Portraits - Research

Rankin 

Rankin is famous for his portraits, shooting countless celebrities and in 2009 he shot 500 ordinary Brits (including my friend Jo, image below) in 20 days. I love the simplicity of his shoots, no fussy props just good old portraiture! 

Mario Testino

I like how Mario Testino (no introduction needed for this man!) has portrayed a sense of attitude in this shot by very small adjustments to the models face. Head up, eyes narrowed and lips open. In some of my shoots I will try and convey emotion like this.

PEROU

Perou is another famous fashion photographer. In the two images below I really like the use of the subject being side on and especially the shadow it creates on Daniel Craig's face. I also love the emphasis on Sienna's cheekbones, I will try and recreate this emphasis in my model (Helene) by shotting some shots side on.

Statement of Intent - Portraits

Candidate Name: Lucy Prosser
Theme: Portraits
Title: Helene

Portrait images

Intentions/purpose of the photography to be undertaken

To deliver a set of 10 natural portrait images of the chosen model Helene. I wanted to produce portrait photos that were relaxed and informal, stepping away from washed out backgrounds ala modern mass produced portrait photography.

Reasons for selection of theme (including inspiration from the work of others)

With a keen interest in fashion magazines and blogs, I am inspired by the endless collection of photos produced. The current trend for highstreet fashion magazines is a very natural laid back approach to images. My first idea was to shoot outside in the grass but I decided after looking at the British weather that this may not be possible!

The photo imaging equipment and medium that will be used and why & How light quality can be used to help convey the visual message
I will use a Canon EOS 450D camera along with my kit lens.

I chose to keep lighting to a minimum by shooting with two bulb lights either side and a softbox at the front to illuminate Helene. I experimented with how shots using a grid to create a more soft backlit image. 

I started my set up with two Bowens studio lights (750W) to give a simple light. I then used a softbox infront of Helene to soften the light that would fall on her to give the portraits a natural/soft finish. I experimented with the use of the grid on the Bowens light to the right hand side of Helene to give either a soft backlight or a harsher more concentrated light with the grid off.  In shooting portraits I wanted to create a good light from below Helene, this was achieved through the use of a golden reflector. 

The use of a beauty dish (seen below) helps light bounce off the dish's light surface giving an even and flattering lift to the subject. The dish also helps divert light away from the centre and helps eliminate hotspots and harsh shadows.  

Techniques that will be used and how they will help convey the visual message

All my images were taken in RAW format, meaning I was able to use Photoshop CS5 to post process certain elements of the images. Although my model Helene has a flawless complexion and great cheekbones I used various vanity techniques in Photoshop such as brightening of the eyes and removing fly away hairs against the background of the image. These techniques enabled me to present a more professional looking fashion photo for my collection. Using tools such as saturation and clarity let me bring an element of texture into the images. 

Safety considerations

I briefed Helene before the shoot to her let know it was a relaxed session and that she could take a break or sit down whenever she felt like it. I also warned her that I'd be using flash photography and asked her to cover her eyes each time I tested the flashes.

Whilst positioning the lighting equipment I made sure heavy equipment was carried by two people. All electrical equipment had been PAT tested by the College. 

Statement of Intent - Food

Candidate Name: Lucy Prosser

Title of theme: Food photography

Food images

Intentions/purpose of the photography to be undertaken:

I wanted to create a collection of images based around classic food photography. I wanted to ensure I incorporated a range of different styles into my collection from retail (yoghurt and Taboo images) to abstract (red cabbage shots) to classic food photography (peppers and strawberries)

Reasons for selection of theme (including inspiration from the work of others):

My inspiration to shoot food photography came from the various cooking books I own and the numerous food adverts that are shown on TV each day. I have always been interested in using photography to sell products i.e. with the help of photoshop making an image as atheistically pleasing as possible. in my research post I came across a number of different food photographers who covered the

The photo imaging equipment and media that will be used and why

Due to shooting smaller items i used a lightbox table to shoot the items on. This meant assembling the set up through using a table to place the lightbox on and then arranging the lights to the right height. The image below shows one of the set ups used for the photography, I made use of a hesian sheet to give the background a rustic textured feel which is often seen in 'Homely' food photography shoots. 

The lighting set up was predominantly around the main spot light (seen on the top right in the image) then two smaller lights were used to highlight the fruit and veg.

I used three studio lights and a lightbox to create my images. I also used white boards to bounce the light off to centre the light on the fruit/veg. This technique was used the most in the images of the yoghurt pot to ensure a nice even lighting and to stop shadows being created.

In the red cabbage images I used a macro lens. The decision to use a macro lens was so I could focus on the abstract patterns within the cabbage.

All my images were taken in RAW format, meaning I was able to use Photoshop CS5 to post process certain elements of the images. The majority of tools used in photoshop were to highlight colour and texture. This was done by increasing the clarity in images and hue and saturation. 

