AF Portraiture - Candidate Number 3046 - 46725 - PGHS by missmorrispghs

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Portrait & Identity - AMINA FEE / GCSE PHOTOGRAPHY

AMINA FEE / GCSE PHOTOGRAPHY HOME

COMPONENT 1

Personal Project: Portrait & Identity

Definition: P ortrait photography, or portraiture, is a type of photography aimed toward capturing the personality of a person or group of people by using effective lighting, backdrops, and poses. A portrait photograph may be artistic or clinical.

“I believe that everyone wears a mask, and beneath that mask is another mask. So what photographers can reveal are the various masks we all wear.”

I find this quote inspirational to the project because people can portray themselves in various different ways in photography. With portraiture, we can identify different expressions, and express them to create our identities.

- Matthew Rolston

Mind Map:

Photographing just someone's eyes, hands, feet or mouth is an equally valid take on portraiture as photographing one's entire face. It isn't that one style is better than the other; creating portraits out of piece simply allows you to tell a story in a different way.

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Early Inspirational Images: Following the written mind map, I began to investigate portrait photography and identity examples. Below are the findings of this research. I feel the most inspirational image for me is the first image of the second row. I believe this because you can see transitions from the exposure of the woman to the exposure of the plants. I believe it is a good example of portrait and identity because you can infer a lot from the image.

Professional Portraiture Workshop / Collaborative Shoot: Previously, I produced a knowledge organiser with the assistance of two videos explaining the art of portrait photography as well as how to successfully produce lighting. In the collaborative shoot, we aimed to have our subjects sitting with good posture for their year book photos. Mr Dever works as a professional freelance photographer. We worked in a spacious area with soft-boxes, tripods, white backdrops to avoid creating shadows, shutter release cables to allow a shot with stability and more. We took the photos at mid-day. To keep confidentiality of the students we took photos of, we covered their eyes on the contact sheet, as the eyes are a prominent feature of the human face. In addition to this we also didn't use the names of the students for the names of the photos. This helps keep their identities safe. With COVID-19, risk assessment is even more important than ever. Our photographs were shot at a social distance, and hand gel was used in between shoots. The wires placed around were out of the way of our subjects as well as ourselves. They were going around the edges to avoid trip hazards. POWERED BY https://aminagcsephotographypghs.weebly.com/portrait--identity.html

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The remote flash was set at 1/16th of a second and our shoot was indoors with an ambient lighting. There was controlled lighting to ensure we had decent fill lighting and rim lighting. We used a DSLR Canon with a 50mm prime lens because it would avoid facial distortion, helping our portraiture. Attached to our DSLR was a shutter release cable, and near the backdrop we had an umbrella to diffuse light. We shot at a shutter speed of 1/60 and an aperture of F/11. The shallow depth of field was to limit background interference: the same reason applies for why we had our models sat moderately away from the backdrop. The ISO of the photo was 100 to ensure maximum detail as well as ensure picture quality without noise! From this experience, I gained an opportunity to work with humans and create some examples of portraiture. I am now aware of how to create an effective portrait, and learn how lighting can effect a photo. I have seen in person the effects of key lighting, back lighting and fill lighting.

Professional Portraiture Workshop / Contact Sheet:

Professional Portraiture Workshop / Digital Editing: o edit this photo, I first cropped the image on PIXLR to get rid of T a lot of blank space. I also scaled it using the rule of thirds to create a better composition. After that, I cloned some of the remaining blank space to get rid of the bright green seat the girl was sat on as it was very bold and was not the focus of the photo. Once I had removed the seat, I used the magic wand lasso tool to remove to blur it and make sure there were no creases or issues with the background.

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Research and Investigation / Breaking the Rules: After gaining an experience of how portraiture is taken in a school environment professionally, I would now like to further my knowledge of portraiture by learning ways I could make them unique or bend the rules of basic portraiture to better suit a specific style.

Research and Investigation / Double and Multi Exposure: Double or multi exposure is the layering of two or more photos. Before digital cameras existed, sometimes you would get an old photo stuck on a used layer of film, and many used this to create a twin effect as shown in these images. Many also used it to make it look like they had supernatural beings in their photographs too. Multi exposure is relevant to my research on portraiture as it can show identity, it can have multiple meanings and can be used to represent many ideas. Contemporary Double and Multi Exposures

Research and Investigation / Double & Multi Exposure / Initial Experiment: Computer Initial Experiments / PIXLR:

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Image Evaluation: I believe I was able to create an example of double exposure and create and manage to create an outline of a human face. However, I believe there is plenty of room for improvement. I need to make some areas of tree lighter because it all looks the same, especially the opacity and transparency, and I need to work on how much of the face you can actually see. The trees are not translucent and as a result, we do not see much of the face. I also believe I need to use a smaller blur brush on my work because there needs to be some sharpened elements to the photo. From the process, I have learned how to use the cut out mask tool, how to effectively use layering tools such as multiply and screen, I have learnt more about PIXLR, and I know how to use the blend mode.

