Statement of intent
In this project I aim to produce content for this page, based entirely of my ideas on the theme, which is portraiture and create a various range of outcomes that I will piece together to devise my final portfolio. I further aim to portray my creativity through my unique interpretations , as I am truly fascinated by the way emotions works, how such simple of emotions can be captured and it compliment this theme greatly. I intend to delve into the approach of identity and to explore the use of projection. I would like to convey this idea on a model to show the duality of the different emotions.
For my initial research I will start by researching professional photographers who are known for their expertise in portraiture related concepts, one photographer that has influenced my ideas is jane Bown. She is infamous for her approach on the portraiture theme where she carefully balances both elements of portraiture, for example black and white. Although this is the key idea that I would like to proceed with, I am also open to the idea of conveying the theme through projection, which also expresses the idea of modernism. A photographer whose work has also conveyed the portraiture theme through this style is Omar victor Diop, he is known to take subjective photographs in color. I believe that this would be a unique approach to the theme but would be difficult to achieve as it requires many props and from previous experience from my first project I know that props are limited and I need to make use of my available resources, as I have learned that what I intend to do achieve does not always take effect.
When choosing the theme I had two options to choose from; Framing or Light & portraiture. I decided to pick portraiture as I felt that I could go further with this theme rather than framing, I also believe that framing is basic and I would not be able to mold it into something creative and unique. Portraiture consists of vast concepts that can portray a numerous amount of meaning and symbolism and that is what I hope to portray through my photographs. I wish to portray allure and a sense of mystery through a variety of innovative visuals. My initial thoughts were to just use simplistic yet effective colors, like just black and white, however I began to realize opposing colors can also have the same effect and make the photograph more stimulating and bold, which is what I want.
To show progression through my work I will show how I have developed my creativity through the process. My initial thoughts were to just use simplistic yet effective colors, like just black and white. However I began to realize opposing colors can also have the same effect and make the photograph more stimulating and bold, which is what I want so I will use a projector. I will show progress by showing that I have went on a journey with my work and that I have merged my ideas with traditional aspects of the theme to do so.
I have many ideas in mind in terms of experimentation and techniques. A typical technique to achieve what I want requires the use of a projector to achieve patterns and linings on the model or subject, this would be in a studio shot of a dark setting. However I have conceptualized an idea of my own, where I will use a sun lamp to reflect onto my model, rather than just using traditional technique to do so. I will do both to see which method is more effective and to see if my concept will work.
As my work progresses, I will make sure to show my journey through this project by adding full galleries of every photograph I make and do a set up to show my understanding of my objectives. I will also do my best and worst on each set of photographs to further demonstrate my ability to assess my own work rationally, which will help me improve my next set of photographs. I will also show progress through the use of Photoshop if needed on a photograph to present my drive to ensure high quality outcomes and this will further help refine my Photoshop skills generally. When I am satisfied with my galleries, best and worst and outcomes I will write a final evaluation to conclude my thoughts and judgement on the project, what went well, what didn't and if given the time what I would do differently.
For this project I have chosen the theme of 'portraiture' because it allowed me to explore different model techniques and studio setups. Some ideas that came to mind for this project are; a studio set up with a black background, the model preferably a female with a phrase that links to identity crisis. Or something as simplistic as a vibrant cultured projection to bring attention straight to the model. I would like to use black & white, but also colors when needed, to attract the audience and change up the style. Although black & white is the ideal match, it gets boring after seeing it repetitively. I would like to further enhance my perspective with this project as it allows me to think out of the box and create simplistic yet effective photographs.
Coggle Mindmap
Mood Boards
I want to do something along the lines like this, because it is quite dramatic and appealing. It really interests the viewer, and brings out the light in the black and white photos. I also want to do a color one, so having a black and white photoshoot, balances that.
Cultural portraiture
I really like this way of showing my culture in portraiture, and I like the way the color stands out really well. I could get someone to wear a scarf and some jewelry to replicate these images. I can also use a black background, or use a projector to get solid colors.
Projection
In my project I aim to use a projector, which can come across as "trippy". I can also put messages on the models face, for example the disconnected image above.
