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

Conventions Of The Form - Portrait Photography

Emulations - Planning

What will I will need:

• Face paint/skin-friendly watercolour paints
• Coloured nail polish
• Makeup 
• Lighting - create contrast in squinting and bring out the highlights in the hair
• White/grey background (Whiteboard? White sheet?)

Where? Photography/Media Studies classroom or Town Hall
When? Photography lesson (P3 on a Friday?)

Who? A friend (Albert)

What I will need:

• Black eyeliner/eyebrow pencil
• Black hat (Beanie? Use black towel instead?)
• Lighting (Edited in photoshop to create more contrast, therefore creating more shadow)
• Light background (Colour not important - black and white photograph)

Where? At home

When? Saturday 19th September

Who? Younger brother (Owen)

 What I will need:

• Dark, simplistic clothing 
• Dark wig (for model/subject)
• Camera that will take grainy photographs/grainy photo filter
• Lighting (Positioned to the left of the model to create contrast in light and dark within the composition)
• Mid-tone background (Colour not important - black and white photograph

Where? Photography/Media Studies classroom or Town Hall

When? Photography lesson (P1/P2 on a Thursday)

Who? A friend (Luci) 

Pin Board - Portraiture