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: