Shoot 4: Final Edits

Fourth Shoot

My fourth shoot is by far my favourite. I had originally planned on photographing the man who's playing the guitar as I was focusing on human eyes for my exam unit (pictured left), however I managed to get such a brilliant portrait of the puppy that I decided to use him instead. I managed to get a connection with the puppy, and I believed that that created a much more powerful photo than the one I had originally taken of the man - who didn't even look up to have his picture taken. 
As opposed to my three previous shoots, my subject isn't homeless. My intention was initially to photograph the emotion in the eyes of homeless people, but after having come across the puppy I couldn't help but modify my idea just a little, because I didn't want to throw away one of my best images just because "it wasn't my intention to photograph animals." 

I love the picture of this puppy. Even though he is an animal and doesn't necessarily understand what's going on, I still feel there is a warm connection between him and I, the photographer. 

This is part II of the shoot. I like this image as it shows where the puppy is actually situated. Both these images were taken at an aperture opening of f/5.6 and a shutter speed of 1/110th of a second.  







The Edited Images:

Like my previous shoots, I have cropped these images in Picasa 3 at the same ratio they were prior to the crop. I also adjusted the brightness and shadows to create an effect that is rather harsh to the puppy's facial features.
I did this because I feel it makes the photograph stand out a lot more than it did prior to the editing. Also, my artist Lee Jeffries' images are quite harshly contrasted, which is one of the things I like about his work.  
The same editing applies to this image. I changed the brightness and shadows in Picasa 3, and in GIMP I changed the image to greyscale and added the Luminance effect.

Here is the contact sheet for my shoot:

My editing for this shoot was inspired by that of Jeffries'. The harsh contrasts really complement the features of the puppy, and although my second image isn't as harshly contrasted as my first, I'm still pleased with how the images have turned out. 

Fourth Artist: Lee Jeffries

Lee Jeffries lives in Manchester, and as he was close to the professional football circle, he began his career as a sports event photographer. By chance he met a homeless girl in the streets of London and began taking photos of her from afar. Little did he know that she was going to change his artistic approach forever. When she noticed he was taking photos of her she began yelling at him, and instead of walking away, Jeffries approached the girl and began talking to her. This completely changed his perception of the homeless.  Jeffries takes photos of the homeless across Europe and the United States; "Situations arose, and I made an effort to learn to get to know each of the subjects before asking their permission to do their portrait." 
I emailed Jeffries about his work, asking him questions about a specific photograph (pictured below.) 

Untitled, photo by Lee Jeffries

Shoot 3: Final Edits

Third Shoot

 I am very pleased with the outcome of my third shoot. As I was walking the busy highstreet I came across a man who was collecting donations for the Royal Bournemouth Hospital. It was apparent to me that he was missing his lower limbs, and also had a bandage on his right hand, with a couple of fingers missing. After donating some money I asked him if I was able to take a picture of him, and he seemed more than happy for me to. 

It is evident in this picture here what situation this poor man is in. As we can see from this image he is located in a busy town. In the reflection in the window behind him we can see a Taxi, we can see people, we can see how busy the life in Bournemouth actually is, and we can see how he watches this pass by on a daily basis. 
Both these images were taken at an aperture opening of f/5.6 and a shutter speed of 1/110th of a second. 

The Edited Images: 
This is my first edit for this shoot. I cropped these images in Picasa 3,  at the same ratio the image was in before the crop. I adjusted the brightness and the shadows to make the picture a little more vibrant. In GIMP I desaturated the image and added a luminance effect. I also added an extra transparent layer where I used the paint brush tool to create darker circles around his eyes. I also added a second layer where I traced the white in his eyes and made them stand out more by making them more obvious. 

As well as cropping this image in Picasa 3, I also straightened it as it was previously askew. Like I did with my previous images, I boosted the shadows and then I desaturated the colours in GIMP and added the luminance effect. 







Here is the contact sheet for my shoot:   

I believe I have used Ibrahim's technique rather well in these shoots. I have done well in capturing my subject's emotion, and I am please with the result. In this contact sheet I used images DSC_0051 and DSC_0054. 

Third Artist: Yaman Ibrahim

Untitled, Yaman Ibrahim, All Rights Reserved

Yaman Ibrahim is a full time Malaysian photographer based in Kuala Lumpur. Working as an art teacher and Senior Manager in Multimedia allowed him to have an eye for appreciating the finer things in life  that most overlook. 

He has gained awards both on a local and an international level, including Maybank Photographer of The Year 2013, Wedding Photographer of The Year 2009 (winning picture was exhibited at The New Forest Gallery, Lyndhurst.)

I adore the way Ibrahim captures emotion in this picture. It was this image that made me want to use him as a third influence for my Exam Unit. The fact that the subject is looking away from the camera with seemingly teary eyes adds more meaning to the photo - is there something behind the photographer that we can't see? What is causing him to be this upset? 

I want produce emotional portraits that evoke emotion from those who view my image, creating powerful portraits. I feel that using his technique will allow me to do just that.  

Shoot 2: Final Edits

Second Shoot

 My second shoot proved rather successful. I came across a man who was picking up rubbish, who had very interesting facial features, and seemed quite melancholic. I instantly knew that I was going to capture a good image, and he was the perfect subject for it. Although I tried to engage in conversation with him, he never spoke a word - he just nodded when I asked for a picture, and that is as much interaction as I had with him. I do wish I knew his name, because I feel it would have given me a better connection with him. 

In terms of my second image, I liked this one the most out of the others I took because of the people who walked into the shot. When I took the image I thought to myself "great, people just walked into my shot, that's going to ruin it!" It wasn't until I got home and looked at the images properly that I change my mind completely. I had a great idea as to how I was going to edit the people and make my image even better than it already is.
These images were both taken at an aperture of f/4 and a shutter speed of 1/250th of a second.











The edited images: 
I am delighted with the outcome of my images. I think they are very strong and very emotive. 
What I like most about this edit is the crop, because although we're instantly drawn to the subject's face, we can see a woman in the background who appears to be staring at him. This can be interpreted as if she was judging him, or pitying him. The crop also emphasised the duct tape that is holding his hat together, which reveals a little bit more about him. Despite not saying a single word to me, I can feel a connection and I feel more understanding towards him. 

Here is a cropped version of the edited image. I dislike the face in the background of the first one (the one with the sunglasses) and so I tried to crop that woman out, yet keeping the other woman in - because I feel she gives context to the image. I do however dislike this crop as it removes part of his hat and his beard. Therefore, I'm going to keep the original edit. 

Both these images were cropped in Picasa 3, and the brightness and shadows were altered using a toggle. I then used GIMP to convert the images to greyscale and add the Luminosity effect. 
However, I further edited my second image by adding motion blur to the people who were walking in front of the camera. This means that not only are we not focusing on them and are drawn more to the man, but it also changes the atmosphere of the image completely. They say nowadays thanks to technology, the world seems a lot faster. The way I see it, the people who have walked into frame are busy people, have work to do, people to see... But then there's my subject, who, judging by the fact he was picking up rubbish and was wearing a hat held together by duct tape, isn't very fortunate in the professional department. It's as if he is static, whilst the world is busy speeding around him.





Here is the contact sheet for my shoot: 

I believe I have used Benoit Courti's techniques rather well in these shoots. More so in the first shot than in the second one, I feel as though I got quite intimate with my subject - like Courti does so well. Like his images, my shots raise questions such as who this man is, and what is his story? I am going to use Courti's technique of intimacy in more of my images, because I rather like the outcome of it. 

Second Artist: Benoit Courti

Benoit Courti is a French photographer living in Paris.
Fascinated by photography since his childhood, he first embraced a career as a music composer before becoming a professional portrait photographer in 2010. 
I chose Courti as my third influence because the moment I saw his work, I loved it. I very much like his technique, and how he can make something so simple look so interesting, for example the picture of a man throwing some dice - all he is doing is throwing dice, but it raises many questions... Is he a gambler? Is he a magician? What number will the dice show? Will that decide someone's fate? 

"Gambler" © Benoit Courti 2015. All rights reserved. 

I decided to use his technique of getting really up-close with his subjects. I feel that when one is really close to one's subject, it is more intimate, and more emotion is drawn out from the viewer of the image. 

I am going to use his techniques of getting intimate with his subjects for my own photography. I want my images to be powerful, and that is what I get from viewing Courti's images. There is a better example of this pictured below. 

Untitled, Benoit Courti, All rights reserved.

I managed to contact Courti, I asked him a few questions about his image 'Gambler'. I asked him what his intention was with this photograph, and he said he was "trying out a new technique" with his photography. He had just bought a new lens, and was having some fun by trying it out. When I asked him what the image made him feel like as the photographer, he said it "fulfilled my expectations", and that he is pleased with this photograph. 

Below is the email he replied with (you may have to click to enlarge):

Shoot 1: Final Edits

First Shoot

I went to Bournemouth, a city I live nearby to take all of my photos. I thought Bournemouth was my best bet as I always see many interesting people there. One of these interesting people I met is Steve, a 34 year old man who, sadly, is homeless. After having a brief conversation with him and introducing myself, he allowed me to take a few photos with him as the subject. 
Pictured right are the original images that I have taken. I am taking a series of two images per person, the first one is of their face, and the second is of their environment. 

The close up of Steve's face was taken at an aperture opening of f/2.8 on my Nikon D5100 with the NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G. I had a shutter speed of 1/500th of a second. 
The second image was taken at an aperture opening of f/5.6, with a shutter speed of 1/500th of a second. 




The edited images:

Here are both my edited shots. All my shoots are going to be in black and white, because I feel images edited like this are much more interesting and emotive. The way I edited these images were as follows: In Picasa 3, I toggled and played around with the lighting and shadows of the images, making them stand out a little more. I then went onto GIMP where I desaturated the image and chose the Luminosity effect, because to me, that seemed like the effect that suited my images the most. 

Below is the contact sheet for my shoot. Out of all the shoots, I chose the images I most liked (which are named DSC_0058 and DSC_0066 in the sheet).

I used some of Aaron Joel Santos' techniques through Reportage photography. I photographed people I found in the streets to create a powerful image which told a story. Although I don't believe my images to be as powerful as they could have been, they are still nonetheless emotive images, such as those of Santos'.

First Artist: Aaron Joel Santos

Aaron Joel Santos is an editorial and documentary photographer living in Hanoi, Vietnam. He is an award winning travel photographer based in Southeast Asia. He is represented by Novus Select in the US and NOI Pictures in Vietnam and Asia. He is also part of the agency roster at Wonderful Machine, a production company with a network of over 700 photographers and video gamers worldwide.
I came across Santos' work when I was looking up images of people's hands for my original idea. Endlessly scrolling through his website looking at all his spectacular images, I came across one he had taken in downtown Yangon, Myanmar (pictured below.) 
When I saw his work I instantly fell in love with his technique and his photographs, and I knew that I wanted to use him as my first inspiration.

I decided that I was going to apply Santos' technique of capturing emotions, like he does so well, in my own pictures. I want my images to be powerful, and Santos' images are exactly that. They tell a story, one which is either created by the viewer or given within the context of the image. This is what I want my images to be: powerful, interesting, and emotive. 

Now, about the image. I emailed Santos and asked him a few questions, which he replied almost instantly. The image is untitled, it shows a mother carrying her child through downtown Yangon,  Myanmar, in the central market of a bustling Asia capital. The area isn't considered rich or poor, it's just downtown city. Western eyes may perceive it as a poor area, but it reflects upon the city as a whole. Santos says "but what better way to show the city than to show its inhabitants as well. They're the fabric that hold everything together." This candid shot shows exactly that, it shows how the inhabitants are what makes this city a city. Santos is representing the life of the subjects, and through this image is trying to emphasise the different lifestyles lived by the people of Myanmar to those we live here, in the West. 

Santos claims he has chosen this image because he likes the child's "wild-eyed amazement" at the world around her. 
 Here is the email Santos sent me, you may have to click to enlarge it. 

Editing Practice

Before going out to shoot some portraits, I wanted to get an idea of how I was going to edit the images in post-production. This was going to help me immensely when shooting, because I was going to have a better idea of how the final images were going to turn out, and thus making it easier for me to snap the perfect image - hopefully minimising my chances of needing a re-shoot!

Before

After

Although it doesn't look like much, I spent quite a while tweaking the small things such as the shadowing on my face, trying to bring out the eyes more (as that is what I am focusing on for this exam), and just generally trying to make the subject stand out and seem more interesting. Although this photo doesn't at all have my desired effect, it is a guideline which will help me edit the shoots I am going to be taking tomorrow. 
I edited this using Picasa 3 and GIMP. In Picasa I toggled the shadows and brightness, and then converted the image the greyscale in GIMP, and tweaked the curves ever so slightly as well.

Guessing One's Emotion

These are my initial shots for my new idea named Eyes and Emotion. The idea behind this is that my audience will have to guess the subject's emotion by looking at just the eyes, and is then revealed the whole picture after having placed a guess. 
Here are some initial shots I have taken to demonstrate my ideas:

My plan is to go to Bournemouth, a town live nearby, and photograph interesting strangers. As these will not be candid shots, I will have to be weary of them faking emotion for the purpose of a photograph. My subjects will be recruited purely through opportunity sampling, as I will only be using strangers I find there and then.

Where will I be going with this? Well, my plan is to produce a series of powerful images of different and interesting people. As I have previously mentioned, I will be photographing people I see whilst I am in the town, and so I am excited to see what interesting faces I will discover, and get an insight as to what my final pieces will look like.

Change of Idea...

Although I rather liked the idea of photographing people's hands and capturing the relationship between their hands and their profession/pastime, I felt the outcome was going to be a bit dull. 
I then thought of a new idea that I really liked, which was capturing the relationship between people's eyes and their emotions.
I am going to be taking portraits of people's faces, drawing out different emotions among my subjects. I will then focus mainly on the eyes, and see if people can guess the emotion behind the eye expression alone. 
I have decided to stick to this idea now as opposed to the one of the hands because I feel it will be a more interactive experience between my images and whoever wishes to see them, because my audience will have to think about what my images are trying to say, rather than what my images are giving away. 

Initial Shots

For my exam unit, I was given the theme of Relationships. I racked my brain for a few hours to come up with an idea I was happy with. I had originally thought of perhaps doing the relationship between dreams and reality, and although I quite liked that idea, I couldn't think of how I was going to represent it. I then thought of doing relationships between people, men and women, adults and children... but this time, I thought it was just going to look a little cheesy. So what did I go for? Well, after being picky with all my ideas, I came up with one I really liked, and I suddenly had loads of ideas as to how I was going to do it. I am doing the relationships between people's work and their hands. 
Let me elaborate - I was planning on photographing people's hands, mainly because hands can be really interesting as well as explain a story of their own. I was thinking of taking pictures of an artist's hands, for example, covered in paint, clay, chalk and what have you. 
I was thinking of doing a series of three images per hands. I have taken some initial shots to demonstrate how I was thinking of doing it, using my mum as a subject.
Here are the original images: