portrait Photographers are always trying to not just capture you on the outside (e.g. your hair colour, your gender, size, ect). A more interesting photo would try capture who they actually are, there identity.

Identity politics

Identity politics is a tendency for people of a particular religion, ethnic group, social background, etc., to form exclusive political alliances, moving away from traditional broad-based party politics. Its aim is to support and centre the concerns, agendas, and projects of particular groups, in accord with specific social and political changes.

Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign website, on which he listed 19 different identity groups for which he had specific plans. These included tribal nations, women, people with disabilities, Black Americans, military families, union members, rural Americans, older Americans, the LBGTQ+ community, veterans, the Catholic community, students/young Americans, immigrants, the AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) community, the Indian American community, the Jewish community, the Muslim American community, the Latino community and the Arab American community.

Identity Politics In Jersey (history of Jerriaise):

In Jersey CI, Jerriaise was the language used for many years (first seen in 12th century) and has had a rough history. It was considered a ‘farmers language’, and shamed upon if you spoke it. Many people said it was an inferior language to English so it started to die down and people reduced teaching it to there children in 1930s. However, Many people now want to bring back this heritage and culture many busses now have Jerriaise text on the back for example. Here is a link to learn more about it.

Cultural Wars

Cultural Wars area conflict between groups, especially liberal and conservative groups, that have different cultural ideals, beliefs, or philosophies.

Artist and social commentator Grayson Perry crosses the US, exploring its biggest fault lines, from race to class and identity, making art as he goes. He explores these cultural wars around America, collecting many different views on politics.

Here is a cultural war example in jersey.

Here is a cultural war example for BLM in the UK

Gender Identity:

Masculinity and femininity are not ends of a pole, but two parts of an ever-expanding circle, constantly seeking new expression in the world. We’ve been indoctrinated to see binaries where they do not exist, buying into simplistic “either/or” constructs that create false hierarchies and real inequality. Many photographer have explored this for a long time.

gender Identity your deeply-held inner feelings of whether you’re female or male, both, or neither. Your gender identity isn’t seen by others. Gender identity may be the same as the sex you were assigned at birth (cisgender) or not (transgender).

cultural Identity:

is related to nationality, ethnicity, religion, social class, generation, locality or any kind of social group that has its own distinct culture. In this way, cultural identity is both characteristic of the individual but also of the culturally identical group of members sharing the same cultural identity or upbringing.

Social Identity:

refers to the ways that people’s self-concepts are based on their membership in social groups. Examples include sports teams, religions, nationalities, occupations, sexual orientation, ethnic groups, and gender. Social identity groups can give you a sense of:

1. Belonging: Being part of a group can instill feelings of connection and unity, giving individuals the comforting sense that they’re not alone in their experiences or perspectives.
2. Purpose: Group affiliations often come with shared goals or missions, which can provide direction and purpose to individual members.
3. Self-worth: Affiliating with a group can boost self-esteem as individuals derive pride from group achievements and a positive group image.
4. Identity: Groups provide a framework to understand oneself in the context of a larger community. They can help define who you are based on shared attributes, values, or goals.

Geographical identity:

An individual or group’s sense of attachment to the country, region, city, or village in which they live. The key characteristics with which a particular country, region, city, or village is associated.

Political Identity:

Political identity is a form of social identity marking membership of certain groups that share a common struggle for a certain form of power. This can include identification with a political party, but also positions on specific political issues, nationalism, inter-ethnic relations or more abstract ideological themes.

are an illusion created by layering images (or portions of images) over the top of each other. . Artist have used these techniques to explore Surrealist Ideas and evoke dream-like imagery, or imagery that explores time / time lapse.

The plan mf:

• subject looks off into distance, with same background he turns head, looking directly into camera with a facial expression.

Here are photos of a very handsome model with a tash of editing:

Photomontage is the process and the result of making a composite photograph by cutting, gluing, rearranging and overlapping two or more photographs into a new image. 

The plan:

I will take photos of my subject with deadpan expressions and other expression and merge them together, or replace different body parts to different parts of face. Another thing I could do is keep the subject the same but edit certain parts of the face to bring attention to it (make it stand out more).

With these photo-montage edits, I did not want to make it over edit them as they are both already fairly interesting photos. I used photo shop to edit both. With the bottom one I also used geometric template to add the triangles.

diamond cameo is where photos are arranged into a diamond shape, as it means all photos get equal coverage. I took 4 photos of a class mate with different angles of his face, using the studio lights and a continuous light with a soft box to add some contrast. We positioned it slightly above the subjects face, and slightly on the right. This is done to mimic a butterfly effect.

