Assignment 208: Location Photography: Post Production - Contrast & Curves

Photoshop - Post Production - Contrast & Curves

With this image there was little cropping required, I feel that I focused on what I wanted and just about delivered on the right composition. 

The minimal amount of cropping done to slightly tighten the focus

I felt the contrast on the image needed deepening to bring a greater depth to the image as the original looked slightly washed out

I also played around with the curves function - I thought this alteration made the image much clearer and seemed to remove the shadow around the image

I was happy with the colour image produced above but wanted to see what the effect of turning the image black and white.  I liked the fact that it dulled out the background - but overall feel the image had more warmth and impact in colour.

Assignment 208: Location Photography: Post Production - Cropping

Photoshop - Post Production - Cropping

This image has too much distraction - the break in the harris fencing, and the label on the fencing.

The aim of the crop was to create total focus on the boy behind the fence, but retain enough of the fence to keep the sense of isolation and enprisionment.

I also wanted to see if this image worked in black and white - personally I feel the colour image has greater impact.  In black and white there is no punch to the image - it doesn't add any depth, whereas in colour the muted hues add to the sense of desolation.

Assignment 208: Principles of location photography: Theme 1: Portraits

Portraits - Shoot 3

Although I wasn't able to carry our my planned shoot this weekend I did persuade my son to pose for me (in exchange for other favours such as a taxi service!) to help me work on the feedback from Steve this week.

The feedback on my first two shoots was to:

• Try and work with natural light only 
• Take a step back and not crop so tightly on my subjects to give me space to work in post production

For my first attempt we worked in the garden - the problem with these images are the background - it was very difficult to pick an area where the background would not detract from the image to keep my images in the style of my research - but there were a couple of images that I think worked.  

I hate him smoking - but you can't live their live for them - and against my own feelings I chose this image because they capture a story about him at this point in his life - the culture of his age group.

ISO 200, f3, 1/125

This image reminds me of the one taken by David Bailey of Paul McCartney where his eyes are shut and the image has a soft tone to it.  

ISO 200, f3.2, 1/4

I then took the shoot inside to try and capture low light images without a flash.  To help me achieve this I used a tripod.  (I even got my husband to participate in this session).  This was very hard - it might have helped if I had taken these images earlier in the day when the lighting was at an optimum rather than when the light was failing.  They are not the most successful images but still they might be rescuable in post production.

He was having a nap before starting out on a four hour journey to Norwich!

ISO 200, f3.2, 1/5

A rare moment of joy - not sure what sparked it!

I also had to be careful working indoors with the tripod - I have three dogs - and it can get a bit lively at times - to make sure my equip was safe the dogs were temporarily assigned to the kitchen - or in the case of the little one's snuggled up on the settee!

ISO 200, f3, 1/6

Deep in thought.

ISO 250, f3, 1/4

What can be better than a sunday afternoon on the sofa?

Nature

A damp and dull day.

I was supposed to be doing my second portrait shoot today but due to illness (not mine) this has had to be postponed to next week..so we went for a walk with the dogs instead round Branston Water Park.  It was a dull, damp day - you could feel the dampness in the air but I still wanted to take my camera to continue improving on my manual skills.

ISO 200, f11, 1/50

ISO 200, f11, 1/80

ISO 200, f3.5, 1/80

ISO 200, f3.5, 1/320

ISO 200, f3.5, 1/80

ISO 200, f6.3, 1/60

IS0 200, f6.3, 1/60

ISO 200, f6.3, 1/60

ISO 200, f3.2, 1/100

ISO 200, f3.8, 1/60

Assignment 208: Research: Dorothea Lange: Portrait Photographers

Dorothea Lange: 1895, New Jersey

Dorothea Lange is very different to the other portrait photographers that I have researched and used to help define the type of image that I am looking to achieve.

Her images are not of famous people, but of the poor migrant workers of the great American depression, or the evacuation of the Japanese Americans during world war II.  

Dorothea's work focused on images of the poor, needy, surpressed. 

