am very happy with how it turned out and this that the contrasting colour within it makes it very bold and eye catching. I like the simplicity that the piece has as it make it a clear for the viewer to see the detail that it holds.