Exercise 9: A comfortable situation

I was reasonably comfortable shooting on Brick Lane as there are a lot of people around with cameras and it is notorious for being very 'picturesque' in a gritty London way.  My heart rate did go up considerably a few times - firstly when I was shooting the guy with the mark on his face.  He was looking straight at me and I felt bad for 'staring' even from behind my lens.  I was also nervous shooting the older Asian lady - again because I was aware she looked a bit different in the crowd and I didn't want her to feel like a spectacle.  One of the Japanese girls spotted me photographing her yawning but luckily she smiled shyly and I smiled back and thanked her.  A few times, I used the old trick of bringing my camera down and looking past my subject to pretend I was photographing someone else.

There was definitely an adrenalin rush which helped me to be very aware of how quickly I would need to capture gestures and expressions.  This caused me to focus in a way that almost slowed down everything else around me so I could hone in on the best faces and moments.

'Face' - corrected from Assignment 1

Reflections on tutor report for Assignment 1

Overall comments from tutor

“An excellent response to the brief, which demonstrates an emotional empathy with the subject while still retaining a forensic ‘objectivity’; as much as objectivity means anything in photography.

The assignment also demonstrates a good level of technical mastery.”

YAY!

Reflections and key learning outcomes

CW : “Having a charismatic subject who has a developed view of their relationship to their reality is a big plus as a springboard.” 

Me:  Interesting thought in terms of future subject choices… I often consider a person’s looks and personality but had never really weighed up the relationship with reality or the immediate environment on a conscious level.

CW: “The physical picture is a catalyst that creates the image experience in the viewer through their reading of your presentation of the evidence. It’s a puzzle with a range of solutions, an open ended statement of the possibilities.”

Me: Whenever possible I should find and create images that proffer a set of possibilities – more interesting for the viewer.

CW: “I believe in minimalistic titling, maybe location and date, this can add to the ambiguity when you can’t reconcile it with the image or at worst be neutral.”

Me: Absolutely agree – editorialising via titles can ruin an image as I have already mentioned on this blog.

CW: “I find individual frames from films inspirational for still photography.”

Me: This is something I would like to explore more consciously in future.  I often watch films or high-quality TV dramas and admire the photography, sometimes pausing the frame and commenting on what an excellent photograph that would make but I should be being more reflective, taking notes about what works well about the image – composition, lighting, colours, tones - and using it as direct inspiration for my own work.

CW: “Sometimes students start to fetishise technically quality at the expense of meaning.  The technique is the servant of the communication, a clinical technical rendering of it would have completely destroyed the atmosphere.” (re Cinema image)

Me: Again I should explore this area more deliberately. I am still at that stage of being haunted by technically poor images I have taken in the past and so am always driven towards the highest technical quality.  As Clive points out this is not always the right treatment for an image.  I need to develop more confidence in this area and be willing to experiment with a range of techniques.  An area to research and find examples of success from other photographers.

CW: (with reference to my problem with blown-out highlights adversely affecting the composition of ‘Face’) “You can select the problem area and reduce its white point to approximately 247. This will give it enough density to retain the integrity of the image within the borders without losing the sense of its brightness.”

Me:  Have now done this – also cloned a bit of the surrounding area to soften the transition.  All works much better.

CW: “There is just a hint of uncertainty, if not quite vulnerability, in this image which doesn’t exist in the other images and the lighting and setup are semiologically appropriate to that quality.”

Me: Semiowhatnow? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semiologically

Hmmn – still don’t fully understand that but I kind of get the drift.

CW: (re Chair image) “This immediately summoned up to me this image of the film star Brian Donlevy, shot in the late 50s by Bert Stern as an ad for Smirnoff, one of a handful of New York photographers that invented the modern advertising photography style.”

Me: Not particularly familiar with Bert Stern but recognise a couple of his images.  Rather a lot of Marilyn and a nice dreamy quality to some of them!  Love the one of Gary Cooper with the gun.

Bert Stern

CW: (re CCTV image) “The bollards, supported by minimal glimpses of wall and pavement, and the drain make a strong triangle that the subject is placed optimally in.”

Me: I really should think more about triangles and geometry generally.  Nice reminder summary….

Geometry in Composition

CW: “With ‘street photography’ in particular it’s much better to stop the internal intellectual chatter and just respond emotionally, the intellectual refinement can come in the editing.”

Me: Looking forward to the next part of the course to really get underneath this.

CW: “It’s important to do as much prep as possible before you introduce the sitter into the situation and don’t try and do too many setups in one go, make the most of one or two, doing small variations of pose, just the slightest tilt of the head or change of weight from one buttock to the other, can make all the difference.”

Me: The assignment, and the exercises leading up to it, have really helped me with this.  It amazes me that I can shoot 50 images with very similar set up and lighting and only one or two (if I am lucky) will really have the impact I am looking for.

Overall - I am very happy with the report on my first assignment and with my tutor’s lengthy and thought-provoking critique of my work.

