This was the first photoshoot I’ve done and I tried to vary the lighting so they would be somewhat different to each other.
I brought in some objects that reminded me of the theme of nostalgia such as the incense and dream catcher which remind me a lot of my childhood because I always had incense burning in my house and constantly had dreamcatchers above my bed.
second photoshoot :
For my second photoshoot I wanted to focus a lot more on the theme of nostalgia and use the lighting techniques and ideas talked about in lesson.
I took a considerably more photos then the first shoot to give myself more options to edit because with the first shoot I only had 3 photos to choose from. I took some photos using the tripod and some others by hand to get different angles and options.
third and final photoshoot :
This photoshoot I would say is my best one, because it has multiple different colour lighting used from warm light to colder light because I wanted to see what kind of light would look better for the silver box in the photo.
I also had the warm spotlight in the cold lighted photos to give some contrast in the lighting. I also changed the ISO on the camera too, so that I could see what kind of light I needed to produce the most impressive photos.
Line is a key part of photography as it can be used to add depth or as leading lines which help point to the subject of a photo. Or to connect points in an image.
There are many different types of lines such as curved, dashed, zigzagging or straight lines.
Direction is also important as the lines could be horizontal, vertical or diagonal.
Converging lines are two lines that meet at a point to give an image depth and Diverging lines move further away from a point.
Shape
When multiple lines connect together it can create a shape.
shape is photography are usually 2 dimensional.
Shapes can be Geometric or Organic with geometric shapes being basic shapes such as: squares, rectangles and triangles. Organic shapes are more natural and can be outlines of objects like a leaf or an animal.
Shapes are usually defined by lines in a photo but they can defined by areas which are brighter or darker or by different colours in in a photo.
Form
Form is 3 Dimensional compared to Shape which is 2 dimensional.
The different shades of colour on the apples create depth and the shadows gives us the impression that the apples on the left are 3D.
Like with shape there are two types of form Geometric and Organic with geometric being Cubes and Cones or any 3D shape.
Texture
Texture could refer to the texture of the objects in the photo and could be indicated by the pattern of the object.
Texture gives the objects in the photo more detail and can change the way we perceive something in the photo.
You could describe the textures as being: Rough, Soft, Smooth, Bumpy, Dry, Wet, Shiny.
Colour
Colour can be due to the colour of the objects being photographed or the lighting in a photo.
The properties of colour:
Hue which is the colour e.g. red
Value which is how bright/ dark the colour is
Saturation is how intense/pure the colour is
The photo on the left uses saturated pinks, purples and yellows/oranges to make the sunset seem beautiful and vibrant.
Colours can also be harmonic which means they compliment each other (go well together) and can be used to affect the mood of a photo.
Size
Size really does matter when it comes to photography as larger objects can draw the readers attention and smaller objects are good for adding more detail to a photo.
Size is good as it adds scale to a photo so you can determine how big the subject in a photo is. In the image on the left the tree shows that the sand dune is really big as it gives scale.
Size can also be used as an illusion as you can take photos in angles which make objects look bigger or smaller then they actually are.
Distance from an object can also affect how big the object looks in a photo as they closer you are to what your photographing can make the object seem bigger and vice versa. Size can be described as being Big/Large, medium and Small.
Depth
Because photos are 2 Dimensional Depth is what makes objects in photos look 3D
Photos Usually have 3 types of depth: Foreground, Middle ground and Background. Having your objects/ subject in any of these grounds will give it a sense of depth
Converging and Diverging lines give the image a linear perspective which is also a good way to give the illusion of depth to an image.
Analysing using the formal elements
I analysed a photo using the formal elements to apply my knowledge and try it out.
Traditionally, still life is a collection of inanimate objects arranged as the subject of a composition. Nowadays, a still life can be anything from your latest Instagram latte art to a vase of tulips styled like a Dutch Golden Age painting. It is a tradition full of lavish, exotic and sometimes dark arrangements, rich with symbolic depth and meaning. Many of the objects depicted in these early works are symbolic of religion and morality reflecting on the increasing urbanization of Dutch and Flemish society, which brought with it an emphasis on the home and personal possessions, commerce and trade. Paintings depicting burnt candles, human skulls, dying flowers, fruits and vegetables, broken chalices, jewellery, crowns, watches, mirrors, bottles, glasses, vases etc are symbolic of the transience and brevity of human life, power, beauty and wealth, as well as of the insignificance of all material things and achievements.
