Photoshoot Plan

My plan for this photoshoot is to go to various workplaces and take photos of people within their own workplaces. I would like to aim to take photos of mainly people who have dresses in a way that links to their workplace, such as by wearing an apron, suit or outfit with logos of the workplace. I also think it would be a good idea to get photos of my Grandad in his armchair as it is typically the place he is associated with. Some locations I am going to try get photos are in the Market, at Waffle House and I may see if I can go to the States of Jersey offices with my parents.

Contact Sheet

This is my contact sheet of all of my photos taken in the photoshoot. I am now going to create a smaller contact sheet with all of my best images for editing.

This is a collection of my best photos which I am going to use to edit.

Edits

Edit 1

This is a photo of my Grandad in his Armchair. I edited this photo by cropping it then decreasing exposure, contrast and shadows. I finished off by increasing highlights, texture and clarity.

Edit 2

I got this photo in Little Wren in the Market of the lady who works there stood at the till. I edited this photo by slightly cropping the bottom and increasing the texture and clarity to make the image more clear and give it more depth.

Edit 3

This is a photo of the man who works in Waffle House. I edited this photo by, starting off, cropping the top, bottom and left then slightly decreasing the exposure. Lastly, I increased the temperature, tint, texture and clarity.

Edit 4

This is a photo of my Dad at his desk at work. I edited this photo by cropping the top and bottom then increasing the texture and clarity.

Edit 5

This is one of the very important bosses within the States of Jersey. I edited this photo by, firstly, cropping the top and bottom then slightly rotating it so that the side of the shelving unit lines up with the side of the photo. Finally, I increased the exposure, highlights and texture.

Edit 6

This is a photo of a random guy at the States building. I edited this photo by cropping the bottom and then increasing the texture and clarity to enhance the finer details.

Edit 7

I took this photo in the Warehouse where they maintain Government vehicles, this is one of the Mechanics. I edited this photo by slight rotating the photo so that the beam across the image is straight and then I cropped the top of the image. I also increased the texture and clarity and slightly adjusted the exposure.

Edit 8

This is a photo of another Mechanic who is doing work on a Police Motorcycle. I edited this photo by cropping the top and slightly decreasing the exposure to make is more clear and less pixelated.

Edit 9

All I did to edit this photo was decreasing the texture then, additionally, using the brush tool to decrease the exposure of the windows.

Edit 10

This is a photo of one of the States workers who are in charge of the pumping stations on the Island, as shown by the map on the TV screen. I edited this photo by cropping the top and then increasing the texture and decreasing the exposure.

Final Outcomes

Virtual Gallery

Evaluation

In 1963, Jewish photographer Arnold Newman was commissioned by Newsweek to take a portrait of Alfred Krupp, a convicted Nazi war criminal. At first, Newman refused, but eventually, he decided to take the assignment as a form of personal revenge. The resulting portrait became one of the most controversial and significant images of its time.

Alfred Krupp by Arnold Newman

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 labour, he was later pardoned. Despite his pardon, Krupp remained a controversial figure, and his reputation as a ruthless businessman and war profiteer followed him.

To capture the image he envisioned, Newman had a platform erected, positioning Krupp against an industrial backdrop. He asked Krupp to lean forward slightly and clasp his fingers under his chin, creating an unsettling and sinister appearance. The portrait captured the essence of Krupp’s character, making him look like the embodiment of evil.

Newman wanted to take this photograph as a way or revenge for what Krupp had done in his past especially to Newman’s own race. Which Newman executed perfectly capturing his pure evil and upsetting Krupp.

Arnold Newman. Igor Stravinsky

This picture is dominated by a grand piano silhouetted against a white wall with the composer confined to the corner.

His black and white portrait of Igor Stravinsky seated at a grand piano became his signature image, even though it was rejected by the magazine that gave the assignment to Newman. Taken during a rehearsal in New York (December 1, 1946), the image juxtaposes Stravinsky with the piano, and together they form the shape of a musical note. 

The image is almost monotone, dominated by the stark geometric contrast between the white wall and the black piano. Newman deliberately used the open lid of the piano because he felt “It is like the shape of a musical flat symbol—strong, linear, and beautiful, just like Stravinsky’s work.”

His dramatic cropping of the composition was a key technique that Newman often utilised to make for more immediate impact. He would routinely experiment with aggressive crops of his original picture, intending to maximise the overall effect.