 The reason that I have chosen Dorothea's work as part of my portrait research and as an inspiration is because of the emotion that her images convey - these images remain tightly composed with the background providing minimal disruption - and the black and white composition ecentuating the gritty reality of their life

Dorothea has been described as being able to pull beauty out of desolation.  She described a good photograph as not one that you saw with your eye - but your brain and your emotions.

Ms Gordon, the Author of 'Dorothea Lange - A Life Beyond Limits' described Dorothea as a portrait photographer who had an amazing ability to connect with people and draw them out.  A recuring theme through out successful portraiture.

Dorothea's explains how she captured the famous portrait:  "I saw and approached the hungry and desperate mother, as if drawn by a magnet. I do not remember how I explained my presence or my camera to her, but I do remember she asked me no questions. I made five exposures, working closer and closer from the same direction. I did not ask her name or her history. She told me her age, that she was thirty-two. She said that they had been living on frozen vegetables from the surrounding fields, and birds that the children killed. She had just sold the tires from her car to buy food. There she sat in that lean-to tent with her children huddled around her, and seemed to know that my pictures might help her, and so she helped me. There was a sort of equality about it."

References:

The Contact Sheet

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothea_Lange

You Tube

Dorothea Lange:  A Life Beyond Limits

Assignment 208: Research: David Bailey: Portrait Photograhers

David Bailey:  Leytonstone, 1938

My inspiration for including David Bailey in my research of portrait photographers was a book entitled 'Photography in 100 Words' by David Clark.  The image that was used in the book was a black and white portrait of Noel Gallagher - this is image is high contrast black and white, and provides high definition and texture to his face through limiting the depth of field - every wrinkle, pore and hair is highly defined. 

David's aim is to make the shoot as simple as possible - using a white background to eliminate distraction. He aims for simplicity, combined with what he terms the perfect accident.  A reoccurring theme with the portrait photographers that I have research is again echoed through David's view of his work - he aims to get to know the person, put them at ease by talking to them - throughout the sitting he will continue to talk - seeing this as part of creating the picture

 This photo caught my attention - The inclusion of the tatatoo reveals a little more about the subject than you would get if you focused just on the face.  This image has helped me to understand how you can capture good facial portraits without the need to crop in so tightly - and that inclusion of other elements of the person can help to define the image.

In both this image and the previous image the lighting has tended to concentrate on one side of the face adding to the image and drawing you through the image.

I picked this image for how the expression captures the 'madness'.

The definition in this picture helps define part of the persons character in contrast to the softer images also shown in this blog.

Generally you will find that portraits will concentrate on the eyes - but in this image the fact that the eyes are closed is what makes the picture compelling - you are waiting for him to open his eyes. 

This image also has less definition and has a 'softer' focus - almost a smoothing out of the skin - a similar style to the portrait of the women.

This image really typifies the simplicity of David Bailey's work - even the simplicity of the clothing worn by the Beatles provide minimal distraction from the main focus of the image - the symertary  of the body language.

References:

Photography in 100 Words - David Clark 

Google images 

wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bailey

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1390510.stm

Assignment 208: Research: Cathal McNaughton: Street Photography

Cathal McNaughton: 1978

Cathal McNaughton is an award winning photojournalist with over ten years experience.  His work spans a variety of disciplines and styles from gritty shots of conflicts, to colourful images that capture a sense of irony and fun.

His images have featured in high profile advertising campaigns and has won many accolades, including UK Press Photographer of the Year, Royal Photographer of the Year, and Nature and Environment Photographer of the year.  The breadth of these awards gives you a sense of the diverse nature of his work.

I chose to review Cathal's work after reading an article in the magazine Digital Camera - because I found the variety of his images inspiring - it was good to see that you photograph across such a broad range of subjects.

The images that I have chosen to review were also published in a series of features run by Amateur Photographer over the past year - in each of the photo insight features Cathal explained the inspiration behind the image, and gave an insight into how he composed the image and the equipment he used providing an excellent set of tutorials.


Cathal advocates always shooting in manual - having total control of your camera.  He also talks about passion - which is why I have selected the image below - this close up draws you in because its colourful and the vivid colours of the painted face help to highlight the raw passion of the person coming through the eyes and the mouth.