Here are the photos I took and decided to use. I colour graded and adjusted mainly just the shadows and highlights to make it look very retro like. Here are the editing setting.

BRUCE GLIDEN – FACE

Bruce Gilden’s project, Faces 2012–14, is an extended series of confronting and compelling photographic portraits. He went very up and close to the subjects faces, capturing and amplifying all the imperfections lack of symmetry of people, making each person very different to each other as we are all individuals.

“My style evolved because I liked being among the common man,” he once said. “I like characters. I always have. When I was five, I liked the ugliest wrestler, so it was easy for me to pick what I wanted to photograph.”

Gilden is not without critics who view the photographs as potentially exploiting his subjects. He would often take photos of unsuspecting people along the street. The artist describes the series as a reflection on his childhood in Brooklyn and the result of a lifelong fascination with ‘characters’ he encounters in pursuit of his subjects.

Gilden, like many photographers, often shies away from explaining the meaning in his photographs. “When people look at my pictures I don’t want to tell them what’s in the pictures. I want them to look at the picture and make up their own story.” So now I’m going to analyse some of his photos in my own way.

Both these photos have a few things in common. They leave very little space in the frame for the background, and making sure the whole face is including in the photo. This allows the viewers to see every imperfection in the face, making the individuals look ugly. There’s almost a since of humour to these photos as well as the subjects didn’t get a change to pose properly and it looks like mug shots.

Here, the blemishes, bad teeth, the stubble and the scrapes – as well as the pimples, wounds, wrinkles, and bulbous veined noses – are rendered even more extreme by the closeness of the camera and the unremitting light of the flash.

type of portrait photography typically used for websites, press releases, publications, and social-media profiles. The term “headshot” or “head shot” just means that the portrait photo is cropped somewhere in the middle torso – so that the focus is on your face. The subject would usually look directly into the camera so the viewer feels more engaged.

Famous headshot photographers:

There are many famous headshot photographers like Peter Hurley, Jordan Matters, Joel Grimes and many more. They are all famous for capturing interesting models, famous actors and singers, ext.

Examples of Headshots (famous people):

The are many different techniques to create interesting headshots, like DIAMOND CAMEO, DOUBLE/ MULTIPLE EXPOSURE, JUXTAPOSITION, SEQUENCE/ GRID AND MONTAGE. You can make them into a typology of many photos of a similar look.

We took a total of 172 photos trying out different lighting methods, and setups. Here is the setup of the studio and our best photos

setup:

This was the basic setup we used for all the different lighting methods (chiaruscuro, rembrant, butterfly), we just changed the direction of light(s), camera angle and how the subject poses.

Chiaruscuro

Selection of best images:

This is a photo i took of Jonny. Its got a white backdrop, with a flash light and diffuser 45 degrees from the subjects face, while still being close to create a dramatic effect between light and dark (chiaruscuro). I make the highlights very dramatic and almost glow like with editing to replicate how old cameras took photos. Many famous movies implemented Chiaruscuro to create a more dramatic scene, so I used the same effect here. I made my subject look into the distance, not at the camera to increase emotional effect.

Here, I heavily relied on editing to create more emotion. With the editing you cannot see the subjects right eye, changing his smirk look, into a more sympathetic one. I used the black and white filter to make the contrast more dramatic as colour will not distract the image.

For this picture, I used the black curtains, a lightbox and flash light, and a secondary light that hits the back of his head. There is a clear line between dark and light here, going across the nose, lips, ext. The eyes have little life as we put the reflector further away from his face, giving him a sense of lifelessness.

Rembrandt

Selection of best images:

(left one is edited). The triangle is bellow the right side of their face. I edited it with bright and colourful settings and slightly more contrast (keeping the rule of thirds by placing his eyes along one of them.) I did this to oppose the dramatic effect created by a Rembrandt lighting method .

I did a similar thing as the above image for this one, just with a new subject.

happy dude.

Butterfly

Selection of best images:

young handsome man

studio lighting consists of 2 main types, continuous and flash, with other types like natural lighting . We can uses these 2 different lights to create different lighting techniques like the a butterfly for example.

The technical side of lighting

Continuous lighting (or tungsten light) produces a constant amount of light which is often a warmer temperature, meaning you need to adjust your white balance accordingly.

Flashlight lights have umbrellas, or a soft box can be attached to diffuse the light (not to say continuous lights cant have this). They create a flash of light which is very bright and used to make hard lighting.

Other objects can be used like a reflector to direct light in multiple directions often leading to more soft lighting. To create an interesting studio portrait you need to different directions of light, temperature, key lighting (e.g. 3 point lighting), use of reflectors and diffusers, camera settings (ISO, camera lenses, shutter speed and aperture), backdrop and infinity curves, and of course an interesting subject. So what different techniques are there?