Where did it come from?
Still life derives from the Dutch word stilleven, coined in the 17th century when paintings of objects enjoyed immense popularity throughout Europe. The energy for this term came as artists created compositions of greater complexity, bringing together a wider variety of objects to communicate allegorical meanings.
A new Medium
Still life was mainly featured in the experiments of photography inventors Jacques-Louis-Mandé Daguerre and William Henry Fox Talbot, as far back as the 1830s. They did this for practical reasons, because the exceptionally long exposure times of their processes prevented the use of living models.
Symbolism and Metaphors
A vanitas is a symbolic work of art showing the transience of life, the futility of pleasure, and the certainty of death, often contrasting symbols of wealth and symbols of ephemerality and death.
The term originally comes from the opening lines of the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible- ‘Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities, all is vanity.’
Vanitas are closely related to ‘memento mori’ still lifes which are artworks that remind the viewer of the shortness and fragility of life. Memento mori is a Latin phrase meaning ‘remember you must die.’ These include symbols such as skulls and extinguished candles. However, vanitas still-lifes also include other symbols such as musical instruments, wine and books to remind us explicitly of the vanity, in the sense of worthlessness, of worldly pleasures and goods.
Examples of Still Life
This photograph, which was taken by Matt Collishaw uses the old technique combined with modern-ages ideas. This photograph is his ‘Last meal on death row series of works.’ This appears as a meticulously arranged staged photograph of still life of food, but each image is actually based on death row inmates’ last meals before they are executed. This photo delivers a strong dramatic effect through an excellent use of chiaroscuro.
Dutch photographer Krista van der Niet, whose compositions often include fruits and vegetables mixed with mundane objects such as socks, cloths and aluminium foil, giving it all a contemporary feel. Her photos often carry a feel of satire as well, which references consumerism and popular culture through a clever use of objects within a carefully composed scenery.
Still Life Timeline
Still life art has existed from the 17th century until the modern day, but in the 19th century , artists adopted photography as a new medium.
Jacques-Louis Mande Daguerre and William Henry Fox Talbot were some of the first photographers to take still life photos in the 1830s.
Still life photography followed the same past of using nature Morte, which was dead nature and produced many classical works. Photography even recorded the dead as a reminder of death and mortality.
Today, photographers produce still life in various ways. It could be things like flower arrangements, old and found objects, food etc.
Walker Evans began to photograph in the late 1920s, making snapshots during a European trip. Upon his return to New York, he published his first images in 1930. During the Great Depression, Evans began to photograph for the Resettlement Administration, later known as the Farm Security Administration (FSA), documenting workers and architecture in the South-eastern states. In 1936 he travelled with the writer James Agee to illustrate an article on tenant farm families for Fortune magazine; the book Let Us Now Praise Famous Men came out of this collaboration.
walker Evans was a known photographer for taking pictures of tools and self portraits, his photographs were all black and white, reasoning for this is because Walker said “colour tends to corrupt photography and absolute colour corrupts it absolutely.”, I personally believe that the black and while effect makes the photo look more old old fashioned and more realistic almost as if the photograph is ancient.
Darren Harvey-Regan
Darren Harvey-Regan is a graduate of the Royal College of Art. His work has appeared in exhibitions and publications internationally and is part of the permanent photography collection at the V & A Museum, London.
Melding photograph and sculpture, Darren Harvey-Regan (b.1974, England) works in the liminal space where flat representation ends, and three-dimensional object begins. And with the photographic medium straddling object and representation simultaneously, such a place seems an astute location for Harvey-Regan to examine where the two meet. Perplexing, and at times humorous, his photographs act as the subject of his scrutiny but importantly also as the tool that he uses to carry out his procedure, constantly attempting to free himself from the constraints of photographic representation.
