Work Diary - Shoot 8

Evaluation:

During this shoot there was a lot of prep work resulting in a 20 second shoot.  20 seconds because this was how long my model could hold her breath. I set up the lighting to one side and quite low to cast a few soft shadows in a fairly light room. Got my model to lay down on the floor on a crumpled white sheet and sprayed her with water. Once fairly wet but not so wet that water was running down her face I started to cover the backdrop and her face in talcum powder leaving all but her mouth so she could breath. I fired off a few quick test shots which looked spot on first time so then asked my model to hold her breath while we quickly covered her mouth in talc. This shoot therefor only tok 20 seconds to shoot and about 40 minutes to set up. The camera was set to 1/125 at f4.0 ISO 400. I always shoot in RAW as this gives to the greatest latitude for experimentation later in Lightroom and Photoshop. In the 2 images below the exposure was the same  but by playing with the exposure, contrast, clarity and black and white sliders I was able to get two very different images from the same shoot.

The thing I like about this image is the shadows on the face and the black corners I added in photoshop. This creates a more interesting affect and feel to the photo. What worked well in this image is the contrast between the areas were the light was pointed at and the areas in which there was a shadow caused by camera being directly above the model. At first I thought it would ruin the image but upon taking the image and then proceeding to edit it I discovered it worked very well.

The main thing I like about this image is the fact that the face merges wight the background of the image perfectly allowing it to seem like the head isn't attached to any sort of body and is just there. This makes it very horrific because it means that it is an image of a severed head which people find horrific. This image was inspired by some of Christopher McKenneys images where he removes parts of peoples bodies or has just their head on show.  

Progression:
For my next shoot it will be another shoot inspired by Bob Carlos Clark where we have a model on top of a gravestone. This one will be superimposed so that I don't often anyone by physically having someone sitting on someones grave. I think this will create and interesting image because I have taken the photos of the model on a square block and they look interesting by themselves, so I think that if i were to superimpose them on the plinth it would create an intriguing image.

Here we see a Bob Carlos Clarke image from his book 'The Dark Summer'. In this photo we see that Bob Clarke has put one of his models on top of a gravestone and also had her being naked and only wearing shoes. This creates an interesting image which I would like to try and re-create, but because nudity is a bit of a grey subject I have decided to combine it with the bandage photo below to make it more acceptable for this subject.

Work Diary - Shoot 7

Evaluation:
During this shoot I decided to use a model (my sister) to  push against a sheet of latex. I have seen similar shots during my research into horror photography. This took some planing  as I had to order a sheet of latex and then make a frame out of wood to stretch it round. By doing this it allowed me to get lots of interesting photos which reminded me of the scene in aliens which I mentioned in my previous work diary. The latex was an good choice to use at it has a translucent quality which enabled my to light from behind. Most of the images of people pushing against something was for a movie and not a single image so it relates to the genre of movie horror.

This was another studio shoot and for this i used some backlighting from a modeling light on a Bowens Gemini 500. The front lighting was from a second modeling light of less intensity.
I used my camera in manual mode for this with settings of 1/80th second at f4.0. The shots were then adjusted slightly in Lightroom and changed to black and white by removing all saturation.

The thing I like about this image is that due to the model having a hissy fit about the shoot it created an interesting photo where the latex starched in a way that it caused the image to become distorted and create a 'Batman Joker' like look. By the model grabbing the latex we have shadows which make it look even more like the model is trying to break though the sheet of latex. 

Here we have another interesting photo where we have a face pushing though the latex causing us to be able to see an imprint of the face. 

Progression:
For my next shoot I have decided that I am going to cover my models face in talcum powder and have an interesting contrast between the white of the face and the shadows caused by the lights. I also plan to get them to slightly move their face when it is on so there are cracks in the powder because it makes it seem like the person has cracks in their face which makes it an it resting and fairly horrific image.

Even though neither of these are the sort of image I plan to get they are close to what I plan to do at least. As you can see in the images they have talcum powder on their face which is exactly what I plan to do but with a lot more powder and have all their face coated in it.

High Key - Work Diary

Evaluation:
For this technique I explored High Key in which the image almost entirely consists of light tonnes with almost no shadows in the image. This is normally achieved when you use a high exposure on a white background or surface. To achieve this what I decided to do was to stretch a sheet of Latex over a frame and have someone push though it. I also decided to make it into one of my shoots as well because it created fairly horrific images.

This is the best example from the shoot that relates to high key. This is because there is very little  shadow in the image which is the whole point of this technique.

Progression:
If I were to continue this I would start with exploring a full body frame with a larger sheet of latex. The reason behind this is because it would show more detail in the image and create a more interesting image. By doing this it means I can also explore how I can create a new sort of image to inspire fear into people. I also think that I would try and see how using the latex frame would work in a dark room to see if it works.

This is the type of photo I would like to get still following the high key technique. Where the photo is still light and the person is pushing though more of the latex.

Here in this image we see it mimics the kind of dark latex image I would like to try and get if I were to do this again.

Work Diary - Shoot 6

Evaluation:

This shoot took place at an old deserted building called Minsden chapel. I had done some previous research on this place and found it to be a more then appropriate for what I wanted to do. Minsen chapel is well known for being a historical spot in the UK where supposedly a ghost resides. This ghost is apparently seen as a monk who wonders around the grounds of the chapels ruins. I wanted a spooky feel to this so visited at dusk. To get the lighting effect I wanted I used off camera flash. I used 2 Pocket Wizard Wireless Transceivers one attached to a flash gun and one on the camera hot shoe. The exposure for all these shots was 160th Second at f2.8 ISO6400. It was dark during most of the shoot so I had to manually focus the camera.  I really pushed the ISO but the grain caused by this only added to the effect.

Here we see I had the flash on the other side of the wall pointing though the hole. This created and interesting effect because it caused there to be lots of light on a concentrated area of the building. This meant that the shadows surrounding the outer rim of the image stayed in shadow which caused there to be an interesting contrast between the light and dark.

Here we see one of my super-imposed images where I have put the model from the previous shoot into the archway in the chapel. This creates an interesting image of a shadowy figure in the archway of the chapel.

Progression:
For my next shoot I have decided that I am going to shoot people though a sheet of latex. This is because it creates an interesting image that shows a fear most people have of not being able to break though something and being stuck.

In this image there is a person pushing though a sheet of latex where you can see the outline of there face and hands and the stretch of the latex around them.

Here we see a scene from 'Aliens' where the main character has an alien coming though her stomach pushing against the skin in the same way that I would have someone pushing against the latex. 

Work Diary - Shoot 5

Evaluation:
This shoot was again inspired by Bob Carlos Clarke. The set up for the shoot was much like the previous shoot but this time the model was wrapped up in bandages which I died black to give the feel I wanted.  I shot these in the studio on a black background and will also be doing a church shoot at night of gravestones that I will then comp together. I don't know how it will work until the next shoot at a church but that is what I am working towards. My cousin Charlie was the model who my mum helped me get ready. I shot this at home in quite low light. The light was placed low to give a bit of shadow on the black background. I gave all the images grainy background with lots of contrast after the shoot. The inspiration for this shoot was Bob Carlos Clarke but with my photos I have slightly changed the atmosphere of the photos to become different to that of Bob Carlos Clarke. This has been done by having a lighter bandage then Bob Carlos Clarke and having a black background as opposed to his white background. For my image it creates a contrast between the background and the model allowing for a more Gothic and dark feel to my image.

So this was done in the studio on a dark textured background. I also cut out the face on this shot and made a duplicate layer on the image behind and then moved it around until I got the kind of concave empty looking face. Again I am doing all my work in black and white as this really suits the theme of horror, Gothic, creepy that I am going for.
I used a single Bowens Gemini Studio light for this shot but only used the modeling light. The exposure was 1/125th at f2.8 ISO640 I increased the clarity and contrast in Lightroom to give the final feel I wanted.

This is the image which I will do a cut out and then place on a grave stone plinth. But I have not done that shoot yet. I have again made the image grainy and added some contrast and clarity to give the feeling I want. Again with this one I repeated what i did above by getting the concave empty look in the face which I think works very well on a physiological level.
I used a single Bowens Gemini Studio light for this shot but only used the modeling light. The exposure was 1/125th at f2.8 ISO640 I increased the clarity and contrast in Lightroom to give the final feel I wanted.

Progression:

For my next shoot I plan to go to a place called Minsen chapel. I discovered this on a site which I have previously spoken about called 28 days later. While looking at photos that other people had posted it came to my mind that this would make a perfect shoot for some rather eerie photos. It looked like one of the scenes from one of Christopher McKenneys photos. I plan to go there at dusk and attempt to get some rather eerie photos with the natural light and some off camera lighting.

Here we see an image where someone has taken the photo at the sam time as I plan to. You can tell this because of the shade of the sky is still light. This goes to show that they have then decided that they are going to later in some form of editing program they are going to edit the photo to seem darker then it actually is. The method they have used is done by changing the image into black and white and then changing the colours in the image to be lighter or darker.

Here in this image we see an exact photo I would like to try and get but at a later time in the day when it is darker. I think that if I were to use a flash it would give me some interesting shadows from the tree.

Work Diary - Shoot 4

Evaluation:
During this session I decided to do a shoot inspired by Bob Carlos Clarke. This photographer did work in which they dressed up a model in robes and superimposed them onto a background. I used a grey sheet to wrap around the models like a hood and then proceeded to adjust the lighting to suit the image. I used a modeling light only and no flash to get the mood I wanted. Once that was complete I took photos of the model with different lighting and shadows and also with different facial expressions. While doing this shoot I used a modelling light and also had a normal light while also using flash to get the affect I wanted for my photos. All light was on the model in a dark room so no light spilt onto the background.

Here we see a rather menacing image of the model with the grey sheet. To create this image there was lots of set-up with the lights. I had two lights either side of the model. One strong directional light and one smaller light on the other side which allowed me to light both sides of the face but to different intensity. I used a black backdrop and kept my lights away from this so that it exposed as a sold black. This as a final image from the shoot. I then decided to do some editing to give the shot  the style of Bob Carlos Clarke. This meant cutting out the background and then superimposing it onto an image I shot the background early in the morning at Harlow flood plain. I added a border around it in photoshop to give an extra dimension.
Shot at 1.125th at f2.8 ISO 640

 This is my final image.  I also blurred the sides of the model and darkened them so that both the foreground and background appear as one image rather than a hard cut out. I also decided to airbrush out the pupils to add more menace to the shot.

Progression:
In my next shoot I plan to continue the theme of following Bob Carlos Clarke and try and re-create some more of his work. The ones I plan to re-create is the one bellow of the woman covered in badges.

Here we see Bob Carlos Clarke's 'The Lady Vanishes'  from his album 'Obsession'. I intend to do a bandage shoot and visit other churches with the aim of shooting a plinth that I can then combine 2 of my shoots to create an image of a mummy on top of a grave stone.  I don't know how it will end up but that is my aim.

Work Diary - Shoot 3

Evaluation:
During this shoot I went to a graveyard. This graveyard was located in a village called Cold Christmas. To find this place I visited multiple sites on the internet where other photographers have visited and taken photos. One of these websites I visited is called "28 days later", were photographers visit abandoned areas and take photos then post it on this site.

Most of this church has been fallen down and only the church tower and a few gravestones remain. By shooting some wide angle shots and close ups allowed me to have both some stand alone images and also to have images in which I could then superimpose images from a later shoot. It really had a spooky old ruin feeling and when i arrived it was late in the day so the mood and lighting was right for the shoot. I chose not to use any flash for this and I wanted to shoot from a variety of angles to add drama to the shoots.  

This single image of the staple of the church was taken from a low angle just in front of a gravestone. This gives it a nice layered affect because we have  multiple things going on in both the foreground and the back-ground. In post production IO darkened the sky and added some grain and contrast to add to the feel of the shot. I am also moving towards black and white photography in all my work as, for me it gives a more atmospheric feeling to all my work. This shot was taken at 1/200th second at f 7.1. ISO 400. It was handheld.

In this shot I just got my mum to get mud on her hands and then lay on the ground with her hand poking through the leaves. Again I added grain and contrast to the shot. By using the grave stone as a prop  this gives context to the image. I shot this in daylight and exposed and focused on the hand as I wanted to blur the background. This shot was taken at 1/160th second at f5 ISO 400. It was handheld.

Progression:
My next shoot is going to a be a studio shoot in which I get my cousin in the studio and dress her up in different clothing which I will then super impose images from that shot onto images of this shoot and another church shoot I am planning to do. The reason I have decided to do it this way is because it would be disrespectful to put a model on top of graves and also because by doing the model shooting in the studio it allows me to get the appropriate lighting for the shoot so I can achieve the correct shadows in my images.

This is the type of image I am using as reference.  Bob Carlos Clarke shot this. It looks like a montage of studio and location images.  This is the kind of strong image I am using as reference because it of its slightly dark and gothic feeling which is what my theme is about this year.

Technique Page - High Key

High key photography is the art of photographing a subject using a lot of light and white space with white reflectors (usually).

The starting point is lighting and scene. I shoot against a well lit white or light colored background. The positioning of the subject relative to the background defines the white space in the image, and is  part of the high key style. You must avoid harsh shadows, so can use multiple light sources or a very diffuse sun (if outdoors). 

The aim is to light all parts of the image evenly without blowing the highlights and to have a white or light background.

In this image above I shot as part of my horror project I used a white background and a white face (my sister covered in talc). I had all the windows and skylight uncovered so the room was really bright.  I also had some lights lighting from each side. This could have ben better as my body leaning over cast a shadow and seeing as my sister had only 20 seconds as she could not breathe I had no time to re do the shot.

Blurring - Contact Sheet

Blurring - Straight Images

Shoot 8 - Contact Sheet

Shoot 7 - Contact Sheet