Experimenting with light

I put these two images together to see how the contrast in lighting would change how the image is shown and how the emotion is emphasised. In the first image there is no lighting used, apart from the main room light which was on at the end of the lounge. This image has a lot less light bounced on to the face however the face looks full and is not distorted. In comparison in the second image the flash gun was used and the light has only captured the face and slightly lost the neck and hair. However I think this makes the image more effective, it makes it seem as though I am outside rather than with a staged background and the darkness is so prominent. The lighting clearly plays a major part in how the image is seen and how a model would need to change/emphasise an emotion in accordance to the lighting.

These two images again show off how the use of light can change the way the photo is perceived. This is seen because of the emotion, I think in this image.However the positioning of the lighting layers up the picture as seen in the second of the two. The use of red light also sets of different signals. Often red is resembled with danger or lust or love and these two images both have different perceptions with the use of the colour red.

My project is focusing on portraits and the mechanics of a portrait ie emotion, lighting, set and model, however now I think my main focus should be light. Obviously the emotion impacts the image but the style of lighting can change the whole perception of an image also. I now need to experiment with different forms of lighting. Firstly I think I need to use simple forms like matches and lighters which will only give off a small amount of light and show what impacts these make. Also the use of lighting such as headlights on cars and street lamps can change the image and the story the eye makes up. I also want to try a brighter studio set up using a white background and full lighting to see how I can develop my skills of the placings of lighting and techniques. Finally I could also think about how projections onto backgrounds can change the layering of images.

3 little people

As well as lighting being of undeniable importance to a portrait I also wanted to see how expression changed the image so I have also taken just some normal portraits using different expressions. I wanted to put them together, but also create some sort of quirky image. Displaying them like this I think shows the angel and devil on each side of the middle portrait. I purposefully left this one in colour as I think, that although usually more attention would be given to the colour image by the eye, the black and white ones on the sides have more impact as they are different expressions. This type of image does let the portraits sit well together as they compliment each other as they are obviously the same person. The lighting for all these images was using a flash fun and the usual black background studio set up. The use of light in this image has not had as much impact as the other experiments I have done have. However I do think that the plainer lighting ensures that the expression is fully focused on.

I also experimented with eyes and the different ways eyes can create tension and change emotion. In psychology I was looking at a psychological study into autism Baron Cohen and I found that people with autism find it difficult to distinguish emotions from just seeing eyes. I placed these 3 sets of eyes together as I think they each show different emotions however these are expression I make with my own eyes so I wonder what other people will think? Will they know what expression I am trying to create? Again with this image I kept the lighting in a neutral was with the black background and with a flashgun, however obviously they are much closer up so did not require so much lighting.

Painted it Red

When exploring portraiture and in partiulcar self portraiture I found it of high importance to ensure I know what compotents are creating the image, especially as I am not taking the image myself. To take ownership of the image I must plan every aspect of how it is shot. I looked at how light can change or distort an image. I used a red rope light, with my set up still with a plain black background. This time however no flash was used as the light stood alone and upheld the image.

I really like these images, they are probably some of my favourite images of this year so far. I think the colour is really vibrant and the use of the strobe makes the light a lot more intimate as it is so close to the face. Also the intensity of the eyes in the second images compared to the shadowing of the mouth gives a real point of focus for the observer. The use of the simple strobe light does seem to fully illuminate the face and this means that no extra light needed to be used.

This image is quite different to the other two. Primarily because of the different composition. In this image the red light follows around the face rather than over the face and across it. This effect brightens up the face and changes the mood and style of the image as the first two had quite a seductive manner where as this image has more of a natural full face shot. These images show how a simple strobe light can change the whole perception and style of an image. Which in turn creates a completely different mood and percieve story behind the image.

Developing

After looking up some photographer's and obtaining some contextual research I looked at how I could create my own style of portraits with still using myself however creating a different look of myself and how the lighting and expression will change my images.

Ultimately I want to create images that are slightly more subtle that these both however I first thought I should try an obvious emotion. The emotion of sadness. It was very difficult to create a plausible image and to create the correct lighting of the image also. I decided the lighting should be a lot lower so turned off the main light and just used a torch above the flash gun to retract some more lighting off onto the face to highlight the features more effectively.

I changed the image into black and white on photoshop and played around with the brightness and contrast to try to accentuate the tone of the image, however still keeping subtly editing.

I think by making the image slightly darker after changing it to black and white the whole tone of the image has changed. Before the image was more of an initial despair, now I think the image seems to have a darker side as much of the roundness of the face is blackened out. I think that althoght the expression plays a vital part, it is also the lighting that has changed much of the atmosphere of the image as the darkness leaves a sense of the unknown in the background.

Behind the Portrait.