Jane Bown
Context
"Her first commission for the Observer was a portrait of philosopher Bertrand Russell in 1949. From then, Bown photographed the great and the good, the rich and the poor, the ordinary and extraordinary with a compassionate and gentle eye. (https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2014/dec/21/jane-bown-a-life-in-photography-in-pictures) Her most famous sitting perhaps came in 2002 when she was asked to photograph HM The Queen for her 80th birthday. Jane has won many accolades during her long career: she was awarded a CBE (Commander of the Order of The British Empire) for her outstanding contribution to photography in 1985.Bown worked primarily in black-and-white and preferred to use available light. Until the early 1960s, she worked primarily with a Rolle flex camera. Subsequently, Bown used a 35 mm Pentax SLR, before settling on the Olympus OM-1 camera, often using an 85 mm lens."
Composition
This is a very well thought out image, constructed with a tight crop and assisted with a black and white image, which really creates a dramatic affect. I really like how it captures her raw emotion as you can infer she is smiling and is quite happy. Jane looks like she has zoomed in to take this image, which would ideally be better for this type of image, because it draws your attention to the girl and not any other bit, which could be influential in my work. The first thing I look at her is her eye, and because the image is in black and white her eyes stand out because they perhaps are a lighter color. The background is very blurry, and it therefore attracts the viewers eyes to the girl, which is the main focal point. I think she has used camera tools such as the white balance and ISO to get such a high quality. The angle that has been used is quite high up, in terms of the positioning of the girl, as it looks like she is sat down somewhere. The picture is quite simple, yet alluring. The level of detail on the hair strands and the hands really builds up the image. I believe this is an indoor shot because of the background, if it was outdoors there would be some sort of evidence to suggest that, which there isn't. I really like this image, like I said before it shows her raw emotion making it such a beautiful and natural image. Her fingers can also been seen like leading lines which ultimately lead to the model herself and in my opinion I think that Jane has edited her images by defining it by making the contrast lower and putting a black and white filter over it, which adds to the dramatic undertone of the image. The shutter speed must of been very high as the model looks almost unfazed by the camera and it really captures her natural behaviour, because if it was a low shutter speed she would of had to pose and not capture that natural behaviour and emotion which i would love to incorporate in my work as I want a natural feel to my work and not like a modelling artificial setting.
Connection
The type of photography, Bown does greatly interlinks with my project. For example, most of her photo are generalized with a portraiture picture, and are black and white, and for my project one of the aspects of it, is black and white portraiture images. This inspires my photography, to be somewhat like Bowns to achieve high quality images. It also made me wonder how to use my camera to my best advantage, such as a tight crop used in her work, or the subtle high view. Another way it influences me, is by the way the model is placed as, I could for one of my identity portraiture have a girl covering her face with a sad expression to show she's insecure like Bowns image above but in the opposite way of being cheerful.
Comment
I really enjoy viewing this image and I believe that it has many strengths in terms of the feeling it gives off, and I am very fond of the tight cro and representation of feelings in this captivating image. It has been captured so clearly that you can also most hear her laughter. The light and dark areas also contrast greatly as black and white work very well together. Bown has also sort of made this image very feminized and as a woman this image really speaks out to me. Overall everything in the image compliments each other really well creating a very captivating image. However, some people may perceive this image to be simple, but I believe that the simplicity is what makes it so breathtaking because you can really focus on that main focal point rather than loads of stuff happening and not knowing where to focus would create a feeling of chaos.
Omar Victor Diop
Context
Omar Victor Diop was born in Dakar in 1980. Since his early days, Omar Victor Diop developed an interest for Photography and Design, essentially as a means to capture the diversity of modern African societies and lifestyles.
The quick success of his first conceptual project Fashion 2112, le Futur du Beau which was featured at the Pan African Exhibition of the African Biennale of Photography of 2011 in Bamako (Rencontres de Bamako) encouraged him to end his carrer in Corporate Communications to dedicate to photography in 2012.
Omar Victor Lives in Dakar, his body of work includes Fine Arts and Fashion Photography as well as Advertising Photography. He enjoys mixing his photography with other forms of art, such as costume design, styling and creative writing.
