Evaluation.

So we're at the end of not only an assignment that's taught me what a portrait is and how many different variants there is but its also given me a new found love of studio photography.
What once to me was just a blank screen, is now a world of creativity in one room.

The reasoning behind my work is to put across the point that taking a portrait of a person themselves must have no material distractions. wether this be an item of clothing or something sat in the background.
This isn't the only 'correct' way to take a portrait but this is how I feel is the only way to see that person. As mentioned in a previous blog. I've included one photo of a sitter where his clothes are visible. Giving you as the viewer the opportunity to see where I'm coming from.
You'll almost instantly be able to decide his dress sense and from there spiral into prejudging other parts of his life.

I have been heavily influenced by the photographers I have researched. The tight crop and single light set up that Rankin is famous for.
Shooting from a low vantage point that we see in Platon's images.
David Bailey's patience and waiting for the perfect moment that the Eye's and mouth are telling the same story.

By using the Hasselblad with Phase One digital back and studio flash to capture my images. To then process in Capture One. I have met the brief's requirements. Also teaching myself new techniques on Photoshop to clean up the images, if they had marks from dust on the sensor.

To improve my work I would like to choose another approach to Portrait photography. This time I would look into cultures, rather than just concentrating on one person at a time. I would also like to do a lot more images than Three. This could then not only form a series of portraits but a narrative could be created.

My method for completing the assignment was to practice as much as possible.
I assisted on some 3rd year students photo shoots and asked as many questions as I could think relevant. This gave me a good idea of how things are set up and what is expected from start to finish in a studio environment.
Also spending as much of my free time as possible in the studio to try ideas and try to re-create things I'd researched.

I had originally chosen Three images to print for my final piece and asked a number of students and tutors for their comments and criticism.

The above images were from my first editorial choice but after listening to the comments from tutors and other students, I felt it would be worth my while going back into the studio.

I felt the top image wasn't taken from a low enough view point. Therefore not working with my concept the third image almost displays a smile that doesn't match the eyes so it was time to take that out too.

It was this point that I decided to have a sitter with clothing showing on the image to re-enforce my argument.

From this assignment I have picked up a vast amount of knowledge of how light works and how we can manipulate it.

It has also given me the opportunity to work with new systems and Camera mediums. I feel these new skills can be used in an outdoor situation also and help me create better images.

From the offset I was challenged by the assignment because I initially wasn't fond of taking pictures in a room with a screen as a backdrop.

The professional output system on Capture One was a bit tricky to get used to also but I'm pretty sure after pestering people for guidance and attending refresher sessions I'll be able to use it with ease.

Reflecting on the whole assignment i would like to have tried to find a professional portrait photographer that I could have assisted to see what their process if for taking images. It may not have changed my thought process but it could well have re-enforced how I feel about my own images.

These are my final images that I sent to The Print Space in London www.theprintspace.co.uk/‎ . I had them printed on Fuji Flex to give a 3D and ultra high gloss look to them. Making the focus points jump out of the page.

Practice Makes Perfect.

As I said in an earlier blog, I tried to make sure I booked the Studio for at least 6 hours a week in my own time to give myself a bit of extra swatting up.
For this I sourced models, a make up artist and a clothing company to use on numerous occasions.

The first thing I was struggling with was lighting the backdrop to create a high key look. This was impossible when only using one light.

For the above image I incorporated another light for the background. I felt this still wasn't high key enough so started to question what I could do to make it whiter.

I was using a soft box to light the rear which diffuses and spreads the light evenly in quite a large area.

With this in mind I decided to swap the soft box for a Barn door fitment. This gave me a lot more control of the direction of the light and didn't diffuse the light at all.

As you can see from my second image, the background is much whiter. Although the darker would work better in some instances, I wanted to make sure I was able to do both.

For this image above I made the conscious decision to have a darker background to show off the higher tones in the sitters face. I couldn't have it too dark because it would make the eyelashes on the left disappear.

Lighting.

Studio Lighting is something I've pretty much stayed away from until this assignment. I'm a fond lover of natural light and like to use what is naturally available.
This was going to either make me fall in love with studio work or make me dislike it even more.

Having such a well equipped studio at my disposal immediately gave me a little boost of positivity.

I was given a handout by Christian Berges titled: Portrait Lighting Basics. This was explaining a number of lighting setups using a single Key Light.
Using this one single light gave me a really good understanding of how light works.
I know it sounds silly because it's as simple as flicking a switch or opening the Curtains but do we ever try to understand how it actually works?

The first thing to understand is that light only travels in straight lines so if we're to manipulate a light source, it can only be in an angular direction rather than curved.

I tried to make sure I had at least an extra 6 hours a week in the studio, to practice and try to learn more.
A technique I really liked using was the Poly Boards. Putting these on the sides of the sitter can make such a huge difference to their face's structure.
By placing Black polly boards beside the sitter, you can draw in the sides of their face. This gives their face a slimmer look because the light that is usually bounced onto the side of their face is absorbed by the Black.
Doing the same thing but swapping to a white poly board will bounce even more light onto the sitters face.
Having the boards closer or further away also has a heavy effect on the image.

Lighting setups.

Here are a few lighting setups I tested:

Frontal Light.

