Mini Briefs
The Brief
Week 1 -
Environmental Portraiture
A environmental portrait is a shot that captures the subject in a location which is natural or important to them, telling a story about their life and surroundings.
Image one – Denise Lewis
Shot by Duncan Nicholls
Denise Lewis is a former track and field athlete who has previously taken part in the heptathlon. This image captures her in one of her many homes, the swimming pool. I assume this image was taken with flash lighting behind the subject, projecting onto her back and the right side of her face, as the entirety of her back and face is well lit. Additionally, there is some backlight coming from the windows and the angle of the sun allows the light to shine directly towards her. This creates some leading lines which drag the viewers’ attention towards the subject. I think a lower aperture would have been used to allow the subject to be in focus and the background to be blurred. Alongside, as this would have made the image possibly overexposed a lower ISO would have been used to correctly expose the image and a shorter shutter speed may have been used to cancel out any movement in the water and create a smoother, less distracting surface. This image was one of many for the brand Next and their sportswear collection therefore, as she is facing away from the camera, the viewer can clearly see the design of the swimsuit. The bright colour of the swimsuit also helps Denise Lewis to stand out amongst the background.
Image two - Igor Stravinsky
Shot by Arnold Newman
Arnold Newman is known for his portraits of major cultural figures and popularizing environmental portraiture. This image in particular shows Igor Stravinsky, a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, leaning against a grand piano which is silhouetted against the white wall. This image was shot in a hotel due to travelling being a crucial aspect of Stravinsky's life and the piano clearly represents the musical aspect. Another thing which stood out to me in this photo is the fact that the silhouette of the piano is in the shape of a backwards quarter note. This shape towers over the subject which represents his life's work. Arnold Newman used black and white film to shoot this portrait and I think this compliments the angle at which the photo was taken from along with the setting. The viewer is naturally drawn towards the subject despite him sitting in the corner of the image and much smaller in comparison to the piano.
Image three - Shirin Neshat
Shot by Alex Majoli
Shirin Neshat is an Iranian visual artist, known for her work in film, video and photography. Majoli's portraits of Neshat recall her visual language, being investigating the dialects of binary thinking that inform our ideas of East and West, feminine and masculine, public and private, present and past. Majoli also described Neshat as 'beautiful, fragile and silent, dressed in black with painted eyes' that reminded him of a cat. I think Alex Majoli captured Neshat very well in the sense that despite the harsh contrast in black and white in the image, she still looks delicate and relaxed. This also contrasts the strong and empowering messages that Neshat pushes out through her work, relating to cultural issues that shape her native Iran and the cultural shifts that resulted from the Iranian revolution. Iran still face many challenges today such as economic corruption and social class differences. I think the leaves of the plant lying on the floor may represent how some areas of the country are withering away however, the tranquility of Neshat's stance shows a sense of hope for her country.
Mini Brief 1 & 2 -
Week 2 -
This week we experimented with still life photography using an array of different fruits. We used a phase one camera and focused on the choice of lens along with different ways to light our set up to create a different feel for our images.
We arranged our fruits into our desired composition and experimented with cutting up some of the fruit. We lit the fruit using a flashlight with a snoot and this was aimed at the centre of the image. We also used a variety of lenses with the phase one camera which allowed us to ensure the entire image was sharp and in focus.
The phase one camera system -
A phase one camera is a medium format camera and has a larger sensor than a DSLR camera. This means the focal length changes, for example a 50mm standards lens is equivalent to an 80mm lens on a phase one.
We used a Manfrotto 229 tripod to mount the camera onto, one has standard legs and one has a push mechanism where you push and raise it up. When the camera was mounted onto the tripod, we made sure to keep the locking mechanism on the right hand side with the handles facing us. The camera is mounted onto a hex plate and there are 4 parts to the camera overall: lens, viewfinder, body and back.
There are no labels on the camera as all the buttons are customisable and you can use a waist level viewfinder but it will look inverted as there is no mirror inside.
Developing my environmental portrait ideas -
One photographer whose work I particularly like is Matt Hernandez. He creates images which look quite cinematic and his signature style stood out to me a lot. For the image below on the right, he experimented with a Solix LED light to demonstrate how portable constant lighting is very useful for creating cinematic images. He shot in a very dark and tight locker room and used various techniques to create texture and dimension. Using the Solix helped to create drama in the image.