His work is interrogative and intriguing, prospective, yet a tad vintage and draws inspiration from Diop's international uplifting, as well as his African visual heritage.
Omar Victor Diop was born in Dakar in 1980. Since his early days, Omar Victor Diop developed an interest for Photography and Design, essentially as a means to capture the diversity of modern African societies and lifestyles.
The quick success of his first conceptual project Fashion 2112, le Futur du Beau which was featured at the Pan African Exhibition of the African Biennale of Photography of 2011 in Bamako (Rencontres de Bamako) encouraged him to end his career in Corporate Communications to dedicate to photography in 2012
Omar Victor Lives in Dakar, his body of work includes Fine Arts and Fashion Photography as well as Advertising Photography. He enjoys mixing his photography with other forms of art, such as costume design, styling and creative writing. His work is interrogative and intriguing, prospective, yet a tad vintage and draws inspiration from Diop's international uplifting, as well as his African visual heritage.
https://www.omarvictor.com/about
Composition
This is a well thought out image, and it is really intriguing in terms of the way it is set out and the photoshop. The colors really clash well together, giving a sort of Mediterranean essence to it. The camera seems to be at a distance to get the whole body shot, of his what he is wearing which really pops out against the black background. I think he has used photoshop to get the cactuses and flowers as they seem very animated. The fade from black to yellow also seems photoshopped. I really like these photoshop techniques because of the way it surrounds him and makes him more elegant. I believe this could be a studio shot from the way the background is really dark and the lighting looks very artificial. You can also see the patterns and details on his clothes which really attract the eye. The props used also really attracts the eyes and interests the viewer to see what they are, the level of details on the props too are quite significant because the color contrasts so well with the whole image. The ISO controls the light, so I think it may have been used because the whiteness of the clothes really pops out, however I think the light would of reflected onto the black background. However if you look closely it's not really a black background and its been captured to be kind of faded into blue and it goes from a light to dark shade and I think this is a really key element of this photograph because it makes a viewer look closer into the image and see other elements such as the props and really analyse the photo. The photographer has also captured the patterns on the models clothes which is a really in depth look onto the image as it is evident how well he thought this image out to have put the level of detail into the props, the patterns in the clothes and the background.
Connection
It is evident that the theme of this image is portraiture as it captures every essence of a typical portraiture portrait, which is relevant to my work as my theme is also portraiture. It links directly to my work as I plan to create similar outcomes as the photographer has, which is capturing the tranquility and beauty of modelling. The photographer has executed this very well, as the image conveys the essence of portraiture through a modelling image, without jeopardizing any element, every element of the image of the image is unique, from the cactuses which surround him, the sunsetting circle around him and how powerful it looks. I also intend to focus on the beauty of culture throughout my work and this image has definitely inspired me to take images in such a way that all components of the image need attention not just the subject.
Comment
I enjoy viewing this image and I believe that it has many strengths, the main aspect of this image that I am very fond of is how the texture and color of the flowers and the background are portrayed through the image. It has been captured so clearly, which is so alluring. The colors also contrast greatly as the yellow against the black clashes but also portrays a sunset, because these two colors contrast the rest of the colors compliment each other very well, creating an overall rounded picture. Although the image is beautiful and simple, it can be seen as sort of boring as the main focal point, the model is distant and there is not much else to view. Furthermore, the color of the flowers and the element of color in general in the image is quite lacking as there is no range, there are just multiple shades of yellow and green. If the image was captured with a lighter background it would be more appealing. I can certainly use this as inspiration as I believe this image was an indoor shot which is what I aim to specialize in. Overall, I believe this is a very well composed and beautiful, with that being said I believe it could take identity into more consideration and work on perfecting the way the image is taken such as making it more perfected in terms of the color and the way it has been made to look a certain way to entices you by placing importance on place such as where the plants are, and the way it has been influenced,
4 cs - Steve McCurry
Context
Steve McCurry is an American photographer, freelancer, and photojournalist. His photo Afghan Girl, of a girl with piercing green eyes, has appeared on the cover of National Geographic several times. McCurry has photographed many assignments for National Geographic and has been a member of Magnum Photos since 1986. Wikipedia
Composition
This is a well thought image with image that really captures the colors around the girl and her eyes. It makes the viewer look towards the colorful parts of the image. The pose and angle is really significant because it is quite intimidating and like sort of a stare which I would like to incorporate in my work. I think the exposure was set really high as the the redness of the scarf is standing out compare to if it would of been low exposure. The distance is not that far off and sort of close to her which only captures her face. I also really like how it captures her natural beauty with no photoshop done to her face. Steve has not done the rule of thirds, however it depends whether or not the background is beautiful enough to capture. Steve has only focused on the girl herself and not the background which is clever way to make the viewer focus on the main focal point, I really like the brightness of the colour red and I feel like it really stands out towards the eye because of how it contrast with other colours of the image. I feel like the shutter speed was very high because
Connection
It is evident that the theme of this image is portraiture as it captures every essence of a typical portraiture portrait, which is relevant to my work as my theme is also portraiture. It links directly to my work as I plan to create similar outcomes as the photographer has, which is capturing the tranquility and beauty of modelling. The photographer has executed this very well, as the image conveys the essence of portraiture through a modelling image, without jeopardizing any element, every element of the image of the image is unique, from her eyes, how powerful it looks. I also intend to focus on the beauty of culture throughout my work and this image has definitely inspired me to take images in such a way that all components of the image need attention not just the subject.
Comment
I enjoy viewing this image and I believe that it has many strengths, the main aspect of this image that I am very fond of is how the texture and color of the background are portrayed through the image. It has been captured so clearly, which is so alluring. The colors also contrast greatly as the red against the green clashes, because these two colors contrast the rest of the colors compliment each other very well, creating an overall rounded picture. Although the image is beautiful and simple, it can be seen as sort of boring as the main focal point. Furthermore, the color of the scarf and the element of color in general in the image is quite lacking as there is no range, there are just multiple shades of red and green. If the image was captured with a lighter background it would be more appealing. I can certainly use this as inspiration as I believe this image was an outdoor shot which is what I aim to specialize in. Overall, I believe this is a very well composed and beautiful, with that being said I believe it could take identity into more consideration and work on perfecting the way the image is taken such as making it more perfected in terms of the color and the way it has been made to look a certain way to entices you by placing importance on place such as where the plants are, and the way it has been influenced.
Shoot Plan
For my equipment I will be using a backdrop and studio lights and possibly a reflector I will also be using a cannon DLSR and a red head scarf, I will also be using a sunset lamp and makeup, I will also print out their face to distort them for the identity crisis. I will also use a projector, with my slides of pictures. I will be using the red head scarf and an eyeliner pen to write on the models face. I will need two models, one for the identity portraiture and the culture one too. I plan to take around 30 photos of each aspect to really achieve a full high standard gallery. I am taking these photos to really show the aspect of my culture and identity crisis, and really show how people feel about these topics. It links greatly with my mood board as they really show my culture so I have a model of the same culture wearing the headscarf. The projection ones also link very well, as I have magpie the idea of a butterfly. I will also take up the idea of using photoshop for my identity crisis sort of making fire come out of them so I will be needing a red light. Marwa Afzal and Fatimah Hafjee have also agreed to model for me beforehand.
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Shoot 1
Culture portraiture
Best and Worst
I feel like this is my best photo because of the dark contrast with the red hijab. I also love how sharp it has come out. The foreground distance is also very immaculate as it cuts off the school uniform. I also like the way she is in the bush sort of which really gives a mysterious look to it. It also very well represents her religion, Islam as the hijab is a big part of it for girls.
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I feel like this is my worst image, because although the background and pose is good, you cant really see her properly because I didn't focus it enough to capture her face so it doesn't allow the viewer to see it properly and understand her emotions as you cant see it.
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Photoshop
For this, I wanted to boost the colors and make it more vibrant to fit my mood board, I did this by selecting color and changing the opposite of that color higher or lower in this case I went higher to make it really pop and vibrant as it can possibly be for this is used a tutorial: https://youtu.be/B8huc0pVVIc.
