People Brief- Fine Art Set Three

Fine Art Set Three

This is my third and final set up. I wanted to try to achieve a blue background in this setting. I struggled and found it tough to achieve but I think that I achieved it in the end.

This was a shot to establish the set and was very much a test shot. Yet again I used a Snoot light, and a Spill Kill on the other side. To achieve the blue I had a blue gel in front of a light on the floor facing the curve wall. It was triggered to flash when I shot the image. This shot was taken using 1/250 and f 5.6

Again this is a test shot to experiment. The blue background in this shot is what I wanted to achieve, however the face is badly lit and is very dark. The settings used were 1/60 and f 5.6

This again is a test shot and the background is a lot lighter, the face is lit better though. This was taken using 1/100 and f 5.6

This image went completely wrong, the image is too dark and there isn't even a hint of blue anywhere. The settings were 1/200 and f 5.6 and these settings are clearly incorrect.

The settings in this shot were 1/250 and f 5.6. I decided to shoot really close up to the model but this image doesn't work. The background color isn't too bad but my model looks like a character from Avatar.

Yet again this was shot using 1/250 and f 5.6. I shot this close up and the lighting on the face is lit quite good. The background light is lit a blue/green color too which I am happy about.

People Brief-Fine Art Set Two

Fine Art Set Two

These images are taken from my second shoot with my model Becky.

This time I shot using two lights. I used a snoot on one side and on the other side I used a Spill Kill. I used these two lights as I wanted to try to achieve a spotlight effect.

The first shot was taken using settings 1/100 and f 5.6.

This was shot using settings 1/250 and f 5.6. As you can see it is the incorrect setting to use as you cannot see much, so I decided to use 1/100 using f 5.6

Again this image was shot using 1/250 and f 5.6 and it is the incorrect settings to use as you cannot see my model clearly at all.

This image was taken using the settings 1/100 and f 5.6. Because of the positioning of my model the right side of her face is too shadowed. This is due to the flash coming from her left hand side giving more light to the left side of the face.

Again the settings used were 1/100 and f 5.6. I like the light on the model better in this image. The background lighting is nice too and both lighting set-ups have a good blend together.

Yet again my positioning of my model has caused the image to be too dark. The setting of 1/100 and f 5.6 are correct but the positioning of the model away from the light means that the face is not lit enough. This is probably due to my model having her back turned away from the camera.

This image was again shot using the settings 1/100 and f 5.6. I think the image is Ok, the background is lit well and the face is lit quite well. The shadow caused by the hair in front of the face looks good but could have been avoided.

Overall in this shoot I think that the setting 1/100 and f 5.6 worked the best. 1/250 using f 5.6 was too dark and didn't work at all

People Brief- Fine Art Set One (Model- Becky)

On Wednesday 22nd April 2010 I had a Photo Shoot with my model Becky for the use of Fine Art portraits. I did three separate shoots using different lighting setups and Becky had brought a selection of outfits to change in to. With every shot came different camera angles and different settings. In one shoot I had a light placed facing the curve wall with a blue gel in front of the light. When I took the image my idea was to have a blue background to give the images a bit of variety and their own identity. At first I struggled with the settings and kept having to change the strength of the lights to try to gain the blue effect I was after. Eventually after snapping away and altering my settings on every shot and moving the position of the light every so often I finally found the effect that I was after.

However after looking at my selection of shots I realize that these images do not fall in to the category of 'Fine Art' as there is no significant style in the work, it is just a model in a studio rather than a creative style that I as a photographer has an interest in.

Fine Art Set One

Studio Set Up 1/250 f 5.6

For the First shot I had the studio set up with a Beauty Dish and a Umbrella. Although my model is stood behind the Umbrella she didn't stand here for the shoot.

This was a test shot to establish the best settings to use. This was shot at 1/250 and f 5.6. I like the background color in this shot and I think the slight grey blend at the bottom gives the image character.

This image was taken at 1/200 and at f 5.6.

I think the background is too light and the face is too bright using this setting

This image was taken using settings 1/250 and f 5.6

This image didn't work out how I planned, the light is too dark. This is due to me moving my model in the wrong position away from the light.

This was shot using settings 1/250 and f 5.6

I like the color tone on both background and skin tone in this image, the face is lit well as is the background.

This was shot using settings 1/250 and f 5.6

This was a shot to test the lighting and to see how it looked. I like the lighting of the face and the background,

During this particular shoot I found that the best camera setting for my lighting set up was 1/250 shutter speed with the f stop on 5.6. I feel that this gives the best color on both model and background

People Brief- Overcoming Problems

One of the most challenging things in this brief has to be getting hold of people to photograph. I have been let down countless times by people who I had arranged to do a shoot with. I did manage to re-schedule some shoots for a later date but in general being let down by people has been a problem. However I did have many ideas generated and there are lots of different people who I can photograph. So far I am planning to Photograph a Hairdresser, a Sky Retail worker, a Bolton Council worker and a Joiner. However these ideas may change due to peoples availability and also a limited time scale that may occur. I have also been trying to create a photograph for the use of fine art portraiture. I have also Photographed a girl who work's for 'Pets at Home' again this changed and I had to kindly ask this girl after being let down

I am experimenting with every category of Fine Art, Candid, Corporate and Environmental Portraiture. I feel more comfortable though with Environmental Portraiture and will focus on this subject as my final eight photographs.

I have found Candid Photography quite challenging as it is difficult to Photograph somebody without them looking at the camera. I also feel as if I am spying on people and invading their privacy, but it is a problem I will overcome and will achieve the images I set out to take.

I understand the importance of photographing environmental portraiture correctly and that the person in the photo is not the important part of the image but in fact the working environment that is indeed important.

People Brief- Candid Photography Research

Candid Photography is when you take a image where the subject or subjects in the photograph are unaware that the photograph is being taken. It could be argued that tabloid newspapers and magazines use alot of candid images and that it is a form of Papparazi. I think this is a difficult form of photography as it feels like spying on somebodys privacy and if people look directly at you whilst taking a shot they might become angry towards me.
Below are some shots that are in the candid genre of photography.

In this image we can see a young lady who is unaware that she has been photographed reading a book. She looks lost in her own world and this photograph is a good example of candid photography.

This image by Henri Cartier Bresson is a candid photograph but very different from the first photograph. This time the gentlemen in the image have been shot from a different angle altogether. However althoughthe two images are different I think they show the diffefences that you can achieve through candid photography.





This is probably Henri Cartier Bressons most famous image 'Behind the Gare St. Lazare, Paris. Cartier Bresson talked about the decisive moment and taking a photograph in a instant. The man is caught in mid-air just going about his business. I feel that this image fits in to the candid photography genre.

This is an image of Sarah Harding from Girls Aloud. This is a typical photograph that you would expect to find in a newspaper and magazine column. I do feel however that it is a candid image as the people in the photograph are unaware tha they are being photographed.

People Brief- Fine Art

I have been looking at examples of fine art portraiture and studio lighting set up's to give me ideas before I shoot my own fine art images.

Below is the first examples that I found. I really like the idea of coloring the background and I am looking in to recreating something similar in the studio if possible. The color of the girls top blends in well with the background. I don't think I would need as many lights as in this shot but I will experiment as I go along trying out different ideas.

Below is my second example and the image is completely different and in a different style. Less lights have been used on the model and the use of a white background and white dress works well. The skin tone on the model gives the image more character and also the red handbag makes the image complete.

The third example below is very simple but the photograph works well. Yet again the color of the dress blends in with the color of the wall but I don't think it looks out of place. The lighting on the model and her skin tone give the image character and I think it works well.

The fourth image is completely different from the other images. First of all the black dress and red ribbon stand out in the dark creme color background and the models hair is also a feature in the background . Although the model is looking away I think the image works well.