Relevant Photographers/Research - Portrait Element

This image is shot by Irving Penn - Pablo Picasso at La Californie, Cannes, France, 1957. I chose this shot because I love the detail in Picasso's face. Being shot in black and white with such contrast, every wrinkle and hair is perfectly defined. Also, the jacket covering part of his face adds mystery making the image more interesting.

The image is shot at a very unconventional angle making Picasso look slightly awkward and uncomfortable. Having said this, it does make the image very unique.

In summary, this image shows two of the best artists in their fields in a unique, unconventional and mysterious way.



I came across this body of work shot by Paul Mobley and created by Mobley and Mike Campau. Their intention is this project was to shoot celebrities backstage before a show, at their homes or in hotels when they are on tour. They brainstormed before each session to try and come up with ideas fo each celebrity that would portray their personalities in an artistic style. They would use suble colour and toe corrections or full CGi and dificult composites to make the images as creative and interesting as possible.

These two images are of Lewis Niles Black who is an American comedian, author, playwright, social critic and actor. One o the unusual things he is famous for is his 'angry face' so I thought this first image was very suiting to the brief that Mobley and Campau set themselves, portraying the celebrities personalities in an artistic style.

The hand guestures and facial expression make this a very unique portrait and show Mobley and Campaus style very well. Also, I really like the fact that they have chosen to shoot the image with a black background and have Lewis wearing a black top. This makes the clothing completely fall into the background making it invisible to the viewer. This helps to direct the focus the the more important elements of the image.

The second image shows the author, actor, playwright and social critic
  side with the newspapers, dramatic wind efect, etc. This image is very clearly carefully set up in a studio and has a artificial layering behind it of a building added in post production but it still makes for an interesting and comical image which I beleive is what Mobley and Campau were aiming for.









Joshua Cripps is a photographer I discovered who took a series of photographs shown below of woodworker, fireman and ametuer photographer, Blake Weber. After researching into his work further I found that he actually specialises in stunning landscapes and hikes at least 45 miles for each shot. This made it suprising to me that he had done a portrait series such as this. Having said this, it releates to both shoots I have done/planned for my portrait element brief which is why I have chosen them.


Cripps used a softbox as the main light source and a CTO-gelled bare speedlight to give the image a bit of a 'kick'. The images where all shot within Weber's workshop so the equipment Cripps used had to be portable. In the whole series of photographs I really like how Cripps has made his subject pop out from the background using the flash set up he had.

The image of Weber with no tools was shot at the entrance of the workshop so using natural light. Cripps said that he suddenly noticed the aesthetic lighting and that the shot wasn't planned. It looks like Weber is being lit by a natural softbox which gives a slightly different effect to the real softbox in the other two photos.

In my photos I am only using a flash gun attached to my camera. So I am working with using natural light and bouncing light off walls and objects to get a desired effect.

I would describe the first image as being an observed image rather than a formal portrait due to it showing a small element of the workshop and tools.

Having said this, I think that all of these images have an element of formal portrait because they all involve Weber looking directly at the camera and posing.










This image was taken by David Bailey of Jean Shimpton 1962.

One of my favorite parts of this image is the motion visible in Shimpton's hair. This shows that Bailey has used a fairly slow shutter speed to get the blurred effect on the hair.

Also, the position of Shimpton adds a very artistic effect to the image. The shape of her arms is very symmetrical. This along with the motion in her hair makes me feel like the image is more of an art form than a photograph.

The very subtle contast the the shadows on Shimptons back, arms and face is also somethin that draws me to this image. Often, shadows are avoided in these areas or made stronger but in this case I think it has worked very well.

The only criticism of this image I have is I feel that the image has been cut off at the bottom. I feel that maybe a full body shot would make the image feel more complete. Having said this, Bailey may have been trying to show more detail by shooting the frame tighter into Shimpton.

This is clearly a formal portrait, shot in a studio and is very staged. The woman's job is to pose for these sorts of 'formal portraits'.





Photographer, Sara Naomi Lewkowicz won the 2013 Ville de Perpignan Remi Ochlik Award for  her work documenting domestic violence. I found his series of photos documenting a woman called Maggie and her life since November 2012 when she was the victim of a violent attack by her ex-boyfriend Shane.

The pair had started dating just amonth before Sara met them and found out very quickely the age difference (Maggie 19 and Shane 31) and that Maggie's children were not Shane's and that also Shane had spent a large amount of his life in prison.

There were 46 images in this story so I have chosen my favorites for the reasons I have stated below.

I really liked this photograph because I think it portrays the unkown and dark side of the relationship between Shane and Maggie. The majoity of the frame is completey black other than the small window where Maggie can be seen standing. To me it adds mystery and I believe may be shot this way to try and portray the confusion of the photographer as to why Maggie began to date Shane after he came out of prison for attacking her.

It is an unusual image because a lot of the frame could be seen as wasted but as I stated above I think this adds to the confusion and mystery of this strange relationship which makes it very suiting.

This image, I believe is a detailed shot. Although the detail is not clear, most of the frame is empty meaning the small detail there is what makes the mysterious story.

