The theme given to me for my images was 'identity', which I adapted into the identity of specific sub-cultures as their misrepresentation in the media is a subject matter I believe needs to be addressed. It allowed me to play with a lot of colours and textures because of the different clothing my models would need to wear for each shoot. As it was focused on people instead of locations or objects I got to play around with depth and focus to see what would better emphasise the emotional state of my models; even the lighting had the ability to accentuate the connotations of the theme.
Some of my early photo-shoots were mainly about me finding models and testing out different poses they could use as well as having a chance to play with the settings on my camera to see what would work best for my chosen subject matter. I wanted to focus on using the rule of thirds in my images as it makes an image more visually appealing because there are more focal points that the eye is drawn to. As well as this I used angles to try and show more of my model's surroundings so that the depth of the images was highlighted and I could talk more about the connotations of that stereotype's relatationship to their surroundings- for instance the stereotypical chav in the Winter Gardens.
Each location pictured is important because of its relation to the person being photographed as it helps identify an aspect of their identity. In some of the pictures I have changed their appearance to enhance the meaning: making the graveyard monochrome in one of the gothic images helped show the general mood of a graveyard and how the actual 'Goth' character stood out from that. I did a similar edit with the chav as solarizing the background and outlining Alex showed a distinction between him and the habitat he is photographed in. These alterations were made in Photoshop- I even used effects such as pontilize (used in the portrait photograph of a stereotypical Hipster) when wanting to dramatically change my images. My final pictures became a split between realistic and abstract, using whatever methods I could to show the gap between the stigma of the stereotypes and their true personalities. The more realistic final images (such as Alex sat in the Winter Gardens or Kayla pictured against the white wall) already had a lot of connotations relating to the identity of the stereotype so I felt it was un-necessary to add more to the images as the simplicity of them told a story of its own. Whereas with the other photos (such as those of Brad in the graveyard or in the Peace Gardens) I needed to edit them in order to show I was trying to create a distinction between him and his surroundings instead of endorsing the stereotype.
During this project I studied photographers: Martin Parr, Jürgen Teller, Duncan Philpott, Tommy Ton and Silvia Olsen. Teller, Ton and Olsen were all fashion photographers so I studied them in order to see what aspects different photographers thought were important when capturing fashion sub-cultures. With my images I was simultaneously trying to focus on the expression of my subjects as well as their attire so not all of the pictures had as much opportunity to focus solely on the sub-cultures style. I took several body shots that were quite similar in style to Olsen's work as they were simplistic but managed to easily define a particular sub-culture. Whereas with Tommy Ton's and Jürgen Teller's pictures they aided me in deciding to experiment more with the postures of my models- Teller's work even persuaded me to try using the flash in some of my pictures to create a more saturated effect. On the other hand, Martin Parr and Duncan Philpott were very different photographers. Martin Parr's works seems to study people and their relationship to typically British environments (my models relationship to their habitat was something I did try to explore in my photographs) which related more to the final images I was hoping to achieve. However, Philpott's type of adventure photography was not where I decided I wanted to take my own work; but he did inspire me to pay attention to the finer details where I could and also create interesting juxtapositions with textures.
I used multiple photographic techniques in my work from getting my images to adhere to the rule of thirds to experimenting with high and low angles to emphasise different connotations. Learning all these techniques will make me consider how I use them more carefully in the future and maybe try to include more intriguing techniques such as leading lines. I discovered that including these techniques does genuinely effect the visual appeal of a photograph, even if it just allows me to show off more of the environment and it's depth. Some techniques were more successful than others- for instance the images of Kayla by the Peace Gardens where I tried to focus on her expression did not work as well as the full body shots. A similar issue was presented with the editing, I ended up preferring the images that went through fewer alterations and looked more natural although I believed the more eleborate edits- such as pointilizing the picture of Kayla or using colour filters over the picture of Bradley in a graveyard- certainly added more interest to the photographs.
The images I took relate to the theme of identity by showing specific sub-cultures and how they use their clothes to express themselves. I even went so far as to explore that sub-culture's relationship to society and their association with the stigma they have been dubbed with. I think my final images really managed to explore the themes I set out to traverse; simply by placing my models in different locations I was able to allow them to break away from an aspect of their stereotype e.g. showing the Chav in the Winter Gardens defied the stereotype of chavs only hanging around dingy spots such as parks and pubs.
Whilst completing this topic I have learned a lot about different photographic techniques and how I can apply them in my own work. I have discovered new techniques such as: the rule of thirds, leading lines, centre of interest and framing. I have even begun stylising my photos to particular genres- I believe any image that creates a narrative is particularly intriguing as it allows the viewer not only the chance to look at an appealing image but also to take something away from it whether it be a new thought or idea. With my final images for this topic I mainly took the time to work on testing out different angles and incorporating the rule of thirds, as well as making my subject's face the centre of interest. All these different elements aided in emphasising the themes of my topic.
Some of my early photo-shoots were mainly about me finding models and testing out different poses they could use as well as having a chance to play with the settings on my camera to see what would work best for my chosen subject matter. I wanted to focus on using the rule of thirds in my images as it makes an image more visually appealing because there are more focal points that the eye is drawn to. As well as this I used angles to try and show more of my model's surroundings so that the depth of the images was highlighted and I could talk more about the connotations of that stereotype's relatationship to their surroundings- for instance the stereotypical chav in the Winter Gardens.
Each location pictured is important because of its relation to the person being photographed as it helps identify an aspect of their identity. In some of the pictures I have changed their appearance to enhance the meaning: making the graveyard monochrome in one of the gothic images helped show the general mood of a graveyard and how the actual 'Goth' character stood out from that. I did a similar edit with the chav as solarizing the background and outlining Alex showed a distinction between him and the habitat he is photographed in. These alterations were made in Photoshop- I even used effects such as pontilize (used in the portrait photograph of a stereotypical Hipster) when wanting to dramatically change my images. My final pictures became a split between realistic and abstract, using whatever methods I could to show the gap between the stigma of the stereotypes and their true personalities. The more realistic final images (such as Alex sat in the Winter Gardens or Kayla pictured against the white wall) already had a lot of connotations relating to the identity of the stereotype so I felt it was un-necessary to add more to the images as the simplicity of them told a story of its own. Whereas with the other photos (such as those of Brad in the graveyard or in the Peace Gardens) I needed to edit them in order to show I was trying to create a distinction between him and his surroundings instead of endorsing the stereotype.
During this project I studied photographers: Martin Parr, Jürgen Teller, Duncan Philpott, Tommy Ton and Silvia Olsen. Teller, Ton and Olsen were all fashion photographers so I studied them in order to see what aspects different photographers thought were important when capturing fashion sub-cultures. With my images I was simultaneously trying to focus on the expression of my subjects as well as their attire so not all of the pictures had as much opportunity to focus solely on the sub-cultures style. I took several body shots that were quite similar in style to Olsen's work as they were simplistic but managed to easily define a particular sub-culture. Whereas with Tommy Ton's and Jürgen Teller's pictures they aided me in deciding to experiment more with the postures of my models- Teller's work even persuaded me to try using the flash in some of my pictures to create a more saturated effect. On the other hand, Martin Parr and Duncan Philpott were very different photographers. Martin Parr's works seems to study people and their relationship to typically British environments (my models relationship to their habitat was something I did try to explore in my photographs) which related more to the final images I was hoping to achieve. However, Philpott's type of adventure photography was not where I decided I wanted to take my own work; but he did inspire me to pay attention to the finer details where I could and also create interesting juxtapositions with textures.
I used multiple photographic techniques in my work from getting my images to adhere to the rule of thirds to experimenting with high and low angles to emphasise different connotations. Learning all these techniques will make me consider how I use them more carefully in the future and maybe try to include more intriguing techniques such as leading lines. I discovered that including these techniques does genuinely effect the visual appeal of a photograph, even if it just allows me to show off more of the environment and it's depth. Some techniques were more successful than others- for instance the images of Kayla by the Peace Gardens where I tried to focus on her expression did not work as well as the full body shots. A similar issue was presented with the editing, I ended up preferring the images that went through fewer alterations and looked more natural although I believed the more eleborate edits- such as pointilizing the picture of Kayla or using colour filters over the picture of Bradley in a graveyard- certainly added more interest to the photographs.
The images I took relate to the theme of identity by showing specific sub-cultures and how they use their clothes to express themselves. I even went so far as to explore that sub-culture's relationship to society and their association with the stigma they have been dubbed with. I think my final images really managed to explore the themes I set out to traverse; simply by placing my models in different locations I was able to allow them to break away from an aspect of their stereotype e.g. showing the Chav in the Winter Gardens defied the stereotype of chavs only hanging around dingy spots such as parks and pubs.
Whilst completing this topic I have learned a lot about different photographic techniques and how I can apply them in my own work. I have discovered new techniques such as: the rule of thirds, leading lines, centre of interest and framing. I have even begun stylising my photos to particular genres- I believe any image that creates a narrative is particularly intriguing as it allows the viewer not only the chance to look at an appealing image but also to take something away from it whether it be a new thought or idea. With my final images for this topic I mainly took the time to work on testing out different angles and incorporating the rule of thirds, as well as making my subject's face the centre of interest. All these different elements aided in emphasising the themes of my topic.
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