Final image layout

I went into the studio on Thursday to shoot some more images towards my studio module. Here I have got some images that I liked. This is what I am aiming for my final images to look like. I want to present them like Richard Avedon's images I researched a few weeks previous. I really like the contrast between the two images. In the first one I asked my subject to pull a neutral face, and in the second image I took pictures continuously whilst talking to them and making them laugh. I really like the idea behind this because to me a portrait image is where you can look at the subject and get an idea of who the subject is. 

I edited these images very quickly in lightroom so they aren't exactly the same as each other. When it comes to editing my final images I will edit them in capture one, the same program the images were taken on and try and get them to look as similar to each other as possible. Also in these images, because the subject was wearing glasses, I have the reflection of the light I was using in the corner which I would like to avoid if the subject in my final images also wears glasses. 

I like the look of the thick black boarder, another trait of Avedon's images that I find appealing. I'm happy with the layout of my images however I just need to get the editing right in post-production in my final images.

Yana Zastolskaya

Yana Zastolskaya is a portrait and fashion photographer. I found their images on this website talking about photographers who were putting a fresh spin on portraiture. I think photographing someone from a side profile is really interesting idea as it gives you a different perspective of the person. 

As I am planning on doing two images next to each other I think it would be an interesting contrast between having the person face on in the image and a side profile of them. 

I also really like the way this image is in black and white because the contrast of the hair and dark makeup draws your eyes into the image. I will be doing my images in colour but i still want strong makeup which is why I'm choosing a white background.

Richard Avedon

Richard Avedon's images are something I look to for inspiration for my own portraits on the studio as he is photographing his subjects simply and plainly which is what I think looks best for studio portraiture. He describes his work on portraits by stating that he "was fascinated by photography's capacity for suggesting the personality and evoking the life of his subjects." and that he "registered poses, attitudes, hairstyles, clothing, and accessories as vital, revelatory elements of an image." which is what I think a portrait image is all about. Its about trying to get the viewer to understand the subject when they haven't even met the person. He was also quoted saying "My photographs don't go below the surface. I have great faith in surfaces. A good one is full of clues." relating again to how if you take a good portrait of someone, it gives you clues as to who they are as a person. 

As I was looking through Avedon's website I four the image above which really stood out to me. I really like the layout of thins image as it is showing two images of the same person however his expression and stance are slightly different. I think this is a really interesting way to present portraits of the same person as you can make comparisons between the two and I think it can possibly make the viewer think of the subject in a different way. 

Christian Witkin

Christian Witkin's editorial work is something I take inspiration from because his views on photography are similar to mine. On his website he writes that he 'strips things down of all artifice until what is before you is the pure essence of the subject.' You can clearly see this in his images. 

The images above are some that I think really stand out on his "Editorial" section on his website because they embody everything he has said in his "About" page. Here the images are simple and show the subject for exactly who they are. He may have directed them in what to do or how to pose for the image but everything else is them and that transfers through the image to the viewer. 

These are some more images from the "Editorial" section on his website that I think also stand out as portrait images. The images above are what I'm taking my inspiration from for my studio module. I plan to take pictures of people quite close to their face with a white background, however my images won't be in black and white. 

Competitions and Awards

In professional studies we looked at what qualities should be included in a good competition or award.
- Are there any exposure opportunities after the competitions over? (exhibitions or printed publications)
- See if your work will be exhibited online during and after the competition.
- A small entry fee means that the competition is serious and could possibly make you have a higher chance of winning as people won't just enter because they have nothing else to do.
- You should keep the full rights to your image and you should always be credited for your work.
- Receiving feedback from the judges.

We also looked at what will help you whilst entering the competition.
- Look for a student category in the competition.
- Think about if the theme is able to be done by the deadline, look through old images and see if they fit into any competitions.
- Make sure you fit into the rules and guidelines.
- Look at the work of previous winners so you know the standard of work expected and what images to avoid.

