Past Meets Present
Artist Analysis Artist: Ellen Von Unwerth Date Taken: 2005 Type: Fashion Ellen Von Unwerth is a famous fashion photographer. She captures portrait’s of the female in a sexual but elegant way. Her photos aim to show models in a refreshing way, highlighting their bodies whilst keeping the photos tasteful. She often uses themes throughout her photography, for example this one is from a set of photos portraying a ‘sexy’ take on the Marie Antoinette era. Unwerth aims to capture the sex appeal of women in her photos whilst keeping them tasteful and high fashion. An influence behind this image could have come from the film about Marie Antoinette and historical references to the period. This period of history is very prominent in the history of women and as Unwerth mainly is seen as a fashion photographer of women, this would have been something she was thoroughly interested in. The period was a real revelation regarding the break through of the sexualisation of women and breaking fashion boundaries. The pastel colours and the bold hair and makeup along with the lace and florals that appeared in the fashion at this time, have influenced modern fashions today massively and hence why Unwerth may have chosen to recreate this era in her photographs.
This image is aesthetically pleasing to me because I like the bright colours that she has used in the editing process to improve the background of the photo. The models are in interesting positions that you would typically associate with fashion photography. I also like how even though the models are just in lingerie the photos aren’t disrespectful to women and portray them in an attractive yet beautiful way. I like how the clothing is the main focus of the pictures as the photos are fashion, and so the clothing and styling is a main part of fashion photography. The composition of the photo is simple but I think it is mainly the models poses and props that make the photo so intriguing to look at. These photos have inspired me because I think that this style of photography really appeals to a wide audience, and would interest a lot of people and make the photos have more of a visual impact upon the viewer. I am inspired to make my photographs fashion style, and use two models in my shoot. I want to take aspects from this photo such as the styling of the hair and the vibrant background and props, and add my own twist to the photos, by using different types of fashion, not lingerie, as it would not be age appropriate but aim to mix this history story with modern day fashion. I would like my photographs to look as if they could be featured in a fashion magazine and will give me experience in styling my own shoots, including hair, clothing and make-up. This is an important aspect of any shoot and I think that by doing this project it will help me to improve my overall photography and organisational skills within a photo shoot.
Initial Photographs The idea behind this set of photos was to take a historical reference – The renaissance period, and incorporate it in to today’s fashion trends. The idea of History meeting today. I took fashion inspiration from the famous historical figure Marie Antoinette and combined her style with the style of today to make the pictures edgy. I wanted the photos to look like something that could be found in a high fashion magazine.
Evaluation Of Initial Photographs I was really inspired by my Unwerth in my first set of photos, and tried to almost re-create the photos, but without them being so revealing. The intention behind this set was to take a historical figure (Marie Antoinette) and portray her in a modern day fashion set of photographs. I am quite pleased with these because I think I achieved what I set out to originally do in a successful way and think that these are a strong set of fashion photographs. The technical quality of these photos is quite high quality, as I took quite a long time in the editing process making sure the images were sharp and in focus in the places I wanted, as well as air brushing the faces, as the make-up on the models was very pale and created an uneven skin tone, and so air brushing these photos was vital. However, in some, I think that I should have taken more time to make it look more professional but overall I think that the set makes a strong statement. The lighting I used was natural as the photographs were set outside of a large country house, in order to represent the historical element to the photos, and I think that this created a very soft highlight on the models, and I think this helped aid the photos in being so successful. I think that the visual impact this set of photos will have on the audience will be quite strong, as I think that the photos turned out quite well, and do look like something that may appear in a fashion magazine. The photos may appeal more to people who are interested in fashion photography and publications. The photos may lead the audience to question what historical period the photos are aimed to look like, and might spark an interest in historiography from the audience. I think the poses and the models will create quite a striking effect on the audience. The symbolism in these photographs is to portray the past meeting the present. In this set it is through the fashion, and clothing worn, which contrasts with the old fashioned hair styles and make-up that is found on the models, as well as some of the clothing (corsets). I think that the symbolism is clear in these photos, and demonstrates how style is eternal, and what once was in fashion in the past, is likely to return in the future, as most people and designers take their style inspiration from the past and look to historical figures for guidance in the latest trends, and to help them create something new but still incorporating the old.