Amazing pictures taken with an iPhone

iPhonetography by Kyle Cassidy

When I grow up I want to be Kyle.

Final submission: Assignment 1 - a comprehensive portrait

In response to Clive's comments about the problems with my original submission, I planned and shot some new images for this assignment which seems to have really improved the set.

Initial feedback on submissions for Assignment 1

My tutor, Clive White, has given me some very constructive feedback about my submissions for Assignment 1 - confirming my fears that they did not meet the brief requiring the images to be from different sessions.  He was worried that I would be marked down for this and suggested I add some more varied imagery.

Comments from Clive:  "the continuity of dark backgrounds, clothing and the lighting make it feel like one session and one approach".  Little does he know, Matt only ever wears black T shirts (except for weddings and funerals) so that is something I cannot change, but he does have short hair now so that will help with the variety a bit.


I asked for help to decide which images were worth keeping.


"drop Guinness because although it's an eye catching image and tells us he likes it, it could be a double page spread ad with the Guinness logo inserted in the bottom left corner.

Binoculars is a strong image and with the background black and the outdoor reflected in the glasses you have an indoors looking outdoors metaphor but actually I think it would have improved it to have the face sharp, then the binoculars would become more his eyes, his vision. So on that small point I would drop that one.

Rubberbands does have a slightly different feel to it just from virtue of being in black & white, this and Chair are probably the strongest images of the whole set, they both exude a defiance in the face of restrictions, when set into the whole series, so on that basis I would drop Camera; leaving Rubberbands remaining!"

So now I have reviewed some of the other images I took of Matt over the last month and nothing really jumps out as something I would be happy to submit for this assignment,  We will shoot more today and tomorrow and find three photographs to complete the set.  I have set my ideas out but am not sure how well I will be able to execute them.  Should be interesting.

Assignment 1: A comprehensive portrait - final submission

Assignment 1: A comprehensive portrait

My subject for this assignment was my husband, artist and writer Matt Rosemier.  The brief required between five and seven portraits, which differ in style and type.  I aimed to capture Matt’s character and tell a little bit about him in each of the images.  I took approx 500 shots over the course of a month or so and found it very difficult to whittle it down, particularly as the ones I liked the most were all from one shoot.  That shoot was the most recent so I hope I can take this as an indication that I have already improved my skills since beginning the People and Place course.

1. Hand

Exposed: July 25^th 2010

Equipment used: Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Lens: Canon EF70-200mm, f2.8L IS USM

Aperture: f2.8

Shutter speed: 1/40

ISO: 320

Focal length: 100mm

White balance: Auto

Location: Our garden, London E1

Lightning:  evening shade

Processing in Lightroom:

Conversion to greyscale

Exposure +0.20

Blacks -> 9

Curves

Crop

I felt that Matt’s hand as the primary attraction to the eye adds interest to the portrait. The composition worked well with his face being out of focus but his expression still clear.  I desaturated it to reduce the distractions of bursts of color in the garden and increased the contrast to bring some extra drama.  The image is open to several possible interpretations of what is happening and I like the idea that the viewer may find that intriguing.

2. Guinness

Exposed: August 21^st 2010

Equipment used: Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Lens: Canon EF50mm, f1.4L IS USM

Aperture: f1.4

Shutter speed: 1/250

ISO: 400

Focal length: 50mm

White balance: Auto

Location: a pub in Bristol

Lightning:  cloudy afternoon light through a window

Processing in Lightroom:

Exposure +0.35

Blacks -> 6

Curves

Crop

Matt loves his Guinness and I wanted to portray this side of him in a more unusual way.  I liked the clean lines and shapes in this image and I think his pose and expression reveals some of his playfulness.  The colours and background darkness put me in mind of the classic Irish pub.  We tried several angles and arrangements of the glasses but being down and eye level and with the large depth of field seemed to work best.

3. Face

Exposed: August 28^th 2010

Equipment used: Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Lens: Canon EF50mm, f1.4L IS USM

Aperture: f1.4

Shutter speed: 1/200

ISO: 250

Focal length: 50mm

White balance: Auto

Location: Our bedroom, London

Lightning:  afternoon sun through muslin curtains

Processing in Lightroom:

Exposure +0.45

Desaturated – red -31

Desaturated – orange -27

Crop

I wanted one of the images in this set to be soft and intimate.  This is a gentle, contemplative moment and I deliberately kept it dark and unevenly exposed (resisting the temptation to dodge some of the areas of the picture).  Unfortunately the composition is not exactly as I would have chosen and the highlights to the right of the original frame were blown out so I had to crop harder than I would have liked.  However, I think the final result is an arresting image and provides a good balance to some of the other images in this portrait set.

4. Chair

Exposed: August 29^th 2010

Equipment used: Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Lens: Canon EF70-200mm, f2.8L IS USM

Aperture: f2.8

Shutter speed: 1/400

ISO: 400

Focal length: 70mm

White balance: Auto

Location: Our garden, London

Lightning:  late afternoon in shade

Processing in Lightroom:

White balance -> shade

Desaturation – red -20

Crop

With this image I wanted to create a formal portrait shot to show Matt in his wheelchair but without the physical presence of the chair overwhelming the frame.  I also wanted to capture a bit of the anger that keeps disabled people fighting for their rights.  Matt is very feisty – he argues that paraplegics absolutely have to be - and I wanted that to show in this portrait.

5. Binoculars

Exposed: August 29^th 2010

Equipment used: Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Lens: Canon EF70-200mm, f2.8L IS USM

Aperture: f2.8

Shutter speed: 1/200

ISO: 200

Focal length: 130mm

White balance: Auto

Location: Our garden, London

Lightning:  late afternoon in shade

Processing in Lightroom:

Exposure - +0.10

Blacks -> 6

Crop

This image, for me, captures some of Matt’s joie de vivre.  He always has a pair of binoculars to hand and often watches the sky for birds of prey, UFOs or exceptionally beautiful moons.  This image is in my opinion satisfactorily completed by his crooked teeth and slightly crazy expression, plus the reflection of our garden (a very important part of our life) in the glass.

6. Camera

Exposed: August 29^th 2010

Equipment used: Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Lens: Canon EF70-200mm, f2.8L IS USM

Aperture: f2.8

Shutter speed: 1/250

ISO: 200

Focal length: 70mm

White balance: Auto

Location: Our garden, London

Lightning:  late afternoon in shade

Processing in Lightroom:

Exposure - +0.20

Blacks -> 6

Matt is an avid photographer and this image takes that theme to another level for me.  The simplicity of the composition, colours and tones gives it an iconic, timeless look.  In black and white or sepia this could be from an entirely different era and I think it really captures Matt’s intelligence and charisma.

7. Rubberbands

Exposed: August 29^th 2010

Equipment used: Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Lens: Canon EF70-200mm, f2.8L IS USM

Aperture: f2.8

Shutter speed: 1/160

ISO: 200

Focal length: 153mm

White balance: Auto

Location: Our garden, London

Lightning:  late afternoon in shade

Processing in Lightroom:

Exposure - +0.25

Blacks -> 6

Split tone highlights – hue 53, saturation 20

Matt requested that we set this up for the portrait shoot.  To me, it clearly indicates his very unique (slightly insane) mind. He told me he once tried this when he was on his own and thought it would look cool as a photograph.  I like the expression in this shot as it portrays the spirit of someone who is carrying on, as normal, and with dignity and a sense of power, even though things are not really as they should be.   This also seems to be evocative of primitive war paint or tribal scarrings/decoration.  I desaturated it to emphasise the lines and shapes rather than the actual rubberbands which varied in colour (reds and purples).  The split tone highlights warmed the image up a bit.  I am expecting the viewer responses to this image to vary considerably!

Summary

The best successes in this assignment all came about when I had preconceived the images, planned them carefully and used effective direction for my subject.  These were in a shooting location that I am already very familiar with so I don’t feel that I pushed myself as far out of my comfort zone as I should have done.

I was unsuccessful with some images by trying to shoot in poor (but atmospheric) light.  More experimentation with different backgrounds would also have added more to the set and I must avoid situations where I am rushing or feeling self-conscious about being an amateur and wasting the sitter’s time!  A few times, I missed a good shot by using a very wide aperture and not getting a sharp enough image in the right places.

Now as I prepare my final thoughts on this assignment I realise I have failed spectacularly to include any portraits where my subject really interacts with the environment.  Stylistically, I prefer more simple images with dramatic black or single colour backgrounds, and I found shots taken around the flat or elsewhere to be too cluttered and mundane to want to include them in my final submission.  This is an area I really need to work on and I am looking forward to the rest of the course where ‘place’ has more of a focus.  It will be a challenge to try to shoot Matt in our very small kitchen or spare room or in the neighbourhood in a way that doesn’t look like a dull snapshot. 

Areas for improvement

·     Taking time over researching, planning and shooting

·     More confident and unhurried direction of subject

·     More experimental – backgrounds, poses, angles, lighting

·     More confidence with using flash selectively

·     Exploring more how people interact with the environment

Exercise 8: Varying pose - Review

I deliberately chose some exaggerated poses for my subject, partly because he is a clown but also to explore some more unusual positioning of limbs. I expected the shoot to just be a learning process and good practice for directing my model so I was surprised to find two 'keepers' in the final results.  I love the image of John looking out of his shed in the rain and the one of him squatting.  I thought the latter would look false but it somehow suits his personality and expression.

Next time, I will ensure slightly less clutter around the area - I wanted to include the England chair and the BBQ but the cover for the BBQ was a distraction in a couple of shots (inc the squatting one).  Again this is about slowing down and registering everything I can see in the frame.

Exercise 8: Varying pose, part 2