Smartphone App Initial Experiments / Snapseed:

Image Evaluation: I believe I was able to successfully use a layering technique to create a multi exposure image. The blend tool is something I particularly enjoyed and I believe the opacity worked really well with the hair, making it stand out from the otherwise monochrome photo. The photo is still but as green only appears in specific sections of the leaves, it also leaves off a somewhat disturbed feeling, and makes the photo stand out more among the rest. However, I feel as though the skin could have been more translucent and possibly make the eyes stand out more. Furthermore, I believe that I could've chosen a background with more colour spread throughout to create a bigger effect. Finally, even though this was only an experiment, I used many stock photos for this. 3/10 photos I used were actually mine. To improve in the future, it would be best to use completely original content. From my experiment I have gained experience with the Snapseed app and also had more experience with double exposure. POWERED BY https://aminagcsephotographypghs.weebly.com/portrait--identity.html

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Research and Investigation / Double & Multi Exposure / Christoffer Relander: “Reality can be beautiful, but the surreal often absorbs me. Photography to me is a way to express and stimulate my imagination. Nature is simply the world. With alternative and experimental camera techniques I am able to create artworks that otherwise only would be possible through painting or digital manipulation in an external software.” — Christoffer Relander I chose this photographer because of the way he adapts nature into his portraits. He also doesn't just shoot humans but animals too. Relander is able to use portraiture to represent someone and show their "natural" identity or what they may be interested in nature. Christoffer Relander is well known for his monochromatic, double exposure photos of nature and humans being combined together. He creates a very surreal effect. Relander is also famous for his use of fragmentation which can be philosophically inferred to a human identity being taken over by nature, or nature being fragmented into smaller amounts to indicate humans taking over. At home I could emulate his work by having my subject in front of a white background, and then shooting some nature shots. Because my camera does not shoot in monochrome, I would have to edit the saturation afterwards while creating the double exposure image.

Research and Investigation / Double & Multi Exposure / Shoot Plan: For this shoot, I am intending to go into the school field and shoot many photos of nature scenes. My shutter speed will be on priority and my camera will be set at 1/160. My f stop will be 2 and I will have a continuous setting on to allow second shots that may turn out better than the first. I also have the intent of working with a classmate of mine, who will be the subject of my photo. First, we will take photos of her on a plain background, making an easier edit to emulate Relander's work, and then we may take a few shots on the field too. POWERED BY https://aminagcsephotographypghs.weebly.com/portrait--identity.html

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I would like to get a silhouette of her to allow a full double exposure look like the one beside me, however she already has dark hair so it won't be necessary. Vantage points will be varied but many will be facing directly or to the side to avoid discomfort of the subject. The lighting will be natural so we are hoping the sun will be out. If I see any kind of nature that is out of the ordinary, I would like to shape it into something unique for the multi exposure layers. After taking these photos and arranging them onto a contact sheet, I intend to edit them together to emulate Christoffer Relander's work. I will upload screenshots of the process and explain how I did it, when I get to that point.

Research and Investigation / Double & Multi Exposure / Contact Sheet:

Research and Investigation / Double & Multi Exposure / Digital Edits:

1. First I selected a shot of my classmate, and did some minor

2. Once done with minor editing, I imported a layer of a nature

adjustments to the photograph. I also changed the colour scheme to monochrome and adjusted the background to appear more

shot. I changed the opacity and cut it using the masking tool into the shape of my peer's head. I then altered the blend

smooth.

mode to screen and another to multiply.

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3. After adding the two layers of nature in different blend modes, I compressed the image into one image and smoothed some details

4. Once these layers were compressed, I adjusted the image more to expose it more. I used the draw mask to highlight

that I couldn't pick up on beforehand.

areas and make the nature more prominent in the photograph.

5. Once done with this, I selected the brush tool and selected a shape with a split sort of shape and made the size and feathering fairly large.

6. This is the effect I achieved by the end of my digital editing process. You can see some of the facial features as prominent but you can still see how the nature overtakes.