Harvey’s work is very similar to Evans work but Harvey’s has more colour and more life to the photo which makes the photograph stand out so much more. His work doesn’t look identical to Evans ad the warm shades of the background, Harvey also uses very different and strange shaped tools which changes the photos whole point of view.
In this image above I have picked out my best three images from my photoshoot and edited them.
Below are the before and afters of my best images from when they were edited in lightroom.
I’ve attempted to experiment with different temperatures to see which one would suit the images best, I preferably like the warmer toned image in the middle instead of the colder toned one as it is much nicer to look at. My worst image is probably the last one because of the blue card background and how it has been positioned.
Best Image
I have used a range of different artificial lights, this includes a tungsten light that was placed under the objects to give a warm glowing affect to the objects.
I thought carefully about the arrangement of my objects so that the image turned out looking interesting. I’ve placed some objects behind and in front of each other to try and create depth, I have also placed a block behind the objects to seclude the objects in that one spot and make them the main focus point.
I have experimented with the different tones in lightroom to add more warmth to the image and give it a more nostalgic, soft feeling, I had also done this to make the image more appealing to the eyes.
In all of these images I increased the texture and clarity to sharpen the objects and background, so the objects are more in focus and the detail is precise.
These particular images are all unedited but I really like how in the warmer tone images the background looks really glossy rather than textured, so we can therefore see the reflection of the objects. But as we can see on the left hand side, in the cooler toned photos, the cloth which is used as a backdrop is textured to show the objects in a clearer perspective to focus on them.
Beauties of the common tool is a portfolio by Walker Evans, commissioned by Fortune Magazine and originally published in 1955.
‘Among low-priced, factory-produced goos, none is so appealing to the senses as the ordinary hand tool. Hence, a hardware store is a kind of offbeat museum show for the man who responds to good, clear ‘undesigned’ forms.’ – Walker Evans.
Who was Walker Evans?
Walker Evans began to photograph in the late 1920s, making snapshots during a European trip. Upon his return to New York, he published his first images in 1930. During the Great Depression, Evans began to photograph for the Resettlement Administration, documenting workers and architecture in the South-eastern states. In 1936, he travelled with the writer James Agee to illustrate an article on tenant farm families for Fortune magazine. The book ‘Let Us Now Praise Famous Men’ came out of this collaboration.
Walker Evans would produce his photographs in black and white, with a black frame around them. The tools would also be resting on a white background, so the tools would stand out more and look much bolder. This white background also creates negative space in his photographs, which causes all the viewers attention to be directly on the single tool, as there is nothing else to distract from it.
Darren Harvey-Regan
Darren Harvey-Regan was a photographer, who was interested in the concept that photographs do not exist just to show things, but are physical things that become objects themselves. The Ravestijn Gallery presented his work. Harvey-Regan finds photography that photographs objects, whilst in itself being an object, interesting as a concept.
‘It’s a means of transposing material into other material, adding new meaning or thoughts in the process. I think photographing materials is a way to consider the means of creating meaning, and it’s a tactile process with which I feel involved. Touching and moving and making are my engagement with the world and my art.’ -Darren Harvey-Regan.
Who inspired Darren Harvey-Regan?
In 1955, Fortune magazine published, ‘Beauties of the Common Tool’, a portfolio by Walker Evans featuring pictures of ordinary hand-made tools, such as a ratchet wrench and a pair of scissors. This inspired Harvey-Regan, so he first constructed a montage of Evans’s images to make new forms. He then sourced matching tools, cut them in half and re-joined various halves together, with the resulting physical objects being photographed to create his final work. The montaged tools become both beautiful and bizarre objects, in which a ratchet wrench is combined with a pair of pliers and a Mason’s trowel joined with a pair of scissors.
Harvey’s Work
The exhibition includes ‘The Halt’ which is when a real axe pins the photograph to the wall, and ‘When is an image Not an image’, in which a trompe l’oeil effect occurs. It is an image comprised of surfaces and shadows, which is mounted on a block, two sides of which have a 45 degree outward bevel, meaning they are easily viewed, whilst the positioning of a spot-light on an adjacent wall creates a shadow on the remaining sides, completing the work’s ‘frame’.
