Portrait
A01: CONTEXTUAL UNDERSTANDING
Develop ideas through sustained and focused investigations informed by contextual and other sources, demonstrating analytical and critical understanding.
Brainstorm
artist research- lee jeffries
Lee Jeffries- Lee Jeffries is a accountant and portraiture photographer who primarily focuses on the life of homeless people. Jeffries focuses on homeless people to raise awareness of the struggles of homeless people. In an effort to make intimate portraits, Jeffries would try to connect with each person on an individual basis first. “I need to see some kind of emotion in my subjects,”. “I specifically look at people’s eyes—when I see it, I recognise it and feel it—and I repeat the process over and over again.” Jeffries prefers to take pictures whilst he is talking with his subjects to capture the “real emotion” in them.
This is one of my favourite photographs by Lee Jeffries as the main focus of the piece is the homeless man. The light used highlights the lighter parts of the face, like the man's white beard and his moustache. The dark background makes the subject of the photograph more prominent, meaning that the photographer is just focusing on the homeless man, this thereby concentrates on his life and story but is also putting him on a metaphorical pedestal so is essential to his photography. The photographer has focused on the homeless man's eyes so conveys the emotions he is feeling and the endurances he has faced being homeless.
jill greenberg
Jill Greenberg born July 10, 1967 is an American photographer and artist.Greenberg has done a large number of celebrity portraits. She specializes in portraiture photography and the emotions of her models. Greenberg says that "commercial photography influenced and provided inspiration" for her portrait work. In Greenberg's most recent she has created a controversial portrait series—by giving lollipops to toddlers and then taking them away, she was able to capture the intense emotions that the subjects subsequently displayed.
This is one of my favourite photographs by Jill Greenberg as the soft lighting used behind the subject brings the piece together making the plain background look lively. The lighting used at the sides of the subject highlights part of the subjects body subsequently contrasting other parts. The eyes and the emotion on the face is the main focus of this series. The light makes the subject look more flawless and accentuates the lights in his eyes. The emotions conveyed using this method really make you feel sympathy for the boy in the photograph, this method really captures what the subject is thinking in a raw and is uninterrupted so the emotion is genuine.
Mood board
|
|
Idea sheets
A02: CREATIVE MAKING
Explore and select appropriate resources, medias, materials, techniques and processes reviewing and refining ideas as work develops.
Lighting techniques
Split lighting
Split lighting is used to highlight half of the face so the viewer focuses on the half of the face nearest the light. This creates a dramatic and sinister outcome and mood. It is produced by placing the lighting source to the right or left of the direction in which the subject is facing (typically 90-120 degrees), with the lighting unit at or slightly above face level. Split lighting is useful for narrowing the face and for cloaking facial imperfections in shadow.
Butterfly lighting
This lighting is characterized by the butterfly-shaped shadow that it casts below the nose. The butterfly pattern can be quite useful for a variety of faces, but is at its best on lean subjects with high and pronounced cheekbones. It is produced by placing the light source above the face (typically 25-70 degrees) and in line with the direction in which the face is pointing.
Rembrandt lighting
Rembrandt lighting creates a strong pattern characterized by a small triangle of light that appears under the eye on the shadow side of the face, along with a nose shadow that nearly extends to the corner of the mouth. This is seen as a more flattering and dramatic light technique. This light technique is created by moving the light to the side at a 35 degree angle.
clamshell lighting
Clamshell lighting creates a flattering and glamorous light on the face of the model. Clamshell lighting is achieved through the usage of two large soft lights and placing them near the model. The main lighting technique is butterfly lighting with the light placed above and underneath the camera hence the name clamshell. This lighting is usually used in magazines as it gives the model a flawless look without the use of Photo-shop.
river-cop lighting
River cop lighting is used to create a suspicious,scary and gloomy atmosphere. This lighting is seen to be unflattering and is achieved by using two bright hard lights. The first light is placed either side of the model so the shadows are controlled by how far back the lights are. This form of lighting usually creates a faint shadow in the centre of the face.
spray lighting
Spray lighting is used to make the background look lively. This lighting makes the model look more flattering and glamorous. To get this effect a small hard lighting is used and is placed behind the model facing upwards. This creates a halo of light on the background making it look better.
Lee jeffries style photo-shoot
These photographs are in the style of Lee Jeffries, Although the photographs aren't in black and white they can be photo-shopped so that they are black and white. The background is plain and dark so the main focus of the piece is the model as well as the face,emotions and reactions just like Jeffries but the main difference between the two is the background of the model. The lighting is changed depending on the mood of the particular photograph. These photographs are inspired by Lee Jeffries but has to be adapted as the subject of the piece is hard to acquire.
