Lament - Idea 1
My Intention of Idea 1: For my first idea I am planning on photographing a girl in a studio, taking mainly close up shots of her in order to portray her expressions and emotions. These expressions will be serious and she will look like she is missing someone, ‘a passionate expression of grief’, relating to my theme. In addition to this, I will use a plain background so that the model is the subject matter, and nothing else should distract from the focus on her. I am intending on styling my model in dark clothing and for her to wear accessories relating to grief, in order to portray the idea that she is in mourning, and for her makeup to be applied in a way that also expresses her grief. Finally, I would like to edit and develop these photographs in a way that emphasises the theme of lament.
Written Analysis – ‘Arkhee the Owl’ By Eolo Perfido This photograph ‘Arkhee the Owl’ is taken from the project ‘creative images’ by Eolo Perfido, where the main focus of the photos are people’s emotions/expressions. Therefore, I think this photograph has been produced in order to express the emotion of sadness. This is emphasised through the model’s dark make up and the overall unhappiness atmosphere of the photograph as a whole. Perfido possibly took the photograph in a studio, and would have used studio lighting in order to highlight certain aspects of the girl’s face (such as under her eyes) and to darken other parts to make her features become more prominent (such as her jaw bones). The composition of the photograph suggests that Perfido photographed the girl from possible standing over her as she lay down. On the other hand, he could have been standing up right, but this is difficult to tell because the main focus of the photograph is the girl’s face, and not her surroundings. What I find interesting about this photograph is that it is very basic and straight forward, but at the same time it can portray a lot of different meanings. An example of this is ‘Why is the girl upset?’ By not telling the viewer the answer to this question, this enables the viewer to form their own idea, which automatically involves them in the photograph. I feel this is very effective and is the main reason why it has inspired me to take similar photographs to this.
Written Analysis – Continued An element of the image that I have been inspired to use on my photographs is the sepia effect that was possibly created on a program such as Photoshop. The effect has inspired me to edit my photographs in this way because I feel it enhances the sad mood of the image. It is also different to the traditional black and white toning and this makes it more aesthetically pleasing. As well as this, Perfido would have probably airbrushed the girl’s face in order to clear any imperfections, and this will be necessary for me to do when editing my own photographs. In addition to this, the composition of the photograph is what I would like my images to be like. I think the girl’s face being completely in focus is beneficial because it means this is the first thing that the viewer will notice when they look at the image. An aspect that contributes to the focus on her face are the oval shapes of her bright white eyes which are very prominent because they contrast with the darkness of the rest of the image and therefore result in the viewers’ attention to be drawn towards the face.
Furthermore, the fact that there aren’t any distractions in the background of the image to take away the focus of the girl, also contributes to her being the main subject matter. The girl’s face is also slightly more in focus than her clothing and this reinforces the idea that her facial expression/features are the main focus of the photograph. Also, the way that lighting is used in the image is how I would like to use it when taking my photographs. The image has inspired me to use lighting in a way that highlights my models face but does not over expose her at the same time. Perfido would have probably used quite a fast shutter speed when capturing the photograph as there may have been enough light from the studio lights. Therefore, in order to make sure my photographs are focused as much as possible, I will use studio lighting to give the photo enough light that is needed to give me a sharp and crisp image. These aspects of the photograph greatly contribute to the first impression of the image - sadness. Therefore, they have all inspired me to take my photographs using different techniques, in order to portray my theme of lament to the best of my ability.
Initial Photos For Idea 1
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
Image 4
Image 5
Image 6
Image 7
Image 8
Evaluation of Initial Photos My original intention when taking this set of photographs was to portray the theme of lament through my model’s facial expressions and I for my viewers to be able to easily recognise that she is upset. I also wanted to use different camera angles when taking my photographs to make the set more interesting. Therefore, I varied my photographs from long angles (focusing on my model’s whole body to portray her body language) to extreme close up angles of her face (to portray her facial expressions). I took my photographs in a studio within college and this meant I had to take careful consideration into what aperture and shutter speed I took my photos on, depending on how much light I used from the studio lighting. For some of my photographs I used a tripod and this enabled me to use a slower shutter speed (as there wasn’t the issue of camera shake) which meant I didn’t have to worry about harsh lighting from the studio lights that may have over exposed my photographs. As well as this, by using the studio lighting, it meant I was able to use a smaller aperture (because less light was needed) and this enabled my photographs to have a larger depth of field. This was especially beneficial when I was taking long shots, such as Image 1 and 2, as I wanted all of my model’s body to be in focus. The photograph that I am most pleased about with the quality of composition would be Image 3. The fact that my model’s face and her veil are in focus, but the edges of the photograph such as some of her hair are out of focus, I think, is effective. This is because it means my model’s face is the main subject matter and this is what I wanted to achieve in my images. An image that could have had better composition would be Image 6. I used a unique camera angle for this photograph and although it makes the image look more prominent I feel I should have adapted the aperture on my camera, so that the tear drop was focused on, rather than all of the model’s facial features as I think this would have made the photograph more aesthetically pleasing. I edited the colouring/tones of Image 4 to emphasise the lament atmosphere of the photograph and I feel this worked quite well. I originally planned on editing the colours to either black and white or sepia, but I felt that these techniques were too predictable. Therefore I only slightly adjusted the colours in the photograph, and I think it turned out well.
