Unit 12- Specialist study | Unit 13- extended project
Whilst researching for my final major project, I have decided to choose to do portraits that are shot on location but also shot in the studio, whilst looking online for portrait photographers that I could use as a source of inspiration for the future shoots, I would like to use coloured gels to give my images a different colour flash rather than plain white, by using coloured gels it will give my photographs a different feel, I think this will make my images different rather than just simple portraits with a plain white flash being used, I wanted to change because simple portraits have been done millions of times so I think by changing the lighting it will give me a sense of "freedom" with my project, which will allow me to project and further my ideas when planning and photographing my photoshoots.
Artist research
Whilst researching for artists I found Alex Currie, Paul Wilkinson, Lindsay Adler and Cat Lane these artists fit in with what I want to for the project as Alex Currie shoots on location and Paul Wilkinson does his shoots in the studio which also fits in as I want to do location and Studio portrait shoots.
Alex Currie
Alex Currie was born in 1997 and is a film maker and photographer from Los Angeles. He grew up in Upstate New York and also in Southern California, as a teenager he started taking technicolor photographs of his friends and he also photographed the outer world, this work has been exhibited internationally as well as in New York and Los Angeles. He has had many clients, many are either big companies or a part of management, which are "Atlantic Records, Warner Bros, Virgin Records, HBO (Home Box Office), Capitol Records, Red light management, Biz 3 Management, AIDS healthcare and Sony Music" along with photographing big companies or people who work in management Alex Currie "will receive his his BFA in Film and Television" in 2019.
He has been apart of many group exhibitions:
"Rome, Italy- Millepiani- Environment Documenty- 2019 which is currently upcoming."
"Rome, Italy- Millepiani- 2019- Bodies in movement which is also currently upcoming."
"Buffalo, New York- Burchfield Penney-2018- Counting the hours."
"Los Angeles, California- Art Share LA-2018- Gratefulness"
"Washington, DC- US- Capitol Building-2015-Congressional H.S. Art Show"
"Buffalo, New York- 464 Gallery-2015- Neverland- solo. "
"New York, New York- Milk Studios-2014- Flickr 20 under 20"
Alex Currie has also been in the press numerous times:
"2019- Vogue Italia/Vogue Talents "Blue Slide" print issue"
"2018- Fubiz "Alex Currie's raw and astounding universe"
"2018- Format "8 emerging photographers you should know"
"2015 complex.com "20 best artists under 20 right now"
"2015- wired.de "interview with eighteen-year-old Alex Currie"
"2015-Wild Magazine "dreaming of a better world"
"2014- Flickr/Yahoo "flickr under 20"
All information and quoted annotations were found at https://www.alexcurrie.pictures/about
Paul Wilkinson
Paul Wilkinson is one of the "most in demand photographers in the UK" as well as being the most in demand photographer across the globe, whilst he is very successful in his photography he is also co-author of Master Portrait Photography.
I have looked upon various website pages for information about the artist himself but the only information I found was the information that is bullet pointed above, Paul Wilkinson is also a photography business that is highly recommended and is one of the most popular portrait photography business's
Any information about Paul Wilkinson can be found at https://masteringportraitphotography.com/about/
Lindsay Adler
Lindsay Adler was born September 17th 1985, she is a fashion and portrait photographer from Manhattan, New York, she has appeared in Fault, Bullett Magazine and Zink Magazine with her editorials, these are not the only magazines she has appeared in, she also "contributed to photo publications Professional Photographer, Rangefinder Magazine and Popular Photography", she has also published two books the first book was published in May 2010 which is called "A Linked Photographers' Guide to Online Marketing and Social Media" she then published her second book called 'Fashion Flair for Portrait and Wedding Photography" which was "named one of Amazon.com's Best Books of 2011 in Arts & Photography", after publishing her book she turned her focus to delivering speeches and teaching within the "photographic community", in 2015 she had a schedule of delivering a speech in 33 different cities which was called her "educational tour, Body Beautiful". Lindsay Adler has also "been a contributor on CreativeLIVE and Kelby Training", as well as co-hosting "The Framed Network's series" called "The Concept" which is a series that can be viewed on Youtube, that involves Brooke Shaden who is a fine art photographer.
The colourful photograph was taken when Lindsay was filming a series called "Learn with Lindsay Adler- How I got the shot"
All information and quotations can be found on: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindsay_Adler
Cat Lane
Cat Lane is a UK photographer based in London/Bedford who specialises in portrait photography and uses natural lighting which creates a relaxed image, she also photographs weddings and brings along a second experienced photographer.
