To Advance
First Studio Shoot
After being introduced to the To Advance unit in week 1, we were straight in the studio in week 2. We were put in pairs and had to shoot one hero image that crops to A4 as a portrait and landscape format. As well as shooting we would be assisting our partners on their shoots - I will go into more detail about my experience as an assistant and working with an assistant towards the end of this post
While we got to choose the subject for our shoot we were limited to portraiture, fashion, still life and sports. At the start of this term I really wasn’t too sure what my area of specialism was or what type of photography I was interested in pursuing - because of this I tried to keep an open mind when planning my first shoot
We were using Phase One cameras in the studio and I’d only used them very briefly in the past. This helped me decide to shoot still life as it would give me a good opportunity to get familiar with the camera without having to worry about dealing with things like directing models, hair & makeup and wardrobe etc - I could set up my subject and then focus on shooting and learning how to use the camera
I did some research into still life photography to try and find some inspiration and became particularly interested in shooting shoes - below are some images I came across:
Some images of shoes I came across during my initial research
I looked into general product photography as well. I really liked the idea of using a fairly restricted colour palette in my shoot, I felt as though this would allow me to create quite a modern feel and also ensure that the shoes would be the focus of the image (there wouldn't be lots of different colourful elements to distract the viewer's eye)
Examples of monochromatic product photography that inspired my shoot
Sara Morris
Further research led me to the work of Sara Morris - a still life photographer based in London. Her images embody the kind of sleek, modern, very aesthetic look that I wanted to capture in my hero image.
Sara's previous clients include Apple, Cadbury, IKEA, KFC and Waitrose. I'm a big fan of the simplicity of her images as well as the soft, natural lighting - this definitely inspired my lighting set up for my shoot.
I was slightly worried about my images being a little bit lacklustre so thought about how I could introduce new elements into them. One idea I had was to include a mirror/ mirrors to show things from a different perspective
Still life photography using mirrors
The shoot
I was working with a bit of a limited budget for this shoot so decided that I would photograph a pair of shoes I already owned - the most interesting of which is a pair of fluffy crocs. I knew there was a colourama in the studio which was virtually the same colour as them which worked very well for the monochromatic look I wanted. To achieve the natural lighting that I wanted I decided to use just one key light in a large octagonal softbox from up above and slightly to one side - giving the impression of window light.
Some images from the shoot
Some BTS photos from the shoot
Selecting the hero image
As I had a couple of hours to shoot, I was able to try a number of different setups. I ended up favouring the one which was, arguably the simplest. I think it does a good job of making the crocs the focus of the image and has a nice, clean modern feel which is exactly what I was going for
I made sure to shoot quite wide so that I had space to crop in for both the portrait and landscape A4 format
My hero image
Using the mirrors was far more difficult than I had anticipated, primarily because it was difficult to make sure that they were only reflecting the crocs and the backdrop and not the studio itself. Whilst I think it was a good idea and I’m glad I tried it, shooting with mirrors didn’t quite go as I planned
Post production
Before & after the white balance correction
The most significant correction I made in Capture One was the white balance. As you can see above, the original image has a green tint to it which is not at all the look I was going for. Correcting the white balance meant that the colours were much more true to what they were in real life
The only other changes I made in Capture One were adding some clarity/ structure, bringing down the shadows slightly (to increase the contrast slightly) and then adding a very subtle vignette around the Crocs to help direct the eye towards them - meaning that they aren't getting lost amongst the background
Before and after I used the spot healing tool
Next, I moved over to Photoshop and used the spot healing tool to clean up a few areas - specifically the straps, the fluff and the backdrop. Most of these changes are incredibly subtle and aren't noticeable when zoomed out, however I decided that it was worth doing in case I ever decide to crop into the image or blow it up to a point where these small imperfections would be noticeable
Final Cropped Images
My final cropped images
First Location Shoot
As I mentioned before, early on in the term I wasn’t sure what my specialism was - because of this I wanted to do something different for my location shoot. I decided I would shoot portraiture
I arranged my model early, I asked Jay to model for me and began to research different poses and locations that could work with their style/ aesthetic
I started by looking into a number of different grunge/ punk portraits as I felt that this type of this would work very well with Jay’s look
A moodboard I put together in the initial stages of my research
Brad Elterman
A photographer that I came across during my research was Brad Elterman. Based in Beverly Hills, he captured the rock 'n' roll lifestyle in Hollywood - encompassing pop, punk and rock bands. Elterman photographed numerous bands and artists including David Bowie, Queen, The Ramones, The Who and Michael Jackson.
I particularly like how his models interact with their environment, it shows their connection to the location they have been shot in. I aimed to do something similar in my shoot so that the choice of location felt intentional and like it actually added to the shoot.
The Shoot
I decided to shoot in North Greenwich for a couple of reasons: the first of which was convenience, Jay and I would both be there already on the day of the shoot and it meant that I would be able to focus on shooting and not have to worry about everyone getting to location on time. Also, I knew there would be some urban/ street spots that would work with the look I was going for
Some images from the shoot
Some BTS photos from the shoot
Unfortunately, quite a lot of the images from this shoot came out fairly soft so they were unusable. I think this happened for a coupe of reasons, on of which being that I used my kit lens which doesn't have very good quality glass. If I were to redo this shoot I would book out a couple of lenses from the kit store (most likely a 50mm and an 80mm)
I think the images seemed extra soft because, prior to this shoot, I had been using the Phase One cameras which capture images which are insanely sharp
Post Production
I chose some of my favourites from the shoot and began editing in Capture One. Other than correcting the exposure and white balance, I tried to make them look more dramatic by increasing the contrast and adding a vignette to draw your eye towards Jay.
I also used the healing tool to remove some of the distracting elements from the images because, while I wanted to show the model in their location, I didn't want to include unnecessary details like rubbish on the floor or advertisements.
Before and after using the high pass filter
To try and make sure the images didn't appear soft, I moved into Photoshop and used a high pass filter with a soft light blending mode to add a bit more contrast. I then used a mask so that the filter was only affecting specific parts of the image - primarily Jay's face. I think this definitely helped the images appear sharper but it would have been better if I had shot with a better lens
Selecting the Hero Image
When it came to selecting the hero image from this shoot, it was a case of finding which of them worked best when cropped in both a portrait and landscape A4 format. Due to the composition of the images, one worked much better than the others
My cropped hero image
The difficultly in cropping the images into a portrait format made me realise that I should have shot wider to give myself more room to come in, this is definitely something I will be sure to do when shooting for both portrait and landscape crops in the future
Second Studio Shoot
For the second round of shooting we were tasked with taking photos that we could submit for the Sony photography awards. The brief this year is ‘Connections’
When starting to plan my shoot I thought about how other people might show ‘connections’ - I knew that I wanted to do something different and provide a unique take on the brief
I thought that people would likely focus on a physical connection between people or the relationship between people, places or objects. I decided that I wanted to explore something more personal to me.
In my personal life, I have been very introspective recently. During my research for this shoot I came across a quote from Arthur Rimbaud (a French poet) ‘Je est un autre’ (I am another). This really interested me and I began to look into different interpretations of it to help me form my own. I have come to the conclusion that Rimbaud was discussing the difference between the constructed version of ourselves that we allow others to perceive and our inner selves which are responsible for our thoughts and emotions. This led me even further down the rabbit hole of introspection and caused me to do a lot of reflection on the contrast between my two selves
Linking this back to the shoot, I knew that I wanted to show a motion/ transition between the selves and to try and show that we are ultimately a combination of the two. This idea became very personal to me and, because of this, I originally wanted to shoot it as a self portrait however, due to the unit brief, I was unable to and had to use a model (I ended up booking the studio in my own time so that I could shoot self portraits).
I decided that the most effective way to show motion in a studio portrait would be to use a slow shutter speed and put together a moodboard of images that I liked the look of
Christophe Agou
Christophe Agou was a French photographer and he put together a series of images inspired by his interpretation of Rimbaud's 'Je est un autre'
Agou uses multiple exposures to show the different versions of the self, while I think this is effective, I wanted to focus on the transition between the two and wanted my to capture a sense of motion instead of creating a mosaic like Agou did
I am a big fan of his decision to use a black backdrop, it does a good job of making sure that the sole focus of the image is the subject and means that your eye goes straight to them and trying to work out what is going on in the image. I decided that I would also use a black backdrop for my shoot but I still wanted to include some colour so did not shoot in black and white
The Shoot
The first challenge with the shoot came before I even got to the studio. Unfortunately my model was unwell and was unable to make it in, this meant that I had to scramble to find someone else to model for me with very short notice - thankfully Jay came to my rescue
I had never shot long exposure portraiture before so I wasn't too sure how to set up the lighting. I knew that I wanted to use just one, very directional light pointed at their face so that I could make sure the background was in complete darkness. To make the light as directional as possible I used a snoot. I decided to position the light below Jay's face so that when they moved their face down it would still be lit. To make sure that their face was illuminated the entire time, Tiana held the light and moved it round as Jay moved their head
I ended up shooting with a shutter speed of 2 seconds so it didn't make sense to use flash, instead I used the modelling light and turned off all of the house lights in the studio - this ensured that the light on Jay's face was consistent for the whole 2 seconds
After a lot of trial and error with the lighting and Jay moving, I ended up with some images I am really happy with
Post production
The first stage of post production was making sure that the backdrop was completely black. For the most part, I did this by masking out Jay's face and lowering the exposure on all other parts of the image. However, there were still some reflections showing from where the light reflected off their silver jewellery and belt buckle. To get rid of this I used the healing tool in Capture One.
I then changed the white balance to warm the images up slightly before moving into Photoshop to do the more creative side of the post production
I tried to stay quite open minded when editing these images and experimented with filters, duplicating layers and blending modes
I edited these images one by one
Some of my initial edits in Photoshop
To try and enhance the sense of separation in this image I duplicated the background layer twice and shifted one to the left and one to the right. I then played around with blending modes and filling each layer with a different colour as you can see above
I decided to turn this into a series of three images showing a gradual separation between the two versions of the self. I did this by having three layers: one in the middle and then one on either side. I then gradually moved the side layers further and further out. I changed the blending mode of the layers to 'luminosity' so that you could see through them
I like this image a lot because you can clearly see two faces which does a great job of showing the concept behind the shoot. I edited this one in a couple of different ways. In the first version I simply added a bit of noise to make it look more aged
I experimented with some more artistic post production with this image and am quite happy with how they came out - this is definitely much more abstract than my first edit but I think that works quite well with the themes I am exploring
This is definitely the most abstract image from the shoot. I don't think it necessarily works for the concept I was shooting for and doesn't show connections but I really like how it came out so hopefully I can use it for something in the future
Second Location Shoot
For our second location shoot we had to used mixed lighting. In all honesty, I am not a fan of mixed lighting portraiture and knew from the beginning that it would be a bit of a challenge to capture images that I could really be proud of
I really liked the more fine art style shoot that I did in the studio so knew that I wanted to do something similar here. I thought about using gels or a projector to add an artistic element to the images
I ultimately decided not to use a projector as it would be very difficult to do on location (from a logistical point of view) - I tried using gels instead but was not sure how effective it would be because I was be using natural light as well as a ranger
We were not restricted to an A4 format in the second round of shooting, this meant that I didn’t have to worry about shooting wide and cropping in. I decided to come in quite close to the models face - this would be how I would show connection: allowing the viewer to feel very close to the model and (hopefully) get a sense of their personality and their emotions
Broomberg & Chanarin
Adam Broomberg & Oliver Chanarin: Dora Fobert
In 2011 Broomberg and Chanarin enlisted 23 writers to make fictional bios that could be explored by 23 artists. For them it has been ‘an experiment and statement against the contemporary art world’s obsession with the artist as celebrity’.
Dora photographed women in a Warsaw ghetto between 1940 and 1942 shortly before she was deported to Treblinka in August 1942. Because if the limited supply of photogenic chemicals they were never properly fixed and remain unstable under natural light
The concept behind this shoot really interests me and its not something I have ever seen before, creating work from the perspective of a fictional person. Aside from that, the images are incredibly striking. They show that even without being able to properly see someones face (in this case because the images have not been finished) you can still get a sense of what they are/ were like - this further inspired me to come in quite close to my model’s face
Petra Collins
Another part of my inspiration for this shoot is Petra Collins' series - 24hr Psycho
Petra Collins is a Canadian artists who is renowned for the dreamlike feel of her work - something that I am a big fan of. She was a resident photographer for Rookie magazine and has also directed a number of music videos for artists such as Lil Yachty, Selena Gomez, Cardi B and Olivia Rodrigo
For some of these images Petra has used multiple lights with gels, this is something I couldn't really do as I only had access to one flash head. I considered bringing my speed-light and taping a gel to that but ultimately it didn't work out
I like how Petra uses very simple composition to capture a sense of authenticity to the model's emotions We get a strong sense of the women's' distress and vulnerability - creating a bond between us (the viewer) and them. This is something I really wanted to do in my shoot - I didn't want it to feel overly set up
I planned on shooting in somewhere dark so that the gel will be as impactful as possible. One location I had in mind was the footpath by the thames barrier in Woolwich, I thought that this would allow me to blend natural and artificial light well. There are a number of pillars which I could position my model around, allowing me to reduce the impact of the natural light
Another location I was thinking of using is the foot tunnel under the Thames in Woolwich. This would present a number of different challenges: firstly, there would likely to be a lot of people trying to get through and I wouldn't want to get in their way, secondly there are fairly intense overhead lights throughout the tunnel which would be quite difficult to work with. I planned on bringing a reflector/ diffuser disc which would help me manipulate this lighting to my advantage.
I planned on using an external model for this shoot. I am very keen to start building relationships with models and small modelling agencies so have been reaching out to people, mainly on social media but plan on doing some networking over email too
I found a model for this shoot and had everything set up, unfortunately they day before the shoot she stopped replying to my messages and basically went AWOL. I then spoke to Kristina from class and asked her if she was available to model for me. She had a shoot on the same day but said that she would be able to model when she got back. So that timing wouldn't be an issue, I decided that I had to change my location and instead shoot around North Greenwich - this is where I was assisting Cerys on the same day and was a much easier place for Kristina and I to meet
Kristina ended up getting stuck on her shoot as the model was a couple of hours late - this meant I had to scramble to find a model at the very last minute. Luckily, Jay was able to save me… again
Another complication was the risk assessment, as we needed to use kit on location we had to wait for it to be approved before we could take the kit out of the Ravensbourne building. Due to the risk assessment team being very short staffed we had to wait a couple of hours passed our planned shoot time for it to be approved. This meant that I definitely would be shooting around North Greenwich as I was assisting Cerys first and wouldn't have time to travel to Woolwich afterwards for my shoot while still having enough daylight. I ended up shooting in a doorway of a block of apartments, it gave me a flat dark backdrop which was perfect for my idea
The shoot
I tried shooting with a blue gel on the light however it didn’t give me the look I wanted and only really affected the colour temperature making it look cold. I ended up warming it up in post so, in the final images, you can’t tell that I used a gel
I used the flash to enhance the natural light and create more dramatic shadows, you can see how I gradually introduced the flash lighting in the images below
Images showing how I used flash to enhance natural lighting
Some BTS photos from the shoot
Post Production
As I mentioned above , the blue gel didn’t give me the look I wanted so I decided to go in a different direction. I change the white balance to increase the colour temperature. The only other changes I made were correcting the exposure and adding some sharpening/ clarity
I did use the healing tool but only to get rid of some marks on the backdrop. When it comes to retouching skin, I don’t like to make any significant adjustments because, morally, I don’t agree with unrealistically editing skin - it plays a big part in creating unrealistic beauty standard
Printing
Part of this term’s submission is physical prints of our images. From previous experience, I knew that the printed images would come out far darker than they appear on screen - because of this I brightened them up before submitting them to the print shop. However, some of them still came out far too dark and it’s quite hard to make out the details of the image. When printing in the future I will make sure I brighten the images even more and I will make sure I do a round of test printing before getting the final versions done, this will allow me to make sure they come out exactly as I want them
In one of the last sessions before submission we gave each other feedback on our prints. A lot of my feedback was positive which was really nice, it reaffirmed my confidence in what I had shot
The feedback I received on my images
Assisting
As well as shooting this term, I assisted Cerys with her shoots. It was quite a unique experience for me as I wasn’t used to being behind the camera but not shooting, there were times where I felt as though I was having too much input into the creative side of the shoot - for example during Cerys’ second studio shoot I was suggesting ways that she could pose the models. I didn’t want her to feel as though I was overstepping the mark and trying to take control so I tried to make it clear that I was only making suggestions rather than telling her what to do. Overall, working as an assistant was incredibly helpful, it meant I had to think on my feet and try and anticipate what might be needed next and how I could make Cerys’ job as easy as possible. I’d like to think that I was quite helpful in the end and I had a lot of fun assisting.
On the other side of things, Cerys assisted me on my shoots. Working with her was a really positive experience and she definitely helped me a lot. I knew that I could rely on her for whatever I needed whether it was something as simple as letting me know that the images were coming out sharp (when I was tethering), to holding my bag while on location or giving suggestions about how I could pose my subjects. I would absolutely recommend Cerys as an assistant and hope I get the chance to work with her again in the future.
This term I wanted to spend as much time as possible on shoots. This led me to assisting a number of people, some when their assigned assistant wasn't able to make it and others where I acted as more of a second assistant. This has been a really valuable experience, my confidence has grown so much and I’m far more comfortable in a shooting environment - I’m learning how I can be as helpful to the photographer as possible which will hopefully give me the reputation of being a useful asset to have on a shoot
Modelling
As I mentioned, I wanted to spend as much time as possible in the studio this term. Part of this was modelling, something that would have previously been way outside of my comfort zone. While it was a bit strange to start with, I ended up really enjoying being in front of the camera and have lost count of the number of people I modelled for. As well as getting some cool pictures of myself and giving me a bit of a self confidence boost, it gave me a better understanding of how I can effectively direct models in my own shoots as I know how I would want to be directed. I hope to do some more modelling in the future and plan on looking into signing with an agency
Some of the highlights of my modelling 'career'
Model Release & Pricing Estimate
Another part of this brief was to do with getting the relevant releases/ permissions for a shoot as well as other business literature. Below you can see a completed commission estimate which for an imaginary shoot. The prices are based on my second location shoot. You can also see a dummy model release form for the same shoot. It has been useful looking into these documents, I will need them for any professional shoots I do in the future so it has been good to get an understanding of their importance and how they need to be filled out
Evaluation
- For the most part I am very happy with what I shot (especially my images from the second round of shooting)
- I am much more confident in the studio now compared to the start of term. I have been taking any opportunity I get to be in the studio whether that’s shooting, assisting or modelling and I think it is definitely paying off. I am far more comfortable in that environment and using the kit. I’m fairly confident that I could set up a shoot to allow me to capture the image that I have in my head. I also feel as though I am becoming a useful asset for other photographers to have on a shoot
- Getting more experience shooting portraiture was very useful, I’m becoming much better at working with and directing models
- As well as coming out fairly soft, I think that the images from my first location shoot are a little bit boring. If I were to redo this shoot I would choose a more interesting location and also experiment with more unique wardrobe
- I had a lot of difficulties with models falling through at the last minute. Going forward it may be useful to make sure I have a backup model for each shoot so that I don’t have to scramble to find one
- I now have a much clearer idea of the kind of photography I want to specialise in. I’m very keen to do more experimental conceptual/ fine art work - my second studio shoot definitely helped me realise this. I like the idea of creating some striking and abstract images that also portray themes which are important/ interesting to me and also using my work to express my perspective without necessarily being overly obvious
Some nice moments from this term
