CLAUDE CAHUN

– ARTIST REFRENCE –

Born: October 25, 1894, Nantes, France

Died: December 8, 1954 (age 60 years), Saint Helier

Their Work

Claude Cahun was best known for her experimental self portraiture although she often collaborated with Marcle Moore (Born: July 19, 1892, Nantes, France Died: February 19, 1972 (age 79 years), Jersey ) , her partner , step siblings , and romantic lovers.

Cahun enjoyed using different mediums in her work , using multiple symbols and messages in each portrait.

“You should discover, handle, tame, make irrational objects yourself.”

– Claude Cahun

Both Marcle Moore and Claude Cahun changed their gender affirming birth given name to a gender neutral ambiguous alternative title , representing their identity of being non conformist surrealist.

Claude was born  Lucy Renee Mathilde Schwob

Marcle was born  Suzanne Malherbe 

GOALS AND METHODS OF ACHIEVEMENT

Examples

VISUAL

1. Who is in the image? Claude Cahun
2. How are they posed? Hands behind their back tilted to the side , feet pointed to the side theyre leaning towards.
3. Where is their gaze pointed? Directly at the camera
4. What are they wearing? Long dress with cross stitching , and simple pattern , also wearing some kind of wig and over done makeup

TECHNICAL

• Lighting – Do you think this uses artificial or natural lighting? Could be either artificial or natural , projected straight onto the subject from behind the camera and possibly above aswell maybe butterfly lighting
• How does the lighting accentuate the figure? Makes the figure apear more lit than the background giving the impression of importance and status highlighting the subject drawing focus to it.
• Aperture – Does this image have a soft or sharp focus background? The image background is slightly blurred but still easily depictable
• What could this tell us about the aperture? Most likely around f/8
• Angle – What angle has the photo been taken at? Directly in front of the subject from slightly lower down but not on the ground the angle however is not tilted up and is deadpan
• What does this contribute? Makes the subject appear a higher satus of importance and present Cahun or rather the character shes playing as strong and confident
• Is it a full body shot / half body shot / three-quarter body shot? Full body shot

CONTEXTUAL

• Refrences the role of women in 1930s
• Relates to an old fable of Bluebeard and she is dressed as Elle
• “After lavishly entertaining a group of ladies, the youngest daughter of a noble lady decides to marry him. He gives his wife a set of keys to all the treasures in the house, commanding her not to use the smallest key, and leaves for business. She discovers his murdered wives after her curiosity gets the best of her.” – a brief summary of the tale of Blue beard

CONCEPTUAL

• How does Cahun’s work react to the role of women / gender in the 20s and 30s? – although many believe the tale of blue beard is a cautionary one to warn women to obey their husbands i believe Claude Cahun used it to give the message that women should not unquestioningly conform to and follow patriarchal expectations/rules as they do not ensure safety and comfort like the are promoted to

What is studio lighting?

Studio lighting is the use of artificial lighting in order to create a mood or atmosphere by adding to the light that’s already there.

REMBRANDT LIGHTING

Who was Rembrandt?

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn otherwise just known as Rembrandt was a dutch painter born in July 15, 1606, Leiden, Netherlands , he was known to be an incredible visual artist and is recognised for his work in regards to lighting

Definition + what you will need

• achieved using one light and a reflector
• characterised by an area of the face that is illuminated to appear as though it is an upside down triangle under the eye

How to achieve

‘Normally, the key light is placed high and to one side at the front, and the fill light or a reflector is placed half-height and on the other side at the front, set to about half the power of the key light, with the subject, if facing at an angle to the camera, with the key light illuminating the far side of the face. The key in Rembrandt lighting is creating the triangle or diamond shape of light underneath the eye. One side of the face is lit well from the main light source while the other side of the face uses the interaction of shadows and light, also known as chiaroscuro, to create this geometric form on the face. The triangle should be no longer than the nose and no wider than the eye. This technique may be achieved subtly or very dramatically by altering the distance between subject and lights and relative strengths of main and fill lights’

– Wikipedia

Example

BUTTERFLY LIGHTING

Definition

‘Butterfly lighting is a lighting pattern where the light source is placed slightly above and centre on the face of the subject. You may also see this technique referred to as paramount lighting. When discussing butterfly lighting, we often focus on the tell-tale sign: The shadow under the nose with a butterfly shape.’

