Digital Portrait manipulation

By Luke Sams

IntroductionFor my personal project I plan to explore the topic of ‘digital portraiture’ the purpose behind this topic being to explore the capabilities of digital photo manipulation in regards to portraiture, ranging from the more simple manipulation of removing blemishes (airbrushing) to some more complex manipulations that would change a photo into something almost completely different.

My main focus is to review the post shoot digital manipulation although I will also explore the use of different portraiture techniques like lighting and camera angles to create some different styles of portraiture, such as beauty/glamour, traditional portraiture and surreal portraiture, with a mixture of location and studio shoots that I will then manipulate in different ways using Adobe Photoshop.

History

Photo manipulation is something that has been around almost as long as photography its self has been and has developed quite rapidly alongside photography. Some forms of manipulation are considered an art form as they lead to the creation of unique images but other forms like those used to deceive the public for political reasons are generally frowned upon.

Early examples of manipulated images – Pre-digital age

The earliest form of recorded photo manipulation dates back to the use of photo engraved printing plates which could be physically manipulated using inks or paints or by scratching prints/negatives while they were developed.

The negatives could also be manipulated either while still in the camera by using multiple exposure techniques or through piecing together different photos/negatives in a darkroom. An example of photo manipulation from the early 1860s is a photo of Abraham Lincoln in which his body was switched for that from a photo of John C. Calhoun.(6)

Digital Image Manipulation

Despite extensive research there does not appear to be a definitive point in time that digital image processing and manipulation/retouching actually begun although it is widely agreed that it is something that was only introduced relatively recently at some point within the 20 th century. Although digital manipulation in its infancy may not have been much and could only do what people were already doing using pre-digital techniques it is something that has rapidly developed alongside the development of the digital technology itself and has reached the point where it is generally considered to be an art form in and of itself.

Digital Manipulation has evolved to the point in which a photo taken by any means including those of the pre-digital age can be digitised if needed and then either technically retouched or creatively retouched. The former being the adjustment of colours/hue/saturation, sharpness and the removal of visible flaws on skin or materials and the latter being used as an art form or for commercial use often used for fashion, beauty or advertisement photos and is now considered the norm for image compositing (taking several images and combining them into a single composition). Creative retouching can completely change an image to the point where there is no longer any resemblance to the original.

Jerry Uelsmann is a contemporary photographer who has been working with image manipulation since the late 1950s before the advent of Photoshop and now in his late 70s he still does not use any modern technology to create his photos and instead opts for the more traditional pre-digital techniques to manipulate his images such as multiple exposures and other manipulations of the photo negatives. He achieves his surreal photos by layering and splicing several negatives together with extreme care and attention as this is a very delicate process, he also uses a process involving several enlargers to enlarge multiple negatives into a single print.

This particular photo of Jerry Uelsmann’s denotes a pair of cupped hands surrounded by darkness with a scene of the horizon over some water with a small row boat in the foreground all in black and white. This gives the overly photo a surreal, dream like quality to it as the water scene is almost like a mirage or hallucination. The connotations linked to this could be about taking care of the planet but it could have a slightly darker meaning to it, symbolising the journey after death with a boat to take you across the water to the afterlife.

Artist Research

I think that my unit of work is likely to take inspiration from some of the more unusual and experimental photographers out there such as Christoffer Relander (1), Jamie Ibarra(2), Laura Williams(3), Michael Newcomer(4) and Oliver Morris(5) simply due to the nature of their work, although there are other photographers who do ‘normal’ portraiture that I will most likely pull inspiration from for my base photos which I will then manipulate.

I find that Jamie Ibarra’s work (below two images) is inspirational to my work as he has the ability to create these moody and sensual portraits without using lots and lots of expensive equipment with some of his work even being produced using an iPhone 6 plus and natural lighting, I feel that this alternative style that he has developed would be great to deconstruct and pull apart within Adobe Photoshop and perhaps even manipulate into something more than just a standard image.

The image on the left is quite a dramatic image showing a girl, the lighting used is directional natural light coming from the left of the photo creating strong shadows on the right side, with a net curtain or something in the foreground and background also coming from the left hand side. The connotations of this could be that the light and dark are intended to represent good and evil, like an external sign of an internal struggle within the girls own mind.

The second photo here on the right is also quite a dramatic image it denotes a girl with fairly open body language standing in front of a brick wall with a window to one side, there is fairly high contrast between the subject and the background the girl being brighter than her surroundings helping her to stand out and ‘pop’ from the image. The connotations of the contrast within the image could imply that she is supposedly ‘purer’ than her surrounding as she is visibly brighter and clearer than the rest of the image.

Christoffer Relander creates his very own distorted realties through the use of multiple exposures, layering multiple exposures into a single frame so that components of each individual are visible and combined into a single image. The multiple exposures that use what looks like three layers; one being the models hands with a being the models face an the last one being some foliage like trees or bushes are my personal favourite.

The first multiple exposure on the left denotes a person’s hands and forearms surrounded by white, through the arms you can see a person’s face with closed eyes and a neutral expression and through that there are some leaves and sky visible, with everything being made black and white. The connotations of two hands placed together varies across cultures but is generally speaking quite similar in Asian culture the left hand is symbolic of Yin energy and the right hand is symbolic of Yang energy and when placed together they collectively represented allegiance, friendship and balance. Although in other culture two hands can represent choice, contrast or justice (similar to using scale to represent justice)

The second multiple exposure is in full colour and denotes a single hand (a right hand) with a person’s face, head tilted down, eyes closed and a neutral expression, visible through this and leaves visible through their face and hair. The connotations of this could be an imbalance in something possibly within the women as her face is titled down as this is usually associated with negative things like being sad.

My own workMy work finds its place within this area as the whole idea is to test the capabilities of digital manipulation and its applications from simple technical retouches, fixing lighting and cosmetic problems to creative retouching where I am manipulating the photo into something that does not necessarily resemble the original photo or photos.

This photo is an example from my work and is a good example of what I would consider to be creative retouching, compositionally the image is almost identical to the original as the background did not contain much I simply removed it and replaced it with glowing dots. On the other hand though the photo feels completely different from the original; the original was quite a calm, relaxed photo with an uplifting happy atmosphere, however this edited version of it seems to flip that effect and makes it feel dark and mysterious and adds an angry kind of feel to it like the fire and sparks are a manifestation of the persons feelings.

The FutureGiven the technological developments still being made today I can only see digital photography and digital manipulation increasing in popularity and the capabilities of it expanding to greatly exceed what can currently be achieved today.

I feel that any future developments would be particularly relevant and prominent for this particular aspect of photography as it revolves entirely around digital technology and as the technology is made faster and more powerful there will always be people there to push it to its very limit to see what is possible. Along with the development of ways to create digital media I feel that the way in which this content could be exhibited may be revolutionised as well. Developments in 3d printer technology could lead to the creation of a physical three dimensional format in which photography could be viewed.

ConclusionIn conclusion I feel that my project fits well within this area and that it provides a lot of creative freedom in which to experiment and test out almost any ideas that I may have while working on this unit. I also feel that the photographer that I have identified within this essay fit within the topic well and have and will provide great inspiration for my work throughout.

Bibliography:1. http://www.christofferrelander.com/ - Christoffer Relander2. http://ibarraphoto.com/portfolio/portraiture/ - Jamie Ibarra3. http://www.laurawilliamsart.co.uk/ - Laura Williams4. https://michaelnewcomer704.wordpress.com/ - Michael Newcomer5. https://www.flickr.com/photos/lullabiestoparalyze/ - Oliver Morris6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photo_manipulatio n - Abraham Lincoln photo