Shortlist for final 10 Portraits

this is the 17 images i have chosen to further shortlist.

Imogen Cunningham - Still life research

Born in the late 1800s Imogen is one of the most iconic photographers of her time. She has created some amazing work in the photography world including portraits and still life.

These two images of Lily's at a glance look similar but the are simply just a different perspective of the same thing. The use of lighting added to the simplicity of the flower creates an almost smokey appearance of the second image but the first image displays the beauty of the large petal and the shape that the lily is famed for. The black and white tones give the shadows more depth and enhance the bright pleasant colour and the curve that the petal makes.

The above image is visually pleasing and the way the petals frame the center of the flower highlights how unusual the shapes are on the stamen (not sure that's right on this particular flower). Again the black and white tones have been used but I'm guessing that to do with how old the image is.

By using Lily's, Imogen has captured some interesting shapes and the way the second image has been composed highlights this. She has opted for an in camera crop to accentuate the curves in the flower. The first image shows the dramatic change in tones from a white flower and coloured flower when the black and white effect has been used. 

With this image you can instantly tell that its more of a modern image than the others i have researched, The use of colour gives this flower a warm feel and the complex petals add to the interesting shapes. The composition is simple where its a birds eye shot but works brilliantly. 

These last two images are different to the flower images and her intention in my opinion is to capture the unusual shapes and lines that reflect off the subject.

Edward Weston: The Photographer (1948)

Conclusion For Photoshoot 7th May

This weeks shoot went extremely well! I'm more than happy with the shoot and now Ive been in the studio a couple of times i have a little added confidence. The advantage i had in this shoot was that i knew the model and she is no stranger to the studio, that said, i cant deny how pleased i am with the results! I'm currently processing the images in photo shop but I'm going to include the shortlist from the shoot, and i use the word 'shortlist' lightly.

Research - Portraits - Michael Williams

Michael Williams is an iconic photographer from just outside Manchester and is famed for Creating images of Bands and Artists in the music industry. His most accomplished work was with La Roux and Pixie Lott. I have chosen to research some of his images because they are creative and very modern.

The two/four images above show 2 different compositons for each artist. I like the way that he portrays two different emotions with the same model by just adjusting the positioning. The first image hints that the light was positioned near the camera as the shadow of the model falls just behind her. The second one may have been positioned just to the right of the camera where the model is looking. The background in the second image has interesting shapes and match the artests personality.

The above three images are of the same artist but have four significant compositions and three different and interesing edits. The individuality of this artest really comes out in these images and Michael has really cleaverly inhanced this with the editing of the secong image. You eye is drawn, naturally, to the models face and her expression is stone like, this gives the images an added emotion of almost haterid.

Eventhough im doing studio portraits, these images interest me and make me think how i can create this in the studio using different equipment. The framing of the first image puts the model in the center of the image with a look of antisipation. I like the composition and the nightclub like feel of this image. The second image is almost peeping tom like and sultry. The lighting is simple and the doors frame the model perfectly.

The two images above go together where the top image is the band in a typical album cover shot and the instruments are aligned below. The four models each have a different look and sence of individuality eventhough they are wearing almost the same clothes. The composition hints that the lead singer is the model at the front. The editing has been toned down to give a cold feel.

Planning for Photoshoot - 7th May

Im slightly conserned that i wont get much out of this shoot because my model has to shoot off early but we will try our best and i know what i want out of this session. I want a Mid - Low key fashion image of just head and shoulders. I have some examples prepaired: