Portraiture low key lighting - Definition Post

High key lighting is an image with predominant light tones, often used in beauty, and low key lighting is an image with predominant dark tones, implying strength and power. High key lighting is often associated with females, whereas low key lighting is often associated with males. 

Snoot-this object allows you to control the lightings direction, and radius. They can help isolate the individual, when using flash in the studio. 

Honeycomb-allows you to tighten the beam of light, it doesn't create an as intense beam of light like the snoot does.

Reflector dish-this allows the light to reflect back onto the subject. It covers the flash head, and allows the redirection of light.

Irving Pen:

Irving pen uses both high, and low key lighting in his images, he uses the above pieces of equipment to achieve this. He was well known for his established fashion photography, and portraiture. Pen was also one of the first photographers to present his subjects on a grey background. Its's evident below how he would base his lighting techniques on the gender of the individual, with low key lighting often being used for males, and high key lighting for females. 

These images below both highlight high key lighting, it is interesting to see that both of these images are of females, this is due to the high key lighting expressing femininity. 

The high key lighting used helps capture the vast amount of freckles on the individuals face, this adds detail to the image.

The image above was one of Pen's fashion shoots, we can see this by the 'VOGUE' logo in the bottom right corner, therefore he would have used the high key lighting as this lighting technique often used in beauty images, in order to portray femininity and to capture all of the details within the image. 

These images below are both examples of Irving's work, showing low key lighting. It is interesting that both these images below are of males, this may be due to the darker tones linking to masculinity.

This image uses low key lighting, the expression held on the mans face works well with the lighting technique as he looks sad, therefore the darker tones in the image portray this further. 

The man appears shocked in this image, as he has wide eyes. The low key lighting adds to the atmosphere of the photograph, by making it mysterious as you cannot see all of the image. 

Low Key Lighting - Definition Post

Low key lighting is a style of photography whereby you use lighting to your advantage in order to create a dark photograph, with light reflecting slightly off the other side of the individuals face (a reflector helps to achieve this.) It helps enhance the contours of an object. This effect is commonly used in horror films, as it aids in alienating the viewer.

Low key lighting is used in:

• fashion
• film
• media
• television
• magazines

Here is an example of where low key lighting is used in a film:

As you can see there's many shadows cast over the image, which create a sense of mystery. The low key lighting helps create a chiaroscuro effect. 

Here is an example of low key lighting being used not on people, but objects:

This image is different to usual images of low key lighting, as it's of food objects, not individuals. 

Below are various ways in which you can set up the studio in order to achieve a low key lighting effect:

This is how the studio will be set up in order to achieve the low key lighting effect. 

Documentary Photography- Definitions Post

Documentary photography- 'usually refers to a popular form of photography used to chronicle events or environments both significant and relevant to history and historical events and everyday life.'


Adjectives & Synonyms for 'documentary' :

• broadcast
• film
• recent
• short
• hours
• informational

All of the below images are dark documentary images, even though they're not all from the same photographer you could say they all link. However they are not linked directly. All of the images are in black and white, which implies a dark atmosphere in the images as a whole; therefore we can gather they're all not about a particularly uplifting topic. 

This is an image of a factory worker, it appears as though he is working in poor conditions, and we therefore conclude he doesn't get very good money due to the state of the factory. This creates sympathy in us as a viewer.

This image is extremely moving, and ambiguous as we do not know what the man is hunting; whether it be humans or animals. The fact he is in water implies he is desperate to catch whatever he is aiming for, otherwise he would not go to such extreme lengths. 

This image again creates sympathy in us as viewers, as we do not know if the woman will die or not. In addition, what makes this image interesting is the fact that the two individuals are walking behind, glancing at the woman as if this is normality-this again shows ambiguity as we do not know where or why this is happening. The smoke in the background again adds a dramatic effect. 

This image creates huge empathy in the viewer. As the photograph is of a child it adds to the emotional aspect of the photograph. It is evident the boy has a skin problem, as we can see the texture of his skin, and how rough it is. 

my own definition:- a series of images which link to an overall title. 

Fourth Plinth - Definition Post

Ideas for the fourth plinth:

• Dinosaur
• Converse
• Glasses
• Shoes
• Watch 
• Bus
• Teddy 
• Chicken
• Flowers 
• Bus

The fourth plinth is when an object appears to be in an ambiguous situation/somewhere it shouldn't. The fourth plinth is situated in Trafalgar Square, London. It is a rolling programme of temporary sculptures, rather than having merely one figure. There's a plinth in each 4 corners in Trafalgar Square. 

Cedric Delsaux:

Cedric was born in 1974. He was first known for his advertising campaigns. He attempts to combine reality with fiction, as apparent in the following star wars based images below.  

The image on the left combines reality with fiction, as the characters placed around, and on, the car are fictional. This image is a mixture of different beiges, reflecting the dusty texture of the environment. I do not like the forth plinth, however in this instance i do like it, as it is realistic and doesn't look completely artificial. 

This image is realistic, the red of the light saver completely contrasts the black, dull colours surrounding it, this draws your eye into the image, allowing you to have a focal point. This image appears to be a still from an action movie, and it extremely believable. 

This urban-style image is captivating, as in the background you can see buildings, implying you're in London, however in the foreground the giant alien-like ship contrasts this and creates an industrialised appeal. The dim lights also imply there's a 'secretive' feel about it, creating intimacy within the image. 

Landscape

Landscape photography involves the photographer telling a story through their image. Landscape pictures are usually wide-frame images of what you see around you. 

Equipment that's needed for landscape photography:

• filters- ND and polariser
• camera
• tripod
• zoom lens 
• wide angle lens 
• rain sleeve 
• lens cleaner
• back pack
• spare batteries 
• memory cards

Ansel Adams:

Adams was a technical photographer, this can be seen in his images; whereby he includes many formal elements in each photograph. Adams preferred working in black and white, as it enhanced the colours in the images. Adams used pre-visualisation and the zone system. Pre-visualisation is when the photographer can already predict what the image will look like prior to the print. The zone system is a way of controlling your prints tonal range, you view your subject as having 9 tones (not including pure black and white,) you can then adjust these on the final prints.

In this image the river is portrayed as the leading line, drawing your eye into the image. In addition, shape is reflected in the mountains and the curve of the river, which takes your eye on a journey. I like how Adams has captured the clouds in this image, as you can see their form due to the shadows. This image looks artificial, therefore I do not like it as landscapes should appear natural.

 Again, in this image I like how the clouds are captured as it appears as though they're exploding from the mountains. Form is one of the main elements portrayed as the shadows imply the objects are 3D.

In this image line is evident through the cross. In addition the two trees either side create a symmetrical view of the image. I like how the background of the image is foggy and blurry. This image does appear natural, which I like. 

Overall, I do not like Adam's images as I believe they all appear grainy, however I do appreciate the technical advances of his images- I will strive to include some of his techniques in my images. 

Stephan Shore:

Shore was an early pioneer in colour photography in America, he uses bold bright colours in his images. Shore photographed places and objects on American streets. So used a large format camera, the advantage of this is that you can print your images bigger, with higher resolutions. Sore used Kodak colour negative films in his early photographs (e.g. American surfaces.) Negative films are where the lightest areas of the photographed subject appear darkest, and the darkest areas appear lightest. This reversed order occurs because of the extremely light-sensitive chemicals. 

This image was photographed in a car park. The cars are parked inconsistently, this my reflect what Sore believed American's lives were like. The vertical line on the ground of the parking spaces, almost acts as a leading line drawing your eye to the sky in the background of the image. Pastel colours  are used in this image. 

This image is extremely structured, there's horizontal and vertical lines present, also many squares. This implies order and structure in American's lives, contrary to the image above. I like this image as the pastel colours all complement each other well, and the orange/blues imply it's summer time in america. The saturated colour allows us to gage the temperature of the environment, and the season.

