• In this photoshoot, I focused on taking photographs outside with my subject. Lauren Withrow’s photographs can relate to themes of mystery and loneliness therefore I placed my subject in an abandoned/ non-sociable environment. Places Lauren Withrow photographs her subjects are places such as beaches, fields, and natural landscapes.
• If I were to change anything in my photographs and overall in my photoshoot I would try and experiment with photographs on the actual beach as Lauren has some of her photographs like it. So therefore I would try to recreate these photographs instead of presenting the subject near the beach and sea walls.

• In these photographs the subject is positioned on the grass below, I believe these photographs reveal similarities between Lauren Withorw’s photography and my inspiration towards that. Lauren Withrow’s photographs generally involve only one subject in an isolated and unusual background/positioned freely and swiftly. This softness and playfulness can be demonstrated in both the photographs above when the subject comfortably positions themselves.

• In these photographs, the subject appears to be in a similar setting as the photographs above. Either way despite the background having the sky unlike the photographs above the background and nature-like setting the setting is still unknown and mysterious to the audience as it appears that it could be anywhere. I believe that the photographs especially made in this setting did not require any flash and I think the lighting the lighting and darkness are at the right level as they’re not too much.

• I ..

American Artist Cindy Sherman (born in 1954) plays around with her photographs that “depict herself dressed and made up as different female characters”. Her photographs can often be shown as feminist art as he works can raise questions regarding the objectification of women through the “male gaze” and how females as a gender can be constructed.

Cindy Sherman’s perspectives can be carried out into the famous essay written by Laura Mulvey. Laura’s perspectives can be explained in the “subconscious way we see women” and how they can be seen and examined in Hollywood movies from the 1930s to the 50s.

Laura “argues” that the interpretation of women in these Hollywood films can give a perspective through the objectification of the female body.

Speaking from her perspective films being produced in those ears can even more reinforce ideas of portrayals of women and things to be looked and presented for the pleasure of men.

Image Analysis

• In this photograph the subject is in the centre of it. The female come across as vulnerable, afraid of something in front of her and very upset as the females tears are highlighted/bold and are clear to see. The female also appears to look abused and it looks like she has “bruises”/marks on her face. It may be a combination of smudged and wet makeup dripping down her face as well as marks on her face, this photograph and the subject can bring up themes of 1950-60s housewife. Half of the face is split (“split lighting”) representing this unknown element : is the woman in the image being abused? is her husband behind the photograph?
• Half of her face appears to be beaten and worried whereas the other side as well showing these qualities is hidden but the features are still visible a bit potentially showing the idea that despite her abuse and hurt being hidden away, it is still there despite how much she may want to try hide it away/ignore it. The image can be examined and portrayed in many ways as it’s most left to the imagination as there is no description especially with the factor that Cindy Sherman name it “untitled” (not labelling it meaning it being unknown/secretive and a mystery).
• In the background of the photograph it appears to be a white background with two closed windows both pitch black when looked through.
• The photograph is black & white as well most if not all of Cindy Sherman’s “untitled stills”. This element of monochrome editing adds to the effect of sadness/damage and weakness.

“The only purpose of women is to represent an object, they carry no real meaning or have any importance on their own.”

Cindy Sherman’s series of “Untitled Film Stills” are reminiscent of the movies from the 1930s to 1950s. They outline her as she “portrays” stereotypical women in different roles with the use of costumes, makeup and wigs”.  In these different poses she poses to imitate the portrayal of sexualised and passive women that comply with those fantasies. Some of her other artworks can present women lying in a passive position often seductively presenting their bodies in bodies or dressed in feminised like outfits. The way the images are classed in an art context instead of cinema as well as Cindy’s active role in them presents that these images highlight the critism against the male gaze. Whether she was the one to release the camera’s shutter or not, Cindy is considered the author of the photographs. The “Untitled Film Stills aren’t considered to be self-portraits.

These various and general female film character can be described as:

• Ingenue (innocent or unsophisticated young woman playing in a play or film)
• Working girl
• Vamp
• Lonely housewife

Lauren Withrow (“Born & raised in Texas, Withrow began photographing at the age of 15. Now based out of New York City, her portrait and fashion images are heavily influenced by cinematic themes”).

