Throughout my work I am going to be exploring how women can be represented through the medium of photography, and the impact of different aspects of photography, such as lighting and location. When researching Petra Collins for my curatorship task I was inspired by her use of colour to create specific moods and effects. I wanted to develop this interest in my practical response and see what moods I could create using lighting and colour.
Petra Collins:
Petra Collins is a Canadian artist, photographer, fashion model and director who became relevant in the early 2010s. Her work inspired my practical response, especially her project '24 hour psycho'. The collection depicts young women whose faces are illuminated by vibrant hues of yellow, blue and red. Their features are captured from a close up vantage point, making each shot feel intimate to the viewer. Adding to the air of closeness: there are tears on the girls faces. The playful lighting, when paired with the subjects’ emotional expression, gives the series a dreamy aesthetic.
Collins thought it was important in this series to grace her subjects with an otherworldly aesthetic, rather than her signature gritty style. She wanted the images to be "sublime,” Collins said. “To force the viewer to experience these feelings with the subject and to give the subject full power. They are colourful and loud and I think if shot another way they wouldn't be as liberating.”
The exhibition, which was on show in San Francisco, sees the photographer capture 10 acquaintances in moments of emotional distress. Using a 35mm SLR camera, the subjects are then made beautiful with Collins’ trademark hues and blown-up to large scale. The aim is to encourage women to “take control” of their vulnerability and their emotions. Petra Collins has been focused on creating a body of photographic work that captures emotional distress in young females. These deeply personal and private images address complex issues about a generation coming of age in a moment of unknown access to social media. 24 Hour Psycho addresses the age-old discussion of women as emotional and inferior. By owning the dismissive term “psycho,” Collins appropriates the concept of female hysteria and celebrates it with powerful and intense imagery of young women who have power even in their distressed state. her creation of these images is a collaborative process between Collins and her subjects. Collins works with a small group of women who take turns being photographed and acting as assistants holding lights, talking and contributing to the mood of the setting. 24 hour psycho was the outcome of these intense sessions. By today’s media standard, an “imperfect” or “shameful” image of a woman becomes a statement with much impact calling upon the viewer to re-think preconceived ideals of beauty, youth, feminism and equality.
Her project was inspired by an encounter her and her friend had where they saw a sign for a '24hr Psychic', but interpreted it as '24 Hour Psycho', and that is how that name developed and is the reason she also created a neon for the show. She thought it perfectly described the feeling of, and the perception of, being a young woman today.
Colllins said with her series she " wanted to create colourful, loud, almost sublime images of emotion". This is what inspired my first development for my practical response. I like How the Lights create a illusory authentic an I wanted to trying replicate this in my photographs.
Collins thought it was important in this series to grace her subjects with an otherworldly aesthetic, rather than her signature gritty style. She wanted the images to be "sublime,” Collins said. “To force the viewer to experience these feelings with the subject and to give the subject full power. They are colourful and loud and I think if shot another way they wouldn't be as liberating.”
The exhibition, which was on show in San Francisco, sees the photographer capture 10 acquaintances in moments of emotional distress. Using a 35mm SLR camera, the subjects are then made beautiful with Collins’ trademark hues and blown-up to large scale. The aim is to encourage women to “take control” of their vulnerability and their emotions. Petra Collins has been focused on creating a body of photographic work that captures emotional distress in young females. These deeply personal and private images address complex issues about a generation coming of age in a moment of unknown access to social media. 24 Hour Psycho addresses the age-old discussion of women as emotional and inferior. By owning the dismissive term “psycho,” Collins appropriates the concept of female hysteria and celebrates it with powerful and intense imagery of young women who have power even in their distressed state. her creation of these images is a collaborative process between Collins and her subjects. Collins works with a small group of women who take turns being photographed and acting as assistants holding lights, talking and contributing to the mood of the setting. 24 hour psycho was the outcome of these intense sessions. By today’s media standard, an “imperfect” or “shameful” image of a woman becomes a statement with much impact calling upon the viewer to re-think preconceived ideals of beauty, youth, feminism and equality.
Her project was inspired by an encounter her and her friend had where they saw a sign for a '24hr Psychic', but interpreted it as '24 Hour Psycho', and that is how that name developed and is the reason she also created a neon for the show. She thought it perfectly described the feeling of, and the perception of, being a young woman today.
Colllins said with her series she " wanted to create colourful, loud, almost sublime images of emotion". This is what inspired my first development for my practical response. I like How the Lights create a illusory authentic an I wanted to trying replicate this in my photographs.
