Shoot 9 - work diary

For this shoot I went to a rural location with a model in order to habit a similar style to Steve McCurry's. The makeup and costume are very important in this shoot as they makes/contribute to the overall dirty atmosphere. I applied brown paint and mud to the subjects face and neck and also made his clothes dirty, which was prepared for the shoot in advance. This was effective as the mud dried on the subjects face and clothes which made it look realistic and make it seem as if he has been in the state he is for a while. For this shoot I used a prime lens on my camera which was fixed at 50m focal range. This allowed for a great sense of depth of field through the background being blurred and the camera focussing on the subject's face. I also used the camera settings F stop 2.8, ISO set to 100 and shutter speed at 1/125.

I feel like this is my most successful photo from the shoot. The colours are very effective as a overall scheme has been formed. By using the selective colour tool in photoshop I was able to alter certain colours and create a specific colour scheme. This is particularly evident through the blurred background where the foliage was a rather saturated green. I then muted and desaturated the greens and changed the browns which compliment the colour of subject. Also the white sky has allowed the subjects head to stand out from the background.

I feel that the makeup has introduced a sense of texture on the subjects face which I enhanced through using the sharpener tool on areas where paint and mud is applied. I also used this point on the eyes to allow them to stand out and be the focal point. The colour of the eyes stand out from the light skin colour and also matches the colour of his eyebrows and hair. Also I like the fact that the tungsten tint in the hair goes well with the colour of the background. The facial expression and use of the rural location allows the subject to look lost and the eye contact creates a very intense and emotional connection with the audience.

Although I believe that the colour filters works better than a black and white effect, I still feel that this photo is quite effective. This is due to the photo being taken at a higher angle than before looking down at the subject with the subject looking directly up at the camera. This is used similarly in McCurry's work and I feel that along with the desperate facial expression it makes the model looking seemingly vulnerable; positioning him at a lower level makes him appear less superior and weaker. The back and white filter adds more depth and tone which is particularly seen through the applied makeup and eyes; and also  changes the mood of the piece. It produces a very emotional piece which saddens the subjects expression.

Progression:

In my next shoot I will experiment with something which completely opposes this shoot and shows influence of my chosen photographer of Brian Smith. I will do a shoot of a model in a suit with dark backgrounds and low key lighting which will allow for contrast.