Photoshop
For this, I wanted to boost the colors and make it more vibrant to fit my mood board, I did this by selecting color and changing the opposite of that color higher or lower in this case I went higher to make it really pop and vibrant as it can possibly be for this is used a tutorial: https://youtu.be/B8huc0pVVIc.
Photoshop
First I selected image, and then calculations, I then changed the colors to blue and green, I also put the blending mode to hard light and the opacity to 80% this gave me the outcome of a dramatic black and white photo.
https://youtu.be/BLpAzo8yPdU
https://youtu.be/BLpAzo8yPdU
Shoot plan 2
For this shoot, I will need a model, perhaps Fatimah hafjee and because this is my identity idea for portraiture. I will write something on the models face perhaps are you Pakistani?, this greatly links to her personal experience because she is Indian and many people assume she is from Pakistan, I could also use a backdrop and red lights to make it more dramatic.
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Culture portraiture
Photoshop
First I selected image, and then calculations, I then changed the colors to blue and green, I also put the blending mode to hard light and the opacity to 80% this gave me the outcome of a dramatic black and white photo.
https://youtu.be/BLpAzo8yPdU
https://youtu.be/BLpAzo8yPdU
Photoshop
For this, I made a dispersion effect so it can look like the model has struggled in terms of her identity or culture as it is coming off her. I did various things to achieve this, however I think that this could be better in terms of the softness of the particles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xgOWWfurpU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xgOWWfurpU
Photoshop
For this photoshop, I wanted to make a poster that I could use so the model could rip up and it could show how she doesn't know who she is. This would be very effective in my project as it shows identity or culture loss. I put a black background on half of her face and then made the text transparent so you can see her face too which makes the whole poster stand out however there is not much color, and i could of ad
Projection
Photoshop
For this, I wanted to boost the colors and make it more vibrant to fit my mood board, I did this by selecting color and changing the opposite of that color higher or lower in this case I went higher to make it really pop and vibrant as it can possibly be for this is used a tutorial:
https://youtu.be/B8huc0pVVIc.
https://youtu.be/B8huc0pVVIc.
Best and worst
I believe this is my best image because of the way the red patterns are on the niqab and how it flows very nicely. This presents her favorite color and and her religion through portraiture. Although I feel that the background could have popped more well.
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I think that this is my worst image because you can see the projector light and it is very blurry. I think that this was because she was moving. I also don't like the background and how half of it is cut off and its just at the bottom of the picture.
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I have chosen to not go further with this aspect of portraiture as it doesn't link with identity or culture.
Outside portraiture
Best and worst
I believe that this is my best image because of the way the light bounces off her and it really allows you to see her features and the texture of her skin quite clearly. It also captures a key part of her culture, jewelry. I stood quite close to her when taking this photo so no zoom was needed. I greatly enjoy the way the rest of the background is blurred and her face isn't.
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I think that this is my worst image because of how unfocused the image is. It is not a very soft image and next time, I need to check if I have focused the image, and make sure that the model is looking at the camera, just like my mood boards.
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Best and worst
I think that this is my best image, she is at a very good distance and is looking directly at the camera. I also really love the way the tree is just above her head. The background is also blurred so you can focus on the model, really attracting the eye. It is also a really good way to show her culture by the clothes and jewelry.
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I believe this is my worst image, because as before it is unfocused and she is fixing her hijab so she isn't ready. I also feel like I could of zoomed in more to really capture the whole outfit.
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Photoshop
Firstly, I started by placing my text and writing what I wanted which was who am I?, I then created a clipping mask so the image was no behind the test. I then free transformed the image to be large and added a shadow drop and then cropped it. I then changed the color, I wanted it to be black however the shadow cannot be seen so I chose a dark color which showcases the shadow. I also followed this tutorial https://youtu.be/YRFxm3IfrI8.
Best and worst
This is my best image because of the quality and the distance it is took in however I feel like the background could of been better. Her fixing the scarf is something that I wanted her to do, so I think overall I achieved what I wanted to, but the background could of been better.