Research and Investigation / Double & Multi Exposure / Digital Edits Results:

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Research and Investigation / Double & Multi Exposure / Best Image: I believe this is my best image because the petals below the chin are smooth, and it covers the hair and clothes very well. I also am fond of the way it blends in and out of the white background. I feel as though I have done an efficient job with it, and there are even faint petals on the face as well, which I believe suits the mood of the photograph. I personally believe the two images compliment each other with the happiness and daisies which are around sunny times.

Artist Investigation / Brandon Woelfel: “I love photos that have that feel good sense and expression in the photos. You can relate to it or it can remind you of a good time in your life or something that you’re going through.” — Brandon Woelfel What techniques does Woelfel use? He uses props and editing techniques to make his photos stand out in different ways than traditional photos do. The main characteristics of Brandon's photography are low light, bokeh, post-processing, and props. Bokeh is defined as “the effect of a soft out-of-focus background that you get when shooting a subject, using a fast lens, at the widest aperture, such as f/2.8 or wider.” Why this photographer? randon Woelfel uses a variety of effects and lighting which makes B his portrait photography stand out above others. He is known to 'have mastered the arts of dusk and dawn photography' and knows how to manipulate lighting. His photos contain varying aspect ratios, and not all of his work necessarily applies with the rule of thirds. Woelfel uses the bokeh effect sometimes and other times, he goes for a larger depth of field. Sometimes with his neon lights in the backgrounds of portrait photographs, he is able to contrast the lighting of his backgrounds and sometimes the silhouette of the subject of the photo.

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How could I emulate Woelfel's style? o create a bokeh effect, I could use a low aperture and duller or softer backgrounds. This would provide a shallow depth of field. T However, if I were to emulate his neon light work, I would go with a larger depth of field and use florescent lighting to create a neon effect. If the effect isn't as bright as I want, I can always attempt to edit a photo post-shoot. I would shoot using a tripod, and minimal people. This means one or two subjects at most in a photo. If I was to shoot at dusk or dawn, which requires effort in itself, I would have to have some lighting facing my subject as to avoid unwanted underexposure of my subject. Some of his subjects have confidentiality and have their faces covered by powders or effects. I could capture this effect, or edit them on afterwards which would be easier if I wanted to use confidentiality or did not have consent to show faces of my subjects.

Artist Investigation / Brandon Woelfel / Shoot Plan: For this shoot I am planning on taking inspiration from Brandon Woelfel. I am inspired by his work because of hid use of the bokeh effect. he shoot will probably take place at sunset as I feel his work is T better in the dark and I want effective use of lighting on my subject's face. I will need to find an area where I have permission to shoot, as well as get a model for the photo. For the best outcome, I also wish to have a background that compliments the subject of my photo.

I want side-lighting and maybe some backlighting to make the subject stand out. The lighting I use will be artificial and I hope to use some fairy lights as some of Woelfel's work features them. I will probably need to adjust my white balance too. I will be using my Nikon 3200 DSLR camera and hopefully a 50mm prime lens. My camera will likely be in night mode to accommodate the darkness. I may use a slow aperture to allow details in my subject's face to stand out and to create a more crisp and surreal look to the model of my photo. Because of how late it will be taken, I am probably going to adjust my exposure as well.

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Artist Investigation / Brandon Woelfel / Contact Sheet:

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Artist Investigation / Brandon Woelfel Shoot / Unedited Images:

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Artist Investigation / Brandon Woelfel Shoot / Digital Edits:

Artist Investigation / Brandon Woelfel Shoot / Best Image: I believe this is my best image as Brandon Woelfel uses a bokeh effect to focus on a person and not the lights sometimes as well as works with warm colours. I say this because the brushes I used overlay the pink really well with the eyes and keeps some blue aspects on the other side. The face has detail but the hair fades out like the light does on some of Woelfel's photos. This girl seems happy and ambitious and the lighted colours bring out the glint in her eyes. The pink and blue may contrast each other but because they are blended, they work well together..

I wished to get 2 forms of lighting in but didn't have the resources so this shoot was highly benefitted by digital manipulation of layers and colours, which isn't the technique the artist uses.

