Reflecting on my WorkTask 7

Abygail Jones

Visual Language?• Each one of my final photographs differs from

the other, although almost every image has one corresponding factor, which is that the central focus of each is the subject/model, apart from image 6 where the central focus is the beer can.

• The majority of my images are in black and white although three of them are in full, vivid colour to outline certain aspects such as the first image is supposed to come off as childish and silly, through enhancing the vivid colouring of the shirt, I think I have achieved this.

• The black and white photos have as much impact and reasoning as the full colour images do, through the use of levels and curves after turning the image black and white, I have managed to outline important features, expressions and put emotion and feeling in to some images, such as image 3 where I have used these techniques to show that the model/subject is in distress.

• There is some symbolic reasoning behind using certain props in my images for example: the makeup and bright shirt that I used in image 1 was to outline the childish aspect – not a lot of people wear this sort of clothing with pride and as a child, you don’t really care what you’re wearing and so equipping this was proving that point, the second image the model is wearing formal clothing this was because the image effect was supposed to be professional.

Visual Language• Leading lines is not a common composition

that I have used in my photographs – I have however effectively used it in image 5 – the line directs you to look from the back of the head of the model to the reflection of her – I think it’s the eyes that the viewers would follow, they may even start by looking at the reflection and then looking at the back of the models head.

• I have also used it in image 6 with the beer can, you look at that first as it’s the most sharply focused thing in the entire image, then the viewer takes in the background and realises that there is someone in the background looking at the can – it poses the question: “does the person want the beer?”, “are they an alcoholic?”, “Why are they looking at the beer can?”, “is there someone they know that is an alcoholic?”, “Are they worried?”, “What is their expression?”, “why are they stood the way they are?”, “What does the beer can represent?”, “What does the whole image represent?”, “what is the story?” and so on.

Audience?• Portraiture photography is pretty

popular with a majority of different age and social groups.

• Portraiture has been around a lot longer than any other kind of photography – portraits in general have been around for decades.

• The way I see it is that if I was to open up my own studio and I put my 8 final images up as examples of my work, I think it would appeal more to younger audiences from roughly around 12 – 30+ and the only way younger or older audiences would be interested would be because the supposed 12 – 30+ audience has influenced them to try – for family portraits, first pictures and so on.

• I think females would be more interested in getting portraiture photographs with either friends, family or by themselves – males could be equally as interested but I think it appeals to girls more.

Context?• Annie Leibovitz was a huge inspiration for

me during the research process – her images are unique, interesting and they always manage to capture a little bit of the person that she is photographing – when it comes to celebrities, she always makes sure to outline that certain something that tells us something about that celebrity that we didn’t know – whether that’s a serious actor in a ridiculous pose or through the use of props.

• Annie Leibovitz is a modern photographer although she has been in the field since 1971.

• I like the idea that each one of her images tells a story and I really wanted to incorporate that in to my own images – I think I have managed to do this – at least in some images such as 3 and 7 in particular.

• Another photographer that has influenced me greatly is Irving Penn, his images were known for being calm yet classy – I liked his style a lot – mostly the way he managed to make any model almost candid and natural even though the images were always high key and artificial.

• Although I enjoy his style, I pretty much did the exact opposite and attempted to make some of my images loud and shocking – such as image 7.

• I think if my work was going to be used for any kind of commercial practice it would be in magazine help pages or on billboards, web pages or advertisements for things such as: mental health, health in general and care – things like: self harm, depression (images 3, 5, 6 and 7).

Realization and Fitness for Purpose• Originally I set out to make my images half and

half images – for example: image 1 was supposed to have on one half an image of my model, Shania, happy bright and colorful and the other half was supposed to be the model in dark clothing with a sad expression – I found it hard to align the faces and features and so I gave up on that idea and moved on to another one.

• Using the same poses/makeup and clothing ideas – I took full portraits instead of just half and used a handful in the end to put through post production.

• If I was going to do this project again I would probably try harder to stick with my original ideas or maybe use a mixture of my old ideas and new – making a few images half and half and some full portraits. I think if I could go back and change some things I’d try to make less black and white images and try to use colour a lot more because the majority of my images were black and white.

• The purpose of my images was to tell the viewer a story with one picture just like Annie Leibovitz’ – I think I have achieved that with some images such as: 3,5 and 6 although one or two are just of the model smiling – they don’t really tell a story.

• I think my images have fulfilled my purpose – even though some of them are just of the model smiling – it could pose the question: why is she smiling? I think my final photographs are good and I think some of them could end up in galleries and could potentially shock people because of how brutally honest some are such as images 7 and 3 which have a very serious undertone.

Technical Qualities• All of my images are in focus – the images

that were not so much in focus as the others that went through post production was not picked for my final 8. I’ve used Aperture to make the background of some images less in focus than the actual model/subject whose clothes and features are sharply in focus.

• The images are lit adequately, I do like how the lighting is natural and ambient and the only artificial lighting was used for image 7 – but some of the images could have been lit a little better – a lot of images had potential but had to be scrapped because they were not correctly lit.

• Most of my images had the right exposure, only a few didn’t and they did not make it in to the final 8, nor did they make it in to the post production process.

This is one of the potential images that didn’t make it because the subject’s hands are blurred and she’s slightly out of focus.

Here is another example of a potential image that didn’t make it because of the lighting.

Aesthetic Qualities?• I think the majority or my final images

are interesting and unique – I feel that if I was someone who hadn’t ever seen the photographs before I would be intrigued by some of the images, I would have a lot of questions – in image 3, why is the girl in distress? Is she in distress? Is she scared, tired, angry?

