When taking my images of a friend, Lilli, I decided I wanted to try and get a few different backdrops and look at which would be most effective. One of the first images I took was of Lilli against the wall. I thought this would be a good background, as the colours of the wall compliment the colours of her scarf and hair, creating a connection between all aspects of the image. Her skin tone is a nice contrast against these warm, orange colours, and shows the natural smile and happiness showing on her face. I like how she is slightly off centre, giving a more relaxed vibe to the image.
The next image along of Lilli is another of my favourites, again the colours of the buildings in the background where she is stood correspond with her hair colour and the colours of her scarf, but the leather jacket gives her an edgy look. In this image, with the two below that carry the same background, I like the depth of field in the image, with Lilli being in focus, and the background being blurred enough to make Lilli the main subject, yet in focus enough to be able to distinguish between buildings.
The images below were taken in another location within the university, under a bridge. I wanted to keep the setting of these images local, and these selection of images I find interesting as, unlike the others, there is such contrast between Lilli and the background, with her being a bold, darker subject, and the background being bright. These images also have been taken with a low aperture, to allow Lilli to be the focus, and central, which is another element I like as she is stood under a very symmetrical bridge which isn’t shown in the images, however it creates a sense of centralisation in the pathway. Like the images above, you can distinguish between the buildings in the background, and the light is shining from behind Lilli’s head, creating a connection between herself and the setting.
Self-portrait
These are the 3 images I have picked out as my favourite for the self-portrait. This was a task I found uncomfortable at first however because my friend was with me, it made me feel more at ease and less embarrassed in public. I took a few shots with different facial expressions, with some being natural, and set the camera of self-timer to eventually get the right lighting and composition. My view on IMG_0063 is mixed, as I think it can be quite intriguing, as the expression doesn’t show an obvious mood but allows the audience to be able to guess and use their imagination on what could be going through my mind, especially with the eye contact. However, I’m not sure that I like the neutral vibe, and in a way prefer the happy expression on the other three images, which are very similar. I prefer the background of IMG_0041 AND IMG_0039 over IMG_0063 and IMG_0057, as I feel it is split more equally however in the other two there is one clear random pillar then a building on the other side, making it less symmetrical. The only thing that ruins the IMG_0057 is the fact it is slightly out of focus as I am moving which is why I’m not using this as my final image.
Even though the 3 images correspond with the idea of a ‘phatic smile’ and a smile in a photo is often common making it like any other photograph, I like how happy these pictures are. “We want to communicate ourselves as happy social people.” (Jones, 2015) and I believe this statement, which is why I am choosing IMG_0041 as my final image.
Jones, J (2015) The Guardian. Why didn’t people smile in old photos? You asked Google – and here’s the answer. Available from http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/aug/12/why-dont-people-smile-old-photographs-google-answer [accessed 11 April 2016]
Stranger
These two images of one of the strangers I managed to get a picture of are two of my favourites. In both photos, I used a low aperture to make the stranger the subject of the photograph but allow the background to still be visible.
When looking for strangers to photograph, I was nervous to stop people in the street and ask for their photo. I went out with a friend, and we began taking casual pictures, to see if any passerbys took any interest in what we were doing, and if so, we would tell them we had a photography brief and would like a photo of them. This man and the woman below were from two different sets of couples, as we found that approaching people who were with somebody feared the camera less and were more comfortable having their picture taken.
In these photos of the man, I tried to get photos of him both looking at the camera but also looking away to get a more natural shot. I found that using a portrait shot when they were looking at the camera, and a landscape shot when they were looking away was more effective, as the eyes looking away help to highlight what is also in the background, however in the portrait shot, the focus is even more on him.
I then decided to find another stranger to take a photograph of. Again, she was with her husband, and appeared to be nervous at first, however it relaxed her slightly when my friend took her husband’s picture too. I told her to both smile and look with a neutral expression to the camera, and luckily as the weather was quite cloudy, I didn’t feel like I needed a reflector at all in the position we were in, so it would be less intimidating for the subject. IMG_9859 and IMG_9861 are very similar but they are two of my favourites as she seems more relaxed and happy. When I looked at Rineke Dijkstra, I was intrigued with how the subjects looked so uncomfortable in the image, however it wasn’t an effect I wanted to go for. The one thing I did want to achieve in my images is texture, as her images have a lot of depth even though it is also simple at the same time.