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Shutter Speed Workshops / Long Exposure / Motion Blur / Light Drawing: What is Shutter Speed and Blur in Photography? Shutter speed is the speed at which a camera closes. A fast shutter speed creates a shorter exposure but a slow shutter speed gives the photographer a longer exposure. If the camera takes longer to move, anything that moves in frame may come out as blurred when the photo is finally taken. If a camera closes quick, it can capture a shot quickly, without blur

Slow Shutter Speed Portrait Examples - Creates a sense of movement, blur or dynamic motion

Fast Shutter Speed Portrait Examples - Captures crisp details and freezes them in time

Photographic Techniques / Long Exposure: What is Long Exposure in Portrait Photography? Long exposure mimics the effect of a slow shutter speed. If there was any movement during the time it takes for the camera to shoot the photo it'll show up as blurry or smoothed over. hese are not solid and often look translucent, which is good for T ghost effects, obscured images and showing the speed at which POWERED BY https://aminagcsephotographypghs.weebly.com/portrait--identity.html

something moves. 14/32

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Photographic Techniques / Long Exposure / My Experiments x 9:

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Photographic Techniques / Long Exposure / 4 Best Edited Images:

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Photographic Techniques / Long Exposure / Best Image: POWERED BY https://aminagcsephotographypghs.weebly.com/portrait--identity.html

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I believe that this image was successful because of the detail in the model's face. The face is neutral, and you can only read the emotions on the face by the eyes and eyebrows, because the mouth is concealed by one of the four hands. Identity is expressed in this image because of the hands surrounding the body of the model, they are covering the face and lower as if trying to shield the subject from something. It could also possibly symbolise a second person or something watching over someone, shielding them from harm, or maybe even non-verbal fear within the model herself. There is nothing bold that could portray any form of a unique personality, but rather something plain or someone non-verbal. he blurred hands blend well and the flow is smooth, but I could have improved this image by T moving the hand by the mouth quickly to make it more transparent and smoother.

Photographic Techniques / Motion Blur: What is Motion Blur in Portrait Photography? Motion blur is the blur made when the subject moves too quickly while the camera is shooting its shot. This is good when you want to obscure a specific area. Motion blur can require a timer (generally in the camera or phone), a slower shoot setting, and a tripod to hold the camera steady while the shot is being taken.

Photographic Techniques / Motion Blur / My Experiments x 9:

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Photographic Techniques / Motion Blur / 4 Best Edited Images:

On this photo, I lowered the exposure and decreased contrast and colours. This resulted in the translucent hands to appear more.

Similar edits were made on this photo however the photo has had the warmth decreased to create a different effect. A very light viginette was added, but is not very visible.

On this photo I increased the warmth and decreased contrast once again. The exposure was slightly increased. In addition, I

For this image I decreased the brightness and contrast of the photo and slightly decreased the warmth.

used PIXLR's airbrush tool to add a vignette around the image, slightly improving my vision of the hand on the left of the POWERED BY picture. https://aminagcsephotographypghs.weebly.com/portrait--identity.html

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Photographic Techniques / Motion Blur / Best Image: Best Image Evaluation: In this photo I increased the warmth and decreased contrast. The exposure was slightly increased. In addition, I used PIXLR's airbrush tool to add a viginette around the image, slightly improving my vision of the moving arms. However the background was very overexposed and is distracting from the motion blur itself. The photo also looks blurred in places that shouldn't have been affected, not the subject of the photo. The person in the image seems as if they are processing something or have some form of mild regret and stress. The motion blur, sudden change of pose, and lack of clarity with the hands resting place indicates a sudden change as another mood appears.

Photographic Techniques / Light Drawing: What is Light Drawing in Portrait Photography? Light painting is when light is moved around while a long exposure photograph is being taken. During the time it takes for the photo to be shot, various shapes and lines can be made. This can require a longer shoot setting, a dark room or area, a light source and some form of tripod and timer.

Photographic Techniques / Light Drawing / My Experiments x 9:

https://aminagcsephotographypghs.weebly.com/portrait--identity.html

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Photographic Techniques / Light Drawing / 4 Best Edited Images:

On this image I decreased the temperature and the exposure. I attempted to darken the background and increased the

I increased the exposure to try and make the coloured lights behind stand out more, but this resulted in the centre being

highlights around the centre of the light sources.

overexposed. I tried fixing it by changing the contrast and it somewhat calmed down, with other colours being there.

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In this photo I increased the brightness and contrast. I also used the airbrush tool on PIXLR to darken some areas of the photo too.

In this image I increased the vibrance and contrast, while also highlighting sections of light. I decreased the exposure too to allow some areas of light to stand out more than others.

Photographic Techniques / Light Drawing / Best Image: Best Image Evaluation: In this image I increased the vibrance and contrast, while also highlighting sections of light. I decreased the exposure too to allow some areas of light to stand out more than others. I believe this photo went well because of the way you can see the lights layering over one another and that you cannot see much in the background. The lights aren't overwhelmingly bright but they don't stand out, so could be improved with some highlights.