Information about Cat Lane was found at https://www.catlaneweddings.com/about
Unit 13- Extended Project
For this project I plan to do a series of portrait images that are shot on location, by doing this I can use natural light however if I do a photoshoot in the late evening when it is dark, I will use a speed light to light my images and also be my main source of lighting, if I put colored gels over the speed light I can give my images a different color lighting which will follow the work of Lindsay Adler when she shot her colorful images when she was filming her series called "Learn with Lindsay Adler- How I got the shot", I also plan to edit some images into black and white which will give them a dynamic and diverse look to the rest of my images, with every shoot I do I will look for ways to improve my images and future photoshoots, when given feedback by tutors or peers I will know from another perspective how I can improve and by analyzing my own images in depth I will personally know where I can improve weather that’s taking an extra speed light or getting my model to do certain poses, I will be looking at the work of multiple artists such as Lindsay Adler, Paul Wilkinson, Cat Lane and Alex Currie, all these artists specialize in portraiture, however some artists shoot in the studio where as others do shoots on location.
Over the 12 weeks of the project, I plan to get my research done thoroughly and spend time planning shoots, going out to do that shoot then when I return to college I will spend some time editing and putting some of the images from the shoot into my blog to analyze them in depth, that way I will be self-assessing my work so I know where I can improve which can also further my ideas.
Context
I have chosen to do portraits, however I will be using coloured gels over the speed-lights to light my images, this will be partly inspired by Lindsay Adler and her series called "How I got the shot- colour pop", when Lindsay Adler did this her model had strong vibrant colours on her face which makes the colors look like they were physically applied to her face as well as the coloured gel being used over the speed light. Whilst photographing this series I plan to do at least three photoshoots, each photoshoot will vary from one another, as different models will be used and different locations will be used.
Planning and production
I plan to take a series of portraits that are lit by coloured gels, the photographs of the models will be taken in woodland area as the coloured lighting will bounce onto the trees and make the trees appear to be the colours used on the speed lights, the model will appear the same colour. When I edit my photographs on Photoshop I will be experimental with edits as I want to edit an image so the model is in black and white and the trees are in colour, I then want to do it vice-versa so the trees are in black and white and my model is in colour this will make my model stand out, this will draw the viewers attention to my model.
Whilst planning my photoshoots I have had tutor help and I was shown an artist named Dylan Patrick who specialises in cinematic portraiture, he uses a shallow depth of field as well as two speed lights and a reflector.
Whilst looking at the work of Dylan Patrick, I took inspiration and made an attempt to re-create his work, the F stop was 2.8 and I only used one speed light a long with a reflector.
Before starting the photoshoot, I photographed what would be the background out of focus so i will know what the background will look like before I have my model pose in the foreground, the first image is a tree beside a fence, the second image is a simple black car.
The first image shows my model stood in front of the tree and fence, the sunlight was behind my model so with the use of a reflector we bounced the light back into my models face, we also used a speed light attached to the back of a soft box which would be used to get the light into my models eyes so the eyes look "alive" rather than dull and "dead", even though I used a reflector and speed light the image came out slightly under exposed.
The second image shows my model in the foreground and a blurred car in the background, in this image my model was posed in sunlight so the reflector could easily bounce light back into my models face, whilst using a reflector I couldn't get the angle so the reflector would bounce light under the eyes of my model so his eyes appear to be dark and "dead", however the image is exposed well rather than under exposed like the first image, the speed light for this image was above my model so when the photo was taken it would expose light down upon my model which gave the image butterfly lighting, you can see this by the shadow under his nose.
This selection of images were a short experiment for cinematic portraits and show the background being thrown out of focus by a 200 MM lens, and the golden reflector bounced the sunlight back into my models face and under the eyes which make my model look "healthy and alive", the speed light for these images was either above or to the left of my model, which worked as a "fill in flash", one problem with doing this style of photograph was it was difficult for my model to see due to the brightness of the sunlight bouncing off the reflector. However I personally like this style of photograph and would do it again with a different model.
Photoshoot one
For my series of portraits I used coloured gels over the speed lights, in my first photoshoot I used red and blue gels, some images appear over exposed however upon closer viewing they are well exposed, they look like this because my model is pale so the blue lighting appears over exposed.
This photoshoot was successful as the gels were strong enough to show up on camera, I had no issues with the speed lights, when I do my next photoshoot I plan to take a couple of head shots of my next models rather than just full body shots.
