Evaluation -

Evaluation -

Studio Sessions -

In the studio sessions we took pictures of ourselves and other class mates after looking at a photographers technique and trying to it mimic it. I chose David Bailey as my first photographer  i researched and looked into his work and found that black and white pictures made up the majority of his work. I used Baileys technique I think i did this well, my photos were very similar to his, originally my photos were in colour i used the software Lightroom to change the colour to black and white. I also found when researching Bailey that his subjects do not smile so i tried my best to position myself as i thought David would. Another thing is Bailey usually takes his pictures at close range so i cropped my photo.

For this photo i got Michael to be the subject and we took a series of pictures, i chose this picture 

as an example of the finished work. At first the pictures were raw and unedited some were too dark and we decided to work with this and the picture was edited to bring out the red but also keep it dark.

I collected Nadvas Kanders work during the studio sessions i used one of the photos i took that i thought matched Kanders work. The technique that Kander uses is very unique and this picture was similar to his so i thought it would be a good choice. When choosing this photo for comparison i looked at my positioning as Kanders subjects often look like they have been caught mid thought, my photo also had this effect.

I enjoyed the studio session because of the photo-shoots I enjoyed the atmosphere but also learning about how to work the lights

We used the canon 5D and the Bowens grid defuser to effect the outcome portrait pictures, using different amounts of lighting and using different angles really changed the picture.In the session experimenting with different ways of taking a portrait picture, positioning the subject at an angle helps give the picture a professional effect.  We also lit the subject from behind, this was to reduce the shadow creating a less harsh effect. 

In the lesson we also learned to position the lights at certain distances as this greatly effects the outcome of the image. Along with the he grid defuser we used timers to make sure the light flashed at the right time. The background was cheap blinds used for the photoshoot they worked well as a background.

I enjoyed this session because it helped me understand where to aim the camera how far back to stand and different techniques to use to get what your looking for.

Ian Phillips-McLaren

Ian Phillips-McLaren was born in Glasgow, by 18 he was studying photography in the day and DJing at night. During his second year as a photographer a TV show was made by the BBC about him called
"A style of one's own". He did portraits for Vidal Sassoon that were published in American Vogue.
Ian moved to London and has a successful career shooting portraits of artists,celebrities and real people.
He's a 3 time nominee and recipient of an Honourable Mention In the International Colour Awards. He;s knows for his natural, non-gimicks style, Ian's images are authentic, Honest and Strikingly expressive.

I like this video because  Ian gives tips on how to be a photographer, he explains that a young photographer must get out there take as many pictures as possible building a portfolio and pester other photographers. Gaining as much attention and knowledge as you can.

Jason Christopher

Jason Christopher is a fashion photographer who is based in LA california. Work has been said to be classic romantic and clean, Jason gets these three qualities every time. He was born in South california and first began using a camera and 14 years of age a Canon AE-1. In his teen years he was a fan of the photography in vogue,italian vogue and W magazine. Working with Jerry Avenaim he sharpened his technical skills in photography. Jason Christopher's work is compared to French painter Degas and Leonardo Da Vinci. 

This video shows Jasons style of photography, he instructs the subject, and as you can see in the video he often takes the photo while the subject is in mid motion, this has a great effect and thats reflected in his work.

Yousuf Karsh

 

Karsh was said to be a master of studio lights one thing that Karsh was known for was lighting the subject hands separately. He photographed many three celebrities and personalities of his generation. During most of his career he used the 8x10 Bellows Calumet camera which was made around the 1940's in Chicago. A journalist by the name of George Perry wrote in the British paper The sunday times that " when the famous start thinking of immortality, they call for Karsh of Ottawa. Karsh captured the essence of his subject in the instant of his portrait. Karsh photographed many famous people in his time people like Muhamed Ali, Pablo Picasso, Albert Einstein, Fidel Castro and many others.

I like this video because it shows you some of the people who Karsh has photographed

also the video goes into detail about how Karsh worked and how focused he was to get the right picture. In the video you seen examples of his work photographs of President Kennedy and other people who he photographed, another thing i like is that harsh Photographed the same every time but the pictures never look repeated like they have an individual stamp on them.

