Day: November 15, 2016

 

Process

Before I got my final images I experimented a lot with background firstly using a white wall in my bedroom however this did not seem to work as two of my objects were very white and the whole image seemed to be very exposed. Even changing the camera settings and less lighting the exposure would not go as low as I would like.

So I decided to use white paper as a background instead to try and create a shadow behind the object, but I realised to get a shadow I needed to shine light on the object which is already white which created high overexposure again. So I fiddled a lot with the camera settings turning the ISO down to decrease light sensitivity which I hoped would decrease the exposure which it did but not enough to the extend where I was happy.

After this I decided that a white background was not going to work for this particular brief so I bought some black card and covered my wall and desk in it and used it as a set. Which worked very well.

For this Brief I chose these objects because they were easily accessible, and have a good shape to them and have nice stand out features to them, and they are all very ordinary.

The First object the small Berlin vase I took using very high lighting upon the object. I did this because it really shows up the white and the brings attention to the detail of the painting on the object. I also increased the exposure in post-production as well to improve the lighting but this is only post production work done to this image. I used ISO 800 and a shutter speed of 1/40, this was to expose more light and let more to let more light in than would be done on normal setting or on automatic.

I would say this is a very strong photographic with very well-lit frame and very well focused. However, I would say some select areas of the image are slightly over exposed, and a bit too harsh on the eye. Overall I am very happy with this photo for this project.

The second Object is the Russian Standard Vodka bottle. For this image is used ISO at 1600 and shutter speed at 1/10, this is because I wanted to make it even more sensitive to light so you could really see the light shining through the transparent bottle. I also used very little post production for this image, with me just simply cropping the image to the right size. I placed the object in the middle of the triptych because the other two objects are fairly similar which means they look good either side of the bottle.

What I like about this photo is how the light shines through the bottle really lighting up the whole image so you can see a lot of the detail of the bottle, it somehow lights up the black on the bottle more than background so it is visible from the background. However, what I don’t like is the fact that a lot of what is in frame is black and really brings dull mood on the whole image.

The third and final image is the vase with flowers on it. Here I went with the same theme of high lighting and a dark background to really show of the object by using ISO 800 and shutter speed of 1/40 same as the first image. I also increased exposure and contrast letting more light again and making the whites brighter and blacks darker. This is why the background looks slightly different to the ones in the other two images. I did this because I wasn’t happy with the shade of white on the vase, however I think it improves the image.

What I like about this image is the framing because the vase really fill the whole frame being the dominant in the image over the background. But I don’t like how you can see the light reflecting off the vase in the middle of the photo.

Research 

My first inspiration for my still objects brief came from this image by Magda Indigo. As you can see the whole set up is very similar to the work that I have produced. Using a very dark background and bringing intense light on to the object, to really make it the focus of the image. Also the colour of the object in question is white which means there is a high contrast in this image, which really brings the object alive.

Magda was born in Belgium, and now lives and creates her photography here in the U.K. She has done a lot of still life work over her time mostly with similar objects like flowers, plants, and fruit.

 

Here is some more similar work by Magda using a similar style to the first image which was my original inspiration, to really bring the attention of the viewer onto the very vibrant green and the smooth shape of the object.

To me these two images show a very distinct style of photography that Magda Indigo has, which is the continuous use of the black background this is used very effectively throughout most of her pieces. Furthermore, the objects that she uses to photograph are also related with a lot of flowers and fruit, showing a very natural and look.

Another inspiration I found for my work was a photographer called Bob Norris, who was trained in still life and beauty photography. Like a lot of still photographers, he started to specialise in food, this photo in particular caught my eye. I like how he has used lighting and the focus of the camera to focus on the what is on the foreground of the image. However, I would prefer all of the image to be in focus so you can really see the detail of the beautiful shape of the bottom of the egg cup. But it is still a great photograph and thought has clearly been put into the style of the photograph, which I can still take a lot f inspiration from.

 Even though Bob Norris does specialise in food it is not the only objects he photographs, for example this photo of a multi-coloured handbag. Which I think the Black background is very effective here, because it really brings the focus on the object and its colours. I prefer this image to the first one, as the bag has many different colours that are being brought to life by the incredible lighting set up. I also prefer the fact that the whole image is in focus so you can really see the detail of the bag. However, the depth of field is a bit shallow. But with the black background this is not a huge issue and a higher aperture actual helps with the focus, which is not a massive issue.

I have looked through a lot of Bob’s work and noticed that he doesn’t have a set style for his still life, granted he specialises in food. But the lighting and the background choices are not consistent like you see with a lot of other still photographers. This shows that he is willing to experiment with his photography, which is what I am planning to do with my work.

Another inspiration I found was Jenny Van Sommers who lives in and works in London, she is an advertisement photographer she now has clients in the US and France. You can see why her photography is so successful when you look at her work. This image for example the photography is so simple, but you can see from how perfect the different colours contrast with each other that a lot of time and thought process has gone into this image. She probably experimented with thousands of different colours until she chose these for her final image.

What I found interesting about this image is how the lighting is set up, because in advertisement photography the product needs to be visible and clear to the target audience. This means the use of bright colours and high lighting should catch the audiences mind this is why Jenny has done this because it will impress her client with how good the image shows of the product. Therefore, the client will come her again whenever the client needs more photography advertising doing.