Artist Investigation / Techniques / Maurizio Anzeri: Maurizio Anzeri takes photographs and portraits of people and sews and stitches into them. This is a form of physical manipulation and can highlight features of the images. He does not stick to one kind of image to sew into either: black and white, brownish tones, coloured, but most have plain and simplistic backgrounds, allowing the thread to be more apparent. I have chosen to research him because I find it interesting that he doesn't just stick to one kind of portrait, and I also want to look into the physical manipulation, and try it out for myself.

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Artist Investigation / Maurizio Anzeri / Shoot Plan: For this shoot, I wish to get the subject of my Brandon Woelfel shoot to do some more posing for me. She will be stood by a bunk bed, standing in various stances that highlight the face. This is because Anzeri normally sews off of the subject's face when the image is printed. The colours that my subject is wearing will not matter as the images will be converted into monochrome or will be very warm in colours. This shoot will be done in aperture priority with an auto-focus to ensure the focus is on my subject, and so the background does not become too intrusive when physically editing one of the photos later on. I do not have any intentions of using a tripod for this shoot, as I believe there will be ample natural light, and that we won't need a longer shutter speed to allow more light inside. The shutter speed will be seemingly quick, and I will be using the Nikon D3200 with a standard kit lens. Minor adjustments to the images will be made via PIXLR such as highlights in the hair, or lowering the exposure of the background, and then the outcome I like the most will be printed out to be sewn into. I will be hand sewing into the photograph, which will be printed onto some a4 photograph paper. Once it is sewn, I will upload an image of the result onto Weebly.

Composition Design 1: What is the aim of this shoot? I intend for the viewer to not be too overwhelmed but gradually see more details through layers. The model's body language and actions will display more than their faces will.

"I love photos that have that feel good sense and expression in the photos. You can relate to it or it can remind you of a good time or something that you are going through." - Brandon Woelfel

Composition Combinations: I want to combine Brandon Woelfel and light drawing ideally. Brandon Woelfel uses a bokeh effect as well as dawn, dusk photography. His photos sometimes POWERED BY https://aminagcsephotographypghs.weebly.com/portrait--identity.html

have a lot of depth, whereas others don't. I want to experiment with the layering and also see how I could implement light drawing into is style. 23/32

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is work often has visible faces, and often lighting that effects the face. The H lighting can show more about the person and so would the body language, for example the girl in the image. The shadows show that the blinds are concealing parts of the outdoors and her hand is holding a thick sort of jumper towards her face. This could identify a shy or anxious personality.

Brandon Woelfel's contains a lot of lights in the backgrounds; I believe that light drawing could compliment his work with the light drawing in the foreground while bokeh blurs the background. To do this I would have to use digital manipulation to combine the different effects. The light drawing could be great to add an extra layer of identity: scribbled lights could represent anxiety; firm lines monotonous moods or tranquillity; random doodles could just represent happiness, and they could just be used for extra effects. In the photo beside the text, light drawing is being used next to a figure to make it seem as if it has super powers, as well as having the blue light highlight the facial features.

o add the light drawing, I would have to use double exposure - another technique - and then the masking tool to remove the T background. Sharp edges could then be blurred to make it smoothly blend into the softer areas. Woelfel's photography can contain colourful lights reflecting on people's faces too. I don't have access to store windows at night or any LED signs in safe areas to reflect onto someone's face, so I am going to also use inspiration from the gel photography I placed amongst my 10 initial images for portraiture and identity. Depending on the colours I use, I could use lighting to have the same colours as the light drawing, as if the light wasn't layered on and replicate some of his photos, particularly when he is shooting in urban or modern environments.

I wish to combine even more light into a similar style to Woelfel and intend to use these medias to do so.

Photography Shoot Plan: This shoot was inspired by Brandon Woelfel and the layers in his photography. I will also be using light painting as a technique to take inspiration from. I intend to shoot at night because the lights will be more visible and will stand out more. It also reflects to Woelfel's work as he takes shoots during the night and during sunsets. I will need to take into consideration my camera settings as night photography and day photography are not the same, and require different settings as such. Poorly labelled diagram to show what it

I will have to take different shots in different locations and with different times because of the multiple techniques I am using: sunset; night; home; in the fields, and by walls.

would look like (model and gel likely to be layered on a separate occasion due to problems)

To keep to this, I will have to go out at specific times to shoot the shots. I intend to have a model however because this is a night project, the model I originally used for the Brandon Woelfel shoots may not be able to be used and I may need to do self-portraits.