There are many things that define a photographer and one of these aspects is their style of image. My style is portraits. What are the key ingredients to a good portrait? Well I think the key ingredients are 3 main things; light, expression and person used. Obviously these are all developed to enable the creation of an amazing image. One main thing that effects the image with the use of light is the place in which the shoot/snapping is taking place. The inclusion of even just a simple background can change the style, context and tone of an image.

This image taken by Ivring Penn. The background immediately changes the perspective of the image. If the image of the milkman was taken outside a house it may look like he is just going about his daily duties. However because it is in a studio in front of a backdrop it questions whether the man is actually a milkman and what time of day it is and if the pose is staged and if composition was thought about etc, this in turn changes the whole context of the image. Another main factor that effects a portrait is the lighting. As seen in earlier posts I have explored studio lighting and how this effects an image. The idea of light has been explored by many artists. There are different everyday objects/ animals that have strong links with light for example moths, they are attracted to light. As well as this through the bible we here the story of how God created the earth and in the beginning there was no light. Many 21st century photographers use light to create an image.

These images were taken by Philip Lorca diCorcia. He fixed a camera with a flashgun onto some scaffolding. Then each person that walked past had a spontaneous image taken of them without any awareness. The use of flash in the images create a sense of drama. They highlight specific people and their initial expression to having the flash 'flashed' in their face. The older man is slightly more close up, however I think the image of the woman cleverly highlights just her face and features and blocks out the other passers by. Another factor that effects a portrait is obviously the model/unaware bystander. This is probably the most important factor effecting the image. The context behind the model, their reason for being there, their intentions and their purpose all fall into how the viewer will experience the image. This is a vital factor as it can change perspectives by even just a simple movement. Roni Horn's 'You are the Weather' uses one model for the series of portraits.

The image changes dynamic depending on the colour used and the closeness of the model. By using a seemingly younger model the image may appeal the a wider range of age groups. The importance of the model can determine how the image again is ultimately interpreted and whether this is how it was intended to look.

Changing the images

I have decided to collaborate my images into a visual collection. I haven't edited them yet, only cropped them to fit into the boxes. I put white lines between them to define the difference yet still to show them as a qualitative group. I cropped each image and then displayed them next to one another. The placing on the images was not thought out, I just wanted to show them as a group. As well as this I have had some help to develop the images further. Another collage type image which is more contextual.

This image is showing just one of the sins; Envy. The women in the background are from 'vogue' magazines found online. I like the image however I am unsure if it fully fits into my style of photography as I am not so into photoshop and manipulation however I will work to contrive an image similar to this. The manipulation tool pulled out the eyes and made the mouth turn downwards. As well as this, by using colour the image looks very amusing and accentuated.

This print screen is how the image was created I had help from my teacher to create this image. Firstly we ensured the background was black to make it easier to work with. we then found 2 images from 'Vogue' magazine to insert into the image. We then found a suitable covering for the images, this being the green mesh type branches. We tried this on top of the magazines and it looked good, so we decided to keep it. We then started working on the face and body. Firstly by turning the face green as this is the colour of envy, then by accentuating the features of the face by bulging the eyes and also turning the smile into a frown. We then enlarged the image to make the face seen bigger than the body. Finally rubbed back through the previous images from 'Vogue' magazine to get the image created.

Where do I go from here?

I now have a massive collection of images however I am slightly stumped on where to go. I think some of them work really well with the text and props etc, however some of them look too contrived and thought about. This could be an issue, as to sit together as a set they need to all be similar. I think now I need to go away and take some image of just my face, firstly without any emotions and then again with trying out the emotions without the text, but still highly elaborated. Firstly though, I will try to edit some of the first images to see if a couple will fit together. I have also been researching some artists that would compliment my work well. One in particular is Cindy Sherman. She only photographed herself, and her images are very elaborated and amusing.

This image is interesting as the expression seems to be quite dead pan in that the eyes and mouth are just straight. The colour on the face is precise and interesting

This image seems quite humorous mainly because of the colour of her skin, being rather orange. I think this image portrays a celebrity or someone that takes and apparent pride in their appearance. The image displays an older woman with a want to be young again which makes the image quite amusing to the observer.

This image is a lot more regal and stately. It has potential to be the queen or one of the royal family. Sherman's use of high status people in her image is quite controversial as this image has the potential to be someone like Princess Margaret, however because Sherman does not name her images there is a wonder on whether she is just taking the 'piss' out of these famous people.

All these images are unnamed as Sherman wanted people to interpret them in their 0own separate ways. The images are highly thought about as Sherman does her own hair, make up and costume as well as contriving the scene too. Another photographer I am also researching is Steve McCurry. He is a magnum photographer and his images are very striking and very different styles to Cindy Sherman. His work includes much portraiture which is what I am focused on.

This image has been named many times in the media as 'afghan girl'. I wanted to find out her story so I searched her name and found her. This photograph was taken when she was 17 years old and living in a refugee camp following the soviet invasion. The image is very natural however shows the anger and despair in her 'sea green' eyes. The image was displayed on the front of 'national geographic magazine' in 1985 following an attempt to examine the chaos out there.

This image is of a baby girl crying. it was taken in Nepal on one of Mccurry's many trips around the world. The image is very thought provoking and emotional. The widespread plight in Nepal was and still is felt by many, and using a child McCurry has outlines that even the youngest of children are affected by this fighting.

This image is very different to the other two, it is shot in India at a pageant. This changes the overall tone of the image as it seems much happier although the expression is still quite plain. The colours and vibrancy of the image is very different to the other shots and much of McCurry's work. McCurry's images show a full view of a countries plight and they are very honest. Both the photographers work is worlds apart however I really want to use both styles in my work. I think my photographing myself and using different but honest emotions I am incorporating both styles so the images seem quite comical yet still have a really honest and real approach.

First look at the outcome of photoshoot 1

I set up a studio in my living room consisting of a black background put up on light stands and using one back light as there is not too much room in the lounge! I used a Canon 60D as I wanted my images to be of a higher quality and this would only work out by using this camera rather than my camera which is less powerful. I also used a flash on the camera, and in the end resulted in turning the light off and just using the camera flash as I wanted the images to be darker so the back light was washing me out too much. Obviously because I was in the pictures I needed someone to take them so I drafted an accomplice, this being my Dad. I had drawn out the images I aimed to achieve and although my drawing skills are not highly commended I attempted to get an idea of what I wanted. This helped both me and my Dad as he could see what I needed out of the images. The style I wanted was just a plainer person and the emphasis on the words I am drawing on myself. For this I wore a plain black strappy top and made my face make up neutral with some emphasis on my eyes to ensure they were defined as they would be important. Before I started I did some test shots with a the top of a chair to see the colour and if the lighting was correct.

This first image is quite yellow and orange which I think may be a bit too saturated.

This image is more life like and also slightly darker which adds more mood to the image.

Below are the first images I came out with, these have not been edited yet as I haven't come to a conclusion of how I want them to be edited or displayed. Firstly is Greed. This one was quite obvious from the beginning. In the 21st century and in past centuries money has been of great importance and has caused many people to sin and to cause great destruction. Money had to be in this image. I wrote greed on the palms on the hands as many old wives tales of 'itchy palms mean money will come to you' and also obviously money is held in the hands, and gets passed from one to another.

This image was one of the first images and I think that its okay but seems to lack energy. It clearly shows what its supposed to but I think its slightly too bright and doesn't show enough emotion.

This image has a lot more energy in it and does not lack emotion however I still think its slightly too bright and needs to have a more sinister look.

I am much happier with the final image. I picked it out of the second half of the start of the 'greed' section as at this stage we turned off the light and only used the extra flans gun on the camera. The image is darker and has more subtlety to it. Also the fingers being bent adds more definition to the image.

The second 'deadly sin' is Wrath. This sin is about violence and anger and acting out.

The 'wrath' sin was a lot easier to show. Obviously premeditated anger is easy however creating a real sense of anger was quite difficult to do straight in front of the lens.

This image has much more dynamic than the other and the 'wrath' on the knuckles is highlighted in the foreground and then my face is slightly darker and slightly merging into the background.

This image I think shows the most anger, however is not the most significant. I think the second image is my favourite with the foreground and background, however this one has a military feel to it with the placing of the arm which is what I was trying to obtain from the beginning.
Lust was the next 'deadly sin' of the seven I dealt with. For this image I wanted to create a look that both changed the way I looked and also changed the viewers perception of me as a model in the set of images. Lust is an emotional desire that is directly associated with fantasizing about ones desires, usually in a sexual way.

This image I think shows a lot of what I was looking to capture. The term lust is not used as much in the 21st century. I would take this idea of lust as quite a deformed type of love as the historical context of it is very much frowned upon.

The reason behind the lipstick is to elaborate the lips and to extenuate the style of the image. I like the arms up in this picture but I don't want it to seem like something to styled with the body.

I do like this image as it does remind me of some of my friends when they are ready to go out, a quick lean forward and a pout for a picture. It seems quite simultaneous rather than too contrived. It also shows still the word quite close down to the breasts.
The next sin I looked at was 'Sloth'. This sin has changed quite a lot over the years also, so to develop it into a 21st century image I wanted to use personal qualities of myself to attempt to show the image in its full light, hence the ballet shoe. Being a sloth is a word that's freely chucked about through people young and old and it refers to someone who is very lazy. This meaning has carried on through the ages.

This image is very close up and defines the word very nicely along the arm. However it is not so easy to see the ballet shoe and also the face just looked quite bored.

I really like this image. It slightly further back and the ballet shoe is a lot easier to see. Also the face being in 'yawning' mode adds character to the image.

This image is also very characterised however I think the arm takes away from the simplicity that the image originally had.

The next deadly sin I looked at was Pride. Pride is the inflated sense of one's personal status or accomplishments. Pride is something that still runs through today's society. Some people have too much pride, some others don't have enough.

This image is quite close up and compared with the other images, in a set may look quite out of place. Also the 'R' in pride is sightly covered.

This image is slightly further away and I think shows the wording much clearer. The neck line is also quite defined which makes a good shape.

This final image is my favourite as the expression is the most elaborated in this picture. The eyes looking down as well really emphasis the mood that the face is trying to give off.

The next sin I looked at was Gluttony. Gluttony is the over-indulgence or the over consumption of food, drink or wealth items to the point of waste. The word gluttony is not used much in the 21st century. however the concept of it is still very prominent.

This first image seems to have a lot of energy however the writing is slightly obscured so perhaps takes away some of the effect of the image.

Again this image has a lot of energy as above however I don't think it looks real enough. It would not be possible to eat both those muffins at the same time so I think it makes the image slightly too elaborated.

This final image is my favourite. It looks like there is a tough decision on which muffin to eat and it looks much more genuine than the other images. Also the text is quite visible so is clear.

The final sin I am looking at is Envy. Envy is defined as a resentful emotion that occurs when a person lacks another achievement, quality or possessions. Envy nowadays is a strange subject as many people believe they are envious in a lot of things however its probably confused with jealousy. I wanted again to show this in a 21st century light.

This first image is very close up, to the extent that everything is defined really nicely. However I am unsure on whether I like the text on my head in this image, perhaps it would have been more effective without?

This image I think is a lot more mature and shows the extent of a possible alcohol addiction and so forth.

This image is much more further away so would sit in a sit well with the others, however I think its slightly to contrived as the hands look too placed.

What can I do with this?

I have come up with a few idea's.
My main focus is to show the 'seven deadly sins' in the light of the 21st century. I am unsure as of yet who will be my model as I need to decide what type of image I am looking for. Firstly I think I will try to do some self portraits of myself to see how the images work and if the style fits what I am looking for. A lot of my work this year has been on portraiture and different styles by different photographers so I will keep this theme running through this piece of work. I intend on having quite sinister images that hold themselves both by themselves and in the group.

Expansion on first thoughts and idea's

Inspiration was needed.

Leibovitz's Disney Images can be set as possibly a starting point for my images. Her images are of course happy on the outside, but looking properly into the images it is clear that there are potentially sinister undertones of her work. I am very curious as to looking into the 'seven deadly sins' I think this idea could have quite a lot of mileage as everyone knows they exist but what is the real story behind them? how can they be shown in the 21st century?



This is a painting of the seven deadly sins by Hieronymus Bosch completed in 1485. The painting is oil on panel woods.
Each sin defined:
Lust- excessive thoughts or desires of a sexual nature
Gluttony- the over indulgence and over consumption of anything to the point of waste
Greed- like lust and gluttony, because its excessive however its the excessive desire to pursuit wealth, status and power
Sloth - the failure to utilize ones talents or gifts - regarding laziness
Wrath- inordinate and uncontrollable feelings of hatred and anger
Envy- desire to deprive other men of theirs
Pride- considered the most serious sin- desire to be more more important or attractive than others, failure to acknowledge the good work or others, excessive love of ones self

I looked on different search engines for images of the seven deadly sins or portrayels of them, but I did not find much. This image was quite regulary about however I was looking for something perhaps slightly more sinsister.

The image has very rich colours and tones, however I think it is quite bland. The models are all in the same sort of pose and seem to nearly be doing the same thing.

Stop. An Idea.

Over the Christmas holidays I was thinking long and hard about how I can finish off my photography with a final piece for my coursework. I feel it would perhaps be a good idea to revert back to one of my early pieces. I really enjoyed doing the image with my dad and my sister and I think this style of picture was very prominent and seemed to hold a lot of emotion. I have come to the conclusion that, to fit into the style of the images I will need to go along the route of something a bit more dark, even gruesome. This will be a big change for me as a lot of my work is bright and cheery. I have thought of different topics that I can play with that would fit the bill. To do this I also looked into my English work as we are studying the Gothic and I could try and incorporate my knowledge into some work.

1. Horror
2. Terror
3. Darkness
4. Abuse- NSPCC, in the home, out of the home, from oneself
5. Worry- futures, present, past experience
6. Disguise
7. Desire
8. 7 deadly sins - wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, gluttony
9. Good vs Evil
10. Hatred