In his tutorials, and the magazine article Cathal talks about being bold and getting over any shyness you might have.  If you are going to take a close up of a person be prepared to be challenged, engage with the subject - and learn to judge wether the person is happy for you to take their picture.

The image below is in total contrast to the other images I have chosen as its from his work as a photojournalist.  I picked it following my second session in Birmingham where I was taking images of the captialist demonstrators and the EDL demonstrations so it was interesting to read how Cathal would approach this subject.

The key to this style of photography he said is to remain calm, don't hang around and keep yourself safe by not remaining static.  You need to be aware of the events that are evolving around you.

Another article that I suggested the key success to good street photography is always having your camera to hand ready to capture a shot.  This is echoed in the image below - Cathal saw the diver whilst driving along, he then saw the fishermen - and thought - 'there is an image there'.  Even though the elements of the image were random - capturing the final image did take planning, Cathal had to guesstimate the timing of the jump and shoot to capture the exact moment that he would pass over the heads of the fishermen, and ensure a sufficient depth of field to keep all of the people in focus.  The final image works well with the contrast in the subjects, and the total lack of connection between them.

Cathal talks about the learning to read the scene and your subjects - for example if you look at the image of the gentleman sunbathing, and the picture of the funeral.  One of the images is bright, comical and fun, the other a very sombre and private affair - both needed equal consideration around the sensitivity of capturing the image.

Research: 

Digital Camera Magazine - October Edition 2011

www.cathalmcnaughton.com

news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/07/in_pictures_cathal_mcnaughton0s_award_winning_year/html/1.stm

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/features/Photo_Insight__Cathal_McNaughton_features_305940.html

Assignment 208: Eve Arnold: Research into Portrait Photography

Eve Arnold: 1912 - Philadelphia

Eve Arnold is one of the most famous portrait photographers to represent Magnum, and is possibly best known for her portraits of Marilyn Monroe, she is also well known for her portraits of Queen Elizabeth II.  

During an interview with BBC Radio 3 she talked about her approach to photography and how she works to achieve the images.  She talks about the relationship between the photographer and the model and how it is important to respect the privacy of your subjects, and work to build a relationship that will have the model reveal something of themselves.

This approach echoes that of other portrait photographers that I have researched - Jane Bowen and Steven Pye.  

Again her images are largely taken away from the studio environment and rarely used anything other than natural lighting.

Many of the images I have selected as work I would like to emulate are black and white, with minimal or no surroundings to provide additional context to the photograph.

The black and white images are done in high contrast, providing greater emphasis on skin tone's and drawing the eye into the main focus of the picture.

The next few images I have chosen retain the same composition - minimal background distraction drawing the focus on to the model - the difference in these images are that these are in colour.

I was interested in bringing these images into the research as a demonstration that the same 'gritty' definition of high contrast black and white can be achieved in colour.

The colour in these two images are not highly saturated, but placed against the deep black background the images become striking.

This may also be in part due to the subjects chosen - with their faces having significant texture to provide interest and emphasis within the image.

Reference:

www.photography-art-cafe.com/famous-portrait-photographers.html

www.magnumphotos.com

www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/johntusainterview/arnold_transcript.shtml

www.picsearch.com

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eve_Arnold

Autumn sunshine

 Whilst not part of my theme's the weather was so beautiful today it seemed a shame not to take some photo's whilst walking the dogs - I wanted to capture the effect of the sun on the autumnal tones of the leaves, berries and flowers.

It was a great opportunity to practice my camera skills - all images were captured in manual mode and each image I had to think about the depth of field, and the impact of the light filtering through trees.

ISO 200, f3, 1/100

ISO, f10, 1/100

ISO 200, f10, 1/100

ISO 200, f5, 1/100

ISO 200, f5.6, 1/800

ISO 200, f14, 1/80

ISO 200, f13, 1/60

ISO 200, f4, 1/500

ISO 200, f3.2, 1/500

ISO 200, f3.2, 1/50