Bodies

I decided to shoot some more photographs of collar bones, but changing my lights slightly, the front light was lowered in power and I added a back light to give a subtle strip of light on the side of the model. I really like the darker lighting, it captures so much more detail in the skin, such as freckles and imperfections which are lost with the over exposed lighting.

I really like the ones with a shallow depth of field, it draws focus to more specific areas like the collar bones.

This is one of my favourite photographs from the shoot. I really like the brightness of the light on the right compared to the smoothness on the left. It really highlights the shape of the models body. Although, if I was to reshoot these, I would try avoiding getting the models clothes in the shot, this will be something I'll try to do in future.

These are the rest of the photographs I shot, which I didn't use. Most of them are quite similar, with small adjustments between them, so using them all would of been pointless.

Collar Bones

This is the first lot of work I have produced since looking at the previous artist. I focused on the light and shadows cast on the skin on collar bones, and the detail highlighted by the light. I like how the photographs have turned out, the shadows make the models look more defined. When reshooting, I will turn the light down, as the skin looks over exposed, although in some of the photographs, it is a positive quality.

I found it quite hard to photograph the models, there was little room to work because they were still dressed, so avoiding getting the clothes in the shot was difficult. The second shot is a good example, because a bra strap can be seen in the bottom left of the frame.

This is one of my favourite shots from the set, mainly because of the depth of field; the foreground is blurry whilst the part of the collar further away is really sharp. I also like that the shoulder is put forward, casting a small shadow across the chest, this really draws attention to the small amount of light around it, and the detail highlighted by it.

Skin and Nude Photography

I had been looking on the internet to give myself a clearer idea of how to shoot the next set of features/skin photographs, and came across this
https://rickfoto.wordpress.com/tag/skin/page/2/
I would definitely like to do some similar work to the darker, more low key photographs mostly around collar bones, necks and chests. I think that will be what I do next. This is something similar to what I would like to create. I will likely shoot it in the studio with a single light with a soft box attached to really soften the skin, whilst creating a nice low key image, which has a good amount of shadows to create definition on the skin.

If I had willing models, I'd be tempted to look into doing some photographs like the nude ones featured on the link. I think with nude photography, It's a very fine line between art and pornography, so it's something that will take a lot of planning to avoid being tacky, meaningless snapshots of naked men and women, and focus more on a meaningful artistic approach to the subject. Being nude is the most natural a person can be, so it's definitely something that would fit in to my work, and something I'll take into consideration.

If I was to photograph nude models, I'd like to do something like this. This focusses more on the openness of the skin, and the fact that it is uncovered in my opinion. Although the photograph is quite flat in places, there is a really good range of grey tones on the body, due to the position of the light.

Whereas the kind of stuff I'd like to avoid is not artistic, there's no point to it, it's just a naked woman. I think it's really easy to cross the art/porn line from looking at a lot of photography, lots of work ends up just being snapshots to draw in the attention of the narrow minded, as a posed to the photograph above.

Helmut Newton is a good example of this, his work constantly goes back and forth on the metaphoric line. Some of Newton's work is stunning, whereas some seems like it's over rated because it's his name on it.

This is an example of one of the better photographs made by Newton. I really like how the background is mostly black, which instantly draws the attention to the brightness of the model's face. I love the range of grey tones on the model's face and body, and how she seems completely focused on something else rather than the man.

Whereas this is one of his worse pieces. It seems really pointless, and it's nowhere near as well shot as the first one. I really like the tones on the model's body, and the contrast between the hair and skin, aesthetically it's really good, and well put together. I think Newton is really inconsistent with his work, he'll produce something fantastic then something  quite the opposite, mainly because it seems less artistic and meaningful.

These are some areas I could consider looking into

http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/photos/skin/#/skin-substitute_1206_600x450.jpg

It includes skin tones, freckles, albinos and henna (which I could also use more tattoos). Instead of photographing skin in general, I could focus more on sets of these specific subjects. 

I could shoot more portraits like this, as well as shooting close up macro shots of skin. Using a higher contrast highlights and exaggerates things on the skin like freckles, so if I did photograph them, it would be in this way.

Proposal

Final Major Project Proposal (first draft)

For my final major project, my theme will be based around 'Appearance'. Within this theme, I will focus a lot on people in their natural state, both on location and in the studio. As well as this, I will photograph things such as still life which link in with my theme, like the marble I have photographed. I photographed them because despite just being marbles, they are all incredibly unique, similar to people.

I intend to produce mainly photographs, which will be mostly black and white. Black and white photographs are a recurring theme in my work because I think people automatically assume the colours in their head, because we're all used to seeing in colour, making them take a deeper interest. Also, photography was originally made black and white, so producing black and white photographs feel like the 'proper' way to do it in a sense.
I have looked at a massive range of artists, some of which include Saul Leiter, Gary Winnogrand and Lee Freidlander. I have looked at these artists specifically because they photograph people in their natural state, there's little or no staged or posed shots, which is relevant to the work I'm aiming to produce. I want to produce natural work because I think having people pose always looks awkward and uncomfortable, letting the models and subjects go about their day normally allows me to produce better looking photographs.
For my final pieces I would like to produce some large prints (A0, A1, A2) and some contact sheet style prints of a similar size. Also, I would like to produce some cyanotypes of a smaller size (A3 or A4). Cyanotypes are made by exposing the chemicals to ultraviolet light after spreading them onto a material, to create a bold blue and white print, for the same reasons as the black and white prints.
To conclude, I will be making a large amount of photographs and cyanotypes based around appearance, alongside primary and secondary research and opinions on the subjects. After doing a broad range of work, I will pick a specific subject within the theme for my final pieces.

Second Draft

Throughout the course, I have learnt about all different kinds of art, and practiced in methods used in all the pathways. As well as this, I've developed my skills as a photographer and gained a lot of experience with different kinds of photography and lighting. My project will allow me to further my skills through practice and experimentation, doing a broader range of work will help me gain experience. The main issue identified through my assessment was that I needed to signpost my work more, which I will solve by showing all the steps in my work, including the ones that didn't work to highlight progression and allow clearer reflection.

My theme will be based around 'Appearance'. Within this theme, I will focus a lot on people in their natural state, both on location and in the studio. As well as this, I will photograph things such as still life which link in with my theme, like the marble I have photographed. I photographed them because despite just being marbles, they are all incredibly unique, similar to people. Giving myself a really broad starting point allows me to produce a lot more work before picking a specific subject for my final piece.

I have looked at a wide range of artists, some of which include Saul Leiter, Gary Winnogrand and Lee Freidlander. I have looked at these artists specifically because they photograph people in their natural state, there's little or no staged or posed shots, which is relevant to the work I'm aiming to produce. I want to produce natural work because I think having people pose always looks awkward and uncomfortable, letting the models and subjects go about their day normally allows me to produce more aesthetically strong photographs. A lot of my primary and secondary research will be opinions, because my theme is something a lot of people will have strong opinions on (for topics like beauty and discrimination), I think using a lot of statements would be suitable.

I will use mainly my digital single lens reflex camera and a 50mm lens, but I will experiment with other equipment such as lights, macro lenses, wide angle lenses and film camera. I would also like to use some alternative printing methods such as cyanotypes to produce a wider, bolder range of work. My final pieces will be all photographs, printed quite large onto glossy paper. The majority of the photographs, if not all will be black and white, so having a plain white background will really bring out the detail in the photographs. I would also like the produce some cyanotypes (blue and white prints) of a slightly smaller size presented in the same way. The materials are all available or easily accessible, so there shouldn't be any problem with production.

Throughout the project, I will critically reflect on all my work, as well as receiving feedback from piers and tutors to help find the best course for my work. This will help my work progress because I can easily establish the good from the bad, and receive opinions on how to approach my work differently for stronger outcomes.

Presentation Feedback

Following my presentation, I was given feedback from tutors regarding my work. The main thing I was advised on was to 'signpost' my work, showing steps and changes in my work and explaining why I have made changes. I think it'd be really helpful to do this more because it will show progress and reflection a lot clearer.

The tutors seemed to like the idea of 'Appearance', focusing a lot on people in their natural state, so it will be the theme I follow for my final major project. I think I've given myself a really broad starting point to allow myself to produce a wider range of work, which will give me more chance to make work and really get into the project. As well as that, there's a lot of things within the theme that I have really strong opinions on, which will influence me to make better work with more meaning.

Overall I think the presentation went really well, although I was nervous and missed out points, I presented my theme quite well and explained my intentions with the work properly. Being able to switch between blog and powerpoint helped a lot when presenting. I'm really looking forward to working on the Final Major Project, because it's something I can get into and produce a lot of work on.

Marbles 2nd Lot

I decided to shoot marbles again in the studio, moving the light to create a gradient of light behind the marble, creating black and grey tones. I didn't use many of the white/clear ones because they blended into the background quite a bit, although they are clearly seen, there's not enough colour and detail in them like the marbles.

There's a big difference between the plastic beads and glass marbles, there's a slight blue tint to the glass which really stands out against the white background. As well as that, the colour in the centre of the marble is really highlighted by the light behind it.

On these ones, I was shooting from lower down to capture where there was no light, which created a nice black background. I prefer the black background because it really makes the clear marbles stand out against it, as well as splitting up the photo from being all white. I'd definitely use this technique again.

I don't think the photographs look as good in black and white, I think a lot of the detail in the marble is lost when monochrome, so I avoided doing any more of them. The black and white photographs are definitely less striking and bold than the colour.

These are the rest of the photographs from the shoot, a lot of them were slightly out of focus, badly lit (over or under exposed) or the black gradient was in the wrong place.

Final Major Project Pitch