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I think that this is my worst image, because I captured her when she wasn't ready and was talking. The camera angle is slanted and the distance is too close to the model.
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Izah culture portraiture
Best and worst
I think that this is my best photo because of the background and how it is unfocused so your attention is on the the model, I also like the pose she is doing as it doesn't make it awkward if she didn't know what to do with her hands. I used a mode on my phone camera to make the background blurry and focus on her.
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This is my worst image because she is not ready and looking at the camera, I also did not blur the image so the cars are visible in the back which I do not like as it ruins the whole image as a whole, I also wanted her full outfit, however I also wanted to capture the tree so i couldnt capture her outfit.
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For this photoshop, I decided to fit this to my black and white culture portraiture mood board. First I selected the gradient map and changed it to black and white, I then set the blending to get that high contrast. Secondly I went back to the original and set the color contrast and then went back to black and white and it enhanced the colors to further enhance I did the same but with the black and white. I then created a new layer and mask and selected dodge tool on the color white, this lightens part of the image so I lightened her eyes and then selected the brush to be big and pressed once over the model so it also lightens her which creates a dramatic affect as the background is darker so she can stand out, I think in this photoshop I achieved making the model stand out, however in my opinion this could be better by making it more high contrasted and I think it would of been more efficient to have the original photo to be a studio shot with a black background so it could look more dramatic, I could also add words across her face about an identity crisis as she is wearing her cultural clothes which would improve the image and make it link more to my mood board, however it already links to my mood board and final outcomes as they are all black and white portraitures.
Best and worst
This is my best image, because I like the distance I took this image and how it captures the shadow of the leaves from the sun. The quality of the image is also very low which allows the whole image to work well together. The model is also positioned in the middle which attracts the viewer.
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This is my worst photo, because it dislike how close the camera is to her face, however the angle and lighting is really good, it would of been better at a distance. I should of also gotten rid of the line in the back to make the eye more attracted to the model.
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Photoshop
For this photoshop poster, I decided I wanted to use a soft glam instead of harsh fonts and colors. For this, I used the tutorial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPzrd3RFXHs&list=LL&index=1.
Mustafa culture portraitures
Best and worst
This is my best image, because I really like how the colors all go well together and pop really well. From the dark brown hat, and the light brown flower and the dark green they all really clash well.
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This is my worst photo, because it cuts half of him off, which makes the whole image unappealing, I also dislike how the image is showing the back part of the wall and is very bright. It greatly clashes with plants which makes the whole image off putting.
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Final gallery
My final gallery is about identity and culture and not knowing where to stand in identity and culture and I have portrayed this through my posters with quotes and words linking to my thoughts and ideas about these images I have picked out.
These group of images link with the idea that, she doesn't understand who she is or where she stands in terms of who she is and is struggling to grasp where she stands in society or within herself which is really effective in showing this through texts as a lot of the younger generation struggle to understand who they are.
Final evaluation
My main theme was portraiture and I feel like I have accessed different aspects of portraiture as I have explored identity and culture relating to my theme. I chose this theme because I enjoy taking pictures of people and especially in their own cultural clothes. For me, I was focusing on my culture which is Pakistani and I love the colours and themes of my culture so this played a big role in choosing portraiture as I knew it would allow me to bring my culture into my work. It really allowed me to be creative as I got to chose my models clothes, Jewellery etc so not only did I have to have knowledge in taking the pictures and setting the camera up but i had to be knowledgeable about what colour works with what and what type of message I want in my work as I was also trying to incorporate Identity crisis into my work so I would also have to be creative with how I was trying to get that across with either words on the models face or through posters in Photoshop.
In this project, I enjoyed taking the photos the most and setting up the models ready for the shoot because I could get creative with what clothes they would wear or what jewellery. For the identity photo shoot I wrote on the models face to get the message across and set up the lights which was very knowledgeable and fun as you could pick the colours and I had full control over what I wanted the shoot to be like as it was inside and could be easily manipulated. I also enjoyed manipulating my images in Photoshop and I used the Photoshop app on my phone to create my final images of the posters and I tried to link identity and culture together in the Photoshop by adding phrases across my culture images, which was really fun to do as I have not used an app before to do this.
