Portraiture
Portraiture is a form of photography which involves taking a picture of a person or a group when they are being natural or are in their own various moods. Normally, the most important part of a portrait is the subject's face however it is optional to take a photograph of the whole body as long as you have a clear focus on the model's face or you can just focus on the person's face and get a close up shot.
Portrait Photography had existed since the day the technology made successfully their first camera that uses film around the 19th century. In the middle of the 19th century the low cost of the daguerreotype had made Portraiture more popular than an old painted portrait for example like "mona lisa". Although, taking a perfect shot of the subject became to a bigger challenge for photographer due to the exposure time. The biggest problem with photography is the exposure time because when a photographer is trying to get a clear shot of their own subject the result of the image could either be over-exposed or there could too much blur that they would get in their photograph. If a photographer wants to get a Portrait picture.One option is to sit the subject with a plain background in a studio.
However, another option portraiture doesn't mean that you have to have a plain background in order take a decent photo in general. It can be any where a photographer you want to choose like architecture,the great out door and even nature. Due to the term of the technology developed the photographers were given the ability of shooting the image in a shorter exposure time outside of their studio.
Portrait Photography had existed since the day the technology made successfully their first camera that uses film around the 19th century. In the middle of the 19th century the low cost of the daguerreotype had made Portraiture more popular than an old painted portrait for example like "mona lisa". Although, taking a perfect shot of the subject became to a bigger challenge for photographer due to the exposure time. The biggest problem with photography is the exposure time because when a photographer is trying to get a clear shot of their own subject the result of the image could either be over-exposed or there could too much blur that they would get in their photograph. If a photographer wants to get a Portrait picture.One option is to sit the subject with a plain background in a studio.
However, another option portraiture doesn't mean that you have to have a plain background in order take a decent photo in general. It can be any where a photographer you want to choose like architecture,the great out door and even nature. Due to the term of the technology developed the photographers were given the ability of shooting the image in a shorter exposure time outside of their studio.
My first experience with portrait photography
I wanted to test out my own SLR camera by taking some pictures of people. After learning how to use the film SLR camera my next move was to use a digital camera, but its not as fun and interesting as using film because with digital the photographer doesn't have to use the darkroom anymore and you don't have to develop films with the three chemicals. However, its very fast and convenient in general because with digital you just simply slot your SD card into your computer import the picture and then print. For starters I asked one of my models to help me out to try out 2 different camera angles for portrait photography close up and extreme angle.
close up portraits
A close up portrait angle is simple because the user of of the camera just has to take a clear shot of the person face by going up to them with their camera physically or using a telephoto lens 70mm-300mm if the subject is performing on stage like singing for example.Initially, my subject was wearing my favourite black hat because she wanted to try it on and I did some close up shots of her. I was taking the picture of the model from different sides because I wanted to try and experience many ways of shooting portrait rather than having the girl facing right front on the camera and I wanted to use other subjects as well in their own environment because I was exploring more about the close up shot .
Extreme Angle
Extreme angle is interesting because the model is looking upward towards the sky rather than facing right front of the camera.I decided to took this picture angle because when i was three years old I use to look up in the sky constantly every time I play on the swing in my garden and to me its was sign for freedom because it was like an engrossing experience going up the sky.
Balanced portrait
Balanced portrait is require 2 people inside the picture and their need to be in focus as well. My main purpose of this style of portrait because when i look at a picture that has more than one person I find it really hard to tell who it is the name of the model and I can't recognise them. With these picture i had my camera setting on an artist creative mode and the settings was on "High contrast mono".High contrast mono let's the photographer of shooting the picture in black and white much like the film camera, but some the photograph have been edit on photoshop. I decided to take these picture in black and white because to me it makes the portraits more beautiful and i felt like i was living in the past.
Symmetrical Portrait
Symmetrical portrait is a photograph that the subject has to be in a sense of reflection such as the window or a mirror on it. The model and the reflection both have to be in focus and I did a self portrait to try and experiment it. I had my digital camera on manual mode, the aperture was low and i have flash on it. I used a tripod as well for it. Next, i've carry on testing out some more symmetrical portraits with other models as well. I wanted to do this style of portrait because every time i look at the mirror in the bathroom i feel like i'm looking at a clone talking to me constantly when i brush my teeth, wash my face and brush my hair day and night.
Studio Portrait
Studio portrait is very basic the subject has to be in the centre of the frame with a plain background. Its the most popular style and studio portrait has been around for more than decades. I've taken these portrait because i felt like i was a proper photographer, who working for a fashion magazine. Normally when i read a magazine that i like to read in general they always have a picture of a model with a white background. I've found another model who was very pleased to have his picture by me and we went to photography studio with the lights set up and i told him to show different emotion or tilting his head that he's looking at an object thats giving him attention or thinking about something in his mind.Also, I had to edit the photos in photoshop to add some filter to make the background look nothing.However, studio portrait doesn't mean that the model has to wear normal clothing they can wear costumes or any other clothes as well.
Playing with perspective
Playing with perspective is a strange angle the person has to be looking upwards or downward to the sky, but it has to be in a specific location that finds a receding lines towards a vanishing point.I spend a-lot of my time looking for an area that has an extreme perspective angle until i've found a school corridor that people go up the stairs. when i took these picture i felt like i was in a maze that keeps going on and on and it never ends. I've taken the photograph from a low ground because i wanted to experiment more about playing with perspective and i was quite impressed with the result because I managed to get the model in focus even though there were still object were on the way.
Solarised portrait
Solarised portrait is the photograph that goes through solarisation process. I did this solarising on some of my previous picture that i've have because find this portrait interesting and cool at the same time. The colour seems to have like a tone pattern from light to dark and it makes me feel like i'm painting myself a portrait and looking at these photograph reminds me when i had to spend all my time painting with black and white back when I was in high school.
Sepia Portrait
Sepia portrait is a photo that changes from black and white or any other colours of the picture to a yellow brownish colour. I managed to did this by photoshop by adjusting the image tone.I found my old photos that i took in the prom and i did this process because i wanted the viewer to see that it was set in the mid 20th century.
masking patterns
Masking pattern portrait is a photograph with patterns on it. Went to navigate the web to look for a pattern that i liked and then I had to open the pattern with photoshop. Next, I had to copy and paste the pattern to the portrait picture and i used a magic wand tool to take out some bits out of the patterns such as the white parts of it. I made this these masking pattern because I feel like that i'm looking at a cool virtual jigsaw puzzle from a typical portrait into this piece of work.
camouflage portrait
Camouflage Portrait is another picture that the subject is wear an outfit has a a strong pattern or texture with the background or environment they are in. I found myself the perfect clothing and for my model that goes went with the the studio background i thought to myself i think these would work well for it. I took these shots because i feel like that i was a ninja sneaking into someones house.
Herbert Bayer
Herbert Bayer is an austrian photographer born in 1900 a village near salzburg located in Northern Australia. When Bayer was 28 years old he moved to Germany and became the art director of Vogue magazine in Bauhaus. In 1932 he created a piece called "The Lonely metropolitan" The photographer intended to create an image which represents terror.He did this by putting eyes on palms of hands. Herbert Bayer wanted us to think how frightening it can be to live in a city and he is using surrealism in this piece of work.This is shown by using things we can recognise and putting them together in a strange way. He wanted to explore how frightening to live where he lived. Finally, Bayer has used photomontage to creating this work, which makes a surreal effect. This helps to supports the photographer's point about expressing how it feels to be lonely.
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My response to Herbert Bayer
Instead of using photomontage to create these images I used photoshop. I think life can be scary sometimes at night in my neighbourhood because I live in tottenham next to the Broadwater farm estate. In my area things can literately get dangerous and you'll hear a group of thugs messing around that area. However, it's very quiet and peaceful in the early morning in the estate. I made these surreal portraits by using a technique called sec-timer. I was in my house alone.