I need a lack of natural light as it is night photography, but also need artificial lights to do the light drawing, to be props, and to implement the gel lighting effect. I will likely have to adjust my white balance as well as change a few settings on my camera. The POWERED BY

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same applies for if I do brighter settings - I'd have to change my settings up once again. I will have to experiment settings for the sunset lighting too, which would leave silhouettes, lack of a face in the portraiture. I intend to shoot with a Nikon D3200 using a combination of kit and prime lenses on a tripod depending on the shoot because prime lenses may be better for night photography than my kit lens. I intend to use a larger aperture f/2.8 for a very shallow depth of field on night photos and use a slow shutter speed. My ISO will change from high to low depending on my setting. I will be using gel photography too and have lights reflecting on the subject's face. This will likely be side-lit or I may just choose to avoid the face and go backlit too to vary my images. The models in Woelfel's work often wear casual clothing , and are either smiling or have some kind of unreadable face. The models in my photography will likely wear some kind of loose shirt or jumper and hair down loose. The pants shouldn't be an issue but would either be short, unlikely but ideally, or pants because it is getting colder as we go into Autumn. Where hands are visible they are generally by the model's heads or stretching out. This means that my model will be varying between a reserved expression, and body language, or some confident carefree personalities. My backgrounds, home and sunset can be suitable for both. For the light painting, I will be working in a dark room, close enough to pitch black, to allow the lights to be more apparent and easier to edit. I will be using double exposure to add this shoot and the model onto the background. I will be using a cheap party-mic with a light up surface... it uses multi-coloured and so will provide greater effects onto the image. I will be using a long exposure to capture the light, as well as use a tripod so I can

paint with light, and still have the camera capture it stably. I am going to experiment with the light painting and find certain shapes or patterns that may be beneficial for different moods. I am going to use double exposure too to edit all of the photos together, and combine each layer. This is another technique previously studied and I may edit a bit more double exposure into my work as well as the model and light painting. This will be good for the layering and adding subtle details into the portraiture, whether to the model or the background. I'm hoping to use it to make changes but it is not the main focus of this composition.

Contact Sheet:

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Portrait & Identity - AMINA FEE / GCSE PHOTOGRAPHY

Shoot 1: Model My intention was to have neutral facial expressions but everything went wrong and I panicked. Moral of the story: it is a good idea to have a model for photography instead of shooting it by yourself. I still think the shoot came out a LOT better than the original Brandon Woelfel shoot I did. A lot of my images were out of focus, and could be difficult to work with. I tried to keep as many images as I could, but there are few that have great quality. Some were out of focus, some I moved too quick, over exposed, underexposed, and some just didn't work because of other reasons. I found that if I just had the singular floodlight, one side of my face would end up completely underexposed, and so I used light from my ring-light to add some side-lighting to my images. Annotations Below: Out of Focus - 602, 603, 608, 611, 612, 613, 614, 615, 619, 620, 621, 622, 623, 624, 625, 626, 627, 628, 629, 633, 639, 640, 641, 642, 643, 648, 649, 650, 651, 652, 654, 655, 656, 664, 671, 672, 675, 677, 678, 712, 713, 714, 716, 718 Irrelevant - 597, 598, 599, 600, 604, 605, 610, 611, 663 Overexposed - 635, 637, 649, 651, 714, 715, 717, 718, 719 Underexposed - 643, 646 Techniques: Coloured LED Flood Lights Tripod Automatic Mode DSLR Nikon D3200 Kit Lens Plain Ringlight

Shoot POWERED 2: Light BY Painting https://aminagcsephotographypghs.weebly.com/portrait--identity.html

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Portrait & Identity - AMINA FEE / GCSE PHOTOGRAPHY

4-6 Edited Images:

For this image, I originally overlayed another image of me sat This image, I focused on the light drawing and have them around down in a different colour lighting, and then erased most of it and the subject. faintly added bokeh and a light drawing layer.

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Portrait & Identity - AMINA FEE / GCSE PHOTOGRAPHY

For this image, I focused more on the bokeh and the light drawing This image has bokeh and the lines going through me are from a and made them look more prominent.

failed attempt to add the light drawing. I couldn't change the opacity.

Best Image: I particularly like this edit because the light drawing though transparent can be seen and is not too bright. In addition to this, I really like the fairy lights in the corner as Brandon Woelfel sometimes uses fairy lights in his work. I believe the overlay of the light drawing worked really well because it is not too thick and bright but it is also visible, brighter in some areas than others.

The background is visible but quite dark, making details there more subtle and less obvious.

Composition Design 2: What is the aim of this shoot? I want this shoot to confuse the viewer. The digital manipulation of the double exposure should seem calming, all while the physical manipulation will be rough and sharp, not smooth and tranquil.

"I'm not just interested in the pictorial aspects of the landscape – see a pretty place and try to paint it – but in some way to manage it, manipulate it, or see what I can turn it into." - Wayne Thiebaud

Composition Combinations: I am intending to combine Christoffer Relander and physical editing. I was inspired to do this because while Relander uses manipulation to digitally enhance his photos and add double exposure, I think it would be cool to alter a physical photo itself. I am taking inspiration from the first portrait above, as I have not done as much physical manipulation as I have digital work, and would like to practice working with it. Image inspiration from photographer and technique

Because my camera doesn't have a built in double exposure setting, Relander's photography is a technique we have studied itself, in addition to the physical techniques I am using. The models in his photography look very calm and in the images above, they are seen to be facing away from the camera. I would like to emulate this kind of effect. The nature layered onto the model will also make the image seemBY content, until it is contrasted with the physical editing. POWERED https://aminagcsephotographypghs.weebly.com/portrait--identity.html

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Portrait & Identity - AMINA FEE / GCSE PHOTOGRAPHY

I want to experiment with different kinds of physical manipulation too such as stabbing, which could contrast the serenity of the nature, sewing (which may look more organised), and burning that may make the image seem worn and unwanted.

Digitall y vaguel y

Shoot Plan: For this shoot, it will be split into different subjects: the model, and nature. This is because the two sets will be combined to create the double exposure photograph, and then will be printed out to do some physical manipulation, such as burning, stabbing and sewing.

drawn diagra m to show where my model would be roughly. Chances are the camera would be across

y shoot will take place during the day, and in a field. I will be taking the photos by the trees M near the water. I will have to consider the distance I am from the trees, and how close I am to the water. I will also need to keep an eye on the weather, and make sure that the area isn't too muddy, and that my model doesn't get filthy.

from him/her/them.

I won't really be using props but I intend to use the wildlife in the field nearby as the subject of the shoot, primarily trees and bushes. My model will have a relaxed expression and calm body language. This will reflect the calm features of the models in Relander's work. If the weather does not allow, then I will use previously taken shots of the model of my original Brandon Woelfel shoot to still achieve that light background. The lighting conditions I will require are natural. The lighting surrounding my subject will be experimental as I want to see what would work best for the double exposure - a silhouette may be effective. The settings on my camera will be changed from the night photography shoot back to normal day settings, lower ISO, aperture etc. I intend to shoot with my DSLR and no tripod, because although it would help capture more stable shots, it is very impractical to stand by the waters and I don't want it to get too muddy. I will be using a standard lens too. Any additional techniques will be included by digital or physical manipulation. So this would include stabbing, burning and sewing because there will be no fires on the field. IF this fails: I will use the images I took when I did my original artists research on Brandon Woelfel and then combine the nature images in the contact sheet with them.

Contact Sheet:

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Portrait & Identity - AMINA FEE / GCSE PHOTOGRAPHY

Edited Images:

Best Image: I believe this is my best image because the leaves are visible on the hair of my subject. I edited the image using PIXLR to add very faint bokeh and some coloured lighting - to match the atmosphere in some of Woelfel's work. I like the detail around the subject of the photo, but I don't like how little bokeh is visible. I also feel like I could have put more effort into the overlaying, and make the leaves more prominent. I have learnt from this experiment that using double exposure on lighter backgrounds is not effective and does not achieve the bold look I was wishing to achieve. I also didn't achieve any physical manipulation.

Composition Design 3: What is the aim of this shoot? I intend for this shoot to create a surreal feeling. With the

"When a portrait evokes a feeling, then you’ve got

combination of the two photographers, I want viewers to have a sense of viewing the model's inner beauty.

a believable moment." - Bert Stern

something. Technique isn’t really important. What I want is

Composition Combinations: This composition is going to be different as instead of a photographer and a technique being combined, I am going to combine two photographers: Brandon Woelfel and Christoffer Relander. I wanted to add these two artists together because I feel like the bokeh effect as well as the nature overshadowing the subject would be a good effect.