She focuses her work on documenting stories, places, and creating cinematic worlds that dive into personal feelings of growing up queer, expectations of womanhood, and the relationship we have with others”.

Her work “begs investigation” (given the mysterious and abandoned look). Lauren says that the effect New York has had on her work is the “adjusting to locations”. She says that she finds that she focuses “even more so than I used to on the personality of the individual I’m shooting”. Due to Lauren’s move, she describes the difference in mood in her work from New York versus Texas as “getting much darker in my content. My overall attitude in New York is much more fast-paced, much more…, because it has changed”.

Lauren claims that, in terms of feeling the mood change in her photos ” I don’t think it’s changed, at least not drastically. The most that’s changed, in general, has to do with the previous question, in the sense that the atmosphere of the location has changed. The person is still the same. There might be more energy coming from that person since they’re not interacting necessarily with the landscape, or a beautiful sunset in the valley, or whatever. It’s just, I would say it has become more emotional because that’s what I have to focus on versus the scenery.” The photographer claims that it’s “fascinating” because it is the “exploring other avenues in my work” and how she can “connect with my subjects”.

In her photoshoots, she says she likes to have the “narrative in mind” improvised between herself and the subject and therefore let it “determine how I want it to go”.

She describes it as “if you plan this narrative and it’s all great in your head, but your model or subject just can’t bring that across and you have to find a way to switch that up, so I find it better not to have too much already in mind and just let it happen naturally”.

Her “self” portraits work overall gives off a mysterious vibe. When observing it looks like your almost intruding or experiencing like a “runaway teenager” sort of outlook on her work. She includes many typical and dry atmospheres of places like e.g. fields, bushes, roads, beaches, bedrooms. Lauren’s work is very individual, she doesn’t pair subject with many others and creates a large, broad and/or busy perspective. It’s very minimalistic and she concentrates on individuality and how it can look like with connotations of “self” and “being alone”.

Image Analysis

In this particular photograph, I see the female figure in the centre that appears to look childishly and playfully, her arms are spreads, and appear to be jumping with her head down. The female’s arms appear to be cut and distanced from the rest of the body in the centre, this creates an ominous and mysterious under tone and creates an uncomfortable sensation for the audience as the figure looks deformed and un-human-like. The image may be about childhood and how part of her nostalgia and child like memories were “cut off”. There aren’t any other people in the image =, just the singular woman adding contrast and confusing as it’s an odd number, an odd variety.

The dark tones from the bottom edges of the photograph look almost like as the photograph gets darker then it’s almost like a danger zone, something to be aware of as the figure in positioned in the centre where it appears to be brighter than the other corners of the photograph so it’s almost like the figure is not touching the grassy area of the photograph as it “can’t be touched”/ something to be afraid/cautious . The female subject isn’t making eye contact with the lens, she is facing down meaning either she’s afraid or self-conscious, she feels closed off and lonely potentially. Themes of abandonment, fright, confusion and intimidation may be questioned when looking at the photograph.

The image can be looked at in different ways as one individual may think it is an innocent girl playing around in a field like environment or another may think it’s is a possessed woman in form of a young girl haunting the people around her. The uneasy darkened background makes the atmosphere seem disturbing and on edge as we question why the female subject is positioned in the way and place she is.

I noticed that all the pictures Lauren creates turn out with colourful tones, colour and the focus on the image looks full of emotions.

For my photoshoots, I plan to:

• Take photographs of specific body parts/features to a feminine and masculine-like body type e.g hip dips, curves, body shapes, hands, nails

• Take photographs inspired by Cindy Sherman or either Claude Cahun or another artist linked to them.

• Taking portrait-like photographs, in general,/ can add to masculinity & femininity.

• Think about feminine perfume and makeup ads and how they are presented in the media.

 Masculinities and femininities are structured and expressed through other axes of identity such as class, race, ethnicity, age, and sexuality.

Feminine-“set of attributes, behaviours and roles generally associated with women and girls”.

• Feminine behaviours can be described as naive, sexually inexperienced, soft, flirtatious, nurturing (like a mother), careful and accepting.

• “The strength behind power lies within feelings and emotions“.

• Allows for vulnerability and understanding.