First development
For my first development my focus was purely to try and replicate Petra Collins's work with portraits of my friend. I photographed these at my house so I was unsure how to get the variety of colours. However when taking the photos I put different coloured plastic folders over the flash when I took them. This created a wash of colour over the whole picture. This looked appealing with he photos but it didn't have the same feet as Petra collins's photos as she creates more than one colour in her photos.
WWW- I managed to create different colours for the photos without having much equipment.
EBI- My photos didn't resemble Collins's photos as much as I had hoped. Next time I should try in the studio with a bigger variety of gels too create more colours in the style of Petra Collins.
Formal elements -
EBI- My photos didn't resemble Collins's photos as much as I had hoped. Next time I should try in the studio with a bigger variety of gels too create more colours in the style of Petra Collins.
Formal elements -
Second development
For my second development I wanted to continue in attempting to replicate Petra Collins's photos in 24 hour psycho. SO i took photos of some of my classmates and held up gels over the lights. I did this in the studio so they looked more like collins's work. I attempted to get more colours in the photos so i asked people to hold different gels over the lights to try and achieve this effect. The different colours weren't as apparent as i had hoped and the more dominant colours, like red, were over powering. The photos also had a dark ambiance and i wanted to achieve a dreamier aesthetic pherhaps this was due to the warm toned lighting or the dark backdrop.
WWW- the colours in the photographs were very promenant and a main factor on the pictures.
EBI- The photos were too dark and also i didn't get the variety of colour that i was hoping for. Next time i will use a lighter background and also use photoshop more to edit the colour balance and therefore get a wider range of colours in the photos.
EBI- The photos were too dark and also i didn't get the variety of colour that i was hoping for. Next time i will use a lighter background and also use photoshop more to edit the colour balance and therefore get a wider range of colours in the photos.
Third development
When continuing to develop my work I wanted to attempt one more time to get my photos to have more colour and to reflect Petra collins's work. Therefore I asked some people to take portraits of them in the studio. There was a white background I asked people to hold up the gels against white lights. This time i chose more carefully what colours i would pair together so that certain colours didn't overpower other colours. And the use of a white backdrop helped to create a bright and dreamy aesthetic much like collins does in her portraits. These photos were much more successful than my other attempts and i managed to create bright glowing portraits. I also used photoshop to achieve this by adjusting the highlights and midtones in the colour balance in order for both colours to be more prominent and bright. I also increased the saturation so the pigment was more prominent. However i wanted to make sue that my photos had a subject matter. So after researching more about Petra Collins' work i found that her project 'the female gaze' shows teenagers struggling with everyday life. Her gaze is poetic without being cloying, her work is able to highlight the emotions that distinguish this particular period of life and the inevitable transition to adulthood. I like the idea of simple portraits having such meaning behind them and this is what i want to build on.
To also perfect my response to Petra Collins' work I researched the colour wheel to see which colours complimented each other and made the photographs aesthetically pleasing to the viewer. This is perhaps what made my portraits in this development more effective then my previous attempts. I found that colours that were opposite on the colour wheel worked well together.
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WWW- I loved the colour combinations in the photos and also the brightness and overall colour theme in the pictures. I also think they mirrored Petra Collin's work.
EBI- I could continue to use light to create different moods and for aesthetic and i could also consider different locations and times of day.
EBI- I could continue to use light to create different moods and for aesthetic and i could also consider different locations and times of day.
Fourth development
For my fourth development I wanted to take my photographs out of the studio and into a different location. Furthermore I decided to take pictures of a friend in her bedroom. This development links back to the work of Petra Collins, which I am inspired by, It inspires young women to celebrate how they live now and their agency in creating their image. I chose this specific location as there are many multicoloured lights in my friends bedroom. This development was conducted after I did some more research on Collins and the concept of 'bedroom culture'. Bedroom Culture was a subculture created by the feminist sociologists McRobbie and Garber (1976). They created the subculture as they were critical of the CCCS work for ignoring the role of females in subcultures. Using a similar aesthetic to Collins, I wanted to achieve a series of photos using the lighting to trial what looks attractive and that also reflects attributes of my subject. i wanted a mixture of candid photos and staged poses to create different moods and effects and also for some of the photos to appear as if taken under surveillance, a consensual idea of an "unseen photographer".
I found that the best lighting was the bright pinks and purples or yellows as the darker colours such as red and blue were too dominant and made the images too dark and overexposed. I was happy with the outcome of most of my photos. I thought that the aesthetic created the idea of secrecy, closeness and state of mind; I felt that the results reflected bedroom culture as a whole.
I found that the best lighting was the bright pinks and purples or yellows as the darker colours such as red and blue were too dominant and made the images too dark and overexposed. I was happy with the outcome of most of my photos. I thought that the aesthetic created the idea of secrecy, closeness and state of mind; I felt that the results reflected bedroom culture as a whole.
For my fifth development I wanted to continue to take my photos out of the studio and experiment with different locations and background lighting. Therefore i took photos of my sister in my garden at night and held a torch on each side of her face with different coloured gels over them. this created a darker and more mysterious authentic and gave a completely different feel to the pictures. I also increased the contrast in photoshop to make the photos more dramatic. I tried one photo with more of a background in which could have been more successful if the location was different and it was a more interesting background. Next time i will try using a tripod and taking my model to different locations where there are lots of light to continue with using light to create certain moods and tones within my photographs.
My sister is younger and i asked her about what struggles she had been experiencing in order to determine what colours i used. She told me about arguments with her friends at her new school. This gave me the idea to use the harsh colours blue and red to create an angry mood i also increased the contrast on my photos to create this effect.
My sister is younger and i asked her about what struggles she had been experiencing in order to determine what colours i used. She told me about arguments with her friends at her new school. This gave me the idea to use the harsh colours blue and red to create an angry mood i also increased the contrast on my photos to create this effect.
WWW- I really liked the end result of my pictures and the high contrast and harsh colours gave them ominous disposition and was a change from what i had been focussing on so far.
EBI- i went to different locations and considered different background for my photos in order to create different atmospheres.
EBI- i went to different locations and considered different background for my photos in order to create different atmospheres.
6th development
Edina Csoboth
Edina Csoboth is a well known Hungarian photographer who began her photography in 2006. After learning the basics she concentrated on portrait photography, then a year later had her first fashion shoot and began to think conceptually. Her aim is to have her ideas come through in a dynamic and colourful way. She works closely with model agencies, stylists and fashion designers. I was inspired by Her use of lighting and the dreamy effect it had on the model. However, it made me consider that maybe later on in my developments i could regard how what the model is wearing and how lighting effects the fashion in the photography as well.
Developing further I wanted to move away from basic portraits and consider location and to take more experimental portraits looking at the effects that different colours give my model, much like the colourful and vibrant photos that Edina Csoboth captures. In oder to do so I took the location into consideration and photographed my friend in an amusement arcade. I wanted to create photos that had a dreamy yet eerie aura. I took a tripod with me and attempted to capture a few long exposure photos with the model and background in focus. However, I found it difficult setting my aperture and shutter speed to give me the correct amount of light so some of my picture were out of focus. at first i was just looking at how the lighting effects the mood of the photo and the model so I was taking photos of the lights and how the looked when they projected onto my model. However, after looking at the photos I realised that I liked the photos were the use of lighting created a mysterious vibe even though the lighting may not have been as illuminated and sharp. For example, in the photograph below the use of the bleak lighting with the slightly blue hue creates a mysterious and almost ambiguous feel to the photo, almost like it could have a narrative. I liked this idea of creating a story behind my photos.
Much like Petra Collins's work i wanted a female model to be the main focus of my photos so i could explore the idea of the female gaze. One of the reasons Collins's work often features young women illuminated by bright beams of colour that make them seem both otherworldly and swathed in city lights, ready to live. This idea of adolescents ready to live excites me and made me want to continue taking photos of young women on their adventure of living.
Much like Petra Collins's work i wanted a female model to be the main focus of my photos so i could explore the idea of the female gaze. One of the reasons Collins's work often features young women illuminated by bright beams of colour that make them seem both otherworldly and swathed in city lights, ready to live. This idea of adolescents ready to live excites me and made me want to continue taking photos of young women on their adventure of living.
WWW- The change in location gave my pictures more depth and the strong female model enhanced the theme of the female gaze and women empowerment. The photos also had a mysterious vibe and all the different colours from the arcade made them interesting. Also not shooting in the studio and creating the colours gave the picture more of a candid look which enhaced the idea of a girls adventure through live and the fun years you experience in your youth.
EBI- Prioritised my aperture and shutter speed to get successful long exposure photos. Also if I continued shooting at different locations to continue the idea of a journey.
EBI- Prioritised my aperture and shutter speed to get successful long exposure photos. Also if I continued shooting at different locations to continue the idea of a journey.
7th development
Link Atrist- Wing Shya
Wing Shya is one of Asia's well known artists, with work including photography, graphic design and film. He has shot images of some of the region's top talent and collaborated with fashion houses, brands and magazines. In 1991 He found the medium's textures apt for capturing his home city's intoxicating environment and is known for his vivid, tender images from the golden era of Hong Kong cinema. When the photographer was inexperienced he showed up to set without a soundproof box for his camera and could only film in between takes because of the sound of shutter clicks. But the images offered a "different chemistry" between the lead actors, he said. "It (feels) like something is going to happen, but you don't know what's happening."
This idea of something about to happen but the uncertainty of what intrigued me and made me want to consider creating a narrative with my photos.
Another important aspect of Shya's photographs is the trial and error aspect. He will often shoot an entire rolls of film that were unfocused or riddled with technical errors. But it became part of his approach as an artist: "Things are only mistakes if you think they are." He thinks that creativity comes from going down the wrong path occasionally. This idea has been a large part of my project and development so far in trying to achieve the perfect images but I have realised that it is important to learn from mistakes and often use them in my work. I wanted to continue this idea when developing further and go to different locations to create the vision of different journey's through different sets of photographs whilst also benefitting from my mistakes and embellishing them.
When continuing to develop I wanted to pursue the idea of creating a narrative through my photographs by going to different locations in London. Therefore I started my journey by photographing one of my friends in China Town and Piccadilly circus. I was interested in capturing an idea of a journey through London at night. I also revisited the exhibition 'London Nights' at the museum of London for inspiration. This was an exhibition at the Museum of London that fused portraiture, documentary, conceptual photography and film capturing the life of the city after dark. A photographer in particular who inspired me was tick Turpin and his series 'On The Night Bus' in which He captured painterly portraits of London commuters on buses at night. These Portraits had very prominent colours and this inspired me to use lighting and colours to create certain moods within my photographs.
Nick Turpin's series 'On The Night Bus'
My Photos:
WWW- I managed to find places with interesting lighting to enhance to mood in my photos. For example, The bleak lighting in the underground was good for creating an eerie mood.
EBI- Get more of a variety of photographs so they aren't all portraits such as close ups or photos of the landscape or location.
EBI- Get more of a variety of photographs so they aren't all portraits such as close ups or photos of the landscape or location.
development 8
I wanted to continue my narrative idea and use different models to create a different journey for different people. Therefore I took a different friend to embankment and took photos by the river at night. I wanted to capture the vibrancy of the city. I also wanted to capture the different lights but it was a challenge to be able to capture the portrait in focus also with the lights. I therefore should have used a tripod so i could get long exposure photos. Despite this i managed my ISO well as it was dark in order for the photos to be clear and bright enough to see the portrait. I think I could make the concept more clear in my images perhaps by coming up with a narrative beforehand or maybe using a quote from a film, book ext. as inspiration. This could help me have a guide line and more of a motive when taking the photographs. I think the concept needs to be more clear and also I think it would be interesting to put the photos in more of a sequence for the look of a narrative. I liked the picture that had the model focussed with the lights in the background burred. I did this by using a small aperture in order to focus my friends face with the different coloured lights out of focus in the background.
WWW- The closeup photos of my model with an out of focus background came out the best and they had a focus on both the model and the setting despite the short depth of field as the lights in the background were vibrant and gave the photos more dynamic.
EBI- I took more portrait photographs with a short depth of field to get more of a consistency and theme within my series of pictures.
EBI- I took more portrait photographs with a short depth of field to get more of a consistency and theme within my series of pictures.
9th Development
My eighth development was purely about experimenting with effects and the final outcomes of my photos. I did this on photoshop by layering a section of the original images on top of the picture. I then changed the opacity and probed with the burning tool in Photoshop. This resulted in many outcomes and gave my images more variety. I used Nadav Kander as inspiration for this development and his portraits.
My Edits:
10th development
I stated to pursue the idea of a narrative and creating sequences of photographs. I took some photos that I has previously taken in central London and put them in a sequence to create the appearance of a narrated story. I wanted the lighting to be the main focal point of the photographs and I wanted it to create an mysterious mood. All the pictures I had for this sequence were portraits and all have a fairly similar concept and I think that it would be beneficial to mix it with other photos perhaps close ups and more attention to smaller details.
11:
Tracey Moffatt:
Tracey Moffatt is probably Australia’s most successful artists she's a filmmaker as well as photographer and has held around 100 solo exhibitions of her work in Europe, the United States and Australia. Over the last 25 years Moffatt has produced a cohesive body of work, from her celebrated 1989 series 'Something More' to the more recent 'Fourth', 2001. Each series devolves upon an unwritten narrative, a story is implied, but never stated. Part of her project is to dismantle the conventions of storytelling. At the same time, the power of her work derives from the persuasions of myth. Moffatt’s subjects touch on deep-seated, implacable issues, on the wounds that never heal such as childhood trauma. She uses a variety of narrative techniques, including text, collage, and set design.
I wanted to use this idea of story telling and make storyboards with series of photos that I had taken of my friend in different locations. I then grouped the different photos together to create the vision of an unclear story. However my narratives seemed too literal and I want to make them more abstract with the inspiration of Moffatt 'a story implied but never stated.' I also think that having a female model as the main focus of my storyboards links back to the beginning of my project about vulnerability of women's emotions and enforcing the viewer to experience the feelings with the subject.
After sorting the photos into sequencing I chose a subtle colour scheme for each one to give each a theme. I think this creates different moods for each set of pictures. As the lighting is such a main factor in my project i wanted it to be a major part in creating my stories. As the model i'm using has dark black hair i wanted her to almost blend into the setting with a sense of her disappearing into the night. This also links back to my earlier developments in which I was creating the illusion of a journey through the city at night. The dark colour palette gives my photos a mysterious mood.
I wanted to use this idea of story telling and make storyboards with series of photos that I had taken of my friend in different locations. I then grouped the different photos together to create the vision of an unclear story. However my narratives seemed too literal and I want to make them more abstract with the inspiration of Moffatt 'a story implied but never stated.' I also think that having a female model as the main focus of my storyboards links back to the beginning of my project about vulnerability of women's emotions and enforcing the viewer to experience the feelings with the subject.
After sorting the photos into sequencing I chose a subtle colour scheme for each one to give each a theme. I think this creates different moods for each set of pictures. As the lighting is such a main factor in my project i wanted it to be a major part in creating my stories. As the model i'm using has dark black hair i wanted her to almost blend into the setting with a sense of her disappearing into the night. This also links back to my earlier developments in which I was creating the illusion of a journey through the city at night. The dark colour palette gives my photos a mysterious mood.
The sequences I have done so far consist of purely portraits so i wanted there to be more of a variety of photos and to make my narratives more vague. I used the work of Barbara Probst an example of how to sequence images together far away shots showing a whole scene and then close up images within the frame. continuing to think about how a women is portrayed within the narrative. In her photo series' Barbara Probst not only plays with the changing perspectives and fleeting moments of urban life, he also poses fundamental questions about photography and imagery. The arrangement of her photographs is sophisticated that it creates intriguing dramaturgies that make reference to a variety of different genres in photography.
I like Probst's layout of her photos however she uses a mixture of black and white photos and coloured photos and In my project different lighting is a main focus and using lighting to create different moods and to help set the mood for the untold narrative i'm attempting to create.
I like Probst's layout of her photos however she uses a mixture of black and white photos and coloured photos and In my project different lighting is a main focus and using lighting to create different moods and to help set the mood for the untold narrative i'm attempting to create.
Final Piece
Film noir
Film noir photography is a Moody, dark and dramatic style by which I am very intrigued by. The French word "noir" translates to "black" or "dark," and film noir describes a style of filmmaking rather than an actual film genre. This dark and shadowy style of photography is the style I want to create with my final piece. I want to use the setting, lighting and shadows to create a dark and mysterious mood within my narrative. As well as the photos having this effect I also intend for the narrative itself to be mysterious. In order for me to take photos in the darkness i will need to prioritise my aperture and ISO when taking my photos in order for them to come out clear enough, therefore i'll set my ISO to the highest level and the fastest possible aperture to capture the photos successfully.
Rather than having a linear and literal response I want my narrative to be an unestablished and untold story by which the viewer almost has to work out that's why with my story board I am going to scatter the photos in a non constructed and straightforward order to create more mystery within the piece and almost like a conundrum for the viewer.
Rather than having a linear and literal response I want my narrative to be an unestablished and untold story by which the viewer almost has to work out that's why with my story board I am going to scatter the photos in a non constructed and straightforward order to create more mystery within the piece and almost like a conundrum for the viewer.
I like the idea of my model almost being immersed in the shadows and for the story to consist within the dark much like they're disappearing into the shadows. film noir has that signature high contrast look that is seen in many old black and white films. I am going use film noir as inspiration however differ from the style by having my photos in colour rather than black and white. In my sequence of photographs I will also have a specific colour palette by which all my photographs have in common. I think this creates a particular and consistent mood throughout my arrangements of photographs.