Whilst looking at my images I am happy with the outcome, as this is how I pictured the outcome in my mind so I am pleased that the photoshoot was successful. These images are the images I have chosen that are "better" than the rest of the images I took, I think the red gel worked the best but it also works well with the mixture of the blue gel. For the first image I only used a red gel that was in front of my model but from a distance so it wasn't over exposing my image but it was also close enough to light my model and be seen with ease on my image. The second image was lit using the red and blue gel however both speed lights were a distance from my model so the speed lights didn't fully expose my image enough to be fully seen with ease however the lighting did reach my models face and hands, if I was to do that shot again I would either add more power to the speed lights or move them slightly closer but not too close as it will over expose my image. The third image was lit only using the red gel as the speed light with the blue gel wasn't within "line of sight" so the speed light did not fire, however I am still happy with the outcome of this image as the red gel isn't too bright or too dark, my model is posed and looks "moody" which correlates with what is associated with the colour red as when many people imagine what emotions go with red the most common answer is "moody, anger", so my models facial expression represents that. The forth image was mainly lit with the blue gel, I had someone who was with me hold the speed light up in the air facing my model and they stood beside a tree so they were out of shot, I told my model to pose however she felt like posing for this one but also to face the light as I wanted to get a shot were the blue was lighting the front and the red gel lighting the back however the red gel was too far from my model to light her the back of her fully, however I am happy with the outcome of the image as the blue gel worked well and wasn't "too much" colour. The fifth image is a personal favourite as both speed lights that have the red and blue gels on fired and were both the right distance away so they exposed my image to the way I wanted them too, I directed my model to pose like that as I wanted a low dynamic pose so my red gel speed light would catch the back of my model but also just catch the corner of her face and I wanted the blue to light the majority of my model and I wanted the colours to partially mix on the corner of her face I wanted to do this to make a subtle difference to my image. The sixth image is just a simple shot of my model posing and smiling back at the camera, I wanted her to do this as I didn't want all my images to be of my model looking "moody" as I didn't want a moody atmosphere in all of my images, I also like how the colours mix on my models face, I think that my image looks better when two colours mix on my models face rather than just the one colour that "takes over" my image. The seventh image was shot with only the red gel as the speed light which had the blue gel on didn't fire as the speed light wasn't within the "line of sight", I directed my model to pose like this as I wanted do re-do image five by bringing the speed lights closer, however the blue light didn't fire, the red gel makes my models face look dark and makes the image appear under exposed as the blue gel light did not fire but the blue would have given my image a bit more light as it would have been a calm, subtle colour however I am still happy with the outcome of this image.
Photoshoot one edited.
I chose my personal favorite images to edit, I edited these photographs in photoshop and lowered the saturation to -67 which made my images have a different look what I mean by this is, my images look "older" as the lowing of the saturation make my images look like they were taken a decade ago, I decided to edit my photographs this way as I liked the way that they look when edited this way. I was personally drawn to the first image as I like how the ground is dark and my model is in dark clothing and her green suede jacket in this edit appears dark, however in this image only her face has the most colour due to the red speed light exposing her face and body which makes her stand out in the frame. The second image shows my model in a low stance similar to the first however the lowering of the saturation makes my image look different to the first as her face is a different shade to the rest of the images as on the original save of this image her face was exposed using the red gel light which was bright and pigmented, I think this style of editing still works with this image. On the third image you can still see the colouring from the original image and I decided to have some of the colour still showing through as if I took the saturation down further it makes my models face look "plastic" and "oily" and I personally thought it ruined the outcome of the image so I decided to keep some colour in my models face which also makes this image slightly different from the rest of the images as the other images have little to no original colour due to the lowering of the saturation. The forth image is similar to image one and two but it is different by the adjusting of the posture that my model was doing and in this image you can still slightly see the red lighting that was used on the left of the frame, I decided to lower the saturation as low as I did as I had no problems with the lighting on my models face so I could lower it as low as I did which also gave my image an "old" feel.
Photoshoot two.
Whilst photographing this photoshoot, I had left my speed light gels in a different location so I had to use the orange filter that comes with the speed light which gave my images a warm orange glow, the positive side of using the orange filter was the lighting was evenly spread so all the image has the warm glow rather than a small section of the frame having good lighting.
At first I was photographing full body shots, I then did a half body shot to bring the focus of the image to my models face, I did this so my photoshoot isn't restricted to just full body shots.
In the first image you can see my model is simply sat on a tree log, smiling back at the camera, I decided to take this shot as a full body shot because I wanted the surroundings to be shown in the image because without the surroundings the background would have been plain black.
The second image I directed my model to tilt her head and look the other way whilst smiling because I didn't want all my images to look the same when it comes to posture so by changing her posture slightly, gives my set of images a subtle change, I decided to get closer in with this image to draw more attention to my model in the frame.