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Portrait & Identity - AMINA FEE / GCSE PHOTOGRAPHY

Shoot Plan: The shoot will take place in the field near my home at the field. I will be taking the photos by graffiti and the trees. I will have to consider the distance I am from the trees, and how close I am to the graffiti because it can often be muddy when the weather is poor. I will need to keep an eye on the weather, to ensure that me and the model are well equipped, and that my model doesn't get too muddy. I won't really be using props but I intend to use the wildlife and the graffiti as the subject of my shoot. My subject will have a relaxed expression and calm body language. This will reflect the Digitally vaguely drawn diagram to show calm features of the models in Relander's work. where my model would be roughly. The lighting conditions I will require are natural. The lighting surrounding my subject will be experimental as I want to see what would work best for double exposure and visibility of graffiti Chances are the camera would be across for behind my subject. from him/her/them. I intend to shoot with my DSLR and no tripod because although, it would help capture more stable shots, it is very impractical to have the tripod bathing in mud, and the graffiti section of the field is also very tucked away and so would not be easy to drag through bushes and under trees. I would like the graffiti in the background because even though Woelfel's photos can contain nature, they almost always have something man-made, whether it is lighting, roads, walls and more. I think this would be good to combine as well because the location I am thinking of is somewhat dark too, which would be beneficial for the work of Christoffer Relander, the other photographer I am combining his work with. If I can't get my model out there, then I will use images from my previous Brandon Woelfel shoot and combine them with this shoot, and implement light as a separate layer.

Contact Sheet:

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Portrait & Identity - AMINA FEE / GCSE PHOTOGRAPHY

Portrait & Identity Evaluation: Throughout this topic, I have developed a further idea of portraiture and identity - who people are and how we react to scenarios. To help the project, I have looked at a total of three artists, to support my research, and I also looked at a few techniques too. Initially, I looked at a professional shoot workshop collaboration to understand the importance of privacy, confidentiality and professionalism. This allowed me to understand the significance of trust, and being responsible with imagery. Additionally, I learnt how to manipulate a background digitally, which would come in handy for the next artist and techniques I would look at. After the workshop shoot, I studied the technique of double and multi-exposure. I learnt how to use overlays and how to use different tools. I used this to research a double-exposure photographer: Christoffer Relander. I used my kit lens and DSLR camera. His work inspired me because it all looked surreal and the models in the photos looked at ease. Another reason he inspired me was because the work he produces is not just layered on - the majority of it is monochromatic and I believe it suits the plain background. From his work, I learnt how to use the masking tool. A lot of my efforts to emulate his style was through digital manipulation of multiple images I had taken, layering them and altering the colours of my photographs by using filters. His work helped me gain a depth of knowledge through the expressions and the calm atmosphere radiating off the nature, complimenting the model's moods. Continuing to learn about identity and portraiture, I decided to study the work of Brandon Woelfel. His photographs were more vibrant and the lights beaming onto a model's face, and subtle features such as body language and background photos gave me a sense of what the people in the images were like. Through studying this artist, I learnt the significance of lighting and where a light is placed, how it affects the model. I also learnt that identity does not just come from the person itself but the attitude and the places a person surrounds themselves with. Inspired by his work, I proceeded to emulate it. My initial shoot was not a success, and even with digital manipulation, it did not successfully resemble the photographer's work. I took this into consideration and made a second attempt to emulate Woelfel's work - this time using a ring light and borrowing coloured LEDS, to have colours projecting onto my subject's face, and having my work hold more of a resemblance. I was still using my DSLR and standard kit lens but on a tripod. This was the point that I understood the significance of lighting and angles. From Woelfel's work, I understood that the subject doesn't always have to have meaning and that messages could be disclosed in the backgrounds more softly, kind of like someone's inner feelings. Minimal editing had to be done with PIXLR as a result for the second shoot. In my opinion, my first composition was the most successful; the images came out great, even without being edited, and the technique I was using, was visible. The images were clean, and the lighting was all a success. I found which colours complimented my backgrounds, and learnt the significance of details I had never thought about previously. None of my viewpoints were necessarily unique, but they were balanced well, and resulted in successful shots. Further influencing my opinion, my reasoning and plans were more thought out for composition 1, more clear, and detailed. I was able to analyse an example of my artist's work and took inspiration from the characteristics. I personally think that shoot was one of my most successful ones yet. My final point is that I believe the subject matter and editing was okay as well. However, there was inconsistency amongst my three compositions, and I struggled to understand Christoffer Relander's work when it came around to analysing it for final compositions. My work was a lot less filled and the editing wasn't strong, with areas that should have been covered being blank. To improve, I could practice working on my double exposure skills, and research the artist more and look at other opinions of him to further enhance my work, and increase the quality to the same as the first composition. Progressing further, I need to continue to work on my annotations for my contact sheets as well. I have found that printing them out and annotating them is easier, but I also need to provide more description to them, and give them a more appropriate appearance, as they are somewhat messy. I'd also like to work on my diagrams and possible hand draw them in the future and uploading them. However the most significant improvement I need to make is completing my work on Maurizio Anzeri, as it does not contain a lot, as well as take my long exposure photoshoot.

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