For one of his setups he placed the LED light, gelled with red to match the high schools team colour, behind the subject and low enough to eliminate smoke coming from the fog machine being used. This added dimension to the image.
Lighting diagram for my own environmental portrait -
Mixed Lighting Workshop
We walked around Greenwich Peninsula towards the golf range and set up an ELB 400, square softbox and lighting stand. We worked on not only getting the correct exposure in all areas of the image but also having the buildings behind in focus. We took two separate images, one with our subjects and assistant holding the the lighting stand as it was very windy, and one of just the background. We did this so we could remove the lighting stand and person in post-production.
To do this, we started by taking both images into capture one and increasing the clarity by 10 and the structure by 15. I did this on both images by using the copy and apply button. Next I pressed shift and selected both images, I exported them as a PSD 8bit to Photoshop and dragged the background layer with no people, onto the layer including our subjects.
I had to align the images as the camera must have slightly moved when taking the images therefore I used the difference blend mode and the arrow keys until the white areas disappeared.
Next I pressed the portrait thumbnail, created a layer mask, selected the white thumbnail and pressed 'b' on the keyboard to open up the brush tool. I pressed 'x' on the keyboard to toggle it and selected black to be on top of white. Then I was able to draw over the image and paint the buildings back in.
Still life -
During the session we looked at still life and lighting a pair of shoes in various ways, in preparation for our own still life shoot for our sports product.
We started with a white background and then attached 2 coloured gels onto the flashlights. We then metered the backdrop to F11. After we did this, we added 2 polyboards to make sure the colour did not leak through and hit the shoes. We took a few photos to see what the lighting looked like and adjusted the polyboards until we were happy with the colour and how much of each colour we could see on either side of the backdrop.
Once we were happy, we set up the key lights for the shoes which included a flashlight with a snoot on the left hand side in front of the shoes, and 2 more lights with reflector dishes attached on either side of the shoes behind.
Our Phase One camera settings were set to ISO 100, F11 and shutter speed 1/125 and we experimented with different lighting techniques and positioning of the shoes.
We also tried out light painting which included turning off the main lights, setting the shutter speed to 8 seconds and using a torch to light up specific areas of the shoes and create patterns in the background of our image. I had the role of being the digital operator therefore I was in charge of checking everything was in focus, changing the camera settings and looking out for any general issues with the images.
Bottle Lighting
In lesson we looked at lighting a product, in this case we lit a glass bottle. We shot on a Phase One camera with our settings at ISO 50, shutter speed 1/125 and F12. Our key light was a rectangular softbox facing directly at the bottle, and we had another softbox facing the white background. We also had a polyboard on the right hand side so the light would hit all areas of the bottle.
Another way we tried lighting it was with a snoot acting as a spotlight above the bottle and we added a black polyboard. We were lighting the bottle in a way which would be good for promoting it so we ensured all features of the bottle were looking as best as they could.
True Detective Studio Shoot
For my portraits, I wanted to photograph multiple images of my model looking in different directions so I could experimented with layering them on top of each other in photoshop. I wanted to do this as I felt like it fit with my theme very well, being the idea of feeling unclear and having a lack of clarity. By my model looking in different directions it creates a sense of feeling lost which is how the singer felt in the song which I am basing my final image off of. I used a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV and my camera settings were set to ISO 100, shutter speed 1/125 and F11. I had one flashlight on the left hand side of my model which created nice shadows on the right and I simply used a white background. As my model was wearing all black, this means it will be easier for me to cut out my subject when editing later on in Photoshop.
My Still Life Shoot Plan
Below are the three ideas I had for my still life images, including the positioning of the shoes and a lighting diagram.
For my first image I wanted to photograph a landscape image of both shoes. I started with green gels against a white background as green and red are complimentary colours therefore I thought it would look more pleasing to the eye. When I started taking photos, I experimented with 2 different red toned gels which I initially thought would be too much red however I much preferred the outcomes. I took away the flashlights hitting the front of the shoe as I wanted to try light painting to make my images look more dynamic.
Below are the images which did not turn out as well. These include the green gels against the white background and the flash not firing which left just a silhouette of the shoe. Additionally, some of the light painting images as I did not like the look of the pattern in the background or some areas of the front of the shoe were not lit up enough/overexposed when using the torch.
Alongside these images are some examples of the images which I am quite pleased with, when editing I may consider taking different elements of these images and cutting and pasting these parts onto each other to reach an image which I am completely happy with. For example, the light painting of the 5th image and the way the shoes are lit in the 6th image.
For my second image I originally wanted to use a mirror to shoe both sides of the shoes however, the mirror was not big enough. Instead, I did a close up of one of the shoes to show off one of the main aspects, being the logo on the tongue. To do this, I used a 120mm lens on the phase one, kept the red gels for the background and used light painting again to do one line down the middle of the shoe. I also had to raise the tripod slightly higher and angle the camera so I was looking down at the shoe. I had my shutter speed on 8 seconds which gave me time to also add light painting in the background again so it did not look as plain, which I think turned out really nicely. The last image below is my favourite out of all of the ones I took as in the others, the torch accidentally hit one side of the shoe or I did not like how the light painting looked in the background. Another thing I had to consider was how slowly I was moving the torch along as it could have been overexposed, like the first image below.
For my final image I planned to have one shoe hanging using a fishing line along with having the laces 'flying around' to make my image look more dynamic. I ended up deciding to hang both shoes to make my image look more interesting. I used 2 c-stands on either side of the shoes to tape my fishing line on and hand the shoes. I also had to use extra pieces of fishing line taped to another stand closer to the camera to make sure the shoes were angled in the right direction. For the laces, I threaded fishing line through them and taped these to the c-stand too. To light the shoe up I used a flashlight with a snoot attached to refine where the light was hitting the shoes. It took a lot of trial and error to get the final images but I am very pleased with how they turned out. For my final piece I will cut out the left shoe and paste it onto a different image of the right shoe as the laces are shaped nicely in both of these images.
True Detective Location
For my location aspect of my true detective work I wanted to shoot a location in which I could get 2 or 3 streets going in different directions in the shot. I felt like this would work with what I had in mind for my final piece.
I went to Seven Dials in central London as it has multiple streets coming out of the roundabout in the middle so I took my shot from standing in the middle of the roundabout looking outwards.
In capture one I made my image black and white and straightened up the angle slightly.
Inspiration -
Below are some more images in which I was inspired by certain aspects of for the way I would like my image to look. For example, in the first and third image I like how multiple portraits have been combined, especially how they seamlessly transition between each other in the third image. In the second image, one aspect I like is how the face also fades out and into the landscape and I feel like I would like to replicate something similar in my work.
Environmental Portrait
Call Sheet:
Model Release Form:
I shot my environmental portrait on the 8th of March at the sports hall which the korfball team train at. I photographed one of the first team players. My setup included an ELB 400 lighting kit with a rectangular softbox and I had one of the korfball posts set up in the background. I also had my model hold one of the korfballs. I had my ISO at 100, my shutter speed varied between 1/30 to 1/60 and my aperture varied between F4 and F5.6. I had my model try out a variety of poses so I had a range of photos to choose from and work with and I also experimented with using some of the korfballs as props on the floor, shooting from low and high angles. Below are pictures of the setup and some of my favourite unedited images.
Still Life Editing
Image One -
I wanted to use one of the images with a red background for my final image however, the shoes were lit up much better in one of my images with a green background. I went to select, then subject which selected the shoes on the green layer. This was not 100% accurate which I could see when I pressed 'q' on my keyboard, this showed me exactly which areas had been selected. From here, I used the brush tool, with black toggled on top of white and made sure all parts of the background were painted out. This meant I could be much more specific with areas such as in between the laces which did not get masked out. After, I copied the cut out shoes onto another layer and I held down shift while dragging this layer on top of the red background image. This made sure they were perfectly aligned on top of the other shoes. I used the spot healing brush tool to make small adjustments to the shiny material and get rid of any scratches and marks. I did not overdo this however as it did not distract from the shoes at all so I kept my editing minimal but made sure the final result looked neat and tidy. I then finished by taking my image into Capture One to adjust the colours and make some small enhancements. I added some more blue tones to my image and made the red colour stand out much more by making it slightly darker.
Image Two -
I wanted to edit my second image so the logo would stand out more and I also wanted to clean up the background slightly as the material I had the shoe placed on had some rips and scuffs which can be seen on the right hand side. I started by cropping my image very slightly so the shoe was a little bit more centred, then I exported my image into photoshop to work on the background. I used the spot healing brush tool and the clone stamp tool to get rid of any marks on the background and fix the scratches and rips on the material. After this I took my image back into Capture One to adjust the colours and make small enhancements to the image, similar to the first image to make sure there was cohesion between all of my images.
Image Three -
I combined 2 images together for my third final image as I liked the way the laces looked on each shoe in 2 different images. I started by using the lasso tool to cut out one of the shoes and copying this layer. I dragged it onto the other image while holding shift so both images aligned. I then copied both layers and used the clone stamp tool to get rid of the fishing line which was used to hold the laces in place along with the shoe itself. I got rid of all of the fishing line along with tidying up other marks on the image from the camera sensor and any marks on the shoes.
I also got rid of the shadow on the shoe from the laces as I felt it was quite distracting.
After this, I took my image into Capture One to make similar adjustments to the colours. I also used the brush tool in capture one to add contrast to the laces. I focused this on the laces on the bottom shoe as the lace blended into the leather of the shoe slightly therefore I wanted to add more definition to it so it did not clash with the shoe.
Environmental Portrait Editing
I used Capture One to edit my environmental portrait as I was very happy with the way the image looked and only wanted to make small adjustments. I started with cropping my image but only by a small amount as I wanted my model right in the middle but wanted to keep the background as it was.
The only things I changed included adding more contrast and brightness to make the image look more dramatic. I kept everything else as it was as I did not want to edit my image too much to the point where any attention to my model would be lost.
Evaluation -
Still life:
I am very happy with the outcome of all three of my still life images. At first I was not too sure with how exactly I wanted my images to look or how I could make them interesting however I enjoyed doing research on Pinterest and looking at the ways in which various brands have Photographed shoes. This led me to realising that there were many ways in which I could make my own images look eye catching and dynamic.
My first still life image was one I found the easiest to shoot out of the three, this was partly due to having practice with the light painting and a similar set up in lesson a few weeks beforehand. Originally I did not plan on using light painting however after seeing the images without I thought the light painting could make it look much more dynamic and fill in some of the negative space in the background. I also used light painting to light the front of the shoes too which I found very useful as I had full control over what areas I wanted to light up. Despite having prior experience using a torch in this way and doing light painting during sixth form, I still learnt a lot and developed my skills.
My second image seemed quite simple however I did struggle to light up the right areas at first. The shutter speed being set on 8 seconds gave me limited time to light the front area of the shoe and then run around and light some of the background too. The main problemI faced was making sure I was only lighting a small portion of the front of the shoe which included the logo. It included a lot of trial and error but I am very pleased with the outcome of the final image and would say that it is my favourite out of the three.
The third image was the one which I found the trickiest and had the most problems with. I wanted to hand my shoes up and have the laces look like they were flying around but this was a very tedious task as I had to hang the shoes themselves with fishing wire in addition to looping the wire through around the laces and taping everything in place. I also found that when shooting the shoes were moving around slightly so I had to tape more wire to the bottom of the shoe and have this connected to another stand so they would stay in place. Setting up for this image took a much longer amount of time and I had to be very patient but I think it was worth it in the end. Editing this image also took a very long time and I had to try using a lot of different tools to see which one would do the best job but I stayed patient and am very happy with the final result.
Along with developing my photoshop skills I also think I became a bit more confident setting up equipment in the studio and shooting with an assistant. I enjoyed shooting my still life images and found ways to overcome any challenges I came across whether it be prior or on the day of the shoot.
Environmental Portrait:
I really like the images that I shot for my environmental portrait as I think the looked dramatic and the way I visioned them to look in my head beforehand. I had a good time working with my model and my assistants and learnt a lot when working in a team. I faced some issues when setting up and doing my test shoot like finding the right camera settings and having the right flash settings as it was my first time shooting with the ELB 400 kit. However, with the help of my assistants I ended up having the correct exposure for my images. I had a lot of fun with my model and experimenting with different poses and when looking through my final images in Capture one I had a few which I was choosing between for my final image,. The reason I chose the image above as my final image is because I liked the overall framing of the image and the placement of the balls in front of my model. I also liked where the flash was hitting my model as it lit her up and created a natural vignette in my image. When I edited this image I only made a few small adjustments to make it look a little more dramatic and I was very happy with what it looked like in the end.
Overall I quite enjoyed shooting my still life images and my environmental portrait as I had moments where I felt confident but also moments where I felt out of my comfort zone which I think is important to help me develop my skills as a photographer. Next time I would think about photographing a different object for my still life as I think shoes could be seen as a safe option but I still think I managed to make my images look interesting. If i were to choose a different sport I would choose dance as this is something I like to do myself and I think I could really challenge myself in shooting 3 unique still life images and one environmental portrait image.