First studio session

Today we had our first session in the studio where we looked at different ways to light the subject and the background. Above is an image of Helen and we used 2 lights, on on either side of Helen with barn doors focused on the subject. To make the background dark, we used polystyrene board painted black and didn't put any light on them at all. I really like the look of a typical portrait but I think it would be good to put it in contrast with another image of the person just being themselves. The image below was an experimental shot of Helen where she was just messing around. I think changing shutter speeds is a good way of creating really interesting images, I think if I was to redo the image below I'll either make it faster to get a sharper image or slow it down so that the hair is blurred even more to create motion in the image. 

Next time I am in the studio I think I will use a white background and soft boxes to create a different type of light and see which I prefer and which I will use for my final images. 

'Faking It' documentary

A few weeks ago in Professional studies we watched a documentary called 'Faking It' where they tried to teach a radiographer to be a fashion photographer. Whilst watching this I picked up some things that I think are traits you have to learn to be a fashion photographer. 

As he is working, his mentor is telling him how to conduct himself, he has to be confident in what he is doing so that he can life morale in his team around him, ad have a lot of charisma as some fashion shoots can be very long and sometimes in bad weather so he has to be upbeat to try and keep his team in the same frame of mind. He also had to learn to work in a team because as a radiographer there was just him and his patient. As a fashion photographer he had to learn how to work with various people such as stylists, makeup artists, hairstylists, assistant, and models. And he often had to build relationships with these people in a very short period of time as most likely he will have just met them on the day of his shoot.

After we had watched the documentary we talked about how you could get into such a competitive industry and what makes the industry. Like additional people to the team, if its a commissioned shoot you could also have an editor and art director there to help direct the shoot. We also spoke about who commissions the shoots and how they pay and how much they get paid. It is usually art directors and editors for magazines, the creators of the clothes, or promotional teams for high street shops. And most of the time they will either look through agencies to find the photographer they like or if they want a certain style they will find someone who's work represents that. The salary for fashion photographers can usually be quite high as it will have to cover all other expenditures such as the teams salary, equipment, travel to/from the location, and even other things such as retouchers. 

The most common route into the profession is becoming an assistant first. Other routes include joining an agency, or multiple agencies to get a wider spread audience, or work freelance and try and promo yourself as much as possible.

Types of photography

In last week's lesson we researched into a few of the different areas of photography. My Group got given architectural photography. That was a good one to look into for me because I thought it was just photographs of buildings, however when we started researching it we found out it can be pretty much any type of man made building such as bridges, towers, etc. There wasn't particularly much specialist equipment you needed for this type of photography,  for exterior shoots, you should use a wide angled lens, and try to pick out the interesting details in the buildings, something that gives it character. A wide angle lens can be used for interior shots too. Architectural photography can be used for a few different reasons, it can be used for things as simple as just capturing the building for advertising purposes, such as hotel leaflets and websites. Or you could use this type of photography for showing an artists sculptures, or even to recreate a building that has been knocked down and needs to be rebuilt.

Social photography is classed as things such as weddings, family/pet portraits, and night club photographers. These types of photographers normally have to have a quick turn around form the images being taken and the clients receiving them, so they usually have an online portfolio where you can preview the images. around 50% of photographers work in social photography. There are also more female photographers in this area of work. They are also more likely to use a company name rather than their own name as their copywrite/ trademark.

Photojournalism photography is usually made up of spontaneous images. It is a way of portraying news through a visual form. photojournalists usually work for a newspaper or magazine not freelance. Usually the photographer  has to write a column with the image to explain its context. It is an interpretation of fact as the images can be biased very easily. Citizen journalists and bloggers are taking an amateur approach to photojournalism as it is the same type of work, only they aren't getting credited or paid for the work they do.

Editorial photography is an image or set of images that illustrate a story in a newspaper or most commonly magazines. Editorial has a huge overlap with fashion photography. It tells a story to the viewer without having to use words. It also has more of an option for creativity to be incorporated into the images. If you are an Editorial photographer you have a high chance of being commissioned for work.

Corporate photography is an area that can cover so many areas of photography. It is mainly used in magazines, adverts, products, and press. A common use is Corporate portraits, PR images, and advertisements. It can be used in any business at all and portrays the subject in a positive way.

Advertising photography is about the lifestyle that is portrays to the viewer. Sometimes it needs words alongside it as the item it is selling isn't always clear. Advertisement sometimes overlaps with editorial photography when used in magazines. The photographer usually works in a team when shooting for advertisements. 