• Shania: I think that photograph one is the most interesting because it is bright and colourful. It also shows a different personality side and that you can have a lot of fun with photography.

• I think my images have come out really well, I was pleased with the way they were even before post production because they still had interesting aesthetical qualities – they were still eye catching and intriguing.

Before

After

Skills and Knowledge Gains?Technical Competence• With the use of Aperture, changing the settings to F16, I

managed to control the depth of field quite well – you can easily see this in images: 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. The background is slightly blurred in contrast to the main subject i.e. the model.

• I didn’t have to really change the shutter speed because I wasn’t recording any movement – but on an image that I haven’t actually used you can see the slight movement that I got the model to do – it was originally intended to be used for the childish image but because of the movement I couldn’t use it – however along the course of the project I have learnt how to control shutter speed in order to record movement or to prevent movement from being recorded.

• I didn’t really need to change my ISO settings – but over the project I have learnt how to control ISO settings so that I get the right amount of light in to each image – with my final images, I used a lot of ambient lighting rather than artificial lighting and therefore only had to change the ISO setting when it was necessary such as when it was too dark or too bright, for example I wanted image 2 to have a lot of light in the image to highlight every detail.

• I didn’t actually change the White Balance at any point mostly because I didn’t need there to be any kind of filter or effect on my images.

• I have also learnt how to effectively use photoshop tools such as: changing levels, colours adjustments & dodging and burning.

Skills and Knowledge Gains?Creative Ability• I think that during this project, I think I have become more

creative – I also feel like I’ve been given the chance to show my creative ability whilst also enhancing it.

• What I feel has inspired me to be more creative the most is Annie Leibovitz , over the project I have talked very highly of Leibovitz and her images and it’s true – the way she puts a little bit of personality behind every single picture she takes has inspired me greatly - especially her new Disney collection.

• The way she has done this inspired me to try and create images that have a story behind every single one and I think with some I have definitely succeeded.

• I think that images such as: 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8 are my most creative in my final 8, these images make you want to ask questions, the image by itself speaks so many words and the viewer comes up with their own theories and ideas and that’s what I hope happens when people look at my images – I really want them to see their own story in my images rather than something that I have made up for them – every image has a deep meaning or a meaning of some sort its just unlocking what exactly THAT is that makes me feel inspired.

• I feel like image 3 is the one with the most meaning and questions behind it – that or image 6, the way the model is, the way props are placed, the effects used, it poses so many questions and so little answers.

Annie Leibovitz

Image 3

Image 6

Skills and Knowledge Gains?Time Mangement• I personally think that my time management has been very good – my images

were taken on the days that I needed them to be taken and at the right time so I got the correct lighting such as:

• 11:10AM – Thursday 30th January• 3PM – Saturday 1st February• 3PM – Tuesday 4th February

• These times enabled me to get the correct effect and lighting that I needed on my photographs – although Tuesday 4th February was not originally planned and had to be used due to previous photograph implications (not correct lighting – not in focus etc.) although there was this minor mishap, I have still managed to get my work completed for the deadline and completed everything that I needed to be completed.

• The post production took less time than I had originally planned but it still fit in quite well with my schedule.

• The only mishap that I had was having to take those few images again, the way I would avoid this in the future is to thoroughly look through my taken photographs and if I’m not happy with them, do them again to avoid ruining or changing my timetable.

Peer Feedback and Responses• Strongest Image: Image 8• The majority of my peers have selected image 8 as the

strongest image – their reasoning ranged from: “the dark colour that’s present in the background helps the foreground stand out and become more dramatic” to, “the image tells a strong story which I really like”

• I agree with this feedback, the whole reason behind picking portraiture was to tell a story with my pictures like Annie Leibovitz and I am really glad that someone picked that up just from looking at it.

• The other image that one of my peers chose as the strongest image was image 5, they mentioned that: “it’s a very effective image, due to the monochrome colouring added to it, while the contrast of the white and black is balanced evenly.”

• I also agree with this statement although I don’t think that it’s my strongest image, though it is one of the strongest.

• There was no corresponding areas for improvement but one peer mentioned that, “a range of models could improve this collection of images”, another that they found, “the content quite bland and minimal” and the last that they thought, “image 5 could maybe do with some sharpening” I do agree with these statements and I will use them in the future to help me improve any work.

• There was not a corresponding weakest image but the images that my peers found the weakest were:

• 7 – “I don’t think it flows with the rest of the images”• 3 – “there is not much white to contrast all the

darkness in the photograph”, “the image would have been better if you could have seen some facial emotion from the subject.”

• 2 – “the light caught in some of the areas of the image is quite bright”, “the facial expression caught in the image doesn’t portray a professional look.”

• I do agree with these statements – although I disagree with the feedback on image 3 – the whole reason that the image is that dark is because it’s supposed to represent fear and sadness, I have purposefully made the image as dark as possible, although I still value their opinion and will use it for future reference.

• The majority of my peers have mentioned that my strengths are the variation of monochrome and colour images is a “nice balance.” I agree and it’s what I aimed for – I didn’t want too many of one kind of image and so incorporated two different types as much as possible.

Portraiture PhotographyThe Final 8

Photographs and editing by Abygail JonesModels:

Alix BurrellShania Carter

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2: Before

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3: Before

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4: Before

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5: Before

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6: Before

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7: Before

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8: Before

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