This is a very powerful light and tends to light the whole of the front of the face. an interesting result of this setup is that it reflects the full light source in the sitters Eyes. You can change the reflection of the light by changing the light you use. Eg. Softbox, Umbrella, ect.

High Frontal Light.

 I find High Frontal to be a very forgiving set up. The light is shone down from higher than the subject. This is then cut by the sitters Cheekbones, giving their face a thinner look.
The reflection of the light source using this setup is positioned at the upper of the eye.

 Rembrandt Lighting (the Rembrandt Triangle).

The famous Rembrandt set up is gives a very mysterious look to the sitter. Only showing one side of the face and a small triangle section of the opposite side. The light source reflection in this case is sometimes only slightly visible in the corner of the Eye.

Slight Sidelight.

This set up gives a three dimensional look to it. Harsh lighting on one side of the sitters face and softly grading into a dark shadow on the opposite side. the light can be moved around the subject to adjust how strong the shadows are.

All images were taken from:
http://www.manfrottoschoolofxcellence.com/2011/04/christian-berges-portrait-lighting-basics-part-1-the-key-light/#.Ute7FfZHAQ4

Equipment and Processing.

My chosen camera setup for this project is a Hasselblad 503CM Medium Format Camers, a Hasselblad Carl Zeiss 80mm f 2.8 Lens and Phase One Digital back

www.reportajes-jmserrano.com

http://www.hasselbladusa.com/media/38025/product_503cw.jpg

www.vistek.ca

I was using the Camera tethered to Capture One. This was a totally new system to me so I found it exciting finding my way around it.

Luckily I've used Lightroom quite a bit and the slider system was very similar.

I found the system massively made life easier. Being able to adjust White Balance, highlights and levels then set them for the rest of the session is a massive plus.

Another godsend of shooting tethered is, being able to see your images full size as they're taken. This allows you to see the result. Rather than squinting at a little screen on the back of the Camera.

An other functions that I found to be a huge help we're the Loupe, for zooming in ant checking the images close up.
The Focus Mask was a brilliant tool. With the Hasselblad being quite an old Camera, the viewfinder wasn't very clear. The Focus Mask was brilliant for assisting in this situation and helped make small adjustments in focus.

Finally the export system on Capture on was excellent. Being able to output a number of different recipes at once was a big time saver.

   

David Bailey.

 www.theguardian.com 

My reason for choosing to research Bailey, is not for his amazing images alone but how he researches himself.

He studied the great painters and architects such as Picasso and Michelangelo. 

David Bailey has quite a different look on 'the portrait'. He doesn't believe in being able to capture the sitters Soul. He see's the portrait more, capturing someones space.

Bailey was asked in interview how he felt about his ideas being used by other photographers. he strongly feels that ideas should be stolen. not only from other photographs but any source of inspiration.

Starting as an assistant in 1959, Bailey was just getting geared up for the 60's. Late in 1960 he was contacted by Vogue as well as taking on a lot of freelance work. Working in the fashion industry was perfect for Bailey because he seen this as the only creative genre of the time.

David Bailey refuses to shoot with famous people these days. He once cancelled a photo shoot with Lady GaGa after reading in the press about her entourage and the type of requests she asks for. He believes the famous people these days have no personality and only act how they're told to.

I suppose this goes against everything he tries to bring out in a photograph.

Paper and Print Company Choice.

So for the huge decision of what to get my images printed on and where to get them from.

Luckily I had the chance to look at a sample pack of C-Types from The Print Space in London.

It was a bit tough to visualise my images on the different types of paper because a lot of the samples used landscapes.

In the end I was torn between Kodak Metallic and Fuji Flex for my images. 

Fuji Flex (Left) - Kodak Metallic (Right)

My deciding factor was in the Whites of the Kodal Metallic. They seemed to be an almost Chrome finish which was slightly off-putting. Although this would be perfect for some styles, I wasn't Happy with it for this project.

My reason for choosing the Flex over Gloss and Matt is the Flex has a glass-like covering. Giving the print a 3D feel to it.

I feel this will literally add depth to my prints and stand out a lot more than the usual mediums.

My Final Images.

After much consideration and research into the masters of Portrait Photography. I have decide to opt for a very simple tight cropped headshot of my sitters.

My reason for choosing such an up-close and personal approach is so the viewer can focus on the sitters face its self.
By doing this we can see every hair, wrinkle, scar or imperfection. These small personal marks on them can help us make up stories of how they came to be.

My views on portrait is to enhance the sitter themselves. To do this there needs to no third party distractions. By distractions I mean things in the background that can lead astray or make the viewer try to create some kind of connection between the two.

I strongly believe that items of clothing can have the same effect. Clothing can give away a multitude of signals to help us create a profile for the subject. This can be something as simple as giving us an indication of their profession but could also help us sub-conciously decide their class.

If an Artist or Photographer was trying to put across these details to the viewer, then things like clothing and possessions could play a very good role.

I have taken techniques from a selection of photographers that I have researched.

I was immediately captured by Platon's style of shooting from quite low. This gives the sitter a sense of dominance.

Rankin's use of close-up crop, to show off his wild and creative make-up creations. This was my inspiration for getting close enough to see the sitters scars and blemishes.