The further I got through this series of images the more intruging I found it. I started to become ver clear that somehow Sara had managed to be so trusted by the couple that she could be in any situaton without disrupting any of the usual distressing goings on such as the frequent domestic abuse.

I found this image extremely powerful and in some ways distressing. Shane is clearly a very troubled man that cannot control his anger. In this image we can see that he is literally press Maggie's very small child against her mothers legs in order to get closer to intimidate Maggie whilst she is crying.

Sara has captured this image at the perfect moment. It seems as though the child isn't put off or scared by this situation and Sara has ensured that she has shot the image wide enough and with a low enough apature to clearly include all of this information.

I take inspiration from this image for an observed portrait because Sara is very much taken a step back a letting the events unfold whilst she looks on/observes.




I have a great passion for sea and surf so decided to research into any photographers that may have shot a portrait series along these lines. I came across a photographer called Joni Sternbach who has done a series of portraits of surfers including some within Cornwall.

I was drawn to this image originally by the framing of Jo (the surfer) between the two large cliffs at Towan beach in Newquay Cornwall. Also, the small bridge at the top of the image is a well known landmark in Newquay leading to a house on a stack in the centre of the beach. He has used his iconic landmark to frame his subject which is the main aspect of his image I like.

I like that the image is shot as an envionmental portrait. Sternbach has chosen not to show as much detail of his main subject, the surfer but aso include just as much of the surroundings. Jo is clealy still the main point of focus being right in the centre of the frame.

Also, the glossy look of the shallow water/wet sand reflects the cliffs very aesthetically and adds a nice conrast to the foreground of the image.

The only critisism of this image I have is that the more I look at it the more I find myself straining to see more detail of the surfer. The could be resolved b shooting exactly the same shot but moving Jo closer to the camera.

This is definitely an environmental portrait for the reasons I have stated above. The subject is visible but more an object in the image as you cannot see much detail and Sternbach has clearly tried to focus the shot on the environment Jo is in.





I chose to analyse this photograph because I found it comical not only that the street artist didn't want his photograph taken yet clearly displaying a detailed self portrait of himself next to him but also that this situation of someone covering their face to avoid a photograph has often happened to and frustrated me. Also, I found this image inspirational for my work because it shows personality in a image. It was taken by a National Geographic photographer Bruno Schlumberger on the streets of lace du Tertre in Paris, France.

I love this image because I see at as two separate photographs. One of a man that clearly does not want his photograph taken and the other a man posing in a portrait. You can see from the detail around the mans hands that the man in the photo and the painting are the same person. I think that it is the way the photo has been framed using the rule of thirds to clearly separate the left of the image from the right.

It is not the most technically brilliant photograph I have seen but it is the element of comedy that makes it inspiration for my work on this project.

I see this shot as a observed portrait because Schlumberger is fairly well back from the street artist to show his work but does not show his environment clearly and is rather 'observing'.




This photograph was taken by Sandy Powers of Lady Lisa. The image is very detailed and shows great contrast. The wrinkles in the woman's skin have been used to Powers advantage to create a very natural and realistic image. In this case Lady Lisa was an ex model. Often these kinds of portraits are touched up to remove wrinkles and 'imperfections'. By not doing this, Powers has created a very engaging image.

The smoke adds a very artistic element to this photo which not only gives us more information about this document style photograph of a woman but also adds an element of interest and something to catch someones eye.

This is shot similarly to a formal portrait. Having said this, I wouldn't have thought the subject would be acting so casually in a 'formal' portrait in most cases.

This image could also be seen as a detailed portrait due to the reasons I have listed above about the great contrast, the wrinkles, the smoke, jewellery, etc. Also, it is shot very tight showing none of Lady Lisa's surrounding areas which would make it suitable as a detailed portrait.

The Portrait Element - Male

For my male shoot for the Portrait Element brief, I decided to shoot a contemporary craft student, Garnett Douglas whilst he was in the workshop working on a new project making a sword.

Formal Portrait:
I chose this image for my formal portrait because I think it best portrays what Garnett was doing - working in a workshop. We tried several shots with and without the goggles and ear defenders and in different positions and we both decided that this was the best one. It does not distract us from Garnett but does add extra important information to the image.

This is the only image I shot with a flash. At first I just used natural light from a large window that lit the right side of Garnetts face well but the other side of his far was very dull and in poor light. Therefore, we moved closer to the side of a large machine and I used this to bounce my flash light off to evenly light the whole of my subject.

The part of this image that I do not like is that I think the flash is a little sharp on my subjects face. I am fairly new to using flash and it took me a while to get this result so at this stage I think its the best I could have got in the environment I shot the image.



Detailed Portrait:
I really struggled to decide on which shot out of the two I have show here to chose for my detailed portrait. After discussing it with others, I decided on the top image. The angle and tighter framing I think makes the image better than the alternative.

I shot the image at a fairly modest shutter speed of 1/160. This is to show the motion of the belt sander but freeze the slightly movement in Garnetts hands and fingers. I really like the contrast in this image between the motion blur and frozen action. This was only possible due to the huge differences in speeds.

