Studio Shoot 1
Planning
After gaining feedback on my previous shoots during my interim presentation session, I went back to my concept, and decided to try a different way of lighting my models in the studio. We discussed that the black background and strong contrasting lighting was too harsh for the subtle concept, and didn't allow the hair to be fully seen as the focus of the image, but instead only half a head of hair was seen due to the one light source coming from one side of the image. I started looking at more subtle portrait photographers, trying to gain inspiration from this research, and was suggested to look at Trine Sondergaard and the styling of this photographers images, using subtle backgrounds and subtle lighting to create cooler images, with a calm sense about them. After researching these images, I became interested in a very neutral grey coloured background (even though this is technically impossible as there is no one neutral grey), using Trine's colouring to try and make my images more subtle. The grey background would not tear away from any hair colour that I photographed, as it is not a distracting colour, which was definitely something I needed to look at as the black background was not successful when photographing black hair. The grey still mimicked a slightly painterly feel, with the dull tones looking almost film like, as if it were painted on the wall behind the subject.
In terms of posing, Trine's work also aided me in choosing how to position my models. I am still going to go for the usual front, back and sides (funnily enough a very popular hair cut style with men nowadays!) but also incorporate shots of models looking off to the side of the camera, slightly diagonal within the image. Trine's work incorporates these positions and it allows the image to be less personal, so the eyes are not connected with the viewers, but also lets the camera capture the whole head, with part of the front and back of the hairstyle, to show the thing as a whole. I am going to test out these different positions and the grey background, using different models to make sure that all hair colours are seen prominently as the main focus of the image. If this is successful, I will continue to shoot more people in this way, creating a large number of photographs, an index of hair, so that I can show them all together within my final piece. In terms of making sure the images all look the same, with the only thing changing being the hair, I have brought a black top which I will get each model to wear, to keep the images correlated alongside one another, and will keep the cropping and positioning of the subject in the frame the same throughout the shoot. I'm also going to keep trying the Mamiya Leaf camera in the studio, possibly with a 110mm lens (best for portraits) to experiment with this camera, as I feel it captures the neutral tones and skin tones well, giving the digital files a slightly film-like sense to them.
In terms of posing, Trine's work also aided me in choosing how to position my models. I am still going to go for the usual front, back and sides (funnily enough a very popular hair cut style with men nowadays!) but also incorporate shots of models looking off to the side of the camera, slightly diagonal within the image. Trine's work incorporates these positions and it allows the image to be less personal, so the eyes are not connected with the viewers, but also lets the camera capture the whole head, with part of the front and back of the hairstyle, to show the thing as a whole. I am going to test out these different positions and the grey background, using different models to make sure that all hair colours are seen prominently as the main focus of the image. If this is successful, I will continue to shoot more people in this way, creating a large number of photographs, an index of hair, so that I can show them all together within my final piece. In terms of making sure the images all look the same, with the only thing changing being the hair, I have brought a black top which I will get each model to wear, to keep the images correlated alongside one another, and will keep the cropping and positioning of the subject in the frame the same throughout the shoot. I'm also going to keep trying the Mamiya Leaf camera in the studio, possibly with a 110mm lens (best for portraits) to experiment with this camera, as I feel it captures the neutral tones and skin tones well, giving the digital files a slightly film-like sense to them.
I am very happy with how this shoot came out. I wasn't sure how the project would continue after feedback on changing the lighting style and the little time until the deadline. However, after Trine Sondergaards work was introduced to me, I felt a lot more comfortable going back into the studio and having images to use as pointers for setting up the studio lights. After getting help from technicians and peers, I decided to go for one light on the background, with a soft box so there was no spotlighting, and then one pointing towards the subjects face, using a beauty dish and honeycomb to help focus the light. This set up allowed the background to be lit, but on a few stops lower than the front light, on the face, so the subject stood out from in-front of the background. Each hair colour showed up prominently in-front of the grey neutral background, and I tested a variety, from blonde, to brunette, black and even bright red. I will definitely use this background and lighting style for my next shoots with more models.
In terms of posing and composition, it was also very successful. It took me a while to set up the lights and decide on the right way to pose each person, but once I had figured out the process with one person, I mimicked this with all the other models, changing the lighting slightly due to skin colour and height. This meant that once the lighting was set up, the shoot was quite quick and simple, and I showed each model what I had taken last so they knew how to position themselves in front of the camera, along with a little directing from me. This therefore means that in my next shoots I can photograph a variety of people, as many as I can fit in the studio time slots, as once the lights are set up, everything else takes no time at all. For my next shoot, I will continue this shooting strategy, and hope to create more portraits alongside these, with lots of different people and different hairstyles, with the only thing changing from image to image being the hair itself.
In terms of posing and composition, it was also very successful. It took me a while to set up the lights and decide on the right way to pose each person, but once I had figured out the process with one person, I mimicked this with all the other models, changing the lighting slightly due to skin colour and height. This meant that once the lighting was set up, the shoot was quite quick and simple, and I showed each model what I had taken last so they knew how to position themselves in front of the camera, along with a little directing from me. This therefore means that in my next shoots I can photograph a variety of people, as many as I can fit in the studio time slots, as once the lights are set up, everything else takes no time at all. For my next shoot, I will continue this shooting strategy, and hope to create more portraits alongside these, with lots of different people and different hairstyles, with the only thing changing from image to image being the hair itself.