Harvey-Regan refers to the works as ‘phrasings’, which is different versions of a visual question or proposition. He further elaborates: “If you take, ‘what happens if’…” as the beginning of the exhibition’s question, then the works explore how that question ends, by using the elements of the photographic material, the image, and the original object and shuffling these three around, giving different emphasis to each, in which each has a different phrasing”.
Formalism is the formal and visual elements of a photograph. what these Elements consist of is the line, shape, balance, repetition and rhythm inside a photograph.
Examples:
These images all contain one or more of these elements, either through line, repetition or shape.
The other basic elements to Photography that also make up the visual and formal elements consist of:
Lines – Lines In photography can alternate in their appearances. This can be shown through either straight or curved, vertical or horizontal, Man-made or organic to nature.
Lines can also be orientated in different ways to make a photograph more diverse, Lines often help to connect points in an image and almost every image has them.
Examples:
(oriented lines)
(Lines in nature)
(man-made lines)
Shape – Shapes, formed by lines and shadow, are the visible makeup characteristics of an object within an image. Shapes in a photograph can be made up of familiar or unfamiliar shapes such as a circle or a merge of different ones.
Defined by their value through the following elements Texture, Brightness/Darkness, Pattern can define what becomes a shape in a photograph. Shapes are a key feature in photographs as its one of the first elements you visualise.
examples:
(Familiar – Diamond shape)
(Unfamiliar – newly created shape)
Form – Form is the differentiation from shape as it portrays 3D elements rather than the 2D elements shape portrays. Form is the shape and structure of something in a photograph.
Similar to shape, form can be put into 2 categories of natural and unnatural. Geometric forms are the familiar, such as cubes, pyramids, cylinders. Whilst Organic forms are the unfamiliar, created out an amalgamation of more than one. Form, yet again like shape is almost everywhere in an image.
Examples:
(Geometric – the familiar, the form of the human body)
(Organic – the unfamiliar, shown by the form of this spitfire – shadow helps to define it.)
Texture – By definition, Texture is the visual or tactile surface characteristics and appearances of something. By using what we describe as textures in real life (e.g. rough, smooth, soft, wet) we can do the same for texture.
Similar to form, texture can be shown by 3D appearances, tonality and variations. Texture in photographs can appear in scenic photos such as buildings or trees. Texture can change however there is always factors that leave them up for perception.
Texture is not only limited by objects, but also facial features on people.
(Texture – shown through an old wall)
Colour – Colour in photography are made up of the hue and saturation and brightness of an image. It falls into 3 properties: Hue ( the colour), Value (the balance of white to black) and Saturation (the intensity or purity of a colour).
Colours in photography can be seen through light, made artificially or naturally. Colour is also present in all images other than grayscale photographs. Colour helps set the tone of an image and can visually express the emotions behind the picture.
(Vibrant Hue and Saturation portray this image in a positive light)
(Natural lighting – created through the sun setting)
Size – Size in photography is the physical magnitude or proportionate dimensions of an object. Size varies in a photograph based on how its scoped, this is because size can become an optical illusion in a picture via shot-angle. By seeing something familiar sized (like a person) it can scope to us the size of the scene.
Smaller sized objects (like flowers) can be sized up by photography making the viewer able to pay attention and appreciate the smaller things in life, both figuratively and literally.
(By having a person in the shot, it puts to scope the size of the F-22 Raptor)
(By closely sizing down the shot, things not usually seen are shown in more detail)
Depth – Depth in photography, also made up of shape, space and form, is recreated through the size and depth of the surroundings of the image.
In relation to size, depth is created through the space of photograph. Visual indicators in depth can convey where the viewer must look, this can be shown by blurred areas or certain perspectives on a subject/object in the photograph.
Depth can also depend on the texture of an image, with different gradients of texture creating it.
(depth – long depth of field textures the images surroundings)
(Low depth of field helps create a deeper focus on the subject of the image)
I started by looking at how different presets effect the photo. Presets are pre made sets of edits almost like a filter. Using them can be very beneficial as it allows for many edits to be put on one photo very quickly, it also allows for similar lighting and style of editing on a set of images or a singular shot. I used pre made presets as I hadn’t yet tried editing the shot myself, if I had I could have made my edits into a custom preset.