You will need:

• A key light
• Flashes and triggers
• Modifiers
• Reflector

How to achieve

Butterfly lighting setups are simple. In its purest form, it’s a single source (key light) directly in line with the subject’s face and the camera. If the shadows are a little too deep, a reflector can be placed below the subject to bounce light back up into the face. 

– Wikipedia

Example

CHIAROSCURO

Definition

Chiaroscuro is an Italian term which translates as light-dark, and refers to the balance and pattern of light and shade in a painting or drawing.

Example

In order to get the most effective lighting and the best photos, i planned to use a studio that had access to different back drops (one white one black) and a plethora of lights , flash lights ,ring lights and more.

I planned to capture split lighting and different coloured lighting and possibly explore rebrand lighting

inspiration

Here is my selection of images from a total of three photoshoots , in each photoshoot i used different models to experiment with how light hits different structures and features on each face

I then took my preferred images and edited them to intensify the lighting

With this image , i cropped the photo to make the subject more central and eye catching , i changed the image to black and white and altered the exposure , contrast , shadows etc. Then i created a ‘mask’ over the eye and increased exposure and contrast to make the iris stand out giving the image a better focus point.

Once again i cropped the image to centralise the subject , i created a mask over the eyes and eyebrows to make them more distinct and then increased exposure and contrast , i decided not to overly edit this image as i didn’t want to take away from the natural context of the contrasting skin

I wanted to keep this image uncropped to explore the idea of negative space , i left the background dark to leave the subject undefined i then adjusted the saturation and exposure

For this image i tried to capture contrasting subjects in the same image without using much editing so i positioned two lights facing two people to make it appear as though its two different environments , i then enhanced the colours in editing and cropped the image

Environmental portraiture – An environmental portrait is a portrait executed in the subject’s usual environment, such as in their home or workplace, and typically illuminates the subject’s life and surroundings. The term is most frequently used of a genre of photography. The purpose of an environmental is to to tell a story through props in an image that reveals the background or information about a character.

Analysis

The details of this photo leaves Easter eggs into the life for example:

Short biography :

Born in 1985 , Laura Pannack is an award winning British photographer based in London

Her photographs

Pannack was born in Kingston upon Thames, southwest London.

She gained a degree in editorial photography and studied a foundation course in painting

When asked about her influences she stated:

 “Too many to mention … I assisted Simon Roberts and he’s been a mentor to me, an epic support and an inspiration. I’ve also always been influenced by Taryn Simon, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Gregory Crewdson, Joel Sternfeld, Sally Mann and Vanessa Winship.”

– Laura pannack

Chosen image

The image i have chosen to analyse is titled : A wondrous child Erja ( born to be free)

27th June 2023

The image consists of a young girl in a white dress and trainers seen in the foreground , we can tell she is young by her size , she is quite small and this is even further exaggerated by the trees that surround her.

Brief Introduction : Typology is a type of photograph which had its ultimate roots in August Sander’s series of portraits in 1929, titled “Face Of Our Time”. The term ‘Typology’ was first used to describe a style of photography when Bernd and Hilla Becher began documenting old and broken down German industrial architecture in 1959.

August Sander

Short Biography

August Sander was born in Herdorf on the 17th of November 1876 , his father was a carpenter working in the mining industry who had 6 other children.

August was introduced to photography during his time assisting a photographer from Seigen who , like Sanders father , worked for a mining company.

In order to buy is own photography equipment, Sander borrowed money from his uncle , Sander then continued to set up his own darkroom.

Some of his work

Augusts main goal was to document the society he lived in , he was committed to ‘telling the truth’ and in order to do this he would photograph straight on , in natural light with information about the subject subtly hinted to through props in the image. These props could consist of clothing , setting , pose and any objects shown in the photo.