Evaluation of Initial Photos Continued I didn’t use any textures when editing my photographs because I wanted to keep my model’s face looking smooth and flawless, so by achieving this I airbrushed all of the images in order to remove any imperfections. This can be seen a bit too much in Image 7, but I made sure that I kept my model’s eyes and mouth sharp, so that the photograph would still look realistic. I am reasonably happy with the visual impact that my set of photographs would have on the viewer. I believe that Image 8 would have less of a visual impact than Image 3, as it looks quite plain and boring. I feel that Image 3 is a lot more intricate and aesthetically pleasing because it enhances the details of my models facial features and her veil. On the other hand, although I think Image 8 is well edited in terms of the clarity of my model’s face, I feel it is a lot more subdued than and not as interesting as Image 3. In order to make Image 8 more prominent, I could have adjusted the tones of the photograph more or possibly added a texture over the top of the photograph to make it fit into the theme of ‘lament’ better. Despite this, I think it is still clear to see that my model is unhappy, and this is beneficial because that was the main aspect that I wanted my viewer to be able to recognise. Finally, I believe that for most of my photographs, I have achieved the level of symbolism that I wanted, and I also feel that the viewer would be able to decipher what the symbolic message is in my photos for the most part. Images that I feel portrayed the symbolism of ‘lament’ the best would be Images 5, 6 & 7. I think this is because I used close up angles for these photographs and they worked well because it meant that the sad expression on my model’s face was clearly portrayed. Along with the black and white effect on Image 5, and the fact that the model’s facial features and veil are in focus, I feel that these aspects work well together in order to successfully portray the symbolism of lament. However, photographs that I feel the viewer would struggle to decipher the meaning of would be Images 1, 3 & 8 as these are more standard photographs. To make the symbolic message clearer, I could have edited the photos in ways to illustrate the idea of lament, such as black and white toning or adding textures to the photographs, rather than focusing on the clarity of my model’s skin, although this was important.
Developmental Photos For Idea 1
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
Image 4
Image 5
Image 6
Image 7
Image 8
Evaluation of Developmental Photographs for Idea 1 My intentions of my developmental set of photographs were to emphasise the theme of lament and to try and turn the disadvantages of my initial set, into advantages and I believe I achieved this in a range of different ways. I wanted to make my photographs more prominent and one of the ways in which I achieved this was by re-photographing some images, with objects that are related to grief itself, and the emotions that people feel when they are mourning a loved one.
The first object that I thought of when brainstorming objects that portray the theme of grief, was a candle. This is because people tend to light candles to remember somebody, so I thought that by developing my set of photographs with candles, the theme of lament would be prominent, through the sub-theme of grief. First of all, I decided to print of images 1 & 4, and rephotograph them with candles placed in front of the photo. I really liked the depth that was created within the photograph by doing this, and I feel it makes the initial photos more eccentric, as my model’s positioning and grieving pose is emphasised – conveying a sense of lament. Continuing with the use of candles to develop my photographs, I printed image 5 onto a sheet of acetate, and held it in front of some lighted candles, and re-photographed the image. I lined the initial photograph and the candles up in order for the flame from the candles to represent tears that my model would be crying as she is grieving. This conveys the theme of lament in a more covert manner, and I also feel that it makes the image look more unique and prominent. I then decided to use the wax from the candles to develop two more of my initial photographs, images 7 & 8. I allowed the candles to burn for while, and then carefully but qucikly dripped the wax onto printed out copies of images 7 & 8. I had to make sure this process happened quickly before the wax dried, but I am very happy with the result that it gives. My aim was to portray the wax as my model’s tears, rolling down her face, and I feel that I successfully conveyed this. By doing this, I also feel that these images highly contribute to illustrating the theme of grief and lament.
Evaluation of Developmental Photographs for Idea 1 - Continued Next, I decided to burn two print outs of my initial photographs and rephotograph them in dead leaves. I chose to burn images 3 & 6, as I hoped that I would be able to highlight and emphasise my model’s facial features, as the initial photographs are close up shots, resulting in the harsh edges of the photographs being destroyed – maintaining the main focus of the image on my model’s facial expressions. As well as this, I wanted to convey the idea that the dead leaves could possibly be people that have passed away in my model’s life. Therefore, the fact that the leaves are surrounding the image, suggest the poignant idea that the memory of loss ones never goes away. My favourite development out of these images would be Image 3, as I burnt the photograph, re-photographed it and edited the new photograph in Photoshop using the technique of overlays to illustrate the idea of the candles burning the image. I feel that this has a very strong symbolic meaning that my viewers would most likely be able to decipher. In Image 3 I wanted to create the idea that although mourning a loved one is respectful and helps some people cope with the loss, for others it is also capable of making things worse and this ties in with the idea that the candles (associated with remembering a loved one) are destroying the person that is grieving (because the photograph is burnt.) For Image 2, I thought of different emotions/feelings that people tend to feel when they are feeling lament. I scratched these into the unneeded space of the photograph, and my intention was for this to look like the words are surrounding the model and making her feel trapped. In addition to this, I edited the photograph to make it look like the girl’s face had completely gone – and I illustrated this with just a circle of blackness. The idea that I wanted my viewers to decipher from this, is that any emotions that the girl would have felt have completely gone, and have been replaced with the emotions (words) that are surrounding her. I wanted to create this effect to show that death is uncontrollable and can happen to anyone. And also, that the consequences it has on relations to the person that has passed, are also unstoppable. Finally, I am very happy with the end results of my developmental ideas and believe that they portray the theme of lament both visually and symbolically, far better than my initial set of photographs.