How light quality can be used to convey the visual message

My aim is to create a number of clean and commercial veg and fruit images.This meant a number of lights were used in the set up with one main light used on the righthand side. Backgrounds were changed to bring a different feel to the images. A black background was used in my image of the peppers as the texture of a pepper if smooth and shiny, and the hesian background was too rustic for this.  therefore on most of the images only one light was used to give depth to the objects and to cast shadows. 

Safety Procedures

As I was shooting inside the photography classroom I made sure to warn others about my shoot and made sure my class mates were aware of the wires on the grounds and that I would be using flash photography.

All equipment used had been PAT tested by the College and was safe to use. 

During photo editing I made sure I took regular breaks from the computer to mimizie risk of eye strain.

All lighting equipment was weighed down and placed out of walkways/ people's paths.

Research - Food Photography

Marie Louise Avery - Food Photography

www.marielouiseavery.com

I love the use of a plain white background and positioning of the fruit and veg in the above images. Marie Louise approaches the shots with simplicity letting the produce do the talking. 

Charlotte Hurst - Commercial food photography

www.charlottehurst.com

In Charlotte's commercial work we can see how she has arranged the items to come across well aesthetically. The green in the strawberries is picked up in the green web tab. In the second image Charlotte's use of a glass teapot, cup and saucer means the tea does the talking. The inclusion of a model could have taken the attention away from the product but by only including the torso this is avoided.

Jean Cazals - Food Photography

www.jeancazals.net 

I love the rustic and DIY feel to all Jean's images. The second image above has no doubt be preened to perfection but by using crumpled paper and a cheesecake that is evidently homemade it brings a lot more texture into the image. the first image above uses a palate of brown colours which brings out the earthy colours of the Pomegranate. I love how Jean's work is not overly photoshopped his approach is clean, graphic and based on natural style. Jean says that elegant styling and food presentation are the most important parts to his photography. .

Presenting photo images

Presenting photo images

To present my collection of costal landscapes I have chosen to use a photobook. I looked through a few different presentation techniques such as individual printing, flickr, postcards and a scrapbook. I decided to go with a photobook as I wanted to have a permanent record of my work 

Why have you presented your work in this manner?

I decided to produce an Apple photobook due to the quality and simplicity of the book. I wanted my photos to do the talking which meant they were the focal part of the presentation .
I researched a number of different photo book providers and felt Apple was the best company to go with. Having edited all my photos on an Macbook Pro, I felt the images would be of maxiumum quality keeping to the same company to produce my photobook. Another reason I chose an Apple photobook was their key branding rule - Simplicity

Describe the process for presenting your work.
The process to make my photobook involved making the final selection of 10 images. I decided I wanted a mixture of wide angle landscapes next to standard size images. Once I chose my images I began to upload these via the online photobook software. 
I then moved on to deciding the order of the photos in the book. To give the book a uniformed feel. I evenly placed smaller images followed by double spread images. Unfortunetly some of my images were too large for the size guidelines of the booklet, however I made the decision to still include these images as I felt they still worked even at a slightly cropped size.

Describe other presentation methods considered and give a explanation for deciding against them.

I considered printing and mounting all my images but felt that as i have not mounted images this before, it may not have a had a professional finish. I decided a photobook would be a tidy and compact way of displaying all my images at one time. 

What health and safety considerations did you observe?
I decided to go with Apple to print my photobook as they are a professional company who print these books on a large scale. Due to the printing being done professionally i did not need to worry about injuries that could be occurred during the printing.
 

Planning of shoot (Pt1) - Landscapes

The planning behind my landscape shoots....part 1

1. Tripod 
A tripod was a must for my landscape shoots for a number of reason:
1) As I was using long shutter speeds on some shots a tripod helped keep my camera still when shooting to avoid camera shake.
2) As I was shooting on coastal cliffs in December/January the winds were quite strong at times. Weighing down my tripod ensured my equipment wouldn’t fall over and get damaged in the wind.
3) As my tripod also has a spirit level on it I was able to level my photos as much as possible whilst ensuring I got the height I needed in a number of shots.

2. Focal Point 
The main focal point of most of my shots is the sea, however this is viewed from different angles and heights.  The rule of thirds has come into play in my images by breaking up the photo into three different sections; land, sea, sky. To give a variety of images in my selection I have changed the focal point on some of the images through different lighting conditions and post processing by enhancing certain colours and textures. In the first photo in 'Landscapes - Theme 2 - Filey' I have focused on the colours at sunset, whilst in photo 4th photo I have framed the image through an old outhouse building window and kept the focal point on the ocean..

3. Natural Lighting 
I planned both my shoots in the afternoon to make best use of the lighting. My first shoot was shot around 1:30 – 3:30pm this gave a high sun in the sky, which gave intense lighting on the beach. I used this to my advantage and shot more beach images this day and used the bright blue skies to give contrast to the image.