Masculinity can be defined by the “social expectations of being a man”. The term “masculinity” can refer to the behaviours/roles that are “considered appropriate for boys & men in a given society”.

• “Masculinity is constructed and defined socially, historically and politically, rather than being biologically driven.”
• Masculinity and stereotypes can be included in such as strength, well-built, muscular, courage, independence, leadership, and assertiveness.

Binary Opposites

Masculinity and Femininity are binary opposites (same as good vs evil) meaning that in the system “two theoretical opposites are strictly defined and set off against one another”.

• Boy vs Girl
• Young vs Old
• Peace vs War
• Black vs White
• Strong vs Weak
• Technology vs Humanity

Identity Politics

My view on identity politics is that everyone should represent and express the way that they feel they want to, if that’s through “social background, sexual orientation, race and nationality etc.”. I believe that it’s good that “identity politics” are a thing as it allows support and a range of ideas throughout people’s mindsets (Jersey moving in English Language despite loosing identity in Jerrias). In terms of culture wars, I think social media can influence the way media present these “culture wars” e.g George Floyd BLM, Winston Churchill statue in Parliament Square, EU Referendum (Brexit), Oprah Winfrey Interview with Harry and Meghan etc.

Culture Wars are “cultural conflicts” between these social groups and the struggle for dominance of their values, beliefs, and practices. Examples of this can be the 2020 culture wars of BLM, abortion laws, gay rights and/or gun control.

General Societal Disagreement & Polarization in social values is seen. The terms are often used to describe the politics of “contemporary” in western democracies with political issues like abortion, homosexuality, transgender, pornography, multiculturalism, racial viewpoints.

These “identity politics” can impact society through the division of people’s opinion for example on the LGBTQ+ community.

Some of the positive aspects of groups harnessing their shared identity and political views as it can allow individuals to be parts of a larger scale and have a sense of belonging, confidence and community in their “social world”.

The danger of tribalism dividing communities is that groups will break apart meaning their will be a division of thoughts/ideas within the media being controversial there may be outbreaks, arguments and potential assaults.

Within a global perspective there would be a lot of disagreement and discussion ex. social media apps like Twitter (X) where opinions can be shared freely and a quicker reach.

Within a local perspective, the extent of disagreement won’t be too at a large extent like globally as opinions have to be brought from one place specifically.

 How identity can be influenced by “place”, or belonging environment, or upbringing regarding

gender identity

• How an individual portrays and feels about their gender/ their own individual experience of gender. A person gender may or may not be the same as “or different from their birth assigned sex”.

cultural identity

• It is a part of a person’s identity, it’s the feeling that you belong and feel a part of a group of people like you. Shared qualities may be like birthplace, traditions, practices and beliefs. As well as music, art, food can also “shape” your cultural identity.

social identity

• Social identity groups are usually defined by some physical, social and mental characteristics of individuals. Examples of these can be: gender, your sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, class/socioeconomic status, disabilities and religion/religious beliefs.

geographical identity

• A person’s or a groups’s sense of attachment to the country, region, city or village they live in/ belong to.

political identity

• a form of a social identity marking membership of certain groups that share a common struggle for a certain form of power.

lack of / loss of identity

• feeling disconnected from who they have been and/or no sense as to who they will become next

stereotypes

• a fixed general image or set of characteristics that a lot of people believe represent a particular type of person.

prejudices

• a preconceived/ generally negatively opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience.
• examples of this can be:
• race, gender, sexism, ageism and/or homophobia.

Juxtaposition in photography is the placement of two photographs close to together to present contrast or similarities. Inspiration could be taken by the pairings of the old monochrome portraits of Henry Mullins and more recent portraits of Michelle Sank which are opposed to show the comparisons, e.g., between the classes (social & professional) in Jersey mid-19^th century & early 21^st century. Juxtaposition can create that interest and contrast in a photograph, it may also try to convey a message from the photographer. It could also create tension and difference.

Juxtaposing images can also be terms of shapes, colours, repetition, object vs portrait.

Contact Sheet for my headshots:

Experimentation with Photoshop:

In terms of Juxtaposition, I took inspiration from my mood board and experimented with different gels and lights in contrast and opposed the different hues in the studio against the subject being photographed.