I then wanted to remove the small scuffs and marks from the background. To do this I used the spot heal tool on Lightroom and if something didn’t look right I would then correct it by moving the selection replace patch.
The final edit (as pictured above) doesn’t have a huge contrast in look than the before (the left picture above) but as you start to look at the shot in detail you can notice the small improvements like: there is no longer scuffs distracting and leading the view away from the objects, there is less yellowing on the icing set highlighting the details in the box while keeping the used look, the bottle is a brighter cream colour, truer to real life.
I was then curious as to how a black and white version might look as it is a great way of making photos feel more nostalgic and feel older. I used the black and white option in Lightroom and then compared the original shot and the black and white version. While I like the black and white version I then felt some of the lighting and colouring needed changing. To do this I increased the contrast to add to the definition of objects, I then furthered this by using the sharpening tool as well. By decreasing the highlights and increasing the shadows it allowed for more tone in the image making a successful black and white image.
The next step was to remove all the scuffs on the violin as well as the yellowing sticker on the neck of the violin. I did this by using the spot heal tool to camouflage the replaced part with the actual parts of the photo.
This is the before and after of the finished edit, I noticed the black parts of the background showing though takes away from the overall appearance of the photo as it quite distracting to the eye and takes the focus away from the subject in the photo.
To amend the previously mentioned background showing I used the spot heal tool to attempt to cover up the black sections without cutting the box out of the photo as I think it adds depth and great lines in the shot. However it didn’t quite work as the spot healed background didn’t completely match the rest of the shot making the photo look messy.
Photoshop Editing of the same shot
Although I have already edited this shot in Lightroom I felt photoshop could have a better effect on redoing the background.
I started by selecting the edge of the box and moving it towards the mug. This allows me to remove additional blank space while still keeping the different depths in the photo.
I then chose to crop the image, keeping the edge of the box in so it still added to the photo, drawing the viewers eye into the image with an additional leading line from an object that isn’t in direct, front on view in the shot. I also chose to crop the height and the side of the shot to keep it equal and make the shot feel more personal. This helps tell a story within the photo as it’s not just emphasising the objects as if it was it wouldn’t be over lapping or have some of the object cut out of the frame.
Before
After
My last couple of alterations for this shot included, using the spot heal and clone tools to fill in scuff and remove marks on the image overall particularly on the violin. The editing actually made this photo look complete as before it looked very unfinished. I love how the shadows are only enhanced by editing adding, to the tone of the image. As this is a still life image, I focused on composing a story within the photo, to benefit this during the editing I fixed the background and left little room to be distracted when looking at the photo. Shape plays a big part in this image, making sure I used different shapes, some with smooth curving lines that lead around the image making it feel soft and almost safe like nostalgia does. To harsher more abrupt lines pointing to other elements in the photo. In general there is a smooth appearance to the objects, after editing and removing the scuffs, as our memory tends to manipulate smaller factors and seeing how scuffed something really is can make the photo look unappealing and take away from the image as a whole. Warm colours are focused on as the image as a whole and by using the ‘hue’ slider within photoshop I very slightly warmed the image while keeping the cool toned things like the metal tankard looking realistic. Depth within the image is always important during still life photos, to make sure the image didn’t appear flat I staggered the objects, I also took into consideration the size of each object putting the smaller ones at the front pulling the viewer to the back of the photo.
For this shot I felt it was rather flat as an image on the whole. before editing. To improve this I adjusted the hue to balance the image before then changing the image to black and white.
After making then image black and white I noticed that the bottle on the left had beleneded intot he background, to alter this I used the dodge and burn tool
Before After
For this last shot I chose to turn the shot black and white to add different tonal elements and by also removing some of the blemishes on the sheet of paper used as a background adds a smoothness to the overall look of the final photo. I did this editing in Lightroom as I didn’t feel it needed further editing in photoshop and instead I wanted to look at the colouring and lighting of the shot which Lightroom is great for.