More information

In 1911 Sander began his first series of photographs titled : ‘People Of The 20th Century’ , his aim was to show the diversity amongst the population during the Weimar Republic

He split this series into 7 sections :

• The Farmer
• The skilled tradesman
• Woman
• Classes and Professions
• The Artists
• The City
• The Last People

Sander came in contact with a radical group of artists called the Cologne Progressives in the early 1920s , this group was linked to the workers movement who:

“sought to combine constructivism and objectivity, geometry and object, the general and the particular, avant-garde conviction and political engagement, and which perhaps approximated most to the forward looking of New Objectivity “

– Wieland Schmied

Analysis

Salz is in a stylish herringbone coat, confidently leaning against a grand entrance, framed artwork hanging in the background. In his hands is a publication rolled to strategically reveal an Art Deco illustration of a young fashionable woman, an emblem of Germany’s gilded era. This print, among the earliest by Sander to come up for auction, offers an intimate glimpse into the great talent of Sander, the established success of Salz and a brief period of Germany’s artistic flourishing between the Wars.

Visual –

• subject is stood up and leaning against an industrial looking doorframe
• negative space behind the subject gives the photo an eerie feeling and
• subjects central
• subject is leaning to the side of the image , hands overlapping eachother standing straight up – calm but alert/aware

Technical –

• Lighting – could be natural or ariticial as the lighting is soft but its not clear if the subject is standing in the doorway to the outside or just to another room
• Aperture – background is out of focus leading me to believe the aperture is lower possible f/1.8 or f/2

Contextual –

• subject -Sam Salz
• Born 1894 , Poland
• Left home age 17 moving to austria and later france
• Opened his own gallary in early 1920s despite his aspirations to be an artist

Concept–

• Sander took a liking to Slaz
• Both eschewing traditional norms
• Salz was the the subject to many other photographers and artists

Definition – A photographic typology is a study of “types”. That is, a photographic series that prioritizes “collecting” rather than stand-alone images. It’s a powerful method of photography that can be used to reshape the way we perceive the world around us.

A photographic typology is a body of work that visually explores a theme or subject to draw out similarities and differences for examination.

An example of the use of Typologies is ” The People Of The 20th Century” as each image is classed by age, occupation ,class etc.

I didn’t like the over exposure in the background where the sun is positioned and the colours in the image felt dull , i wanted to dramatizes the image to create a more serious feel.

I then decided to create a black and white version to add dimension and atmosphere to the photo.

Comparison

When comparing the two images it is clear that Sander uses a more warmer filter , i aimed to position the subject somewhat similar to the character in Sanders image , both images use side backlighting whilst also using natural lighting , however the lighting is cast on different sides of the face.

The term “fixing the shadows” started as a way to describe the early stages of photography , referring to the fixer , a chemical combination used in the final steps of processing an image onto paper. However its also linked to the use of the camera obscura.

The term ” camera obscura ” was first used by the German astronomer Johnnas kepler in the early 17th century.

Originally the camera obscura was used to study eclipses with without the risk of damaging the eyes by looking directly into the sun

A camera obscura consists of a box, tent, or room with a small hole in one side or the top. Light from an external scene passes through the hole and strikes a surface inside, where the scene is reproduced, inverted (upside-down) and reversed (left to right), but with color and perspective preserved.

The camera obscura was then later used by artists to trace outlines which led many to take an interest in looking for more permanent photographic images as the camera obscuras images were beautiful but fleeting. This included Nicephore niepce.

Nicephorus Niepce

Nicephorus Niepce was a French inventor and one of the earliest pioneers of photography. He developed heliography after being inspired by the camera obscura which translates to ” sun drawings ” , he used it to create the worlds first permanent photographic images.

For his first experiments , Nicéphore Niépce positioned at the back of a camera obscura sheets of silver salts coated paper, known to blacken with daylight . In may 1816 he produced the first image of nature : a view from a window . It was a negative and the image vanished because in broad daylight the coated paper becomes completely black . He calls these images “retinas”.