Ying Tang

I really liked the idea of shadows in Ying Tang's 'under the sun' collection. Its something I wanted to incorporate into my work as I think the contrast of a bright light and the dark shadows on black and white film works really well. 

I have tried to shoot some images that have a similar look using shadows and I think they have come out really well and could be part of my final prints. 

There is also the idea in her images that there isn't one single thing to focus on. The images are fairly busy so theres a lot to look at which I quite like as you can notice one thing the first time you look at it and something else the second time you look at it. Or something that stands out to you, might not be the point of focus to someone else which I think is a really interesting concept to try and put into my images. 

Juan Buhler

Juan Buhler's style of street photography is something that attracts me because the subject of the photo is not centred in many of his photographs which I think is an interesting composition and is something I would like to take into consideration when doing my work. 

Again I think his work is a perfect example of the street photography genre. It is simple yet draws your eye to something that you possibly wouldn't notice in your everyday life. It makes you see the everyday as something interesting. 

He started to pursue a career in computer graphics and special effects and then in the meantime he worked on street photography. I think this really helped his work as it could give him a different perspective of what 'real life' looks like as he works with animation most of the time.

Markus Hartel

Markus Hartel is a street photographer based in New York. The image above really stood out to me because it has a similarity to my work in the way that there is a lot of open space in the images like in some of mine. Another thing I like about Hartel's work is that he has high contrast in his work which I think works really well and would like to include in some of my images. 

On his website he talks about what his impression of street photography is. He says that it is 'candid pictures of things that you don't notice in your daily grind.' which is what I love about street photography. Its things you don't notice on an everyday basis composed in a simple way that everyone can see, the photographs are just pointing it out to people. 

The attention to detail in Hartel's work is what interests me. Every aspect of his images adds to the photograph. This is another thing I want to try and add into my images. 

Matt Stuart

Matt Stuart describes his interest in street photography by saying 'a fascination with people and the way they live their lives' is why he got into street photography. 

He uses both colour and black and white for his work however I prefer his black and white work. In the image above there is a lot of empty space in the middle of the images which is an interesting idea as it makes you think about what is happening outside of the frame. I really like the idea of having so much open space in images so I will try to photograph and print some similar images as the one above.

The image below doesn't have any open space however it still makes you think about what is happening outside of the frame which again is something I want to try and recreate in my photographs.

'What do artists do all day?' - Tom Wood

Tom Wood's style of photography is mainly street and documentary. He is based mainly in Liverpool and Merseyside. He has returned to Mayo, Ireland where he grew up though out his life

His earlier black and white street photography appeals to me however I have never really liked colour street photography, I feel colour doesn't work for this style of photography. 

He built up a reputation in the area with the locals and the children who used to refer to him as 'photie man'. He explains in this documentary that having a relationship with his subjects or a link to them in some way helped him photography them. I agree with that in some way, as he can tell their story through his photographs and get the subjects image across to the viewer, however being detached from the subject can also be a good thing as you can use the subject to convey any message that you would like regardless of what the subject in the photograph is like. 

A few things he said during the documentary stuck in my mind. One of them was 'the older I got, the more pictures I took, the easier it got' and I think that is a really important statement to make about street photography. Some people don't feel comfortable photographing strangers and just going out with their cameras as they're afraid of what people might say to them or if they'll get strange looks. and as he says, it gets easier the more you do it as it just becomes the norm for you to go out with your camera and you don't notice people looking at you as much. 

Another thing that stood out to me was that he said he 'didn't want to be anybody' which I think is a really interesting comment. He started doing photography because he had a passion for it and because he wanted to create images for himself, no other reason.  Another thing that sort of backs this point up is that he explains how he never completed a project, he'd work on something until he wanted to work on something else, which again shows it is more of a hobby to him, something he enjoys doing rather than doing it to try and make money and make his name heard.

Baltic Museum: Daniel Buren

Catch as catch can: works in situ

Daniel Buren's work was displayed over two levels, the image above was from one of his exhibitions.