This image is again extremely structured and organised; many horizontal and vertical lines are present. Bold colours are used, the image is extremely busy reflecting the lives of Americans. In addition, there're manufactured machines in the image (petrol station, cars, traffic lights) therefore, Shore may be highlighting the effect we have had on the earth, inventing machines. Furthermore, he may be implying how they have taken over our lives, as they're seen in all corners of this image. A lot of advertisement also used in this image, showing us what American streets look like.




Overall, I prefer Shore to Adams as I admire Shore's use of colour. In addition Shore's images are extremely clear, whereas Adam's are slightly grainy and boring due to no colour being evident. Moreover, we can receive more information about the climate/season from Shore's images, in comparison to Adam's.

Image Manipulation

Image manipulation is image editing whereby an illusion/deception is created, it is much more obvious than usual editing, it may include placing things where they're not meant to be.

The above image creates a different perspective of the image, it's an inventive and creative way in portraying a small house on an island.  This image uses image manipulation to almost make you question your eyes, due to the image being so strange. I like this image as it makes the house become part of the fish. 

Image manipulation obtains ethical issues including:

• the manipulation of someones face (e.g. a beauty model) creates misleading goals for girls to try an obtain
• the result of a product may be enhanced, leading to false advertisement 
• if you're documenting something it's arguable whether or not you should edit the image, as you're meant to document it factually
• looses the 'natural' feeling of an image, giving a false representation
• historical images are arguably wrong to manipulate as you're essentially 'changing history'

However, image manipulation is good:

• when editing images for age appropriate audiences (e.g. news articles)
• when giving people a self esteem boost (e.g. removing scars they may not want)
• can enhance your personal images (e.g. eliminate unwanted light reflection)

The image on the right shows how image manipulation can be used to enhance looks. It's evident how the female has been made slimmer, and colour manipulation has been used to make her appear more tanned. This process occurs daily in the media, on various things such as magazine covers, advertisements and music albums. The image on the right portrays an artifical image, which is impossibly reached, this can damage young people, and cause eating problems/endless use of make-up, in an attempt to cover 'flaws.'   Despite this, the model may have been insecure and wanted her image to be manipulated, therefore this is a positive aspect of this. 

Industry where image manipulation is used:

• fashion 
• film
• TV
• music industry
• sport
• journalism 
• nature photography
• comedy photography
• fine art
• business
• portraiture 

my own definition: the manipulation of an image in order to achieve a desired changed perception.

Portraiture - Definition Post

Portraiture: 

Portrait photography or portraiture is photography of a person or group of people that displays the expression, personality, and mood of the subject. Like other types of portraiture, the focus of the photograph is usually the person's face, although the entire body and the background or context may be included.
Different lighting can affect the sexuality of the image0- the darker the image, the more masculine. Whereas the lighter the image the more feminine it is considered. In addition portraits capture the emotion of the person, the photographer can have an impact on this. 

This image is by the photographer Annie Leibovitz, this image is of Meryl Streep. This image implies that due to Meryl being an actress and playing various roles/characters, she is attempting to remove the white mask (her character.) This image is empowering as it implies she places on lots of different masks when playing her characters, but no one knows the true her; therefore she's trying to remove these masks and show everyone the true her. 

This image is photographed by Thomas Ruff. His photographs can be perceived as passport images. All his images show a deadpan expression. I dislike his images as I don't perceive them as art due to you being able to obtain them anywhere (i a photograph booth.) No expression is captured in the portrait due to it being deadpan. 

I like this image photographed by Alec Soth as not only does he capture the persons emotion and face, he also includes the backdrop, and setting where the image is taken. This image has pastel-like colours and is soft on the eye. No saturation is used and it implies a calmness and coldness about this image as there are many greens and blues. In addition due to us seeing the background, the viewer can see the trees obtain no leaves, therefore we know this image is photographed around the colder seasons. Due to the man holding plans this allows us to interpret some of his hobbies/personality. 

I like this image photographed by David Sorrenti. The emotion of happiness is captured in the image, the girl is laughing, with her eyes shut, therefore she is not looking directly at the lens, or away from it. I like that the image is in black and white as it shows the different contrasts in colour (e.g. the girls jacket and hair.) 

My own definition: An image, usually of a persons face, which captures emotion.

• Equipment is used to help project light in photography, shown here in some of the following: 

Honeycomb- this is fixed to the front of a studio strobe, of an off-camera flash. The light shines through the honeycomb grid, creating a tight beam of light. 

Snoot- Is a tube light object which fits over a light, or portable flash, allowing the photographer to direct the direction of the beam of light, and its radius; they can isolate a subject also. 

Joiners Definition

Joiner photography- Where a whole image is made from numerous overlapping photographs. 

To create a joiner photograph, you typically stand in one place and take photos in a panoramic fashion, turning from right to left. You can create  abstract images using joiner photography. Joiners are used in order o add another perception onto reality, and create abstract approaches to images. Prior to the technology invented joiners were initially made using polaroid cameras, and physically sticking them together, however now we have tools such s photoshop, whereby we can digitally put them together. 

David Hockney- 

This is an image photographed by David Hockney of his mother, this image is extremely interesting as it highlights various angles of her face. This allows you to almost get a 3D approach to the ladies face, as it's as thought you're standing all around her face. 

This is another of Hockney's creations, this is a different take on joiner photography as the cubed pictures do not overlap. I like this image, however I am not a fan of the gaps between the images, as it creates a grid-like appeal of structure, whereas I prefer more freely organised images.


Inspiration:

The above image is one I could photograph of an urban landscape. This image has used wide shots, and a few of these to create the overall image. 

This image is different from the one above as there's more images, which are smaller than the shots above. This image has been built up more than the image above it. This image is a square itself, whereas the one above is the shape of the remaining edges of the photographs used to make the image. 

I could recreate this image in a scenic landscape (e.g. field), whereas I could recreate the one above in an urban city area (e.g. London.)

Depth Definition

Depth Definition:

Depth of field is a measure of how much of a picture is in focus. A lens can only precisely focus on one plane at a time. However, there's always a certain amount of the picture in front of, and behind, this plane that also appears to be sharp. It is this zone of 'acceptable sharpness' that is the depth of field.

1. Shallow Depth Of Field-
2. Wide Depth Of Field-

Example of a shallow depth of field-

Example of a wide depth of field-

In this image you can see how by focusing on one of the figures, the others become blurry and therefore implies there's depth present. This image shows shallow depth, i could attempt to recreate this in the studio.

This image shows depth due to the leading line (path) taking your eye to the focal point, which implies depth is present as the trees and scenery also gets smaller he further down the leading line you go (further into the background.) This image shows a wide depth of field.

Motion Definitions

Motion Definition:

Motion is the action or process of moving or being moved. In photography this involves the 

photographer moving, or the objects in the image moving. 

This image is interesting as the man on the bike is in focus, however the background is blurred. This creates the feeling that the cyclist is moving at a high speed. 

 This image shows movement as we know the ball will fall and hit into the others. All of the objects are in focus in this image which is unusual for a motion image. 

This image clearly shows movement due to the blurred edges of the spinning top which suggests it's spinning quickly. This may have been photographed on a 2.6 shutter speed.

This image shows the cat running after its prey (the mouse), this image looks photoshopped however if it was photographed live then it may have been taken on a 2.6 shutter speed as you can see the movement of the two objects. 

My own definition- how quickly or slowly an object moves.

Definition Of Reflection

Definition Of Reflection:

 Reflection is the throwing back by a body or surface of light, heat, or sound without absorbing it. Reflection is not a formal element, but, it is a vital consideration in framing a composition/establishing a balance. Reflection can be used abstractly. I believe reflection can be used in water especially as the water reflects whatever is on top of it, in addition windows can also reflect objects similarly. 

Adjectives & Synonyms for 'Reflection':

• throwing back
• thinking
• imputation
• aspersion
• reproach
• criticism
• simular

This image represents reflection well as you can see a reflection in the surface of the glasses. This is interesting as you cannot see the scene apart from in the mans glasses-this draws your eye into the image.

This image represents reflection well as the reflection of the book almost complete the image, as it makes it into a whole circular figure.

  My own definition of reflection: When an image is identically reflected in another object.