shoot 7

shoot 7

Plans for shoot

for this shoot, i am going to be taking portraits of some different people in the photography studio. these photos are going to be edited using photoshop in the style of Film Noire from the 1950's era after the war. this style typically consists of dramatic lighting and strong shadows to distort or add contour to a persons face/shape. this was to represent the feeling of mystery and uncertainty that America felt after the war, as there was still a lot of suspicion surrounding spies and secrets.

research influence

my influence for this shoot is a photographer called Erik Valind. He is a free lance photographer working in New York. he specialises in commercial lifestyle photography and environmental portraiture. he mainly photographs people in different environments, and creates sharp and bright images of a high quality. 

in this image, there is a woman posed looking over her shoulder, directly at the camera. there looks as though there are at least two different light sources directed at her, one with more of a yellowish tone compared to the other, which has more of a green/blue hue. this is effective as it combines cold and warm colours, which draws the viewer's eye to different parts of the image. the use of blue light could be a play on words from the saying 'given the cold shoulder'. the model's facial expression looks as someone had called her name to get her attention. the body language combined with the facial expression and lighting gives the viewer the impression contempt, as if she has reluctantly given you her attention.

similar to the image above, this photo shows a woman looking over her shoulder, straight at the camera. this is interesting because in this photo, the tone is completely different. for example, the photo was taken in black and white, and the model's face looks more sorrowful compared to the woman above, who looks almost disinterested. the photographer could've ashed the model to look at the camera this way to make it more dramatic and almost melancholy. this is something id like to recreate in my shoot.

contact sheets

best images

final project evaluation

final project evaluation

for this project, my aim was to highlight the importance and potential of shadows in relation to photography, and how they can be used creatively as a subject, or to enhance the image itself and add contrast. the shoots that were the most successful for this project were shoots 1, where i used a paper model of a horse and carriage, shoot 5, involving harsh shadows in the style of 1950's Noire photography, and shoot 6, with the animated GIF. these were successful because the effects i wanted to achieve with the techniques i used worked quite well, for example the harsh light on the paper carriage created elongated shadows that were quite sinister.

to select my final portfolio, i chose the images based on the ones that i found the most interesting and successful from the shoots and editing. i did this because i wanted to showcase my best work, and what id be most proud of to see on display. 

mindmap

personal project image bank