Research Influence: Alma Haser is an artist who's work inspired the plans and ideas for this shoot. I saw her pieces for Port Magazine which will directly influence the editing behind my images on this shoot. I will stick to the theme of plain backgrounds in the shoot similar to Hasers work, but will be doing full body portraiture rather than just the top half of the body. I will print two copies of each image and use one as the background whilst cutting a square around the head out before crumpling it and sticking it back in place on top of the first copy.
Contact Sheet:
I achieved what I set out to in this shoot, using up to 11 models, each posing differently. I used a plain white background and two box lights. I will carry out my next shoot in the same way, but might use some different coloured backgrounds or shoot landscape images, paying more attention to upper body rather than full body shots.
Best Images:
A03: Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions, reflecting critically on work and progress
Whilst shooting these images I was mostly paying attention to the individuals body language and position, e.g where and how they are standing as once I had selected my the appropriate aperture and shutter speed, I didn't need to make any adjustments throughout the shoot as it all took place in one studio.
1/125 - f.13
This shot was successful as the model was situated right in the centre of the image and there wasn't too much negative space in any area of the photo, but there was enough to cut a section out around her face for my editing process. This was a really simple shot, as the model is standing up straight with her arms down by her sides and her face looking at the camera. Also, I like the way the model is dressed and her bright red jacket accentuated the image, which I knew would be emphasised once I added the crumpled layer over the top.
1/125 - f.13
This was another very simple shot with the model positioned similarly to the last image. The model is central in the image and looking very casual and relaxed. Although this model was not wearing bright colours I still appreciated her style and thought that it would give the image some edge, especially with the green colours in her hair.
1/125 - f.13
One of the things I like about this image is how natural the shot is, although the model is slightly leaning on one leg and not facing the camera he appears genuine, laughing in front of the camera.This gives the image a sense of honesty and truth. He is positioned in the centre of the image with an equal amount of negative space around him, but not too much that I would need to crop it out.
1/125 - f.13
I could have improved the position of the camera in this shot as my model was taller so his head just reaches the cut off point at the top of the shot, but I don't think that this is a major issue as it doesn't disrupt the aesthetic of the image. The models body is facing to the side whilst his face faces the camera which could show that he is relaxed.
1/125 - f.13
The model is positioned in the third left section of the image leaving more negative space on the right than the left side, although I don't think this has a negative impact on the final image. I also noticed that the bottom of the image reveals part of the flooring but knew that I would crop this out on Photoshop during the editing process. I encouraged the model to appear moody in this image, representing a stereotypical teenage girl with an attitude as it offered some personality to the shot. Not only does her facial expression show this with her raised eyebrows but her body language does too with her head slightly tilted and her hands in her pockets as she leans on one leg with the other slightly in front of her.
Images that require improvement:
Both of these images have similar issues which would need fixing to improve them. First of all the camera is not facing central to the backdrop as I hadn't positioned the tripod correctly, therefore the models aren't central in my images. This also meant that there were parts of the flooring that showed in the bottom of the image that I would rather didn't show, however if I did like these images I could easily crop them in Photoshop. Additionally, the models were not ready in the images and therefore are not conveying their true emotion or personality in the image.
I shot all of my Images with a Nikon ??? set up on a tripod. I have noted the F stop and aperture below each image. I shot in manual mode to enable me to adjust the settings as I wanted, with a shutter speed and aperture appropriate for shooting in a studio with box lights. To progress my Images I proceeded to edit and adjust them on Photoshop before physically altering my images.
Whilst editing my images for this shoot, the first thing I did on Photoshop was adjust the brightness and the contrast as the images were all quite dark I made each one quite a lot brighter with the brightness/contrast tool, and without decreasing the contrast this would make some of the subjects look quite red and intense, so I had to make sure I balanced the brightness out with softening the image with a lower contrast.
All of my images needed cropping too, to remove any unwanted negative space in the image. I printed two copies of this image off, leaving one as the background and cutting a square out around the subjects head on the second copy before crumpling it up and sticking it back in the correct position with double sided tape. This way the extra crumpled layer creates a frame for the subjects face.
I followed the same steps for this image.
I used the brightness/contrast tool to adjust the brightness and contrast for this image as usual but also used the curve tool to make the image slightly brighter as well.
I selected the colour balance tool to give the image a blue tint as my previous two images had both been slightly yellow/brown so I did this to try and avoid that from happening and to make them appear whiter and balance the colours.
After this I used the magic selection tool to select all of the background, then I used the magic eraser tool to remove it all before using the paint bucket tool to fill it in dark pink/red. I would then print the original copy with a plain background and the edited version with a dark pink/red background, the original, plain coloured copy would be used as the background and the coloured copy would be used as the extra crumpled layer to frame the subjects face once i'd cut out a section of the image with the models head on. This way, the framing would be emphasised through the use of colour.
I followed the same steps for this image in regards to adjusting the brightness and contrast and balancing the colour to avoid the yellow/brown tint, strengthening the blue to make the white more crisp.
After this I converted my image to black and white with similar ideas to my last image, so I printed one copy in the original colour and one in black and white before cutting a square around the subjects face on the black and white copy and crumpling it up before sticking it in the right position on top of the original version.
For this image I adjusted the brightness and contrast as usual.
And cropped the image removing the parts that I didn't want such as the bottom of the backdrop and too much negative space above the models head.
Then I added a blue tint using the colour balance tool to avoid the yellowish/brownish tint in some of my previous images, although I didn't necessarily have to do this as I proceeded to convert the image to black and white.
After editing this image and saving my black and white copy, I used the magic selection tool to select all of the background, then I used the magic eraser tool to remove it all before using the paint bucket tool to fill it in dark pink/red. I would then print the original copy with a plain background and the edited version with a dark purple/violet background, the black and white copy would be used as the background and the coloured copy would be used as the extra crumpled layer to frame the subjects face once i'd cut out a section of the image with the models head on. The framing would also be emphasised in this image through the use of colour.
A01: Develop ideas through sustained and focused investigations informed by contextual and other sources, demonstrating analytical and critical understanding.
The artist research that I did was very beneficial as it shaped my ideas and plans for my shoot and strengthened my understanding of the elements a photographer looks for when taking portrait studio photos that convey personality and emotion and therefore made it easier for me to instruct my models how i'd like them to present themselves in the shoot and how I would be shooting my images (portrait with plain background in studio). Looking at her projects and images inspired me to not only use her approach of manipulating and physically altering images but try and progress her idea's slightly further by playing with colour.
I believe that I have produced a strong series of images inspired by my research of Alma Hasers images. Similar to Alma Hasers images I have photographed models in a studio with a plain background, however progressed from these ideas and added other colours whilst editing on Photoshop such as dark pinks and purples. I ultimately aimed to emphasise the framing of the models faces through altering images that once included no framing at all and to convey a personality through my images. I was successful in doing this in in my final series of images through the use of colours and approaches such as crumpling the paper.
The idea of using crumpled paper over the models faces suggests that although these individuals may appear to be pure and honest human beings, that maybe they aren't being their true selves and showing the full picture. Perhaps lying about the kind of people that they are or lifestyles that they live. The crinkles and creases in the paper emphasise this as although you can see the models faces quite clearly, it distorts what they really look like.
This particular image shows real personality as I allowed the model to choose the colour that I used for his image being dark pink. This colour could represent an individual who is quite intense and upfront about their emotions and feelings. Although the contrast between the plain white background and the dark pink shows a real disconnect between the models head and body, suggesting that the character here see's the world in a different way to everyone else, this could be due to a mental illness or just an extremely creative personality, perhaps both.
This image could represent an individual who appears colourful and quirky on the outside, however lacks in personality, shown through the black and white. However it could represent something much deeper than this. The idea that the models head is in black and white while the rest of his body is in colour could portray mental illness such as depression or anxiety for example. As if he feels stuck inside of his head, and although appearing physically healthy, may not be.
This image is probably my favourite as I feel it is the most aesthetically pleasing image. Earlier I mentioned about how the pose of the model here represents a stereotypical teenage girl with an attitude. The final piece emphasises this as I think it could represent naivety. This is because while the rest of the world appears in black and white, the character here see's in purple, essentially she views the world in a naive and inexperienced way due to her young age.
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