Ideas and plan for shoot three

After doing my second shoot, I am positive that I want to continue with photographing people in their working environment and trying to capture the way that people change, by what they're wearing as well as their personality and the way they act around others. I feel in my previous shoot that I began to show this quite well, as when I first asked to photograph the sales assisstants, their first reaction would be to smile - which could suggest the idea of putting on a 'mask' and acting friendly and happy towards myself or other customers. Although I didn't want my subjects to be smiling, the fact that they began to says something about the 'role' that they take on in their job, and proves the idea that I am trying to suggest.

For my next shoot, I plan to continue visiting shops and asking the sales assistants if I can take their photograph. I plan to try and shoot in landscape so that I can include more of the environment around them within the frame.

Shoot two evaluation

After choosing my final images that I am going to use from my second shoot, I have edited them all in photoshop to adjust the levels, curves and channel mixer to make them black and white as the project breif states. I much prefer the images in black and white as the colour was slightly distracting in some of the shots before as some brighter object stood out in the background and distracted the viewer from the subject.

Berts Homestore - edited and made B&W

For me, I think that this is possibly the strongest photograph out of the whole shoot, as you can see the most of the woman, and there arn't too many things distracting the viewer from her in the frame. I feel she stands out from her environment due to her dark uniform and hair whilst everything around her is a lighter shade. I also like the way that she breaks up the horizontal lines that run throughout the photo; behind her there are four selves and in front of her is the counter top and pile of tissue paper, all of which are running horizontally, whereas her upright posture stands vertically and in the way of this, breaking up the frame and again attracting more attention towards her. Although the woman has a slight smile on her face, I don't think that it is too much to affect the mood and atmosphere of the photograph, or give away too much about her character or thoughts.

Bakery - edited and made B&W

I really like the use of lighting in this photograph, as there were tungsten lights all around the subject on the shelves that the food was stacked on. I feel that it gives a slight 'angelic glow' about the woman and has some religious connotations. The horizontal lines created by the shelves direct the viewer's attention to the centre of the frame where I have positioned my subject, and force the viewer to notice the womans expression and perhaps wonder about her thoughts and feelings.

Samaritans charity shop - edited and made B&W

Shoot two

When planning for this shoot, it was difficult to know how many people exactly that I would be shooting, as it was possible that many people would reject having their photograph taken when I asked them. I planned to go to a small street of shops in Hove called George Street, as it had lots of possible shops/shop assistants that I could ask, and it isn't often very busy so it is more likely that I would get the shots that I wanted.

At first I began to approach shops that didn't have any customers in, so that the shop assistant wouldn't be distracted by something else, or concerned about how long it would take etc. As I approached each sales assistant I explained that I was a student taking photographs for an environmental portraiture project, however, many people that I approached didn't want to be photographed so I had to begin to ask other shops that were slightly busier. Those that agreed to have their photograph taken seemed a little nervous, but from my previous experience of taking photographs with strangers, I knew that I had to take control of the situation and I asked them to stand behind the counter with their hands infront of them. Most of my subjects began to smile at first, so I took a photograph of this then kindly asked if they would pull a blank expression for another photograph. For each person, I took around 4/5 photos to ensure that I had at least one where the subject wasn't blinking/smiling/looking away etc.

Contact sheet

This is my contact sheet from my second shoot which I created in photoshop by going to File - Automate - Contact sheet II - then chose the folder of images that I wanted to include. It has allowed me to view all of my photographs together and choose which ones I feel are the strongest and most suitable for possible final prints. I have chosen below a photograph from each shop/shop assistant that I feel was the strongest and I will later edit them on photoshop to adjust the levels, curves and channel mixer to make the images black and white.

Berts Homestore

Bakery

Samaritans charity shop

The lighting in each shop was reasonable, it seems inevitable that the lights were going to be quite bright to make the shop appear cleaner and more appealing to customers, so I didn't have to worry too much about using flash. I feel that if I did use flash at each location, it may have 'invaded' the space and connection between myself and the subject, as I had only just met them and didn't want to be too 'forward'; however, I like the realness about the images without using flash. As I discovered with many artists work, many of them do not use flash as it creates something 'artificial' in the image, and they only use ambient lighting, which is what I did with my photographs.

August Sander

As I have decided to focus my project towards photographing people in their working environment, I feel that German photographer, August Sander's work links to my project idea well. Sander really manages to capture the atmosphere within Germany post WW1, and just as Hitler was beginning to rise to power in the 1930's. 

Varnisher, Ca, 1930

Pastry Cook, 1928

Bricklayer, 1928

Although, in the images above, much of the subject's backgrounds are very minimal and empty, it is suggested by their working uniform and tools, as to what their job is without looking at the photograph's title. Their dirty clothes suggest hard work and labour and make it clear to the viewer which environment they 'belong' within.

Mary Ellen Mark

"I just think it's important to be direct and honest with people about why you're photographing them and what you're doing. After all, you are taking some of their soul, and I think you have to be clear about that." - Mary Ellen Mark

'Reality' is the key thing that I find most interesting about Mary Ellen Mark's work, and the way in which she conveys the truth about her subject. Similar to Bruce Davidson's style, her photographs look much like a social documentary genre, however, the suggestion of control over the scenarios that she captures, is shown by the use of eye contact from her subjects, and the clever use of composition that works so well. 

In her work, Mark has confronted many social issues such as homelessness, poverty, drug addiction and prostitution, some of which may be suggested in the images above. Again, I think it is the use of black and white with a high contrast in her work that gives it a real 'edge' and truth, suggesting that not everything is how it seems. Although these photographs are not located within the 'working environment' that I have chosen to study, I still find them inspiring as they manage to convey to the viewer a narrative about these people, and just by looking at them and into their eyes, we understand a little more about their thoughts and feelings.

Ideas and plan for shoot two

When the project was first set I had a number of ideas that I could possibly do for it, most of which involved going to London to visit and photograph people on an estate that I grew up on, which is now being knocked down. I wanted to present the idea of history and the personal change that I have gone through in my life. I wanted to photograph residents that still lived on the estate and their progression as they have been forced to move home from their flat on the Heygate Estate. However, this became difficult to do as more and more people were moving out of their flats everyday and many of which didn't have the time to be photographed. After a couple of weeks of planning for the shoot, some of the blocks on the estate began to get knocked down, so I therefore had to scrap my first initial idea as it was too much planning to find out who still lived on the estate, then to get in touch with those few people that still lived there and see if they would be willing to let me photograph them on days that would suit both them and myself.

I then began to think of ideas, and a topic that I feel very interested in is based much more around people in their working environment, more so than their personal environment. I want to explore the way that people 'change' within their working environment, not just by the way they look, if they have to wear a uniform etc, but also by the way they behave and act around others. A career such as prostitution perhaps has the best example, as many prostitutes change dramatically when they are 'at work', however, I want to explore careers that you see and here of everyday, rather than something such as prostitution. I am really interested in Brian Griffin and Lothar Wolleh's work and the way that they capture a worker and show their profession by their surroundings. After doing my first shoot of a woman working in fabric shop, I feel I want to explore a similar theme of shop workers and capture the way in which they change into a routine (or a Marxist would say 'machine') whilst at work.

Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2010

Whilst researching artists and contextual references for this project, I came across the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2010 that is currently being exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in London. The photographs shown in this exhibition relate to this project perfectly and are exactly the style and approach that I find inspiring and interesting. 

  Merel, by Clare Shilland

Huntress with Buck, by David Chancellor 2010

Chancellor comment on his photograph: "The contrast between the peace and tranquillity of the location, plus Josie's ethereal beauty and the dead buck, was what I wanted to explore. Here was a vulnerability and yet also a strength."

Wafa, by Felix Carpio 2010

I found there to be so much different variety and approach at the exhibition; each portrait captivated a different personality and told a different story about the person, their emotions and their lives. The compositions of most of the images seemed to be simple, but that was what made them so visually striking and interesting. Their environment told the viewer something about who they were or what they were doing, which I felt was important for the works as it tells a narrative about the subject and lets the viewer's imagination roam free. 

There were two main things that I began to notice whilst walking around the exhibition and looking at the work; firstly, was that in almost every photograph the subject wasn't smiling, they had a neutral/blank expression on their face. Secondly, a lot of the photographs were taken in natural daylight, without artificial flash lighting added. These two features have made me consider a lot of aspects regarding my own images. I feel that the photographs in the exhibition worked much better without the subject smiling - when someone smiles in a photograph, although it can sometimes tell you a bit about their character, it doesn't always leave the opportunity for the viewer's imagination to create it's own narrative about the person and their thoughts/feelings, and it somehow gives a sense of age about the image, as though it is slightly dated and 'stale'. However, most people's first instinct when you ask to take their photograph is to smile, so I feel that it is important for me to control this and direct my subject to adopt a pose how I want when I'm taking my photographs. I have also reconsidered using flash when taking my photographs for my second shoot. Although it will come in very useful in very poor lighting conditions, I am going to try and use as much natural daylight as possible when shooting my images. The non-use of flash in the photographs at the Taylor Wessing exhibition suggested a sense of purity and truth about the person and who they are, which is what I am to capture in my own work.

Flash techniques

It is difficult to predict what the lighting is going to be like in the environment that I plan to shoot in; natural lighting is very unreliable and can change every minute depending on the time of day, month and year. If the location is inside then it could be difficult to know how bright/dim the lights will be and the colour/kelvin that they will emit. It is therefore safest to take a flash on location with you, just to ensure that the lighting can be corrected if necessary. In one class with Andrew, we experimented with different types of lighting and flash that can be used on location if needed, as see the affects that each type gives so that we can ensure if flash lighting will be suitable for the style of work we are going for. 

Taken using ring flash

Ring flash:

For this setup, we used the studio backdrop to create a plain white background, which shows the affects of the shadow that this type of flash creates - an outlined shadow of the shape of the subject. We didn't use any studio lights, such as flash heads, for this exercise, only the tungsten ceiling lights and the ring flash. The ring flash is designed to fit circularly around the lens on the camera, and gives a very even light over the subject, with minimal shadows. This type of flash is often used for fashion and macro photography.

Taken using fill-in flash on -1 stop setting

Using a flashgun:

Flash guns are often used on top of the camera on the hot shoe, however, that can also be used off-camera axis to create different effects. They often have a tilting and rotating flash head which enables you to direct the light at your desired angle. Flashguns range in their output, and their output is indicated by the guide number of flash gun - the larger the guide number, the more powerful the flash output. The main 'rule' when working out which aperture to use with your flash gun is: guide number / distance (in meters) = f stop. This tells you the maximum aperture that is achievable (to create a correctly exposed image) with your given flashgun and distance away from subject. 

Fill-in flash:

A fill-in flash is often created by using a flashgun, placed on top of the camera on the hot shoe. It is often used in wedding photography to fill in the shadows created by ambient light, so that detail in the face/subject is much clearer and shadows are less-harsh. A light-meter reading is taken from the ambient light over the subject, and then the power coming from the flashgun can be lowered so that there is less light coming from the flashgun than there is from the ambient lighting. In the picture above, we setup the studio with tungsten lights to create a similar lighting affect to sunlight; harsh shadows were created by the light which we filled in using the flashgun on a -3, -2 and -1 stop(s) setting, which gave out less light than the 'sun' (tungsten light). 

1-1 flash: 

When a flashgun is used along with ambient light, the settings can be adjusted to make the flash less/equally/more powerful than the ambient light; 1-1 flash is when the flashgun is equally as powerful as the ambient light. A light-meter reading is taken from the ambient light, and then the flash gun is set so that it is on the same f/stop as the ambient light. This makes colours appear more vibrant and bold and photographers such as Martin Parr use this affect.

Taken using day-to-night flash on +2 stops setting

Day-to-night flash:

To create day-to-night flash, a light meter reading must be taken of the ambient light over the subject. The flashgun is then adjusted so that it is more powerful than the ambient light and overpowers the light to create lighting that appears to look like nighttime. In the picture above, we went outside on an overcast cloudy day and setup the flashgun so that it was +2 stops more powerful than the natural daylight. E.g. ambient light = f/8, so stopped up +2 stops to f/16 on flashgun and camera (for metz 45 flashgun)

Taken using strobe flash for 1 second on 5 Hz

Strobe flash:

For this setup we used the studio space and turned off all of the lights so that the room was completely black with no light. We then used a Canon Speedlite 580ex II flashgun, and set the mode to 'Multi', a fraction then appeared on the screen of the flashgun and we then changed it to 1/32 and pressed 'Set' - this meant that the power of the flash (guide number) will now be firing at 1/32 of it's full potential. We then changed the Hz to 5 - this meant that the flash would fire 5 times to every 1 second. We then set our camera's shutterspeed to 1 second, so that the flash would only fire 5x, and took a photograph with our subjects moving about to show the strobe affect. 

Taken using flash blur

Flash blur:

To create flash blur, firstly a light meter reading must be taken of the ambient light, in the image above for example the reading was f/8 and 1/4 shutter speed. The camera is then set to these settings and the flash is set to -1 stop, f/5.6. When the photograph is taken any movement will be recorded as a blur by the slow shutter speed, however, a frozen image will also appear as the flash has captured it too. 

This flash exercise has given me an insight into the different kind of flash styles and effects that I can create on location. Although the flash blur and strobe flash give great affects, I feel they may be slightly unnecessary for this project, and I feel something such as fill-in flash may be more appropriate for the conditions that I may be in if it is needed. 

Alec Soth

It is the sense of distance that I find most interesting about Soth's work; there seems to be an almost barrier between the subject and us the viewer, and it is hard to tell the subject's thoughts and emotions, which I find makes the images even more captivating. Soth includes certain details within his photographs that begin to suggest something about his subjects; they appear to seem comfortable and familiar in their environment, yet their blank, emotionless stare suggests nothing about the way they feel towards it, and perhaps begins to let the viewer's imagination roam free, and create a narrative as to what the situation may be for these people.  

Charles, Vasa, Minnesota, 2002, Sleeping by the Mississippi

Florence, Paris/Minnesota

2007, Broken Manual

What I like most about these photographs and most of Soth's work, is the way in which the viewer can create their own narrative and story about these people and what they are doing, as a lot of the information hasn't been given to us in the image; this idea of narrative is something that I want to try and capture within my own photographs, by trying not to give away too much about the people, their environment or their lives.

Bruce Davidson - East 100th street

Magnum photographer Bruce Davidson is most notably known for his work on New York's Harlem, and photographing a series that he titled East 100th Street. The series was a two year documentation of an infamous block in East Harlem, in which he photographed the urban living of many families in the American ghetto. The photographs look very similar to the social documentary genre of photography, but what makes them Environmental Portraiture is Davidson's careful set up of composition, lighting and posing of the subjects, and the way in which he has totally controlled and set up each photograph in a way in which it appears to be documentary.

These emotional photographs truly venture into the lives of the families and their everyday issues of poverty, drug abuse, crime and abandonment. I particularly admire the way that Davidson notices small, intricate details within the image, and isn't afraid of overcrowding the frame with details of their lives. Davidson's images appear to have a lot of contrast between the black and white shades which exaggerate the shadows and highlights and compliment his subject matter well; this contrasting affect is something that I would like to achieve with my own work in upcoming shoots for this project.

Shoot one

To get started with taking photographs of people that we didn't know for this project, our class went out for a couple of hours in the afternoon, asking strangers in shops, cafes, libraries, and in the streets of our local area if we could take their photograph. I found it difficult to approach people that I didn't know at first, however, after asking a few people it began to get easier. Many of us got a few rejections from people that didn't want to be photographed but overall, most were friendly and willing.

I chose to go into a fabric shop for this induction, as I liked the way all of the rolls of fabric were arranged behind the woman inside. I explained that I was a student photographing local people for my project and she seemed happy to have her portrait taken, although she appeared to be quite busy and in a bit of a rush. The lady stayed behind the desk in shop and carried on rolling up the fabric in front of her, whilst glancing up at me to have her picture taken. I think that the way her arms are positioned out in front of her works well, and the eye contact shows a connection between myself and the subject.

Original image

Changed to black and white

Although it is almost impossible to know who you are going to be photographing and how people will react to you taking photographs, I think it is important to know what you want your subject to be doing/standing/looking like, so that you can direct them and put them at ease. I feel that this experience has helped me a lot with how to approach people/what approach works best and what doesn't, how to control the situation and direct the subject, and perhaps prepare for different lighting conditions, as some locations may be darker than others and fill flash etc may be needed. 

Isambard Kingdom Brunel

Isambard Kingdom Brunel, 1857, by Robert Howlett

I feel this photograph is very important for the research of this project, as it is believed to be the first environmental portrait ever taken, back in 1857 by Robert Howlett. The photograph shows the British engineer Brunel standing in front of the large launching chains of his ship, the Great Eastern.

Denotations:

• Brunel wears suit but with dirty marks all over
• Dirty hard working boots
• Wears a cravat and top hat with waistcoat and pocket watch
• Smoking a cigar
• Standing in front of large chains
• Industrial location
• Hands in pockets
• Looking away from the camera with blank expression

Connotations:

• The idea that Brunel is wearing a suit suggests wealth and class, as in the 1850's only those with money could afford to wear a suit everyday - the fact that the suit is dirty and boots however, suggests hard working labourer involved in his business of work
• The cravat, waistcoat and top hat further suggest that Brunel is wealthy, as he can afford to dress smartly and get his clothes dirty as well - the pocket watch also implies wealth and could also suggest the idea of punctuality 
• Cigars were also expensive in the 1850's, and only smoked by those that could afford them - again idea of wealth
• The industrial location emphasises Brunel's involvement with his engineering, and perhaps also suggests that he has had to work his way up in his career from the lower class to become wealthy - as we know the large chains behind him belong to his ship the Great Eastern, and the fact that Brunel is standing in front of them may suggest pride and again involvement within his work
• By placing his hands in his pockets, Brunel doesn't seem at ease or happy about his photograph being taken, and appears slightly awkward/in a rush.
• Looking away from the camera, Brunel again appears to be slightly frustrated/annoyed about his photograph being taken. No eye contact can suggest unconfident and creates a barrier between the photographer and the subject, as no connection or confrontation is being made between them - suggests he has better things to do and gives as sense of distance

The repetitive background of the image makes Brunel stand out within the frame, as he is central and breaks up the pattern of the chains. His personality is shown quite well in this image, and he shows a kind of arrogance about him by the way his is standing and looking away from the camera. In the 1850's the shutter speeds on a camera would be very long and slow, and this photograph would of taken longer than 1 minute to take, therefore we see Brunel's impatience and eagerness to get back into his work and engineering as he would of had to pose for so long. 

Lothar Wolleh

Lothar Wolleh was a well known environmental photographer, who took photographs of over 100 painters, sculptors and performance artists until the late sixties. Shooting on a medium format 6x6 frame, Wolleh's photographs nearly always adopted a symmetrical composition creating an equally balanced image with his subject positioned in the centre of the image, creating directional lines towards them and directing the viewer's attention on the person.  

Jacques Mahé de la Villaglé, 1971

René Magritte, 1967

Man Ray, 1967

Wolleh often positions his sitters in an environment that is related to them, their personality or their profession, and he sometimes uses comical props or certain compositions to elaborate on this link between the subject and their environment. The photograph above of Magritte which is simple yet very striking, shows this idea of linking the two; Wolleh has purposely dressed the artist in a matching suit to that which is shown in his painting and he is positioned in a way that somehow looks as though he belongs in the artwork, and has perhaps just stepped out of it. 

Brian Griffin

British Photographer, Brian Griffin has worked on a number of series that involve photographing the labour worker. In his series St. Pancras he was commissioned by London and Continental railways to produce a body of work featuring approximately 165 subjects that all have involvement with the building of the St.Pancras rail station.



St. Pancras

The portraits each show the person within their working environment, suggesting the title of their job by their clothing, belongings and sometimes surroundings. Griffin also juxtaposes his images, placing the workers within surroundings that symbolise religious and heroic figures.

Griffin also worked extensively for Rosehaugh Stanhope, photographing the construction of Broadgate in the city of London, after which he was commissioned to photograph a subject of his choice that was also involved in the construction. He chose to photograph the labour workers that helped in the building of Broadgate, as at the time Griffin was still mourning the loss of his father who died due to industrial pollution. This attachment that Griffin had to the workers led him to photographing them in a very symbollic composition, not unlike "a Knight lying in state in some cathedral."

Workers

These photographs hold many connotations of death and sacrifice by the use of the composition, and purposely making the workers lay down with their eyes closed. This positioning was often used in many traditional historical works such as Jacques-Louis David's painting named The Death of Marat, and also in photography such as Henry Peach Robinson's Fading Away; however, the historical element is challenged as Griffin chooses to photograph industrialism and uses objects in his images that connote an urban living. 

The use of the gun in the above picture has many connotations, most notably death, and the juxtaposition that Griffin uses with the composition and pose of the model challenges the idea of the "Knight laying in state in some cathedral." 

Environmental Portraiture - Project breif

• Photographing people in their contextual location to portray an essense and/or knowledge of them
• The person/persons that you choose to photograph should be reletively unknown to you, providing an opportunity to work with people that you are unfamiliar with in their environment
• Photographs should be black and white (film and/or digital) - can be shot in colour and converted to black and white using Photoshop afterwards
• Make 6 final prints, with contact sheets for each shoot

 Units included in this project:

• Unit 4: Visual Communication in Art & Design
• Unit 31: Specialist Location Photography