Research
My Idea
For the portraiture brief I want to try a variety of backgrounds and locations, for example I want to do a friends shoot and my own self portraiture shoot in the studio where I can control my surrounds, for example backdrop colour and lighting. This gives me full control over everything allowing me to position the images to how I would like. I would also like to do some location shots outside, this allows me to vary my experience and to be able to use natural lighting instead of artificial lighting in the studio. The aim out of this brief is to create a series of three images, a self portrait, a friend/family member and a stranger.
Shoot One
This was the first shoot in the studio therefore we were experimenting with lighting and a slight bit of movement for example the hair flicks and throwing the material behind the model. We all took it in turns in modelling and using the camera. We used soft boxes for lighting on each side and a variety of different backgrounds. Personally I prefer a white background when doing portrait shoots as it looks more professional. As this shoot was mainly to get used to the studio and using the equipment within the studio the images have not come out as high quality as I would like therefore this shoot was mainly for practice and skills development.
Edits
Although this shoot was mainly for skills development I really like these two self portrait images, one is a still image using an object and the other is a motion image where it has capture the motion of a hair flick in a still frame. I have edited both these images to give more light in the middle of the image giving a darker edge and corners, this makes the person looking at the image focus more towards the centre.
Shoot Two
Shoot two went really well, this shoot was a self portraiture shoot done in the studio with a white backdrop using two soft boxes either side, this helps to eliminate to much of a shadow behind me. All of the images are in portrait however there is a variety of long shots to close ups. This varies the composition allowing more room for experimentation. For a couple of shots I used a chair so that not all the shots were stood up. I think that the lighting has worked really well in these shots making them overall successful images and a successful shoot as a whole.
Edits
For my edits I have adjusted the levels and whitened the background. I have also experimented with changing into black and white in order to see how this would affect the over all mood and style of the image. This links to the work of Richard Avedon and Yousuf Karsh as they mainly worked with black and white photography, personally I think that this makes the mage look classier as you are not drawn to the colour of the image but the subject as a whole.
Shoot Three
This was a friend shoot taken in the studio, I have used artificial lighting for this shoot however I do not think that this shoot was as successful, this is because of the glare of the lights in the glasses of the subject, in some of the images this was not as noticeable however on close ups this is very easily distracting. I have tried a variety of compositions and poses in order to get a range of shots within this shoot.
Edits
For my edits I have simply adjusted the levels and made the background slightly whiter in order to make the model stand out a bit more, trying to not let her cardigan get lost within the background.
Shoot Four
For this shoot I have experimented with shutter speed and movement in order to create a different kind of portraiture shoot, this was purely for experimentation basis, the images have come out very orange however this can be corrected using Photoshop. Personally I think that some of the images have come out very well especially the ones in which I have used a double flash on the subject.
Edit
For this edit I have blackened the background and got rid of the orange tones of the image.
Shoot Five
For this shoot I have experimented with shutter speed and movement in order to create a different kind of portraiture shoot, this was purely for experimentation basis, the images have come out very orange however this can be corrected using Photoshop. Personally I think that some of the images have come out very well especially the ones in which I have used a double flash on the subject.
Edits
For the edits I have gotten rid of the orange tones of the image and make the background more black.
Shoot Six
This self portraiture shoot was taken around the university campus, using a variety of different backgrounds for example the Brayford, a brick wall and so on. Have also tested a range of compositions and ideas from close ups to long shots. I think that close ups are good for showing the expression on a persons face where as long shots are good for showing the overall subject and what they are wearing as well as their surroundings. I personally like this shoot as it has a sort of fashion shoot vibe to it.
Edits
For my edits I have looked at them in colour and black and white, I have adjusted the levels an the contrast of each of the images, I personally prefer the black and white images as the colour doesn’t distract away from the subject of the image.
Shoot Seven
This was another self portrait shoot, however this one was taken on location at Lincoln Arboretum, this place is very visually pleasing therefore is a great place for a portrait photo-shoot depending on the look and feel that I wanted to give the images, I have a variety of long shots to close ups in order to get a range of different compositions.
Edits
For these edits I have adjusted the levels and brought more into focus as well as slightly cropping the images, I have chosen these images to edit as these were my personal favourite out of the entire shoot, the ones that I thought were more visually appealing in the different areas of the Arboretum.
Shoot Eight
This friend shoot went a lot more successful then the studio shoot, as there is no lighting showing up in her glasses due to the use of natural day light, I had chosen this location as it was very visually appealing, making it seem as if the shoot was not taken in busy city. Personally I prefer more elegant garden shoots to shoots that have been taken in busy environment with a lot going on as this can be very distracting in an image.
Edits
For these edits I have adjusted the levels and done a slight bit of cropping in some of the images in order to make the subject the main focus of attention within the image.
Shoot Nine
As this is the stranger shoot, I only have two images of strangers, one of the girl is at a park where as the image of the young man on his way to work was taken outside using a white building as a backdrop, this links to the work of Richard Avedon when he did his American West series, making use of the area around him.
Edits
For this edited I have adjusted the levels and the contrast of the image in order to make the stranger stand out against the building wall.