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:

Conclusion - Photoshoot 30/04/11

The photo shoot itself went, in my opinion, extremely well. Before i went into the studio i had an idea of what i wanted and the image i wanted were mainly head and shoulder shots with an on camera crop. The lighting i had in mind was high key initially and then depending on the model adjusted to suit but as the model had blond hair the bright lights worked well with her.

The un-edited Shortlist from the first half are as follows:

I like the way the light casts shadows over the models face which adds texture and when editing i can enhance this with tools in photo shop. the cropped look also works well with the model looking off camera, it adds mystery to the image.

This is the light setup for the above images.

The second half of the day we moved the lights around and gave the images a more subdued lighting effect which, in turn, gave the images a more relaxed feel. The composition was the same as the above images and i was looking for a more cropped image but i was hoping for a full length shot of the model but as we were working as a group i had to make some compromise. The shortlisted unedited images are as followes:

 The lighting in these images give them a more subdued feeling with soft texture. Although the composition is pretty much the same as the first set, they look and feel completely different because of the lighting. My next step is to edit these in photo shop to enhance the natural feeling.

The lighting set up for the above images.

Ideas for 30th April Model Shoot.

Rob has kindly booked a model for all students to use in the studio, This will be my 2nd studio session for portraits and as the studio will be set up for high key head shots in the first half its an ideal opportunity to work with a professional model. I have put together some images that show the look that i intend to produce.

For the first half:

In the second half we intend to adjust the lights to create positive shadows.

I will be using the studio camera mainly as it can produce more high quality images and is more compatible with the studio lighting. I will use my own to capture the layout of the equipment.

Edward Weston - Still life Research

Whilst Researching Irving Penn Bing suggested that i look at Edward Weston. Upon looking at some of his images i was Drawn to his unusual flair for still life imagery. He was born in 1886 and the first images he captured were of the local parks and his aunts farm in Chicago with a bulls eye #2 camera that his father got him for his 16th birthday. He then moved to California briefly working as a surveyor and going door to door for every opportunity to build onto his photography career, photographing children, pets and funerals. saying this though, its more of his still life imagery that I'm more interested in;

When you search for Edward Weston this image will more than likely be the one that pops up in the search engine, Called simply Pepper this image is dated 1930. I admire the shapes that contour the pepper and the way its reflecting the light in a soft flowing texture, the composition is simple but effective and the pepper almost looks intimate like a couple embracing. The main focal point is the pepper but the top half is where you are drawn to even though the pepper is in the full frame.

Another Vegetable image but this time a different perspective. The choice of using black and white for this image is great because it make this onion look deceptive. The way this is composed gives an accurate look at how this grows both above and below the ground, The shape of the stem curves and almost looks like a flower coming from a seed whilst being soft, but the onion is rough and crinkled which gives this image texture and interesting patterns. I would say that this is lit with at least one light which is focused on the lower half as the light graduated into shadow as you look up the image.

The above two images i find interesting in two different ways, The cabbage leaf has a great texture and shapes within it but still has a soft feel to it, The lighting is probably from above and focused on the back as the light graduates as it reaches the front of the image. I especially like the composition and how he has chosen to just capture the one leaf rather than the whole vegetable. The top image shows obvious use of the rule of thirds. All 3 vegetables are in focus and my eye is drawn to the top half of the image even though this is the part of the image that has more shadow, This image makes me thing of trees and forests which i think is the whole composition.

Not only has he used vegetables in his still life work he has used flowers, which are common for still life artists. The top image is full frame with all four roses in full focus. The original colour of the roses could possibly be white as they are quite a dominant lightness within the edit. The natural shapes of the roses give texture to the images as a whole and the lighting is soft and subdued with almost no shadow which tells me it was caught in natural light. The second image is again black and white but for saying this type of flower is naturally bright and colourful, he has managed to retain the elegance of the flower itself. i like how this is two images of the same flower but from two perspectives, the main focal point of one is the shadow of the stamen and in the other its the actual stamen that is the main focal point. 

Without looking at a description of this image its quite confusing due to the composition. This is a shell but in an unusual perspective. The shapes within this image are flowing and natural where as the colour is again black and white. this is probably lit from the front again and with only one light.

The pepper image is a little different from all of the others because this time its lit from the side and the shadow is cast over the second half of the image, in doing this Edward has highlighted the shapes and texture of the pepper. The top image has also been lit from the side although its a lighter image which suggests that more than one light has been used. It has great use of colour even though its black and white you can still imagine the light and dark green tones.

This final image is completely different from all of the above images and it shows the pepper to be bright and loud, the hand coming from the soil is a little bit creepy but works well to put full focus on the pepper itself.