This is one of the reason why I nearly chose the other image below. I love the motion on the sander I think more in this one because you can see the sawdust getting thrown off the end of the belt and the contrast of this to the vibrant colour of the untouched half of the sander. Having said this, I do have an element of this in the top left of the chosen image and along with the preferred angle and framing, this is why I chose the top image over the bottom.
















Observed Portrait:

I shot this image for my observed portrait using an 85mm lens for the same reason as I used this lens for the Detailed Portrait. They were both taken next to a potentially harmful machine. When I am concentration on getting the shot and looking through the viewfinder of my camera, using a shorter focal length lens may have proven to be hazardous. Also, the lighting in the workshop was not very good. I had looked at the location before the shoot so I knew I'd need a lens with a low f stop in order to let as much light into the camera as possible. For this reason, I used a 50mm f/1.4 and a 85mm f/1.8 throughout the whole shoot and both being shot fully open the whole time.

I think that this image really shows Garnett working clearly and I shot from the side to achieve this allowing all of the relevant information to be contained within the one photography which is why I chose to use this as my observed Portrait.

This shot was also taken whist Garnett was working on the same machine as the Detailed Portrait (the belt sander). I wanted to include the motion blur as before but include the concentration of Garnett's face as well which I think I managed to achieve in this shot.

Environmental Portrait:
This is the image I have chosen to use for my environmental portrait. You can clearly see the Garnett and the machine he is working on and some of his surrounding environment.

I chose to leave all of the images in this set in colour because I feel that the few bright and vibrant areas of the image add to it and make it more interesting. I think it would be quite flat if it was converted into black and white.

The only part of this image some have said could be changed to possibly make better would be pulling the background back into the focus point. At the time of the shoot I thought that although it was an environmental shot, I wanted to have Garnett as the main subject still. Also, the lighting was very poor in the room meaning I had to shoot with a very high f stop so I had to be fairly selective on which part of the image would be in focus.

Portrait Element - Male - Contact sheet

I did this shoot in the design centre at the uni with a 1st year Contemporary Crafts student. I didn't get such a large range of shots as I did from some of the other shoots because I had already planned out the ones I wanted to take. Therefore, I had lots of similar images to chose between to make my final 4. I think that this has made my final set better.

Final 4 Images - Portrait Element - Female

Formal Portrait:

This is the shot I have decided to use for my formal portrait. I shot this using the ambient light that was coming through the large window behind me. At first I used a flash but I preferred the effect of the natural light when I was editing down. Laura was wearing her mask which protected her from the evaporated water containing dye. The vibrance of her eyes and the mask make this image unique.

The darkness in the background of the room gives off a studio feel. Having said this, this image was made with no artificial lighting, reflectors or any use of a studio.

I struggled to chose this image out of two potential ones. The other that I did not choose for the final set (shown below) I liked but the lighting wasn't quite right for me and the background did not offer anything and was more of a distraction than anything.

Detailed Portrait:

This is the image I chose for my detailed portrait which is Laura stirring salt and water to add to her dye and fabric mix. The detail in the cup and gloves show nice contrast against the dark background.

I had another detailed portrait very similar to this one but more tightly framed where you could not see so much of the background. I did not like that shot as much because it was quite boring. The background, although not adding much more information other than knowing that Laura is wearing a lab coat makes the image more aesthetic.

I used a flash in this image because I was blocking the only light source. I shot in portrait so used the white wall to the right of me to bounce the light off to ensure the result wasn't harsh.










Environmental Portrait:
I feel that this image shows the environment Laura was working in best. There are aspects of the room that I did not include but I did not feel that these added any information and instead distracted from the more important parts where Laura was working. I again shot this using ambient light because the large window behind me offered enough warm light to not use a flash.

An aspect of the image I really like is that Laura is looking past me and it feels as though she doesn't know I am there. Obviously this is not the case as the shoot was arranged but this is the feeling I get from the image which I think makes any image more powerful if it feels like the photographer isn't there.

In the image, you can clearly see, the sinks Laura is working in, the pots of dye, the sale and parts of the room making this my best option for an environmental portrait from the shoot.














Observed Portrait:
I chose this image as my observed portrait because it clearly shows me, the photographer, 'observing' Laura work. In this image she is mixing her fabric, hot water, dye and salt together.

This is the image where it was most important for me to use my flash. I was shooting towards the window which is where all of the natural light I was using was coming from so without a flash I would have found it impossible balance the exposure in the foreground and background of the image. Therefore, I needed the flash to brighten the foreground/Laura.

It took me several test shots to get the exposure about right in throughout the image but after changing camera and flash setting I settled with this shot. Although it is clear I have used a flash, I do not think that it is effects the image badly. I think it is only noticeable because the main light source is clearly on the other side of my subject meaning that the side being shot should naturally be in shadow.

The Portrait Element - Female

For the female portrait element brief, I decided to shoot a textiles student whilst she was dying fabric. Below is the contact sheet of the shoot.

I did this shoot in the design centre at the uni with a 1st year Textile Design student. I didn't get such a large range of shots as I did from some of the other shoots because I had already planned out the ones I wanted to take. Therefore, I had lots of similar images to chose between to make my final 4. I think that this has made my final set better.