Developmental Photographs
Artist Analysis Photographer: Rachel Louise Taken: June 2012 Type: Fashion
The influence that could have inspired this image to be created is the modern London grunge trend that is currently at the forefront of fashion. The technique of using simple DIY materials and sticking them to the photograph to create a visually appealing stimulant on the photographs. This is used a lot on fashion clothing websites to display their look book of outfits. Using stickers and graphics to add to a photograph is trending a lot, and seeing as my photographs are based upon fashion, I thought this would be a good way to develop my photos. This photo has influenced me as I think it will be interesting to apply a similar technique like this to my photographs. I can use objects and different materials to reinforce my theme of the past meeting the present and create new interesting imagery. I will use objects that are more related to my photographs in order for the audience to recognise that the photos are based on a historical theme, but with a modern twist. I think this photograph has inspired me in regards with the colouring of the photos as well. The very pastel curves in the photo make it more based towards a female audience who are interested in fashion, and I think my photos will also appeal towards this audience group and so adding some pink curves like the ones featured in this photo could benefit my photos and give them stronger appeal. I think using this sort of technique will make my photographs more interesting to view as they will have added detail that will give them different textures and qualities than they had beforehand.
Second Developmental Photographs
Evaluation Of First Set Of Photos My initial intentions when I captured these photos was to take influence from Rachel Louise and use this technique to create a unique developmental set that did not intentionally copy her work, but adapted it to adjust to my set of photographs, which were based on a historical theme. I wanted the developmental photographs to further support the idea of old and new, and the past meeting the present. The initial developments of using copy dex to decay my photographs created quite a successful outcome. At first I did not feel entirely happy with this set of photographs and was going to repeat the technique so that the photos were not so decayed. However, when I took photographs of the technique and edited them on Photo shop, I realised that the photos really captured the idea of decaying old photographs and were quite successful. When photos age they do melt away in different areas and get damaged quite easily and so I think that this was a strong way to help the audience to realise the the theme within the photographs. The literal decay reinforces the idea that the original photographs were taken in the past, even though they hold some strong modern techniques in the composition, combination of costumes and the poses portrayed by the models. The second developments also helped to reinforce the theme as I used older objects to establish the theme and develop it further. I think this was an interesting way to create new imagery simply by combining the photographs with other objects. I think this set was successful as the overlaying made the photos more detailed and really highlighted my photos and brings them to the attention of the audience. The visual impact that these photos will have on an audience will be quite bold in that they will definitely question the symbolism that lies within the photographs and will wonder when were the photographs actually captured as they can be quite deceiving. The initial decaying and overlaying of objects disguises that the photos are in fact from the present and I just combined old style clothing from the Marie Antoinette age such as corsets and combined with modern style clothing and modern techniques of photography. I was pleased with the composition of the photographs as I think they were layed out in an interesting way. I think that technically the photographs are strong as they are of quite high quality even though they were re-photographed from the material I used for copy dex. I used natural lighting as I did not want the photographs to reflect the lighting when they were wet. I think that overall this set of photographs were quite successful as they are sharp and have a good range of contrast against the lighting, as well as using lots of different curves to reinforce the old style vintage feel to the photographs. I think this set has been quite successful in creating a strong range of Fashion photos based upon the theme Past meets Present.
Second Set Of Initial Photographs The idea behind this set of photos was to take more historical reference from famous paintings, and create modern photographs in the style of the original paintings but with my own twist to them.
Artist Analysis Artist: Edvard Munch Type: Painting The influence behind this painting could be from the scenery that the painter had around him, or from an individual. The painting to me represents a Misfit in society, the people behind the man seem normal and going about their day, whereas the Scream seems very troubled by what he is surrounded by. I think that this could be because the man is troubled and maybe has a mental health issue, or is just angry at society. Munch himself states the inspiration behind this painting and the real message “One evening I was walking along a path, the city was on one side and the fjord below. I felt tired and ill. I stopped and looked out over the fjord—the sun was setting, and the clouds turning blood red. I sensed a scream passing through nature; it seemed to me that I heard the scream. I painted this picture, painted the clouds as actual blood. The color shrieked. This became The Scream.� The photo could have many different interpretations which is what makes it such an interesting piece of art work. It has inspired me to create a more gritty and ugly set of photographs that are modern, but show how things get to humans very easily. I will use a male model and create an interesting and more experimental set of photographs. I have also been inspired by the actual paint lines within the sky, I will try to recreate this in my photograph by using motion and blur to create the same effect. My photos will be more based upon the symbolism of the tensions that people face in daily life and the stress that exists in modern society. I will base my photo and try to recreate the facial expression mostly in my photographs.
Set One Inspired by The Scream
Artist Analysis Artist: Picasso
The influence behind this photograph would probably have been the beauty of the girl and her surroundings of nature and the lake. The photo uses very green and natural tones and I think that it really captures that natural lighting on the girl and how it would hit her face and body. One of the main focuses of this painting is the hat and I think that it really captures the audience’s attention and is one of the first things you notice about the painting. This photo has influenced me as I think that it is a very natural photograph that is quite a fashionable painting for the time period that it was painted in. I think that when I recreate this painting I will take this fashionable aspect from the painting and incorporate this aspect into my photography. I think that Props will be quite important in this set. I want the hat to be the main focus of my photographs and by using just this prop and disregarding the lake and just focusing on having greenery around the model it will really enhance the fashion aspects of the photograph and make it a lot more modern and attract an audience from today’s time period. Hopefully my interpretation of this painting will look like something that could appear in a fashion magazine, and give a different twist to Picasso’s work.
Set Two Inspired by Picasso
Artist Analysis Artist: Johannes Vermeer The influence behind this painting could be the girl or the jewelry that she is wearing. I think that the dark aspects and shadowing around the subject add an interesting touch to the simple composition of the photograph. The subject is well lit in contrast. I think that in my photographs I will use a vignette effect to create a darker edges effect around the image. The painting is quite dull in some aspects and so in my recreation I will use curves and contrast techniques to try and achieve this same type of darkness. For costumes I will use a much more modern look on the model as I am trying to really engage with the theme of the past meeting the present. This painting has inspired me as I think it is such a renowned painting that is recognised around the world. I wanted to recreate this painting as I think that it will really help the audience to identify that the whole set of photographs were inspired by famous paintings. I think that by including this photo I will be able to create the modern interpretation of this photo successfully.
Photos inspired by Girl with the Pearl Earring
Artist Analysis Artist: Van Gogh The inspiration behind this painting could have been the self and how the male has dominant facial features. The main factors I recognise when looking at this painting is the strong jaw structure and cheekbones that Gogh possesses. The composition is very simple using portrait layout and similar tones throughout. I like the way the background and the suit combine together slightly to make the painting really interesting to view. Every brush stroke adds a little extra detail to the painting and really evokes thought with the audience. This painting has inspired me as I would like to try to capture the male form as well as this painting demonstrates. I will take the portrait aspects from this but vary the composition to create an interesting few photos that show the harshness and strength of the male body. I will make mine quite flat in the colours by perhaps editing and using a low saturation or black and white gradient across the photos to give the same elements to the photograph that the painting possesses. I think it will be important to make sure the light glazes the face in the similar places to that of the painting.
Photos inspired by Van Gogh
Artist Analysis Artist: Giorgione
The influence behind this painting was probably the female form as it demonstrates the woman in a flattering light and focuses on the beauty of the woman and nature, which brings the painting together in the foreground and the background. This piece has inspired me as it represents how the view of women has changed over the years in that how the naked body used to be seen as an elegant feature for people to paint but in today’s society the naked female body in photographs is seen as promiscuous. I would like to capture the same shapes and way that the light is hitting the subject in the same way but by using a model wearing clothes. It is important that the model has the same sexuality portrayed like the painting has but in a tasteful modern way that will not alienate the audience. I think this will be an important factor to consider when I capture my photos, and I should take influence in the position of the model.
Photos inspired by Sleeping Venus
Artist Analysis Artist: Edward Hopper
This painting shows a woman gazing out of her window. The painting has emotion portrayed throughout it, and it is important that I capture the same emotion in my recreational photographs. The painting has inspired me as I think it shows the female in an emotional state and also has some beautiful tones of blue throughout the painting. The influence behind the painting could be the vulnerable side that the painter has seen in his female companion or perhaps the beauty of the female in the way that she is lit by the natural light through the window. It will be important to keep the window as the only source of lighting in my photographs as I think that it should capture the essence of the painting and help portray the same emotion and keep the window and the girl the main focus of the photograph by using a certain composition.
Evaluation Of Initial Photographs I think that this set of photographs were all quite successful in capturing the essence of the original paintings that they were based upon and demonstrating a more modern feel to the audience. I wanted the photos to still be recognisable as their originals but portray more appeal to an audience from today’s time and society. The technical quality of the photographs is quite strong as they provide a lot of variety and also all use different composition and lighting styles in order to reflect the original paintings. For example the paintings based on Hopper’s painting use a lot of natural lighting and have been edited very differently from the rest of the set. I wanted the photos to be in black and white to reflect the female emotions and to also brighten the light that is coming through the window. I made these photos quite sharp and grainy to give them an almost film like effect as I felt that this relates more to today’s audience and how the female is today when she is sad or emotional. In contrast, the set based on the Girl in the peal earring use very simple composition and are quite colourful in the tones. This is also similar with the set based on the Scream, as I really wanted to capture the original blue mid-tones that run throughout the photograph. The visual impact that these photos may give to an audience could be one of intrigue. They would probably seek to compare my photographs with the original paintings that they are based on and see how they differ and how they have been modernised. In terms of the imagery stimulating them, some may be more hard hitting than others, as some are more based on portraiture and others on fashion and it depends what is to each persons taste. The symbolism within these photos again lies with the past meeting the present. The idea of the old paintings being transformed into something that relates to a 21st Century demographic and making them more interesting to the younger people of today.
Artist Analysis Artist: Gerhard Richter This artist uses the technique of painting over photographs to add extra colour and appeal to them, and give them a new lease of life. This technique is interesting as it is not commonly done on photographs and the symbolism behind the technique is very questionable and could be interpreted in many different ways. This photo inspired me because my set of photographs were all based originally on paintings and so I thought this would be an interesting way to reinforce that my photos were based on paintings and engage this to an audience but also at the same time bring in elements of mixing the past and present together. I think this will be interesting to try as I can create some stimulating patterns for some, whilst others I can try to make them look similar to their original paintings and on others I can try to use a similar technique of painting to Richter. This will be something really creative to try to add to my photographs.
Developmental Photographs
Artist Analysis Artist : Daniele Buetti This artist took photos from magazines and used a pinhole effect to create interesting patterns on top of the photographs and then put them onto a light box so that the light would shine through the photographs and almost give them a new meaning and make them look quite different from the originals. I think this technique would be interesting to try in order to see if an audience would interpret my photos in a different way when they have this technique used on them. It may help them to recognise new emotions within the photographs, as before this photo probably just looked like a portrait but after this technique was used it has made the model look sad, or like there is an underlying symbolism to the photograph. This artist inspired me in my work as this is a technique that I have not tried before and I thought it would be an interesting way to develop my photos further and make them more detailed to look at.
Second Developmental Photographs
Evaluation of Photographs I think that this development of photographs has been successful as I have extended the detail of the photographs further. The developments of painting on the photos and the pin hole effect has allowed me to expand the developmental experimentation that I can achieve as a photographer. By using these techniques I have added extra detail and appeal to the photographs. The technical quality of this set could be seen as quite low as I had to print the photographs and then re photograph them a few times. I think that by painting on the photographs it referred back to the original paintings that inspired my photographs. This refers back to the original theme of Past meeting the present and really establishes the link between the two. The pinhole effect modernised the photos further as I was inspired by Buetti to try a fresh technique that is becoming more popular amongst photographs. By doing this technique it gave them little added details that will make them more interesting. This technique is something that you might see in a fashion magazine and I think this really enhanced the photographs further. I tried piercing certain words and patterns into some photographs however I did not think that the words worked as well and so I limited this to just one picture. My favourite technique in doing this was the piercing of the holes onto the face on the photo inspired by Van Gogh. I think this worked well as it was a portrait photograph and not one that showed more of the subjects body. The visual impact these photographs will have on an audience would be one of interest as I think these techniques I have used are very unique and would really capture the attention of an audience. Also, I hope that they would inspire other people to try new things in order to enhance their photographs as sometimes adding little details like I have done really pull the photos together and create a beautiful piece. The symbolism still remains of Past meeting Present. I think that these photos demonstrate the theme more as they have been painted on which links back to the original paintings they were inspired by. Bringing the paint to the modern photograph shows how both techniques of photographing and painting still do exist and the combination shows how they have evolved over the years.
Final Outcomes
Project Evaluation Overall, I am quite pleased with how this project turned out as I think that I used very experimental techniques to develop my photographs and I used a very wide range of photographs. I tried to combine using a set of strong fashion based photographs that could appear in a fashion magazine with a set that used very different compositional and directional techniques to create a vast range of different styles of photography based on portraits. I think the project was successful as my two ideas were so extreme and therefore allowed me to try completely different things on each set whilst also still creating successful photographs. This project allowed me to push my creative boundaries as I have tried different experimental techniques throughout this project whether this be on the computer uses Photo shop or by hand using the techniques such as painting and creating the holes in the photographs. I think that by using these techniques it has really increased my photography skills and creative side. Another factor that has allowed my creative side to be pushed in a successful way is that the symbolism of the theme from this project has been current in every set of photographs that I have created. I referred back and used techniques that would reinforce the theme as I knew that by doing this it would make the photos very strong and have a deep symbolic meaning to an audience. The artists that I chose to take influence from in this project really drove my work in the direction that it did. In set 2 taking my analysis and inspiration from the traditional paintings really helped me to develop and make an interesting set. Artists such as Munch, Van Gogh and Picasso are important people in the history of art and so I think that it was important to take some strong cultural references and apply them into my work and make them appeal to a
Much more modern audience. I think that by doing this it has enabled me to create a unique take on old culture. The other artist That really influenced the start of my project was Ellen Von Unwerth as she gave me an idea of how to capture women in a tasteful but beautiful way. Also, Richter, Buetti and Rachel Louise gave me an interesting way to develop my photographs that I haven’t tried before. I think the developmental stages in this project were very important as they really brought my photographs to life and allowed me to try new things and adapt old photographs in a modern way which is what my theme was all about. If I had more time to develop my photographs I would like to try more developmental stages and maybe even add s whole new set of photographs. If I was to create another set of photographs, I would make them strong like the previous sets to reinforce the theme – Past meets present. I would take old photographs of people when they were younger and recreate them nowadays when they have aged but using similar clothing and posing. The artist that I would take inspiration from would be Irina Werning. She has used this idea to create photos similar to what I explained and so she would be the perfect artist to base a further set of photographs on. I really like how they are captured in a similar way to the original photos and therefore do not lose their authenticity. This would be an important factor to consider if I wanted to recreate these photos. Overall I think that this has been an interesting project for me and although it has fashion influences in each set, the photographs are more experimental and have allowed me to be more creative as a photographer and try new things and create some successful final photographs.