Golden Hours - On my second shoot I planned to make use of the amazing sunsets that the North has been having over the past few weeks. Sunrise would have been a lot harder to achieve as it would mean a 5am rise due to sunrise currently being around 7:30am!   With the sun setting in the west and Filey being on the west coast it meant it would be setting over the land, meaning I would be able to capture it shooting towards Filey promenade from the cliffs.  The angle and colour of the lighting brought a new depth to the images and created amazing textures in the clouds and skyline

Landscapes - Theme 2 - Filey Coast

A few landscapes I took along the Filey coast at the weekend. Unfortunately it was high tide at 2:30pm which hampered my plans at taking some images from out on brig (I definitely did not want to get stuck out there with my camera!) so I stuck to the tops of the cliff. 

This image was taken as the sun was setting. As Filey is on the east coast the sun sets over the land rather than the sea. I took this image with my 50mm lens as it performs better in low light then my kit lens. I've lightened the image slightly in photoshop. There is a seagull in the left hand corner which I might attempt to erase.

This was taken on Humanby Gap which is a more enclosed isolated cove. It was taken around 2:30pm with an overcast sky. Because of this the sky is mainly white/grey and drains the original image so I have converted it to black and white to give the coastline more contrast against the sky and sea.

This is taken on the beach at Hunmanby Gap, again at just before high tide. I've played with the highlights and shadows in this image to add texture to the clouds and wake.

Hands - images

A few from my hands project, taken with my new prime 50mm f/1.8  lens 

I've toned down the temperature of the last image with blue tones. The lighting during the shoot was from household lights which made the images very yellow. I'll continue to experiment with different tones in photoshop.

Inspiration - Hands

Bruce Gilden

Galway. 1996. Man at a racetrack.

(Magnum Photos)

Eve Arnold

USA. New York. Long Island.

A baby's first five minutes, 

Port Jefferson. 

Mother holds her child's hand. 1959.

(Magnum photos)

Bruce Gilden

JAPAN. Tokyo. Shinjuku. 

JR station morning rush hour. 1996.

(Magnum photos)

Hands

A shot I took of my boyfriend's hand in Copenhagen. This image started my thinking into taking shots of hands in every day positions (in Tom's case, drinking beer!). I will further explore this area for my assignment.

Research - Landscapes - Texture

The intention of my theme is to take photos that illustrate the texture of a scene. Whether this be leaves on the ground,  waves of a choppy sea, moss on stones  or a morning fog. I want to illustrate that detail is an important part of landscape photography. 

Below I have included a selection of photos that have caught my eye during whilst browsing the web. I love the variety of colour throughout the photos due to the time of day. This is something I need to consider when planning my shoots. A dawn shoot would require an early morning but could mean capturing amazing dew/fog to enhance a photo, as seen in James Corad's image below. Shooting at sunset would mean making the most of the last remaining sunlight of the day which could create interesting shadows and a warm image. 

I shall continue with exploring my theme further next week by discussing equipment. 

James Coard - Purple Dawn
View more of James' work 

Tim Parkin
www.timparkin.co.uk

Tim Parkin
www.timparkin.co.uk

Nigel Halliwell
www.nigelhalliwell.com

Nigel Halliwell
www.nigelhalliwell.com 

Theme - Country Landscapes

Putting some thought into my theme, I've decided I want to focus on country landscapes. Even though I moved to Manchester five years ago from a small village outside Leeds, I've always been fascinated with the countryside. 

Over the weekend I bought a tripod as this is one of the key pieces of kit for landscape photography. This should help with long exposures and wide angle shots. Below are a few trial images with my new tripod (I was even adventurous and jumped into the stream to take a few snaps)

The image I have taken above is a prime example of an over exposed skyline. To help tackle this problem I'm going to experiment with filters over the coming weeks to see how different filters will effect certain shots, depending on lighting and composition. 

The last one is just for Dave...an Alpaca

 

Landscape - Otley Chevin

This week's assignment was landscape photography so I decided to pop back over the Pennines to my homeland...Yorkshire.

I took fellow class mate Darren the Pirate's advice and rented a lens from Lens Pimp for the weekend. I have to admit I know NOTHING about lenses, but Adham was answered my email was very helpful and pointed me towards the Canon EF16-35mm f/2.8L II Lens, which is a wide angle lens suitable for landscapes.

Having ordered the lens on Thursday morning it arrived first thing Friday morning and I was ready to start shooting. I'd definitely recommend the service to anyone who wants to try before they buy.

The plan was to get up early on Sunday and catch the sun rising over Otley Chevin...however due to a broken alarm clock I got there just to catch the last of the red sky!

Inspiration

On Tuesday night we were asked to start thinking about our themes for our portfolio projects. We need to make a choice of two out of the fives themes that were given, which include portraits, nature and documenting an event.

My first thought was portraits. I'd really love to develop my portrait photography skills and this is a great chance to get started. I've had various ideas which all revolve around the same theme - Natural. I don't want posed airbrushed images, I want to capture the face in a natural expression. Whether this be laughter, sadness, shock, bewildered or even a sneeze...I think photographs that have movement in the face created an added depth to the image.

Inspiration

(I'll keep adding to this post as the week goes on)

John Madden aged 57 - Photo by Michael O'Brien

Part of the underground series - David Solomons

Tate Modern - Matt Stuart