First, I used a tripod for my camera to avoid blur in the photo. Next I took two self portraits and imported them into the computer. Originally, I made these portraits because I wanted the viewer to feel how scary it is to live where I live.
First, I used a tripod for my camera to avoid blur in the photo. Next I took two self portraits and imported them into the computer. Originally, I made these portraits because I wanted the viewer to feel how scary it is to live where I live.
Levitation portrait
Natsumi Hayashi
Natsumi Hayashi is a Japanese photographer that lives in Tokyo with two cats. Hayashi is famous for doing self portraits of her levitating. Hayashi says the symbolic meaning of her photographs was inspired by an old English idiom: 'to have one's feet firmly planted on the ground,' which applies to a practical type of person'. Hayashi feels that she is the opposite of this. Furthermore, Natsumi Hayashi wanted to represent that she has an obsession with floating in the air. Hayashi created these shots by using two different techniques: self timer and fast shutter speed . When she has her camera on a tripod in the urban environment of Tokyo she tries to jump up and down until she gets it right.
I think my work relates to this artist work because I feel the same way as Hayashi. Sometimes I feel like I'm floating in the air. on the photograph on the right she is hoovering a room in her house, she is also hovering whilst hoovering. which is not physically possible. In my work I will try to recreate a similar scene also using props. |
my response to Hayashi
In the image I actually look like I'm floating! The ordinary environment makes this levitation even more strange.
It would have been even better if I had used a wider angle so the viewer can see my feet. Next, I'm going to photograph outside so I can achieve a wider angle. I had to use the self timer as well, so I can position myself on a object like a table. First, I've taken two pictures, one with the subject and the other is the background. Next I had to use photoshop to rub out the table or any other objects that I was laying down on and finally I managed to blend it together. I did these levitation portraits because when I was really young I used to have a dream that I was able to fly up in the sky, but I was really like three years old and I was really immature back then. Although, I could of spent more time editing these photos to try and make it feel more realistic.
It would have been even better if I had used a wider angle so the viewer can see my feet. Next, I'm going to photograph outside so I can achieve a wider angle. I had to use the self timer as well, so I can position myself on a object like a table. First, I've taken two pictures, one with the subject and the other is the background. Next I had to use photoshop to rub out the table or any other objects that I was laying down on and finally I managed to blend it together. I did these levitation portraits because when I was really young I used to have a dream that I was able to fly up in the sky, but I was really like three years old and I was really immature back then. Although, I could of spent more time editing these photos to try and make it feel more realistic.
The photographs where I am lying down actually looks like i'm levitating.The images where I am standing look too obvious.
These images would be even better if what I was lying or standing on wasn't obvious.
Furthermore, I will look for more locations and experiment with blur.
These images would be even better if what I was lying or standing on wasn't obvious.
Furthermore, I will look for more locations and experiment with blur.
development of my ideas
This time, instead of having the subject laying or standing up on an object I wanted him/her to try to actually jumping from high ground. I've researched more of Natsumi Hayashi's photography and realised that in some of her self portraits she is holding something in her hand while levitating. This inspired me to do a similar idea. For my set of photographs I had to take the background and the person separately. I edited them with photo filters in Photoshop to make the subject and the background environment have the same tone so it actually looks like the model is levitating and jumping in that location. To photograph myself I used the continuous burst mode with a fast shutter speed and the self timer to get the perfect moment. Hayashi had an assistant to help her take the shot, but I wanted to try and avoid that process and tried to do it independently.
Final outcomes
After experiencing levitation photography I wanted to look back at my work to see which was my favourite ones that I edited. I've chosen these photographs because they literately look like i'm floating in the air. I like the one that i'm falling into the dustbin because to me it create a sense of humour. The self portrait in the corridor looks like that i'm panicking a lot that i might be late for my lesson and i know it's not a good sign. The self portrait taken outside of the school environment I achieved so much on it by being in a natural position in the air. If i had my knees high it would be too obvious that I was jumping, but i had my leg quite low to make it look realistic.