This exhibition was one I really enjoyed looking at. I revisited this exhibition about 5 times in one day. I thought it was really interesting how they used the coloured glass panels on the building roof as part of their work. The reason I revisited it so many times was because throughout the day as the sun was moving the coloured lights were moving across the room too and I wanted to see how it looked when the lights reflected off the different mirrors as shown in the image below when I returned later on in the day.

On the level below he also had another exhibition from his Electric Light series from 2011. I enjoyed this work too but not as much as the one on the level above. This exhibition included fibre optic fabrics with different colours and shapes hanging from the walls. The piece below was made up of 5 small squares in different colours following the same form.

The piece below was another of his work from the Electric light series. This was one of my favourite from this series as it didn't follow the same layout as the others. All the other displays were in squares  where as this one was a series of rectangles. I also loved how symmetrical this piece was.

Aaron Guy

Aaron Guy is a photographer who is associated with the North East Photography Network, and works at the North of England Institute of Mining. When we got told that he was giving a talk about his work I decided to look into what he has been working on. I'll be honest, when I first looked at his work I didn't really understand or relate to it in the slightest. I thought the images were nothing spectacular, and I didn't think I would like the talk I was going to attend and it could quite possibly be a day wasted. Once we got to the hall we would be having the talk in we took our seats and I got out my notebook to write anything down if I found it interesting or like it would be helpful to my work. 

As I said earlier I didn't really find his work interesting or anything special, however when he started talking about his work I understood why he was taking the images he did in the way he did. The project we looked at of his was one called 'Working, Void' and all his work started to make sense to me and I actually really enjoyed him talking about his thought process throughout the project.

The work he was showing us was about where he grew up and how mining was a large part of his upbringing as his father worked there and once he grew up his friends from school started to work there. He spent around 4 years working on this project so he got to know the people he worked with which I thought was an important part of his project because he included some portrait shots and I think when taking portraits that are trying to show who the person is it's a good idea to know the person yourself. 

The way he chose to print his final project is what stayed with me the most. He chose to print his images on newspaper. He said how it fits with this project, as he is taking images of workers, the stereotypical associations are newspapers, dirt, and mess. I thought this was a really interesting way of presenting his work as it brings it all together rather than just displaying them in a book. 

'The Ethics of Street Photography' response

I feel like this article is something I neither agree with or disagree with. I understand what the writer is trying to say how some people wish not to be photographed however I feel like that is the whole point of street photography. I feel like street photography should provoke a bit of a response from people, whether its people looking at the image or the people in the image. 

I know there is an issue of asking permission and consent from the people in the fame but that would just mean you don't catch the scene as its happening and once people are aware of you having a camera and that they are going to be in a photo they tend to act differently, whether they smile, try to get more into the centre, or even something as simple as their posture. It will change the outcome of the photo you originally saw. 

For me street photography is about coincidence, being in the right place at the right time and seeing things in a way only a photographer would be able to see. Finding interesting things in your everyday life, and if you have to ask every persons permission, you lose that.

I feel like in street photography there should be a certain level of ethics, if I was out taking photographs and someone thought it was a problem and asked me to delete the photograph, I'd try to explain to them my project and why I thought the photograph was so important to take. Just be polite and try and explain it from your point of view and I think they would probably not care if they were in your image.

Polly Morgan - 'What do artists do all day?'

I found Polly Morgan's work very interesting as it is something I have never looked into before. I never thought I would find taxidermy something that would interest me and something I would like to spend time looking at. However I found her work to be really  insightful and its a new thing to look at as inspiration to potential future projects.

She explained how she portrays her current or past states of emotion through her work which I think all artists do in some way, whether it's through the objects they use, colour scheme, or lighting. 

In the documentary she spoke about how she likes balance and juxtaposition in her work. She uses death to symbolise life which I think is a really interesting concept, and she doesn't put taxidermy in the same context as it is used to being seen, she takes the animal out of the environment its used to being seen in and puts it into a place or object that relates to the animal but in a very unconventional way. 

I think she is very professional in the way she works as she connects to people through her work, she gets animals found sent to her by people who support her work which is involving the audience. And she works with a photographer so she can reach an audience that she might not have reached otherwise. Another way of her being seen as professional is that she doesn't seem to be affected by using dead animals as a part of her work, she said in the documentary that she just saw them as just another material to use.