I had never built a website before, so I appreciated the photography lessons that taught me how to create a good website and how to address it. I've also learned how to use Photoshop correctly, including how to make effects with the pen tool and how to use tutorials to guide me. Doing this helped me improve my listening and instruction abilities because I had to follow a YouTube video to achieve the required effect. As I previously indicated, I have learned how to use the camera properly, including setting it up before using it, for instance, by making sure to alter the ISO to the proper setting.
My next project's objective is to hone my lighting techniques, which were influenced by a professional photographer's studio session and include using enormous bright white lights and correctly using a light reflector. Her outcomes impressed me since they were so polished and appealing, which is what I aim for. Additionally, I want to develop my Photoshop abilities so that I can create a piece of work on my own without the aid of tutorials. I need to review the foundations of Photoshop, such how to access history. I also need more body shots, like ones with me wearing something.
I researched three photographers to allow my work to be the best it can be and take inspiration from their work. I researched people such as Jane Brown who does black and white portraiture at first this was my main idea of portraiture to do it all in black and white, however after researching into more photographers I stumbled across Steve Curry who was famous for his shot of a Afghanistan little girl and it really got me thinking about culture and how I can get images like his work by using my culture to my advantage, however I used Jane Browns camera tricks and how she set up her photos and used that in my knowledge in my other work so that research was really insightful for how to take my images and steve curry mainly gave me my main theme which I focused on through out this project. I also researched omar victor diop who is a contemporary photography and his pictures are quite modern so ti allowed me to have an insight on what I should also be including in my work if I want to modern contemporary look for example he used a lot of props so I tried to cooperate props into my work.
I really enjoyed taking the pictures and setting everything up as I got to do the models makeup and put my ethnic jewellery on and clothes which I really enjoyed seeing and being able to take pictures of it as I have always found the clothes beautiful with the bright vibrant colours. It gave me more confidence to take more photos as i saw how beautiful the pictures were coming out because of the colours and how much they stood out. I think I worked the camera the best as most of my photos have high quality and you can really see the texture of the person which I love as a main aspect of portraiture would be to capture textures on peoples face and natural raw emotion. I also got a lot of photos which is why I think i enjoyed and excelled most by taking a lot of photos and setting up a lot of photo shoots in order to have the best set of images i can which display my message of culture.
I feel like my third cultural photo shoot of Noor was a success because I really love the detail given to her jewelry and textures of her face were so in detail that the image almost did not feel like an image but real life. In that photo shoot I managed to get lots of different photos from different angles and distances which really opened up my project as I had a lot of new images to manipulate however I did not yet manipulate some of them and only one of them is used in my final outcome so I think for my next project I need to consider using more of my best work in my Photoshop which I didn't do in this project as much as I should of.
I found doing Photoshop the hardest because there was a limited amount of ideas I had for manipulating my photos and I achieved my focus in just the original images so it was hard to decide what to do for Photoshop. I also struggled how to use Photoshop as I had never used Photoshop before so I downloaded an app on my phone which made it a lot easier in terms in knowing what to do and from there, I learnt how to make lots of different posters in different styles which really aided my final gallery as I needed a lot of help with Photoshop, and this was a personal independent project so I needed to take matters into my own hands by downloading an app which would help me.
I learnt a lot from downloading the Photoshop app on my phone and this made up most of my final gallery, it was a quick and easy way to get high standard quality final images because I was behind on my final gallery however using the app guided me to get there. I now know from this app in future projects i can use this as an easy way to get outcomes really high standard and fast. I dont think if i did this project, i would know about this app so this project has opened many new doors which will really help me in the future.
I think I could of done more high quality photo shops as my Photoshop skills need working on so if I followed more tutorials maybe at home with more time I would of completed a lot more and a lot of better ones. I also could of organised more photo shoots out of school or not at home and perhaps a place with a lot of culture like Wimslow road in Manchester. I feel like my time management needs to be improved too as I felt like I had a lot of time in the beginning however I feel like my final gallery was rushed as I spent a lot of time focusing on just getting photos than my actual photoshop.