Photographer 4 - Imogen Cunningham

Photographer 4 - Imogen Cunningham:

Imogen Cunningham was an American photographer known for her natural photography. I have chosen to include her as a part of my research because i like her use of tone and texture in her images. Her images of flowers and other parts of nature incorporates a use of contrast to put a emphasis on the form and to make the plants stand out.

In this image the plant is taking up the whole shot, it allows for a clear in depth view of the flower and the parts that make it up. The angle the image is taken from also a clear view of the different petals and how they all stand, this is clear showing a use of form in her images.  The photo also allows the viewer to clearly see what is inside the image and is therefore showing everything that makes it up. 

In this image tone is again being used. I like the angle the photograph was taken in as it is able to show a progression in life, as we can see how the flower develops from one stage in its life to the next. I like this idea as using the formal elements of tone and contrast, a clear change is show without it having to be explained of over developed. 

This image also uses tone, but in a more prominent way. The plant this time is on a empty black background where the clear white plant is placed in front of. The contrast between the two colour also each section to stand out separately yet still complimenting each other. The ay the image is taken allows you to see clearly inside the flower without forgetting the outside.

In this image tone and contrast is used to show a difference in the two flowers. The use of lighting always one flower to stand out more than the other. By doing this you are seeing a different perspective of the same thing. The use of the dark lighting allows for the steam and leaves to almost blend in with the background, yet with some lighting you are still able to see a outline of them.

Cunningham's work is a influence to me, as it has inspired me to incorporate more use of formal elements like tone and contrast. Her work has influenced me by making me see the topic of evidence in a new light and making me think about it in a way that i wouldn't have thought about.

Photographer 3 - Amy Spanos

Photographer 3 - Amy Spanos:

Amy Spanos is a British photographer, who incorporates as surreal element into her pictures. Spanos is only 23 years old and produces a variety of pictures from portraites and self portraits to photos for weddings and events. Many of her images include the use of photo montage to help her create the surreal atmosphere. Her work is able to capture a variety of emotions just in the way that she styles her shoots, some she keeps elegant and simple, while others she explore the full extent of her creativity and includes things that people wouldn't think of. 

These images are all self portraits. Spanos has made a inanimate object (the tea cup and pot) look as if it is in control of itself. The background in the image gives a dark and mysterious feel to the image, without making it feel full or creepy. The colours in her work have been left to not stand out as that is not the idea she was going for in this image. The use blurred filter gives emphasis on the person and the cup.

This image also continues the use of photo montage, however in this image the lighting has been used in a different way to create a different atmosphere in the image. This image is something that is a inspiration to me as i the use of lighting as well as the use of photo montage. This is a skill that i will like to develop to add to my project. The way the hands are reaching out to each other gives a more homely feel to the image

This image is some thing else that i would like to incorporate, i like the use of the weather in the photo as i think it helps add to the emotions of the image. i like how she is emphasised by the lightning and it makes her more prominent. The way she is styled with the white scarf  makes her stand out more than anything else in the photo. There the main focus of the image is the lightning bolt and the girl.

This image incorporates the use of photo montage and keeping the lighting simple. The effect allows the image to look calm and relaxed . The fog on the floor gives the image a eerie feel yet the rest of the image stays calm. 

Spanos' work is a influence to me as I have enjoyed looking at her use of photo montage and the different effects that it can have. I would like to learn how to do this effectively and then use it as a part of my project. Spanos will be my main influence for this.

Her work is significant to me because it has inspired me to learn how to do this idea and to include it in my project as I think it will be effective for me. I would like to include this in my project so that i can show some diversity in my skills as well as for me to explore new elements of photoshop. 

Photographer 2 - Annie Leibovitz

Photographer 2 - Annie Leibovitz:

Annie Leibovitz is an American photographer known for her photographs of famous people like The Rolling Stones,  John Lennon and Queen Elizabeth II. She's also know for her shoot in vogue magazine that was based on the theme of Alice in Wonderland. The reason i have included her work is because after looking at her shoot styled around Alice In Wonderland, i liked he idea of evidencing a more fun and mythical element into my photography. While I'm not completely sure how i would achieve this yet, i do know that it is something that i am interested in including.

Above are images that Annie Leibovitz has produced, in these images she has photographed celebrities in the style of different Disney movies. The main thing i like from her images is the idea of putting a person in a mythical world. This idea would be quite hard for me to achieve as it i may struggle to create my own mythical world. However it is something i would like to attempt, even if it is in a minimal way and i am only able to make the background look mythical. 

Another style off Leibovitz's work is her black and white portraiture. This style of shooting is something that i aim to use as an influence in my project. I think that this would be an appropriate style to look at when looking at emotions. The style clearly shows how the person in the image is feeling without revealing to much and taking away the main focus. The use of black and white adds to the deepness of the image which i may decide to include in my work, however this is something i will decide once i have created the images.

Both of Leibovitz's styles of work is an influence to me and something i hope to incorporate into my project. Her two completely different styles of photography shows a fun and creative side to the subject, as well as a more composed and serious side. This is influential to me to show the both sides of my topic. I aim to show the fun and creative sides of evidence as well as the more serious sides. 

To summarise, Leibovitz is a influence to me because of both her mythical approach to photography and he used of black and white portraiture to show emotions. I aim to incorporate her style into my work as i think it would show some diversity to my topic as well as being a fun idea to work on.

Shoot 8 - work diary

Emotions shoot - Work diary:

Evaluation:
In today's session i was in the studio and had another attempted at looking at emotions. This time instead of only using on person in my shoot i used multiple, and instead of asking them to show me some fake emotions i kept the shoot simple. While in the studio all i ask the people to do was to look into the lens of the camera and relax, they could portray any emotion that they wanted or felt.I found that this method was successful because i was able to capture true emotions and facial expressions. I also enjoyed this shoot because it was a relaxed environment that i had complete control over and was able to achieve my goal of getting the emotion across. 

These two images are to of my examples of my work from this shoot. They both show a relaxed face, which looks as if their is deeper emotion within the image. I like these pictures as i like how the focus is purely on the face and nothing else in the images is important. I like how the colour is not two strong for the image and does not distract from looking at the facial expressions. I like how in both images the direction of where they are looking at the camera is different but is still able to show how their is a deeper emotion within.

Progression:

Over the next week i am going to complete the ideas that i had for a home shoot. In lesson time i am going to look at emotions but how they occur naturally in one person. To do this i am going to be in a relaxed setting and have a relaxed conversation with someone and aim to capture different emotions from them as the shoot progresses. 

Shoot 8 - Straight images

Emotions shoot - Straight images:

Computer experiments

Computer experiments:

Shoot 7 - Work diary

Shoot 6 - Work diary:

Evaluation:
In today's session I found that I was stuck for ideas of where to take my work with the topic of evidence. I had found that I had run out of ideas from what I initially thought about the shoot. I went out on a shoot to try and find some inspiration. The images I produced were all showing different evidences as I didn't  have a theme for this shoot. From this shoot I have decided that i would like to make sure that I have a theme for each of my shoots as I find that its a easier way for me to work and for me to be able to show a true evidence.

The image above  would be a evidence of human presence, and these people interacting with each other. This image shows people sat together in a relaxed way. I like this image because there is no real meaning to it and it doesn't look as if it has been set up purely for the photo.

I like the image above, as I have used the word evidence to show an evidence. I have used the literal work to show how common evidence can be. The fact that the word is written on some paper is using the idea that the word evidence can be used to shoe evidence. For this idea, it shows how the evidence itself doesn't always need to be out rightly shown, just the word evidence is proof enough that their is actually some form of evidence.

Progression:

In my next session I am going to move back to the theme of emotions. I am going to be focussing in the studio again and try to show a persons real emotions and hopefully step away from forced emotions. I am also going to try to show this through some self portraits as its something that I haven't yet tried but think will work well for this topic. I am allow going to work on some shoots at home as I think that for some of my ideas this will make them easier to achieve. I am going to look at fashion and relationships as a starting point.

Shoot 6 - work diary

Studio emotions shoot - Work diary

Evaluation:
In today's session worked in the studio, and i photographed pictures of emotions. Katy was my model and she expressed multiple different emotions for me to photograph. I found that we was limited on the emotions that we could portray just through facial expressions. With the images that i did take i created a multiple imagery that expressed the different emotions.

The image above is the multiple imagery that I produced in today's session. I feel like I was able to show different emotions in the piece that will work as a good form of evidence for my topic. I like the way that a topic can be explored by a multiple imagery, its something that i would like to continue using throughout my project.

Progression:

In my next session i am going to look at new ways i will look at this topic of evidence. I will eventually come back to the topic of emotions and will look at them in a more serious and personal way. I am also going to do a shoot at home, looking at fashion and relationships as i think i will be able to create better images this way than in college.

Shoot 7 - Straight images

Library shoot -Straight images:

Shoot 6 - straight images

Emotions - multiple imagery 

Photographer 1 - Richard Avedon

Photographer 1 - Richard Avedon:

Richard Avedon was an American fashion and portrait photographer. He was said to have "helped define America's image of style". The reason i have chosen to include his work is because his work can be an influence of different things. I can look at his style of portraits and use his style as a way of looking at emotions in people. I can also look at his style of fashion photography to evidence peoples own style and individuality.

These two images are examples of Avedon's portraiture, his work shows in these images examples of different emotions within different people. I like how the emotions of the images are the main focus, when you look at his images you can immediately see the emotion of the person. What i enjoy about these images is that you cannot tell why this emotion is being felt, and through the use of black and white the images start of the same but differ mainly when it comes to the emotion.

These two images are examples of his work with fashion, they show how some of the images are more out there while others are more toned down. In the image above the outfit is filling up the majority of the shot, and becomes the main focus. In this image Avedon didn't need to include anything else to the shot or to have other things going on to make the image become busy. In the image below, the idea of the image comes across as a more soft idea. While the outfit does take up a large proportion of the shot, the way that the model is standing and the way that the dress flows allows the image to come a cross in a more delicate way. These two different images example differences within the styles of the outfits and how the whole concept of the image can change with a different style of outfit. 

Avedon's work is an influence for me because i like the way that the whole idea of the image can change according to the outfit of the model. I also like the way that his use of outfit can help to show a persons character. I like the idea of using portraiture to portray emotions as i like how that can be the centre of an image without anything else being important. I think that i will include a lot of his style in my work as i think that his style of photography can be something that i can replicate and include into my project.

To summarise i will incorporate Avedon's style of photography into my work because i like the way that he styles his shoots. I have found that his work fits well into my topic and that it has influenced me to explore different ideas. His work will work well with my topic when looking at evidences of people as i can use it to explore individuality, emotions and style.

Shoot 5 - Work diary

Evidence shoot 5 - Work diary:

Evaluation:

In todays session I was looking at road signs and signs you find around town to show how they evidence a rule or something that is around i.e. a place. I enjoyed this session as I felt that I could find a comfortable about of images that supported my idea. While editing these images I decided that I felt some of them looked better in black and white or using selective colour. I will continue to experiment with the use of black and white to see what topics it works best with and to see if I will continue this when thinking about my exam.

Above are images that i feel best example what i was photographing in todays session. It shows that when editing i looked at the images individually and then decided if i felt they would look better in colour or in black and white. In one of the images i decided to create a selective colour by having the image change from being in black and white to being in colour, this is a technique that i could continue to use further on in my project.

Although the two images above are of the same thing, when editing i couldn't decide whether the image looked better in colour or in black and white. This could be come a common obstacle for me in this project and i will have to make a decision.

Progression:

For the next few sessions i am going to come away from location work and work on some shoots in the studio. I am going to look a the photographers i have researched and begin to some some of their influence in my work. I am also going to do a shoot that photographs different emotions on one person so that i can create a multiple imagery.