Louis Daguerre

Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre was a French artist and photographer, recognized for his invention of the eponymous daguerreotype process of photography. He became known as one of the fathers of photography much like Nicephore.

the eponymous daguerreotype is characterized by its mirrored surface and the image’s high level of detail. First introduced in 1839 in France, the process quickly spread throughout Europe and to the United States where it was popular through the 1860s.

Having effectively retired, Daguerre returned to his first passion and spent the last decade of his life painting diorama-like tableaus for local churches in and around the Paris suburb of Bry-sur-Marne. He died there of a heart attack on July 10, 1851, aged 63.

The daguerreotype process made it possible to capture the image seen inside a camera obscura and preserve it as an object. It was the first practical photographic process and ushered in a new age of pictorial possibility.

Daguerreotype

The daguerreotype is a direct-positive process, creating a highly detailed image on a sheet of copper plated with a thin coat of silver without the use of a negative. The process required great care. The silver-plated copper plate had first to be cleaned and polished until the surface looked like a mirror.

Daguerreotypes can be identified by a silver mirror finish where the image can be seen or not seen depending on reflection. These date from 1839 -1860s. Ambrotypes are a positive on glass with black background added in order to contrast and see the image dating from the 1850s -1860s

The daguerreotype is accurate, detailed and sharp. It has a mirror-like surface and is very fragile. Since the metal plate is extremely vulnerable, most daguerreotypes are presented in a special housing.

Henry Fox Talbot

William Henry Fox Talbot was an English scientist, inventor, and photography pioneer who invented the salted paper and calotype processes, precursors to photographic processes of the later 19th and 20th centuries. 

William Henry Fox Talbot was credited as the British inventor of photography. In 1834 he discovered how to make and fix images through the action of light and chemistry on paper. These ‘negatives’ could be used to make multiple prints and this process revolutionised image making.

Within 18 months of his initial experiments, he had grasped how to make these drawings permanent and, more importantly, developed the negative/positive process. Talbot’s calotype became the foundation for modern photographic practices. Talbot’s name appears alongside Louis Daguerre as a pioneering inventor.

Richard Leach Maddox

Richard Leach Maddox was an English photographer and physician who invented lightweight gelatin negative dry plates for photography in 1871.

Long before his discovery of the dry gelatin photographic emulsion, Maddox was prominent in what was called photomicrography – photographing minute organisms under the microscope. The eminent photomicrographer of the day, Lionel S. Beale, included as a frontispiece images made by Maddox in his manual ‘How to work with the Microscope’ – wikipedia

definiton

Shutter speed is exactly what it sounds like: It’s the speed at which the shutter of the camera closes. A fast shutter speed creates a shorter exposure the amount of light the camera takes in and a slow shutter speed gives the photographer a longer exposure. This is shown underneath

Raw images and examples

Francesca woodman:

Here we took inspiration from her work that often portray ghostly and eerie feelings

photo info : 8/5 seconds f/5

Editing

I then repeated this process with the other select photos , the outcome is displayed bellow

Brendan Austin

Brendan Austin is a photographer who explores the illusion of how paper can be manipulated to represent nature.

His photos often consist of scrunched paper placed that replicate the look of mountains

This inspired me to attempt to re create this illusion.

Other images

ISO Sensitivity is a standard set by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that represents sensitivity to light as a numerical value. A higher number indicates a higher sensitivity and a greater ability to capture light. The ISO Sensitivity is set and changed in the shooting settings menu.

Raw images

These were my raw images which i then decided to edit in Lightroom

Reducing the selection

The aperture is the opening in the lens that allows light to enter the camera and onto the sensor or film. The size of this opening can be adjusted by changing the aperture settings. Take a look at the picture of a lens aperture above. Notice the adjustable blades that can move to adjust the size of the opening.

Ralph Eugene

Ralph Eugene was living as an optician whilst simultaneously creating images that surrounded themes of children , masks , movement and dolls giving his photos an eerie feeling

“Creative pictures must be felt in a similar way as one listens to music, emotionally, without expecting a story, information or facts.”

Ralph Eugene Meat yard

To take inspiration from Eugene I decided to edit one of my aperture photos to reflect the style of his photos.

I then converted the image to be black and white following the theme of Ralph Eugenes images