In the photographs below, I decided to take the title “Juxtaposition” in a different approach and put two photographs in contrast to each other, as shown below. The collages of different emotions and facial reactions can represent a division between one thing and another.

In terms of photo montaging, it is the experimentation and process of making a “composite photograph” by cutting, gluing, rearranging, and overlapping two or more photographs into a new image for artistic effect.

It is how magazine editors used to design “publications” before digital design software existed. It can exposes “the component images simultaneously through superimposed negatives”. Photo montaging can give the illusion of many object in one, it can look dramatic, bold and most of all interesting to look at in depth.

It’s been a potent and/or strong means of communication within the field of visual art since at least the early 20^th century, first appearing most frequently in work of “Dada artists” e.g Hannah Hoch and John Heartfield. Ever since, photomontage has remained, among artists, popular that work with ranges of styles and images that are different.

Contact Sheet for my headshots:

Experimentation with Photoshop:

In this edit I looked at the experimentation of Brno Del Zou:

Brno Del Zou is a French, photographer. In Brno’s ‘photosculptures’ series he uses the fragmentation of the body in order to better understand it.The body and the faces are revisited and the features under various angles are highlighted in order to create collages interwoven with the other features creating a distorted and unproportional effect.

Brno grew up during the 1970/80s and was influenced by the artistic culture of the time.

These distorted collages are edit in a monochrome palette probably on photoshop.The 1980s were a vital time culturally and were marked by growing global capitalism and widespread mass media. Artists growing up during this time were heavily influenced by this cultural environment.

I personally like Brno’s work as as I feel that each specific photograph expresses a new feeling or thought going through the person’s head. The fact Brno displays their work in black, white and grey undertones adds a negative and mysterious atmosphere.

If I were to recreate this I would change the sizing of the pictures to create a sharp and clean effect yet still disorganized and chaotic as it is much more difficult to observe the photograph if there is much more to explore through the layers.

Bruno Del Zou inspired editing process:

In this Photoshop edit, I decided to do a face fragment idea. Firstly, I opened the images I wanted to work with. They can be desaturated so they look at a similar tone to Brno’s edit’s but decided not to change any hue to them. I selected my background portrait image and double-clicked the layer to unlock it. I used the rectangular marquee tool to draw around different scaled features of a face, moved them around to create a distorted and layered collage using the move tool on the Photoshop toolbar, and used shortcuts such as ctrl d to fit my scale with I wanted the size to be and ctrl j to copy the layer so that I can move it later on in the edit. I took into consideration the other two photographs of the face at a different angle and copied them on the “Base Layer”. At the end of my Photoshop edit, I added a drop shadow to create additional layers and texture behind the fragments moved.

Double/Multi exposures are made by creating and layering photographs on top of each other. It can be created throughout the use of Photoshop and in the camera settings (making and experimenting with layers). The “Blending Options2 and “Opacity Control” can be used too. It can create a surreal feeling for the photographs and it two photographs collided can convey deeper “meaning or symbolism” (like a story).

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Double exposure has been used since the 1860s. In the 1860s it was a significant business boost. “they discovered how to make a portrait subject appear twice in a frame as if they had an identical twin. In each of the pictures, the individual was striking a different pose.” In order to take those now-vintage images, the photographer would snap a picture of the subject in one position. Afterwards, they’d direct themselves in a different pose. A rotating lens caps and special plates were also part of the process. The result ends up looking in a surreal approach to early photographs. The images today through the use of double exposure can be manipulated in a way to look distorted in the viewers perspective.

John Deakin (British Photographer) is known for his portraiture however Deakin has produced some fantastic images with this technique. The video below shows “explores his artistic development from the 1930s into the more recent years…

Contact Sheet for my headshots:

Photographer Andrés Gallardo Albajar takes “double, long and triple exposure photographs in few different locations”. Many artists and photographers use double and long exposure photography to “convey emotional insight, show a progression of movement or relate a change in time”.

For Andres, he does not document he editing’s and experimentation with the use of double exposure and the backstory for how he got the results he got. I think it explains for itself and that Andres did not find it quite difficult to come up with the result as the description is very limited.

Experimentation with Photoshop: