Gender Merging Photography

To start with, I took photographs of my subject both in a masculine and a feminine appearance. I did this upon a white background, both with the same light and aperture settings so that they would look like they were part of the same image when I merged them in photoshop. 

Next, I imported two of the images into photoshop. I made sure that they were both as similar to each other as possible in terms of lighting, posture and proximity from the lens of the camera. I cut out half of the more feminine image and aligned them before readjusting levels to bring out the colours within the composition. This also created more variation in shade and tone which makes the image look more interesting.

My next step was to adjust the contrast and brightness settings. This makes the skin as well as the background slightly paler as well as contrasting with the darker tones and the brighter colours as well as bringing out the colours in the hair, makeup and clothing. 

After changing the contrast and brightness settings, I increased the saturation so that the reds and blues were more eye-catching and erased the parts of the saturation layer I didn't need. Not only this, but I also edited the shadows and highlights to make the colours pop out more as well as the create more tone and form within the image such as in the creases of the shirt.

Finally, I created a new layer and made a vignette so that the image looked more refined and finished. I also did this so that the attention would be drawn more to the centre of the composition where the main focus should be.

Contact Sheets:

Final Image:

Plan For Merging Photography

For my final piece, I am going to take photographs of my model in both masculine and feminine attire as well as with and without makeup. I am also going to use a plain background as opposed to bricks so that the textured layer I add on will show up better when changing the blending mode on photoshop. This will also create a more aesthetically pleasing piece and make it look more refined. 

The background I use will be a plain white so that the texture will be clearer and I will also experiment with different textures such as tree bark, leaves, wool etc. This will enable me to determine which textures will create the most interesting shapes within the composition. 

In photoshop, I plan to combine the images I take to create a portrait symbolising that we as humans can embody more than one gender which is a topic that has become more talked about and less taboo as opposed to five or ten years ago. 

In terms of colour, I will use brighter colours that stand out more so that they catch the eye of the viewer and grab attention. This will also contrast with the white of the background and I plan to adjust the colours in photoshop to make them seem more vibrant and bold which will lend to it being an eye-catching composition.

Analogue Photos - Double Exposure

To fix my double exposure photographs that I took with the film camera, I scanned the images into photoshop and first edited the levels. This allowed the darker elements to stand out more against the paler, lighter tones. I also changed brightness, contrast, shadows and highlights to add more depth to my photographs as well as to make the tones stand out more. I then proceeded to rotate and crop them so that they looked more like portraits and much more refined. 

Contact Sheets:

Film Contact Sheet

Uncropped Edits Contact Sheet

Cropped Edits Contact Sheet

Best Images:

HDR Experimentation - Process

To create my HDR photos, I started off by taking sets of three photographs; one too dark, one too bright, and one where the lighting was in the middle. I made sure I had plenty of photographs then imported them onto my computer and went through them all to find the ones I thought worked out best. I then proceeded to open up photoshop and click on the File drop down menu and clicking the Merge to HDR option on the Automate section

I then selected a dark, bright, and normally lit photo and merged them together to create a more detailed image.

After I did this, I started editing levels. I edited the brightness and the contrast. I did this as I wanted to bring out the pale tones in the skin and create more contrast within the eyes. I added a second layer with just the eyes so that I could make the eyes the main focus and remove the layer if my experiment didn't work. 

My next step was to adjust the layers. This helped to add more detail to both the subject and the background of the photograph. Not only this, but it also helped to boost the contrast and the changes to brightness I'd made. 

One of the final steps I made was to edit the highlights and shadows so that I could add more darkness and light where it was needed and make the eyes stand out.

My last step was to change the blending on the layer that was just the eyes. I tried different effects such as linear and colour dodge and overlays. For this particular image, I also lowered the opacity so that the irises looked much paler and stood out more but in my other two photographs I used the colour and linear dodge to bring out the blues and golds of the iris.

HDR Experimentation - Results

Steve McCurry - My Photos

When looking through different photographers to emulate the technique of, I immediately thought of Steve McCurry. I find his work to be something that wows the viewer with the amount of detail in his compositions and the way he gets the eyes to stand out. So, I chose to try and recreate this sort of look. 

To do this, I took photographs of my brother in natural light. This is because sunlight brings out the colours in his eyes and makes them stand out which was what I wanted in my images. The natural light also creates contrast and is one of the elements that McCurry uses in portraits such as Afghan Girl. I took a variety of photos of my brother from different angles to capture different parts of the face with different lighting as well as getting him to stand in different places too so that the light would be shining on him from different angles. 

Once I'd taken my photos, I imported the two that I liked the most into photoshop and edited them so that the eyes would stand out the most. I changed the brightness and contrast in order to add more detail as well as the levels and exposure. I also increased how vivid the colour in the eyes was and erased the layer around the eyes so that it was just the eyes that were vivid, therefore making them stand out. 

Contact Sheet: 

Emulation 3

For my final emulation, I chose the black and white torn photograph from charmaineolivia.tumblr.com because it employs an interesting technique that I wanted to experiment with. 

First, I created a photoshoot in which the model/subject was wearing similar clothing to the original photograph. I also positioned my model so that she was making the same gestures as the original as well as having the same sort of posture. I positioned the lighting so that her face was lit up in a similar way to the original then imported the image I wanted into photoshop. I changed it so that it was black and white and had a similar amount of contrast before printing it out and ripping the paper where the photo was ripped in the original. After that, I stuck it onto a plain piece of white paper and scanned the image back into the computer. 

How to improve:

• Make the lighting more like the lighting in the original photo
• Create more contrast so that the model is more visible
• Use smaller rips to create a better result
• Make sure the photo prints onto plain paper so that no writing or black lines show through

Contact Sheet:

Interviewing An Artist - Planning

List of Possible Photographers to Interview

• Ella Ruth
• Annie Leibovitz
• Mario Testino
• Mark Seliger
• Greg Gorman
• Dan Winters
• David LaChapelle
• Jean-Baptiste Mondino
• Nathaniel Goldberg
• Peter Hapak

Possible Questions To Ask

• When taking your photographs, is there a particular progress you go through such as working on instinct or pre-planning your photographs through sketching what you want the composition to look like? 
• Is there anything that influences your choice of colour scheme or lighting within your photographs? Do you plan specific colours and lighting before hand or experiment during the photoshoot? 
• Some people describe your work as [comment from a relative, second-hand source - research needed here]. Would you agree with this statement? What would your response be?
• [Choose particular aesthetic feature within their photography] is a dominant and recurring feature in some of your photographs. Is this a deliberate element that connects to the themes and ideas that you wish to express within your work?
• What tips would you give to a photographer who was emulating your photographic techniques and processes?
• Has your work been inspired by any other photographers? Has your work been shaped by other things such as people in general, events or situations?
• On average, how long would it take you to create a piece that you are fully satisfied with? 
• Do you ever experiment with other ways of producing your photographs? Are there any processes you'd like to experiment with in the future?

Emulation 2

For my second emulation, I chose to emulate a photograph from imawoman.tumblr.com in black and white. I chose this photo in particular as it reflects self image and the way society perceives beauty which is an issue that people encounter frequently. I also chose it because black and white photos emphasise shape and form which is something that I want to employ within my photography work. 

To create the writing upon the model's face, I used eyeliner to draw on everything and used the original photo as a reference so that the result in terms of the makeup was more accurate. I also decided to use clothing similar to the original photo so that the results would be closer to the image I was emulating. For this photoshoot, I chose to use the camera on my phone in order to experiment with the quality of the photograph as well as exploiting the zoom on the camera.

After I took a range of photographs (contact sheet below), I went through each photo and decided upon one with the best depth of field and had the model in a position similar to the model in the original picture. I used photoshop in order to change the levels so that the exposure was improved as well as changing the picture to black and white and then edited the contrast and brightness to bring out the shape and form of the shape like the original photograph does. Not only this, but the contrast made the hat darker which meant that it was a much more similar tone to the hat the model in the original image is wearing.

How to improve:

• Change positioning of lighting
• Stand further away from subject and use the zoom function on the camera to create similar framing to the original image
• Change the positioning of the face of the model
• Use a different camera e.g. DSLR camera

Contact Sheet:

Style - Cam Rackam

Cam Rackam is an American artist and designer who creates a lot of gothic oil paintings, both commissioned and otherwise. He uses smooth brushstrokes in which the colours blend together to create a realistic image upon the congas. This also creates textures of skin in his portraits that look more aesthetically pleasing and allow him to experiment with the way light is displayed. The stark contrasts between light and dark emulate the lighting that would be used within photography and draw attention to the subject of the painting itself. 

The way I will incorporate this style into my photos is by using similar lighting conditions in order to create an effect like the chiaroscuro contrasts of light and dark that Rackam creates so successfully within his compositions. I will also use similar makeup to create the gothic look that the artist specialises in when they create portraits, both true to life and more abstract such as his portrait 'Fiction' in which the subject has been given a darker, more skeletal look as well as the cooler tones. 

Because Rackam's work has both gothic and melancholic atmospheres, I will also use subjects/models and clothing that will bring the same sort of atmosphere and create the  poignant mood that the artist integrates so well into his work. 

Steve McCurry

The three photos have been created by using a shallow depth of field in order to capture the model/subject in each portrait and create a great amount of detail to both interest and attract the eye of the viewer. 

A higher saturation has also been used to make the colours pop out of the photographs and catch the eye with bold tones. Not only this, but more muted colours have been used in the background as opposed to the foreground where there's more saturation on the model/subject. 

Colour has been carefully considered in these photographs. Earthy colours in the picture in the top left have been used in a way that makes the colour of the eye stand out and strike the viewer in a way that catches the attention almost immediately and draws the eye to the centre of the composition. 

The image on the left has a strong contrast of cool and warm colours that make the subject bold. The golds and reds are saturated more than the background so that we are immediately drawn to the subject rather than the background. Not only this, but the colours stand out against the skin and the plain grey/white clothing which makes the image more intriguing. 

The photograph on the bottom right uses a more muted colour palette, the purples and oranges standing out against the grey and green on the shirt. The colours of the clothing stand out against the grey background which makes you want to look at the subject. Eyeliner has been used around the eyes in order to draw attention to them and the contrast created by the lighting makes the pale skin and dark hair contrast in an aesthetically pleasing way. 

I will integrate these elements into my photos by using colourful clothing and different apertures in order to make the model/subject stand out. I will also consider lighting and experiment with it in order to create the contrast in colour and tone within the composition of the photograph. Not only this, but I will also find ways to draw attention to certain parts of the face, such as the eye, by using makeup or colour to bring out the eye colour of the subject/model. 

Emulation 1 - Improvements After Feedback

Original Photo

First Emulation

After receiving feedback on my first emulation, I decided to retake the photoshoot with more variation in lighting in the shoot and use less editing. 

I also decided to make my model look even more like the model in the original photograph and got them to remove their shirt so that the result would be much more similar to the image I was emulating. I used a flash so that the background would be whiter and the model would have more contrast in their skin tone and the colours of the makeup. This resulted in my model being more alike to the original photo. Not only this, but I also used a white sheet background so that it would look less yellow as opposed to the whiteboard I used as the background when I first tried to emulate the original photograph. 

When I imported my improved image into the photograph, I edited the background so that it would be the same colour as the one in the original photo and I also edited the brightness and contrast as well as the colour balance to make the skin tones and other colours more like the original. I used the colour balance to make the skin more yellow like the original image and then changed the brightness and contrast so that the tones would stand out as much as they did in the original image I was emulating. 

Improvement After Feedback

Contact Sheet:

Emulation 1

For my first emulation, I decided to emulate one of Rankin's photos which was taken in collaboration with GF Smith. It is part of a portfolio entitled Surface Attraction which aimed to push the boundaries of what would be considered as beautiful today. 

To create the makeup for this emulation, I used normal eyeshadow, eyeliner, lipstick and faceprint. I did this as it would make it easier to smudge the makeup like it had been in the emulation. I used a mixture of eyeliner and eyeshadow for the black smudges to make them stand out more against the pale skin of the model, creating contrast similar to the original photo. I also used lipstick that would smudge effortlessly to create the same effect as the original photo and a range of eyeshadow colours as close to the colours Rankin and Smith used for their composition. 

Once I had taken multiple photos (contact sheet below) I chose the one that, in my opinion, was the most like the original photo and I then imported it into photoshop so that I could edit contrasts. The first thing I edited was the background so that it was a grey similar to the one in the original picture. I also used a brightness/contrast mask in order to make the skin of the model look brighter with more contrast as well as adding an opaque layer of white to bring our the pale complexion and make it more like the model in the original. I increased the saturation slightly so that the colours of the makeup would jump out more and become more like the tones and hues that are included in the original image. 

What Could I Improve?

To improve, I think I could have experimented with the angle of the lighting used in my photographs in order to make the model look more like the one in the original picture. I also think I would have used colours that were even closer to the shades used in the original and experiment more with the way that the makeup was smudged, creating a variation in how alike the two pictures above would have been. 

Contact Sheet