These are my two favourite photographs because of the emotion displayed by the model. The clothes are also plain so makes the viewer focus on the model and the models emotions. The background is also dark, but reflects the light in the photograph so would nee to be changed.The lighting is slightly too intense and makes the model over exposed but the concept is something I would definitely like to take further.
PHOTO-SHOOT 2
This shoot focuses on more genuine emotion, but more negative emotions.
my top 2 photographs
A03: REFLECTING,RECORDING
Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions, reflecting critically on work and progress
Photo- shop experimentation in the style of lee Jeffries
These images have been adjusted in photo-shop to suit my theme and to imitate my chosen artists. In the first photograph the main focus is the face and the reaction from the subject. The second photograph is an up close photograph, this is because it focuses solely on the emotion on the subjects face, subsequently how each facial feature is effected differently by the emotion the model is feeling. Only one light source has been used as this is what my artists have used in their photography. This use of light highlights part of the face, especially the eyes, this is beneficial to me as this also conveys the emotion the model is feeling.
photo-shoot 3
The aim of this photo-shoot was to get a varied emotional response from my model.I have placed the model underneath a soft light to highlight the parts of the face that protrude. This subsequently highlights the emotion on the face which I am focusing on and exploring.This shoot went well because I have captured what I have strived to. The model also connects with viewer because of the eye-contact with the camera. I believe this photo-shoot to be a success because all the things I wanted in the piece were there and worked well together, like the plain background and the plain clothes so the viewer has to focus on the face and reaction of the model because it is the only thing present in the photograph.
Top 2 photographs
These are my two favourite photographs from my third photo-shoot as these photographs completely contrast to each other but still convey the emotion I'm trying to capture. The head is facing down in the first photograph creating a sombre atmosphere, it also cloaks the face creating a darker light. In the second the head is facing upwards towards the light, this highlights the parts of the face which react to the video being shown. The lights also hit the eyes, this creates a light-hearted atmosphere and a happiness in the photograph. The background is plain so the viewer will only focus on the model. The clothes are also plain and dark so will blend in with the background when edited in photo-shop.
photo-shoot 4
The aim of this photo-shoot is to get a range of different outcomes and emotions. This shoot focuses on happier emotions as the photographs from the previous shoot weren't varied enough. This shoot was not the best shoot because in some of the photographs the model is overexposed and this washes the model out. In some of the photographs the model moved quite quickly when reacting this unfortunately caused the photographs to blur.
These are my two favourite photographs from this shoot as they are clear and the model's face is showing emotion. In the first photograph I have used rule of thirds which complements the photograph well. The light hits the lighter parts of the face creating a contrast. In the second the model is laughing this shows the happiness she is feeling. this is exactly what I am trying to convey in the photographs (genuine emotion).
photo-shoot 5
The aim of this photo-shoot was to extend upon and progress from my previous photo-shoots. I think this photo-shoot went well as it was well lit and everything I wanted to come into place did. The model is photogenic so complements the style well even when in black and white. The videos played to her make the emotion she feels very real and original and this is evident in the pictures l. I think I was most confident in what I was doing and was sure of my theme and this bodes well.
My favourite two photographs
These are my two favourite photographs from these shoots as they these photographs capture the intense emotion the model is feeling. The lighting highlights parts of the face well; this will help me highlight and create tone on photo-shop as I will have a basis to work on . This lighting is the same lighting used by Lee Jeffries so really captures the emotion the model is feeling ( a soft light that is centred and above the model). The plain clothes the model is wearing helps contribute to highlighting the face and the reaction from the model, the 'plainness' of the clothes help draw attention to this instead of distracting the viewers attention. I got the model to react in this way by showing her two videos, the first was a funny video, the second was a sadder video. This helped me create a real and original emotion that otherwise would be hard to create without the use of the video.
photoshop
I have used photoshop to enhance my photographs, and to also imitate Lee Jeffries' style of photography. Firstly I desaturated the photograph so it is now grey and dark. This will help me find the contrast and tone so I can lighten or darken it.
I have used a high pass filter to really define the facial features. I will duplicate the first layer then overlay this filter. This will help me create a crisp and refined photograph.
|
I have changed the levels of brightness and contrast. In the majority of my photoshop experimentation I have raised the brightness and lowered the contrast as Lee Jeffries style of photography is quite bright.
I will use the dodge and burn tool to really make the tone of the model stand out. In darker areas I will use the burn tool and in the lighter areas I will use the dodge tool to emphasise the tones.
|
a04: Personal presentation
Present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and, where appropriate, makes connections between visual and other elements.