My Visual Logbook

The addition of Portraits? -Agnes Lloyd Platt

23:01

I have recently been considering how the addition of portraits to my still life would look. I really like the work of Agnes Lloyd Platt, and the combination of both still life and portrait together. I know I said I really wanted to stick to something different that I hadn't done before, which I still am as still life is still going to be a big part of my work.
I was happy with my still life images and was unsure on how to expand my ideas and further this project, and portraiture seemed like an obvious way to extend this project and create another aspect of my work.

The 22 year old freelance photographer has recently graduated from LCF with first class honours degree (goals) and shoots both fashion and still life, although mainly fashion. Her work which inspired me the most is from Ally Capellino’s, (who also happens to be Agnes's mum) SS15 campaign. Two images from which are featured below.

These images would be much different if they were not presented in a diptych format; the links between the two images give context and give meaning to what would be a rather ambiguous photograph.

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Aldo SS16

14:33

Whilst looking to develop my still life images for project 3 I was inspired by Aldo's SS16 campaign which uses both still life and portraiture together in a diptych format. I would want to incorporate my colour matching across both images however I think this idea really works and adds some context to the still life imagery. My favourite set is the one immediately below, as this does use some colour matching, with the models hair and the background to the matching image. This links the two images together even further. Definitely something which I want to experiment with.

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Landscape?

13:07

Last week it was pointed out to me that the brief for the D&AD New Blood specified that they preferred submitted images to be landscape rather than portrait, as they were going to be viewed on a landscape screen. At this point in time, 2/3 of my images were portrait. Whoops. I wanted to experiment with my images in landscape format, as I wanted all three of my images to be the same orientation as they will fit better together as a series.

Also I went back and re edited my image for 'rebirth' as the colour palette for this image was significantly warmer and more saturated than my other two images and I wanted the three to be of a similar colour palette so that they work together as a set.

I desaturated the oranges of his skin tone to achieve a flatter brown tone, decreased whites and highlights, and darkened the background.

Other adjustments to the images in post was the removal of all logos and branding within all images, whether it was on gloves, underwear or clothing. Shutter stock, the provider of the brief is a brand itself and it was specified that they didn't want any branding within the images.

After experimenting with Orientation, I do think my images work in landscape, and as it was desired by the client I am happy to submit my photographs landscape, despite previous reservations I had about too much empty space, I think the space around my subject does work, as my work is about personal reflection and the mentality of an athlete, having the space around the subject makes the images look more reflective and considered.

The Quest

Rebirth

Overcoming the Monster

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Still Life Shoot 1

12:37

Yesterday I shot my first set of still life images for our third brief. I had a good idea of what I planned to do which was helped by setting up compositions last week. This meant that I only had to perfect my lighting, which would remain consistent throughout, to have my set up sorted, meaning I had the opportunity to try lots of different subjects.

My lighting consisted of two soft boxes angled from above forming a light tent around my subject. At first I didn't have soft boxes on my lights and the lighting was too harsh, creating shadows. However once I had added soft boxes the lighting was a lot more flattering for my subjects and nice and soft, allowing for the aesthetic I wanted.

My images of sunglasses were my personal favourites. I really like the colour palettes used for both, the colour matching of the second image works well with the bold addition of the green from the plant, which brings more interest to both images. This made me realise how important it is to have something else in the shot to add interest, I preferred all images when there was something else in the frame.

I really like the simplicity of this shot, I tried other versions of this where I included the addition of sprinkles however I much prefer this shot which is purely focused on the doughnut and the colour matching between the background and the icing on the doughnut, which is what I set out to achieve.

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Narrative Shoot 6

23:34

Today I took images of my sister while she was getting dressed in the morning.

I took images on both my digital SLR and a disposable camera as I am interested to see how the two differ and if I can achieve an effect similar to that disposable camera brings to an image in post production. I used a very high ISO to create grain in my digital files, as this is a key future which film cameras possess.

This image is my favourite from the series from this morning. I really like the composition, including the door frame and wall. It doesn't feel voyeuristic as its clear I am in full view of the subject if she were to turn around, and I am taking the photograph openly. I prefer the lighting of this image to the previous, which is too grainy for my aesthetic, but I like the composition, so I look forward to seeing the developed film image of that as it will have different lighting but same composition.

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Tony Ray Jones

14:15

Tony Ray Jones was born in England, but moved to America when he achieved a scholarship at Yale University School of Art, to study photography. When he returned to England to continue his photography around 1965 he was shocked by the difference between the two cultures in regards to photography, in particular England's lack of interest towards commercial photography.
In the October 1968 issue of Creative Camera magazine, he described what he was trying to achieve:

"My aim is to communicate something of the spirit and the mentality of the English, their habits and their way of life, the ironies that exist in the way they do things, partly through their traditions and partly through the nature of their environment and their mentality. For me there is something very special about the English 'way of life' and I wish to record it from my particular point of view before it becomes Americanised and disappears."

His photographs are documentary style similar to that of Martin Parr and Tom Woods;
Critic Sean O'Hagan, writing in The Guardian, said "Ray-Jones was in many ways a social anthropologist with a camera, but it is his eye for detail and often brilliantly complex compositions that sets him apart. His images often appear cluttered ... On closer inspection, though, what we are glimpsing is several small narratives contained in the bigger defining one."
I agree with this opinion, and like Nick Waplington, am not too fond of the anthropological approach to photography, and want to engage more with my subjects.

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Prep for my first Still Life shoot

15:20

In preparation for my first still life shoot on Monday, today I went out and purchased lots of different coloured card which I can use as backgrounds and incorporate in my still life compositions. I think its important to know exactly what I plan to do when I have my studio time so that I do not waste any time whilst in the studio trying compositions and colour combinations which wouldn't work well aesthetically.
I then gathered the props which I planned to shoot and arranged them in ways which were simple and made use of colour and composition to create an aesthetically pleasing image.
From my experiments I realised I needed to source more subjects for images and made a list of things to find/purchase over the weekend.
Through out this process I was constantly referring back to mood boards I had created for inspiration and the images I had submitted for my project proposal last week to try and achieve a similar look.
I took photos of compositions I liked on my phone so I can refer back to these when preparing for the shoot Monday so I remember to bring all the props and accessories I require and also when in the studio so I have a reminder of successful ideas which I can shoot with ease. I plan to shoot as many different props as I can at this stage to see what I prefer and what works well, and to keep the lighting very similar in all my images so that they all are consistent and have a common factor.

These are the images I took on my phone so I will have an idea of composition, what props to use, and colour combinations which work nicely.

Before shooting the image below I drew out a rough idea of how I wanted it to look. This process from idea, to test, and then to shoot is good practice of developing and improving ideas even before I shoot in the studio for the first time.

After experimenting with Smarties and Marshmellows, I like the idea of colour matching an iced doughnut with my background. I drew this rough idea and plan to have a pink iced doughnut on a pink background.