Rembrandt lighting

This technique (named after a Dutch painter, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn) is where the lighting creates a upside down triangle under the eye. Rembrandt lighting is a technique utilizing one light and one reflector or two separate lights. It’s a popular technique because it creates images that look both dramatic, full of drama, yet staying natural. Its also used as a way to draw the views eyes towards the eyes of the subject in the photo (usually the main focal point of a portrait image). This is because it will create emphasis of that part of the face, drawing the view in. Other ways of moving where the viewer is looking is by using negative space, leading lines and depth of field.

As you can see, kewano weafs and all the other photos have very hard lighting, creating a large amount of contrast within the face. This allows the triangle to appear, drawing the attention towards the eyes. Eyes can be used to show many different emotions so its important to have it as a main focal point.

Butterfly lighting

butterfly lighting is achieved by moving the main light above the camera, and directly centred with the models face. This creates a shadow under the nose and cheek bone that resembles a butterfly It’s also known as ‘Paramount lighting,’ named for classic Hollywood glamour photography. It creates a thinner looking face by making shadows under the cheek bones and neck.

As you can see, the butterfly effect can create a warm and happy image or a scarier, darker one. This is because the butterfly lighting effects the setup of lighting and not the quality of lights, so you can still have soft or hard lighting and still have butterfly lighting.

The reflector can soften the shadows under the check bone and neck if you don’t want the butterfly lighting to be so noticeable. To create hard lighting you can just remove the modifier (e.g. a soft box).

Chiaruscuro

Chiaruscuro (Italian for light dark) is a dramatic contrast between light and dark in the image. It appeared in the 15th century paintings:

It’s has a dark, contrast look, with dense shadows – though, for the most part, not completely black. The use of shadows in the background gives the painting an impression of depth and three-dimensionality. The subjects, meanwhile, are lit carefully, almost sculpted, by the light and shadow that falls on them.

Chiaroscuro in photography is made using one key light and a variation using a reflector that reflects light from the key light back onto the sitter.

To create a Chiaruscuro effect, use a flash – with triggers and a light stand and set the shutter very high, to remove any ambient light.

This way the only light recorded is created by the flash. If you zoom flash too, it will intensify the light on the subject and leave the background dark. Its best to just use a dark wall as a backdrop.

You don’t even need any artificial lighting to create this effect, as long as the lighting is strong.

For this photoshoot, me and my colleague both walked around St.Helier and took photos of a variety of different people, with different jobs and environments. For example, some was of local shops like IKeys, others were builders in their building site. We also took a few of people playing sports like basketball and of some random people going about their day.

This is one of my favourites from this photo shoot. Its of 2 guys who we asked to take some photos of. We captured them from many different angles and this ones my favourite because they are acting as if the camera was not even there presenting them in reality. There body and faces match the rule of thirds, making the picture not feel awkward, with things seeming in place. I think cigarettes always add character and the fella suggested it so we went with it.

For this portrait, after a basketball game I took photos of my mate under a hoop, staring into the camera, while i was standing on the viewing platform at the top. Its quite intimidating but the hoop in the way keeps a distance between him and the viewer. I got him to hold to basketballs to connect him to his environment more.

Emotional

The effect of this image makes me feel quite intimidated and devious 😈 . Its very rough and serious as there’s no natural objects in the scene, except for the subject. Also seen as gloomy, dark, uncomfortable, cold and more. He’s almost blocking the viewer away from the picture.

Visual

Cold blue colours, lots of industrial objects in background (a train factory). The subject sits in the bottom centre of the image sitting almost like he has authority over the factory. He’s giving an intimidating look, especially with the harsh shadows on his wrinkly face.

Technical

symmetry and balance. The 2 pillars add to this symmetry, and leads the eyes towards the subject. harsh lighting – not very conventional giving similar lighting to churches or cathedrals (very intimidating). perspective goes to end of factory, with the focus on the subject.

Conceptual

The idea behind the image was to show his views on people who helped the Nazis win the war. He presented this image in a dark and sinister way, perfectly portraying the man in the image.

Contextual

Alfred Krupp was a German industrialist who ran the Krupp empire, a major arms manufacturer during World War II. Convicted as a war criminal for his company’s use of slave labor, he was later pardoned. Despite his pardon, Krupp remained a controversial figure, and his reputation as a ruthless businessman and war profiteer followed him.

Newman, a renowned portrait photographer, initially refused to photograph Krupp due to his own Jewish heritage and Krupp’s dark past. However, he later changed his mind, deciding to use the portrait as a way to express his personal feelings toward Krupp. he later said after taking the photo that ‘shivers when down my spine’