The third image shows my model sat on the same log however I decided to move further back so my shot would be a full body shot and the surroundings in the background can be seen easily as the speed light was on the left side of the frame and lit up the tree next to my model, I directed my model to pose looking the other way with a blank expression to make a subtle difference to the rest of the images that were taken in this series of photographs. In image 4 I decided to do a close up shot with my model looking directly into the camera with a blank/focused expression, I wanted to do a close up shot of my model to make a slight difference to the rest of my images so then my series isn't full of the same repetitive photographs. Image five shows my model posed low down in a patch of tree roots, I directed my model to pose like this as I wanted to change how my images looked when it comes to posture and I decided to increase the power that the speed light gives out so then the trees in the background visible as I thought the dynamic shaping of the trees looked interesting and I wanted to capture that in a photograph with my model.
Final photoshoot.
For my final photoshoot I mainly used a red gel over my speed light as that was one of the more pigmented colour I had with me, I simply got my model to sit on tree roots which are visible in the frame, I took the first photograph as a full body shot to test, how the red lighting would appear on camera so I'd know weather to up the power that the speed light would be giving out and also to see how the sky in the background would appear as I was taking these photographs at "twilight hour" so the sky would be light enough to be seen on but also not too light to be the spot light of the photograph so the sky was mainly used as a subtle background.
In the first image you can see my model sat down on tree roots, looking back at the camera with a neutral expression, I decided to take this shot as a full body shot as I wanted to show the natural build of the tree roots and how my model is sitting on them posing for a photograph, I think this image worked well however I feel the red gel light was too bright on my models face and I should have composed the image better by taking a step closer so my model is more composed in the frame. In the second image you can see my model smiling at the camera, I decided to do this image as a head and shoulder shot so it draws the viewers attention to my model and I composed the image as tight as I did so it would be more dynamic than some of the other photographs that were taken and so it would stand out in a series of photographs, the subtle red gel light seeping in from the side of the frame, I think this image worked well as the colour is subtle and seeps in on his coat and face, I think the use of the twilight hour lighting also worked well as it gave my photograph depth as the natural light can be seen in a fraction of the frame. In the third image I directed my model to climb a tree so I could take a shot where I am shooting upwards at my model to make a subtle change to my image type as before I was doing full body shots and head shots at head height so I decided to change the angle of the image so my series of images don't look like the same shot but repeated over and over again, I think this image worked well however there is no catch light in my models eyes so his eyes look dull and "lifeless", if I was to do this shot again I would place my second speed light within range to give my models eyes the catch light. In the forth image you can see my model in front of a tree, I think this image worked well as the red lighting wasn't harsh lighting on my models face and worked as a subtle lighting, I think that by shooting at twilight hour, gave my images depth as in the foreground of each shot is my model and the background is the natural twilight lighting which makes the foreground stand out as the foreground is red and the background is a dark blue so the background and foreground can easily be separated, if I was to take this shot again I'd change the location of the speed light so then there would be a noticeable catch light in my models eyes however upon further viewing of this photograph my model has a red eye due to the speed light flash.
Final photoshoot-edited
The first image is the original image, which I edited by lowering the temperature to 2000 and changed the tint to +4, which gave my image a "cold" blue colour, I did this because it makes my image more dynamic and the blue over lay gives my image a diverse look than the red gels did as these colours are the opposites to each other as the subtle red gels makes my image look "warm" and the pigmented blue over lay which was added in photoshop makes my image look "cold".
Practical skills
Whilst photographing the images for my final major project I will be using my practical skills to use a speed light as my main source of light as coloured gels will be used and the best way to get the coloured gels to show strongly is to have them directly over the speed light, that way as the speed light flashes it will flash through the gel which will then give my images the lighting colour of the gel that is over the speed light, my practical skills were furthered during this unit as I used two speed lights were as any other unit I have only used one and my practical skills were furthered more as I had to plan a photoshoot and decide where I want to place my speed lights and I had to decide what colours I wanted on each speed light which would give my images the lighting that I wanted for my images. I shot my images with an ISO of 640 which was frequently increased to 800 depending on the lighting conditions that I was in and a 1/60 of a second, I also used a 18-105 mm lens.
Problem solving
The only problem I encountered whilst photographing this series of images is that every so often only one speed light would flash as the other speed light wasn't in line of sight which meant I had to move the speed light but then my image was over exposed but to solve this problem I put the speed light within line of sight and in the camera settings I had to decrease the amount of power the speed light was giving out so then my images were correct with exposure as by doing this it meant I could have both speed lights in line of sight so they'd both flash at the same time but have the speed light giving the right amount of power so then my images do not become over exposed. When photographing my cinematic portraits the problems I faced were easily solved, for example the reflector was making it difficult for my model to see so I got my model to look away until I had the framing and composition I wanted then I got my model to face the camera so then I could take the shot, one other problem that was encountered but was easily solved was that I needed an extra person to hold the speed light that was attached to a soft box that was on a stand, I also needed help with the reflector as it had to be held in a certain position so it would bounce the light back into my models face at the right angle so it covered my models entire face including eyes as the reflector provided my image with a catch light in my models eyes.
Reflection:
When reflecting upon my work I will document it in my blog followed by any changes I made to my images and any editing done to my images will be screenshotted and put in my blog along with a short paragraph as to why I decided to edit my images the way I did, I will be reflecting upon my images and work throughout the project to guide myself as to what I should do next in order to improve my written work and also my future photoshoots, by reflecting on my work frequently I can guide myself and make sure I follow any ideas I have said I will do and by reflecting on my work I will be able to expand upon any ideas I have and I will include a short paragraph to explain what idea/ideas I envision. Whilst looking at the outcome of the first photoshoot I feel I could have done more with my model and the background as the trees where aligned into straight lines but I used a small clearing in the trees as there was more space to set up the speed lights and direct my model, so if I was to use that location again I would direct my model in a way that the background is used more than it was. After photographing my second photoshoot I am partly happy with the outcome as I used the background a little more than I did before hand as I had my model sitting and posing on a slanted tree trunk, I am not happy with the photographs as I had left my coloured gels in a different location and not noticed until I started setting up the speed lights so instead I used the filters that come in the speed light packaging, by doing this I didn't waste a photoshoot opportunity as this model is difficult to arrange dates with so I made the best with what I had. I have photographed my final photoshoot and I am happy with the outcome as I was directing my model to either climb a tree so I can aim my camera upwards toward him to change the angle for a few images to give my images a different look and approach rather than just aiming my camera at him at head height which would give a very generic photograph, out of the final photoshoot I have a few personal favourites for example the photograph of my model sitting on tree roots and has a tree trunk behind him, I like this image as my idea of wanting to include the background with my model worked, I wanted to include the background so then my series isn't just a series of very boring and generic photographs of a model in the woods. Over all I am happy with the outcome of this series.
Evaluation
Whilst looking back on my project, I think that the images worked well and I personally enjoyed photographing this series as using gel lighting was a fun experience, if I was to do this series again I would use different models, different coloured gels as well as different locations, I would use a smaller confined environment so the colours are seen more e.g on the walls and background as well as the model so it would become a photograph which contains more colour than just the average white colour, I would do it like that because it would be a step further than using open woodland where the coloured lighting appears dimmer than what it actually is due to how open the space is so the colours can be seen on my model clearly but the background has little to no coloured lighting, I would use more speed lights but with a decrease in power so my images are not over exposed, I would use various colours but at different angles and attempt to get three colours to mix on my models face, I think that the image would look good if it worked but if it didn't work then it would be an experience and I would know for future reference that it does or does not work, I personally feel that I could have done more with this series and could have got my model to wear a cap and I could have got a speed light above my model pointing down on the left side with a red gel and another in the same position on the right hand side with a blue gel and I would aim my camera at head hight to create a head shot with a triangle of shadow on their face along with a section of red on the left of their face and a section of blue on the right of their face, I would then do this shot again but further back and from a low angle to give a full body shot but the lighting would also be visible above my model and the viewer would see a "rain of light" as you would be able to see where the lighting was obstructed by my model. However I am still happy with this outcome of this project as it was a enjoyable experience and allowed me to further my portrait series rather than it just be a series of photographs with plain white lighting which has been done millions of times before so I think this allowed me to have my own "freedom" when being experimental with the coloured lighting, I personally had a good time with this experimental series as well as the cinematic portraits that started this Unit 13 blog, I personally had a good time taking those images however it had its own share of problems as the reflector that was used made it difficult for my model to see due to the light that it was bouncing back into my models face and eyes which was needed to capture the catch light in their eyes and also to bring more light and natural colour to my models face, when photographing that experimental series of images I needed help as I had a speed light attached to a soft box on a stand which I needed someone to hold as well as the reflector that was used, however if I had a helper I would do the cinematic portraits again as I personally like that style of portrait, overall this project was successful and I would do it again. At the start of my blog I wrote about using the studio to create a set of images by using coloured gels over the studio lights and using a simple white background however I did not go a head with this idea because I did not have time to book the studio due to a lack of time management during this project however if I had planned further and used the time given to use the studio then I would have more diverse images to showcase, although I didn't use the studio I am still happy with the outcome of the photoshoots that were done whilst out on location.
presentation
My images will be printed and presented at the end of year show.