Shoot 8 - work diary

This shoot was solely focussing on showing the influence of Chuck Close by experimenting with using his technique. This is where the subject is placed on a black background with a bright light which mainly focusses on their face so only the he'd can be seen. Then a blurring  filter is applied which blurs all areas around the dye of the face, focussing on the main facial features. In this shoot I experimented with different lighting methods which produced the most similar outcome to Close. I used a main spotlight placed directly in front of subject from a high angle, and also attached a honeycomb to attempt to focus the light onto the subject. I found that it still allowed light to the rest of the body and wasn't as concentrated as I wished. I then attached a snoot to the light which worked very effectively. In photography, a snoot is a tube or similar object that fits over a studio light or portable flash and allows the photographer to control the direction and radius of the light beam. Snoots can isolate a subject when using a flash. They help by stopping "light spill", or when lighting falls in a larger footprint than intended. Then in photoshop I change the photo to black and white and even applying brown colours to gain a slight sepia effect. After this I used a new layer and applied a layer mask, following this I used a vignette blur and reduces the opacity to make it look more realistic and effective. Finally I sharped the main facial features to allow them to stand out.

Here, I have used the blurring technique and honeycomb lighting on a female subject in order to enhance her femininity. By using the honeycomb light grid it allowed for moderate light spill and very soft lighting which opposes the intensity create by using a snoot. The lighting I used is soft which compliments the blurring applied. A sense of mystery is produced due to the way in which the subject is merging from the black background and the eye contact with and facial expression made is very intense. The eyes stand out the most in the composition due to them being completely black with white marks of reflection. I enhanced tis contrast by using the sharpening tool on photoshop.

This is my favourite photograph from the shoot as I feel it shows the most resemblance to Chuck Close's work. This due to the fact that only the subject's head and neck can be seen, similarly to Close. I managed this by making him wear a black t shirt which caused him to blend in with the background. Also here I used a snoot which directed the light as his face, minimising any light spill. The subject is looking directly at the camera which creates a connection with the viewers. The blur has allied for the focal point to be the face and in particular the eyes which show the most contrast and detail. I enhanced the detail by using a sharpening tool specifically on the eyes nose and mouth and even some patches of the hair. 

Form is shown very well through the shadows and also provides a sense of shape and structure.

Progression: 

In my next shoot I will do a location shoot which will also show blurring but in a different way, I will attempt to show a great sense of depth of field by blurring the background.  I could also apply makeup to make the subject look dirty.