Nadav Kander

Nadav Kander is based in London world renowned for his portraiture and landscapes, he's also an artist and director. His work is part of the collection at the National Portrait Gallery and Victoria and Albert Museum in London also his work is exhibited in many international galleries and museums.

He began taking photographs at 13 and then when he was drafted into the South African Air Force, he worked in the darkroom printing aerial photographs. Nadav Kander’s work appears in magazines like Rolling stones, Sunday Time Magazine. After collecting some of Nadav's work i chose a picture that was similar to one of his. The position of the subject is a clear pattern in Nadva's work all subjects are captured in the moment or appearing to be caught for e.g in the middle of a thought. I think i used Kander's technique well because the picture is similar to his.

I like this video becuase Nadav explains his work method experiencing what he photographs is necessary, he speaks about his trips to china and the journey he went on to achieve the best photography.
He chose to go to China and let the experiences tell him what he needed to capture.

I like this video because Kander explains how he works, technique and lighting.

Kander explains that he doesnt like to speak to his subjects because photographing someone you know is hard, he says the tension when you first meet someone makes it easier to photograph well.

Arnold Newman

Newman attended the University of Miami studying painting and drawing with an introduction to modernism. He wasn't able to continue studying and moved to Philadelphia where he worked for a studio making 49-cent portraits. The time he spent working taught him the importance of interacting with this subjects this also allowed him to develop his technique. Newman had photographed many personalities but he still said even if the person was unknown or forgotten that the epicure would excite and intrigue the viewer. Newman is said to have been the first photographer to use so-called environmental portraiture, the photographer places the subject in a carefully controlled setting to capture the essence of the individuals life work. Newman normally captured the subjects in  a familiar setting showing their professions and personalities for e.g a writer would be captured writing a book or reading a book. In all the pictures i gather in my research Newman had captured the subject in their moment or environment.



For my next shoot I will find a subject who is for e.g a musician and i will capture them in their element, i'm going to capture the person and making the picture almost an expression of that person and what they do. If i cant find a subject i will photograph myself surrounded with music.I think i will make the picture black and white but if the colour gives a better effect then i will not alter it further.

Portrait Photography using continuous lighting

David Bailey

I used David Bailey's style of photography which is to take strong black and white pictures. I found in my research that the subject usually didn't smile instead they had a blank face or a serious face. I think Bailey used this effect to  draw the person looking at the photo to the subjects face. 

Originally the picture was in colour so i altered it and made it black and white, most of the picture i found taken by David Bailey were portrait photos so I altered the size of the picture and made it smaller.

In yesterdays session we took portrait pictures in the studio, using the same technique as the photographer i was researching. I used David Bailey style of photography positioning myself in a position similar to one of Bailey's pictures. When i originally took the picture you could see more of me, so i cropped the picture, i still to alter the picture and make it black and white to match Baileys style.
I decided to include the chair because in the picture i researched had cutlery and glasses so i thought the chair would add a classic effect to the photo which is what bailey aimed to do, create pictures that are timeless.

David Bailey

David Bailey's said himself he had no style, in his younger years Bailey developed a love of natural history this led him into photography. In 1959
he became a photographic assistant at the John French studio he then went on to be contracted as a fashion photographer for British vogue magazine in late 1960. Bailey is also said to have helped create the 'swinging London' of the 60s. at the height of his productivity he shot 800 pages of Vogue editorial in one year. Bailey's work is said to have thrived the most during the swinging sixties, his work remains timeless and he remains one of the best original photographers. He maintains that his style of photography remains the same I've always tried to do pictures that don't date. I always go for simplicity.

In this video David explains that he aims to make his work different and out of the box and often has an idea of what he wants. I chose this video because it explains more about David and his unique style. The "Swinging London" scene was reflected in his Box of Pin-Ups (1964): a box of poster-prints of the main 1960s celebrities and socialites including Terence Stamp,The Beatles, Mick Jagger, Jean Shrimpton, PJ Proby, Cecil Beaton, Rudolf Nureyev, Andy Warhol and notorious East End gangsters the Kray twins.