On INSPIRATION and CONTRAST

When starting this brief, I was inspired by Wywrot’s use of high contrast and movement. These elements combined, worked to make her daughter’s portraits seem otherworldly and I wanted to replicate this in my photography. While Wywrot would normally contrast her figures on a white background – I wanted to achieve the inverse. I made this choice because I wanted to create a sense of intimacy with my subject, allowing the viewer to still see features and relate to a face. I choose to still utilise the high contrast as I wanted to create an other worldly effect, only I felt as if these images were more etherial and angelic than the original idea of eerie or macabre. This is a concept I’m not sure I’m completely happy with and would like to continue using high contrast in future photography trying to play with the varying levels of uncanny I can create.

Looking at these two images, I feel as if the first would have been made more impactful had I had chosen a more interesting space to shoot. Looking at my inspiration in German expressionist films, the composition was made more horrific through the use of black shapes against the white background making the figure feel more constricted. That’s another reason why I decide to utilise the chiaroscuro effect in the second image as I felt it gave my piece the tight composition I was after.

EDITING FOR HIGH CONTRAST

A lot of my editing focused around getting the whites of the image – bright, and the blacks of the image – dark. I had no problem achieving this with Lightroom as I played with the settings displayed in image 2. I would then take the image into Photoshop where I would use a combination of masking and healing to erase the background into a pure black. I would also use Levels to really make sure my blacks and whites where standing out against each other. Continuing to shoot however I will work harder to set white balance and shoot at a higher ISO to make the editing process easier. I want to push myself to create that high contrast in the photo it’s self rather than producing the effect in post. I am highlighting this to explore in my future images as I would like to see what I’m capable of achieving through camera and subject alone.

Movement

Movement was hard to capture as I struggled to find the medium between blurred images that worked and those that were rendered unreadable to the viewer. A lot of the problems I faced on the location was due to a lack of tripod and understanding when was the right time that ask my model to move. These mostly arose through a lack of experience. I believed I wouldn’t need a tripod as I wanted the intimacy that is allowed from a hand hold however when it came to trying to capture movement the strain of holding still, proved harder than I had thought. This oversight is something I will look to correct in future shots, as bringing a tripod can never really be harmful. In terms of technique, things started working the more I shot. Adjusting shutter speeds and figuring out when to ask my model to move. This is something that will only get better the more I practice and the more shot.

The images I went with for my finals, where the produce of patience and the correct shutter speed for the effects I wanted to create. I am happy with both of these images because the blur works to enhance the photo rather than obstruct it. The first was taken at a 2.50s to create the movement blur. While the second image was taken at 5.00s to create impressions of where the movement had been. I want to continue to explore exposure and shutter speed in the rest of this studio as I enjoy the varying effects then can attribute to an image. To again turn attention to the second image, I will work in the future to combine light and movement, rather than treat them as separate elements. I feel as if I had lit my subject better or shot at an ISO higher than 200, the image would be stronger as the movement would read easier. This is something that I will remember as I continue my studies.

FINAL REFLECTION

Through this project brief I have discovered that I want my work to leave emotional impact on the viewers. I feel that creating uncanny figures will leave a lasting impression, however I still have ways to go before I achieve my desired effect.  While I learnt a lot about lighting to create contrast and capturing movement there is still many ways which I can improve technically when approaching a shot. For example, space and setting is something I paid little attention to while completing this brief, in future endeavors I will work to take test shots not only of the figure but the space I am shooting in as both play an equally important roll in the final image. Things like ISO, shutter-speed and F-grade where also aspects that I was unfamiliar with, though I gained quiet a bit of experience with them on this shoot, I will aim to practice more with the camera in my spare time. I feel this will also lead to trying new and more adventurous things when trying to create a body of work. Overall I was able to discover a style and direction I’d like to continue in through this studio. The use of contrast and movement of the figure inspire me to continue to play with lighting, focus and even long exposure as I hope to create work stays on the mind.

 The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1920) Cinematography: Willy Hameister
Nosferatu (1922) Cinematography: Fritz Arno Wagner, Günther Krampf

While deciding what to photograph for the semester my mind kept circling back to the idea of horror. I first thought of myself sneaking into graveyards snapping away whilst the sun set. But, as I began to research how horror cinematographers capture an eerie mood I found myself stuck on images utilising the high contrast and tightly knitted compositions that existed within the German expressionist movement. I began to look for the same contrasting blacks and whites when picking a photographer to present to the class. Upon stumbling across Magdalena Wywrot in a photography issue of VICE magazine I felt as if it was meant to be. I was particularly drawn to the following two shots:

http://magdalenaswitek.tumblr.com

I had never really considered “movement” as a technique of photography. But after seeing Wywrot’s first image, it prompted me to try and take advantage of the sense of uncertainty that blur and movement can cause. In the second image, I was taken aback by how the contrast worked to create something otherworldly and sinister. When I consider how this photo might read in colour or without the use of hard lighting, I do not believe it would have the same uncanny effect on a viewer- As it would reveal the figure behind Wywrot’s daughter rather than letting them exist as a set of disembodied hands. Another element in Wywrot’s photographs is how she asks her models to pose and will shoot the back of the subject, and other unfamiliar angles to the viewer. In the second image, her daughter throws her head back in a more dynamic and unfamiliar pose than having the subject look to the camera. I will experiment with shooting my subjects from different angles and have them pose in a lot of different ways, trying to create a more striking result.

This idea of capturing something unnerving and eerie is what I’m looking to achieve this semester. I will try to utilise the same techniques found in both the german expressionist movement and Wywrot’s photos, paying particular attention to ways in which I can express a sense of tight space through composition, how I can use light to create high contrast and how I can use props and movement to achieve these aesthetics. I have also made the decision to focus mostly on the portrait as I am really hoping to achieve a final result that makes the human body seem unfamiliar or ethereal.

Continuing to work on PB2 I will look to recreate this hard lighting in order to achieve a juxtaposition between white and black. During the next week, I will begin taking test shots to better understand how light interacts with the face and body.