Reborn (LO1)

A big inspiration in my current photography and drive to insert more narrative into my portraits is Brook Shaden. I really appreciate the beauty of her work both technically and aesthetically. For me, all her images center around emotionally driven concepts, creating fantasy worlds that allow the viewer to submerse themselves into and apply their own narrative and emotional connection. The ability to create that emotional connection with the viewer is something I would like see in my own work.

With this in mind I recently carried out a shoot in the woods based on the theme Reborn. My intention was to create an image that was fluid, had a feeling of serenity and which represented the emotional release of  shedding negative baggage to become free and pure. The narrative of the image was about letting go of negative emotions and freeing yourself of their ties. This would be portrayed by various elements within the scene such as the woods to represent nature, the white fabric, which I wanted to flow around the image, to represent the new feeling of purity and emotional freedom and the birds to represent the dispersing negativity.

My set up for the shoot was quite limited; using natural light and my DSLR. I had one prop which was a single white bed sheet I had ‘borrowed’ from the local YHA.  Prior to shoot I had visualised what I wanted to achieve, which was a large amount of flowing fabric around the scene. As I only had a small sheet I knew it would have to be a composite image. To achieve this I shot my main image, which focused on the model in the correct pose, then I asked the model to move the fabric into different positions while I continued to photograph them, with the intention of later stitching the images together in Photoshop.

My final image is clearly unsuccessful due to a number of failing, the first and most significant being my lack of abilities in Photoshop. This was my first attempt at a composite and it clearly shows through the naive editing skills resulting in the model looking like she has been superimposed into the image. The images below show the initial shots that I worked with. and also highlight how the shoot itself could have been improved significantly with the use of a tripod and better planning.

Although this style of photography clearly highlights my lack of experience in creating this type of image I do intent to try again. When I compared this image to my studio work, it looks very poor quality both aesthetically and technically which does make me consider whether I should forget this style and focus on a type of photography I know I can achieve to a high standard. However as I do now want let my technical skills drive my images, but rather my visual intention, I will plan another shoot which again involves a clear story and theatrical element.

Visual Rhetoric 2 (LO4)

Today I had a second attempt at using visual rhetoric within my work. The aim of my session was to look at another rhetorical figure which could be used to communicate my current area of exploration within my work. I did decided to take a pathos approach again, as this is what comes naturally to me, however whereas previously I used one of Santos figures, this time I focused on figures of exchange as identified by Durand in 1987.  In my image I wanted to communicate how outwardly appearance don’t always communicate internal emotions. To help me communicate this I felt the theory of Antilogy, a paradoxically connects two apparently opposite elements in the same proposition, would work well. In the images I would appear calm and relaxed, visibly OK, but then I would be covered with stickers that say ‘fragile’ implying I was anything but these thing.

I carried the shoot out at home using my studio lighting kit but was instantly faced with the usual issues of shooting in small spaces such as the subject (me) being too close to the backdrop so there was no depth to the shot. Also the lights were really close so there was no drop off causing everything to be lit up and strong shadows. To try and overcome these I dropped the power of the lights down, used a single soft box at the front and used a light low down behind the chair to create some depth to the image. I also used a shallow depth of field. However in doing this I made the ultimate school boy error of not ensuring the whole image was in focus! I’m not quite sure what I was thinking. I’m still learning about the technical aspects of doing self portraits and I am finding that ensuring the correct part of the image is in focus is my biggest problem. It’s extremely hard to focus the camera when the subject isn’t there. To overcome this I have either been using someone else to sit in while I set the scene up or resorting to placing an object in the scene to use as a focal point until I replace it. However, I am finding, this is not always successful, especially when using a very shallow depth of field. Aesthetically however I felt the shoot went well. With the person element my aim was to convey a feeling of being a mannequin or statue, as I wanted to represent the facade which people can put forward when faced with internal stress and anxiety. To do this I ensured I sat very upright and formal, trying to depict the ‘proper’ appearance of a lady. The teacup and saucer also allude to a time when emotions were not deemed suitable to be on show. This is then opposed by the bold red fragile stickers which are covering me, clearly labellings my internal emotional state.  The stickers are also clearly meant for a parcels, therefore almost objectify me back to my statue status.

The next stage for me would be to try and develop this idea further with another shoot.  Initially I’d like to re-shoot in focus(!), then I think I would like to play with the idea of objectifying people and their emotions. Firstly however I would like to show this images to my peers to get feedback and would certainly welcome any feedback from others viewing my post. I would then use this feedback to help steer my future ideas.

Visual Rhetorics – Clown Shoot (LO4)

The aim of this shoot was to visually experiment with rhetorical figures.  Rhetorical figures/device are used both verbally and visually to convey specific meanings or pursued a certain viewpoint. They work by putting a spin on the familiar creating questions and additional messages as a subtext. Verbal and written rhetorics are commonplace in politics whereas art based industries, such as Advertising, employ visual rhetorics to help them communicate a message or sell a product.

 

In this shoot I planned to demonstrate antilogy by playing with symbolic representations of happiness and showing them in a negative light, therefore contradicting common expectations. To symbolise happiness I chose a clown (me) and the iconic ‘Happy Meal’, both of which I felt are synonymous with positive emotions. I then photographed a series of images that depicted the clown feeling negatively; the subtext being that items which are perceived by society to make people happy don’t always have that effect.

 

When I planned the shoot I visualised the final piece as a set of images in a linear narrative format. However when I looked through the images afterwards, I determined that although they work as a set, a single image was visually much stronger. The set of images were successful in terms of communicating my message, but I decided they were too obvious giving the viewer excessive frames within which to decipher the message. The effect was of spoon feeding the audience the answer rather than relying on the rhetoric devise to communicate the meaning. The single image however, felt stronger as came across as a statement which allowed the viewers eye explored the different elements in the scene and decode the message.

 

Next I intend to explore this element of visual communication further by planning a second shoot based on a different rhetorical figure. This time I will plan the shoot based on a single image, which will communicate another element of my project.