Photoshoot 1:

Photoshoot 2:

For these 2 photoshoots, I made the mistake of using my phone as a camera. Therefore the quality is not as detailed and the subject isn’t as focused as they would’ve been if I used a Digital Camera. I do like these images because both of these photoshoots provide portraits of people within different social environments. Photoshoot 1 is of my work colleague playing chess, and naturally posing for the camera. The subject is aware he is being photographed, but I could’ve improved these photos by making sure the subject was looking directly at the camera and making a connection with the viewer. In these photos, the subject is the main focus as he is the only person present, making it clearer to the viewers about what is happening. Photoshoot 2 is purposely a lot different, as the subject was not aware he was being photographed. Also, in these photos there is more than one person present, making the ‘subject’ not fully focused on. Although, it is clear to viewers that the DJ is supposedly meant to be the main focus of the image. I also should’ve tried to make the subject more centred, and as we can see the photos were taken on an angle so this made it difficult to include more of the background. The lighting also affected these images because we were in a dark environment, with only artificial and coloured lighting. The low light helped create a sense of gloom and mystery. Some of these images appear to be more blurred than the others, and this is because it was difficult to get a still, focused shot of the DJ when he was not aware of the photoshoot at that moment. This subtracts the effect from the images, as it looks as though the photos were not planned out or thought through enough.

Photoshoot 3:

Photoshoot 4:

Photoshoot 5:

Photoshoot 6:

Photoshoot 7:

Photoshoot 8:

Photoshoot 9:

Photoshoot 10:

Photoshoot 11:

Photoshoot 12:

Photoshoot 13:

Photoshoot 14:

Extras:

Overall, I did around 15 photoshoots altogether. I used different people in different environments to create stories behind the images. My favourite photoshoot I did was photoshoot 7. I like these images because it is clear what environment the subjects are linked to, and also in some there is only one subject and in the rest there are 2, therefore it adds contrast. I also like photoshoot 8, because the subject is looking directly in the camera with a serious and dead facial expression. This creates a mood of frustration for the viewer.

Environmental Portraits depict people in their working environments or environments they are associated with.

They are portraits which are taken in the subjects natural surroundings, such as their home or workplace, that illuminates the subjects life and surroundings.

I think the portraits are unique and interesting, because they aren’t photographed in a studio, they are in the subjects particular environment, which relates to the person. Also, they engage the viewer creating a meaningful story behind the photo as we learn something about them.

Alys Tomlinson’s work is very minimalistic and vey detailed, the backgrounds are filled with details and different surroundings which makes the photo stand out a lot more, if I were to compare this artist to jimmy Nelson I would say that nelson made the models more detailed whether it was to do with their culture, they made the background quite plain and simple to add more contrast to the person however Tomlinson made sure to do the opposite of that, she made the model look more simple but added a detailed background whether the model was standing in front of trees, houses or fences. I really like what Tomlinson has done to the photo making it black and white which makes it more modern effect can also effect the mood of the photo some would say they look quite sad as most of them aren’t smiling and are looking the camera with natural look. Another thing that I quite like that Tomlinson has done is that in a few of her photos she has blurred the background so that the focus is on the model and the model only. However the ones where the background isn’t blurred still looks good although there is less in the background, which makes the model instantly pop out.

PHOTO ANALYSIS.

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.

“You don’t take pictures with your camera. You take pictures with your mind and your heart.” – My favourite Arnold Newman quote.

” The Portrait is a form of biography. Its purpose is to inform and to record for history” – Arnold Newman

 Arnold Newman was born on March 3, 1918, and passed away on June 6, 2006. Newman was an American photographer who was greatly known for his exquisite environmental portraits of mainly artists and politicians.

EXAMPLES:

However, he was also greatly known for his still life images which were described as ‘Abstract’.

EXAMPLES:

The first ever environmental portraits were created by Arnold Newman. Newman was seen to have ‘pushed the boundaries’ of traditional portrait photography during the middle of the 20th century, he began taking environmental portraits in the 1940s and became increasingly popular due to his new and different approach to taking photography. He included a variety of people such as famous people, workers, composers, political leaders and scientists. He began shooting photos for Look and Harper’s Bazaar, this skyrocketed his photography career of capturing his subjects at home or working.

I particularly like this photo Arnold Newman took of Carl Sandburg and Marylin Monroe on January 20th, 1962 because I think It creates a realistic photograph of a scene of conversation and friendship. From my research I found out that Marilyn complained about her sleep disorders at that evening, and this photo demonstrates Carl Sandburg showed her exercises that she should do before she goes to bed. Arnold Newman capturing this moment as a part of environmental photography shows that you do not need the backstory of a photo I understand the meaning of the photo, In this instance it represents conversation, possible concern and friendship.

My favourite thing about Arnold Newman and his work is how raw his images are. It truly captures the reality of people’s environment and how real he kept it whilst photographing them. The people in the images are not necessarily ‘posing for the camera’ and instead, they are doing their usual duties in their e.g. workplace. This is something I hope to replicate in my photos as I want to recreate people truly in their environment and not necessarily ‘posing’. I hope to compile a various amount of images where some subjects are still in their environment but also looking directly at the camera and some of my subject in other photos not looking directly at the lens and instead looking at and doing what they do in their ‘usual environment’. I think that this would create a good variation of photos and help them differ. They can then fit into similar categories of multiple famous photographers I can take inspiration from.