Furthermore, you can see that Jenny has used a shallow depth of field in this image. I think there are two reasons why she did this, the first is so the audience don’t lose focus on the product with a massive depth of field. The second reason is that when the aperture is higher it is easier to focus the camera on the point of focus, this is so the product is clear to the audience.

Looking through her portfolio you can see that she is a photographer for the up market products. Taking photos for companies like Paco Rabanne, British Airways, and Fiat. This shows that she is having a very successful career.

Here is another simple photography by Jenny Van Sommers yet again it looks like the objects have just been placed there in a line randomly. But the colours that are on the cones would have been specially chosen by Jenny before taking the photo. Plus, the lighting would have been experimented with a lot because of the shadows that are coming of the objects, to make sure that they were pointing the same way and which way looked most pleasing to eye.

Bibliography

 

Process

For this first image I have used two photos one is of Donald Trump’s face and the other a plain brick wall. The reason I have chosen to do this is because Donald Trump is a big character in the political world because of his extreme views, he has divided a large amount of people. Also in his manifesto he says and strongly believes that there should be a wall build between the United States and Mexico to prevent Mexican immigration, the wall is here to represent this. This is why there is the Text that says “GREAT WALL OF TRUMP” in red and black text. I choose the colour red because it represents blood and danger which is what many people would associate with Donald Trump because of his views on war and how he wants to use nuclear weapons. The colour black connotes evil and dark themes such as war, it also connotes intelligences, which Donald Trump is otherwise he would not be completing in a presidential campaign for the U.S President.

 If I was to self-reflect my work, I would say that the idea and concept is very strong by using a very controversial subject like politics is. However, I would say the technical side of the image could be improved as the Photoshop here are very poor. Despite this I think that the audience will love this image, because of the fact that it doesn’t look professional it connotes that Donald Trump is kind of a joke to politics, which the audience will find amusing which is what appropriation is really about.

My second image is a family walking along a beach, what I have done to this image is crop it to really focus on the family. I have also raised the brightness of the image, I have done this because usually associate family time as bright and colourful to connote happiness. But this one is unusually dark even with the brightness of the image raised. Also the body language of the family seems very calm and relaxed, we are not used to seeing this in these types of images if you look at family holiday websites the people in the photos are usually very excited and happy all wearing bright clothing. In this photo the dominant colour of clothes are black and grey, this is not the stereotypical family holiday photo we are used to seeing, and that is the reason I have chosen it.

I think the meaning and the concept of the image is very interesting and strong, with how you normally see family holiday pictures as bright and happy but this one really isn’t. But again I think the technical process I when through was weak, because I only raised the brightness of the image and did a simple crop.

I think the audience will like this image as it will remind them of their family, holidays, and parenthood. This means the photo will give them happy thoughts of their family, so they should appreciate this photo.

Research 

For my first photo I was inspired by this image by Shepard Fairey, this is where I got the inspiration from to create a politically motivated piece. He was Born in Charleston, South Carolina, but now lives and creates his work in LA. He has won many awards over his career including the Honorary doctorate, Pratt Institute in 2015, and the Artist residency for The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii in 2005. This shows that he has continued to make great art all the way through his career by winning awards consistently throughout his career.

This image of Barack Obama is probably the most famous artwork in his career, in 2008 this poster of Obama signified him bringing hope to the people of the USA, now however people might think of the poster in a number of different ways such as “success” now that his presidential reign is now over his supporters may think of him bring progress to the USA, or if you weren’t a fan of Obama you think of this poster as “sarcasm” or a “joke”. The audience of this poster will all react in different ways because we all interpret art differently because we all see at different times in our life and in society which means we all view art differently depending on our upbringing and cultural background.

His art has been well known for tackling social and political views through the form of images. It has come across quite a lot of critique over the years but what art doesn’t especially when tackling very controversial issues, which makes him a very brave artist in the industry today. However, Shepard himself believes that he is a populist, this basically means he wants to create art about social issues and politics for the ordinary people, not the elites of this world.

This image has a very strong red tinge, which is not very noticeable on the left hand side of the image but as we move our attention across the image to the right hand side it becomes much more noticeable very strong on the left hand side. But this colour is very appropriated in this image because lest think what the colour red connotes, leadership, strength, passion, and determination. All of these qualities you would associate with Obama.

Looking through Shepard Fairey’s work you can see that he tends to repeat this sort of retro style in his work, using the similar colours mainly red, orange, and tints of yellow.

My other inspiration came from this photo called Marilyn by Andy Warhol. Andy Warhol is an American painter, film maker and author. This shows that he has multiple creative talents.

One of his most well-known pieces is this photo by of Marilyn Monroe. What I like about this appropriation is the fact that a lot of thought has gone into it. The fact that most of image is pink which is a stereotypical “girly” colour, which matches Marilyn because she is also known for being a very stereotypical “girly” girl.

Also the hair has been heavily edited to create a very bright unrealistic fake blonde, maybe suggesting how she would act up for the camera’s a lot in her career and acting completely different to how she felt. Or maybe its playing on the fact that she was also known for being the stereotypical “dumb blonde” or maybe both.

Also the fact that the image looks very fake might remind the audience that she was known as a manufactured star with a made up name and only ever really seen as a sex symbol under the male gaze.

This is what makes an appropriation image great the fact that the audience take so many different messages from what they are seeing and different interpretations depending on their cultural background which causes debate and therefore the artist is very happy because debate creates popularity.