Mind map Plan For Photoshoot

Environmental portraiture is a photograph in which shows a person in their natural environment.

I have written down a few ideas of what type of settings I’d like for my photos, I’ve been inspired by Mary-Ellen Mark’s work so I plan to add elements of her own style in my work such as making some of my images in black and white to make my images more abstract which will make them more interesting.

I also plan to take photos of people in their familiar environments, for example, inside their homes or on a childhood street.

Environmental photographers

Letizia Battaglia was an Italian photographer and photojournalist. Although her photos document a wide spectrum of Sicilian life, she is best known for her work on the Mafia. 

Another example of a photographer that takes environmental photos is Henri Cartier-Bresson. He was a humanist photographer influenced by surrealism. His work had helped establish photojournalism as an art form.

As seen in both of these photographers’ work, environmental portraits are photos that capture people in their everyday lives/environments and almost tells the story of how they live or work by their surroundings and maybe clothing.

We use this genre of photography to try and capture the personality, identity, soul, and emotions of a person by using the background, atmosphere, poses and lighting. They capture a part of a persons life and tells a story about their backgrounds and how they are living their lives.

I identified my best images out of my photoshoot and colour coded them on the basis of which ones I was definite on using and the ones I was unsure about. When I had similar images that I struggled to decide between, I compared them closely and then flagged the one I believed had more detail and had a more aesthetic composition.

This was my favourite image. It looks very candid and natural as she is mid-laugh which tells a lot about her character. I had many photos similar to this image but I felt the way her hair was blowing looked best like this. She is holding books in her hand which tells us she is still in education, and the smile suggests she is enjoying her time. I wanted to photograph her like this as it is a place she comes to everyday to spend time with her friends at school which is an important aspect of her life. I put this image into black and white because I think it looks a lot better this way.

Similarly, I like this image for the same reasons, but I increased the saturation to enhance the colours around her as I feel that the bright green compliments her hair and the environment around her. I used natural lighting as this was outside on a bright day as I thought it would look best. I used my mobile phone to take these images as it was in the moment.

The leaves all coming together and overlooking her and in a twisted way behind her adds more to the image and fills up the background which I really like. Because she is wearing black, the colour of the nature brings more life into the image. I feel that this makes her stand out more because she is the only part of the image that is more dulled down, showing contrast. The bench she’s sitting on has a lot of texture due to the brown paint being rubbed off which shows how many other people sit here on a day-to-day basis, maybe even with her.

This image has a relaxed expression and posture, she almost seems bored. I think this reflects her outlook onto school as a place she finds boring as she would rather be out with her friends instead. I really like the way she is sat on the stairs and leaning over because it’s quite unique. The background has been blurred as she is the focal point of the image. The blue that she is wearing stands out from the neutral and plain colours as it is contrasted.

I took this image of a science teacher at school. She’s smiling which tells me that she really enjoys taking part in experiments but also teaching younger people who may aspire to have a job like her in the future. She has set out test tubes and beakers with different colours inside for her students to learn as she demonstrates the experiment in the image. I wanted to photograph her because she is in an environment which could inspire people of younger ages to have a job like this in the future.

You can see the colourful posters on the wall which she uses to engage her students in her lessons. As she is wearing a lab coat, this gives the image authority and tells us that she knows what she is doing. The equipment spread across the table gives the image texture and details to search around the image with, jumping out from the off-white walls which makes them appear more.

I used vignette on the corners of the image as I felt that this will point her out more to the viewer. I like the way she is towards the side of the image as we get a large perspective on the view of the classroom.

I really like these three images I took of a family member at work. She is an occupational health worker where each day, she has people of all backgrounds, lifestyles and jobs come and see her. She analyses whether they are fit for work or not, checking their hearing, lungs, blood pressure, etc. She works very hard to make sure people feel comfortable during this regardless of who they are. When she is not doing these tests, she is on the computer in meetings, setting up clinics or emailing.

I wanted to photograph her because I feel like she plays a very important role in other peoples lives which goes unnoticed, so I wanted to capture that.

The way she is wearing a mask, gloves and a plastic apron shows that she is experienced in this and is prepared, knowing exactly what she is doing. The shifted keyboard on the desk behind her tells me that she has been busy typing, organising all the appointments. I also feel that in the 2nd image, the use of the yellow disposal tub makes the photo more interesting because we can see exactly what it is she does when she is mid-preparation. You can see in the background there are many cabinets and file cupboards in dull cupboards which don’t look enticing at all, suggesting that is the worst part of the work as they have all colour taken out of them in comparison to the rest of the room which is more saturated.