PHOTO SHOOT ONE - INSPIRED BY ANDY ELLIS:
This is the contact print from the first photo shoot I completed around the theme of 'Isolation'. I have gone on to select several of my favourite images from this set and edited them using Photoshop to draw out the theme of isolation in greater depth and to mimic the sad and depressive mood of some of Andy Ellis' images using a black and white theme running through my edited photographs.
PHOTO ONE:
Within this photo shoot I wanted to explore how I conveyed emotion to the viewer through the use of colour or black and white editing within each of my images. This particular image above conveys an atmosphere of sadness and depression through the posing of the subject: looking out into the desolate woodland area it reflects her inner emotions of loneliness and isolation which directly reflects the main theme running through this project. I found that whilst the impact of the scenery around her was strong when the image was in colour, I wanted to further enhance the sadness through the editing of the image and drained the colour to various shades of black, white and grey to refer to the darker moods within a person such as sadness, depression, loneliness and isolation. Jack Barnosky uses this technique to convey emotion and to accentuate the atmosphere he wants within his image: I wanted to incorporate this element of his photography into my own work as I thought it is a suitable and clever way to show my theme of isolation. I also wanted to enhance the contrast between the trees and the subject by making the forest look bigger and more desolate so I slightly tweaked the colour balance to bring out the shadows and add depth to the background.
This is the original version of my edited image. To begin the editing process I opened the image in Photoshop CS4 and began to think of how I wanted the image to look. I wanted to create a sad and depressive atmosphere to the image so I decided to take inspiration from some of Andy Ellis' photography and edit my images in black and white to reflect the inner emotions of the subject through the colours within the image. I found that by leaving this particular image in full colour it would look too cheerful and happy due to the bright and inviting colours and I wanted to completely remove this element from all of the images within this photo shoot. The bright greens in the trees looked too inviting to belong in an image that I was trying to reflect isolation within and the light "happy" colours within the subjects hat were too bright and cheerful, removing the concept of depression and isolation.
The second step of my editing process was to completely change the images colour by turning it into black and white. I found that by simply changing the image into black and white it formed an overly grey finish and I wanted my image to have more depth and contrast then this. I then went on to use the custom colour balance tool within the black and white filter layer to tweak the levels of each colour to form darker areas within the background and highlights within the subject to add the darker emotions I was looking for within the forest. I found that by turning the levels of colour down in most of the balancing sliders it formed more shadows within the background and made the forest seem to be a sad and isolated place rather then the beautiful green scenery it was in the full colour image above.
This step of my editing process was to add depth to the background of the image by making the shadows darker and adding highlights around the shapes of the trees to emphasise the shapes and the tones within this photo. This step enabled me to make some of the washed out areas of the background darker and to add that deeper emotion into the image through a subtle use of the brightness and contrast tool. By turning the contrast up I found that the leaves in the trees became darker and by turning the brightness down I cancelled out the lightness within the background and began to create the darker atmosphere to reflect the isolation of the subject. To emphasise this within my image I wanted to ensure that the forest in which the subject was facing was uninviting and dark to reflect the emotions I wanted in my photography. This final step of my editing process was to add a layer of Levels so I could adjust the levels of brightness, shadows and to alter the grey-scale within my image. As you can see by the difference between the last two images, there is a lot more shadow distinguished within the background and within the subject itself. The definition of the trees in the forest is much better, forming depth within the image and allowing the viewer to see the darker side of the forest and relate this to the isolated theme of the image. This layer also made the subject stand out; the highlights and shadows around her allow the viewer to clearly distinguish her from the background and she becomes the center of focus which I wanted to achieve. I have also formed the darker shades of black by altering the grey-scale and forming those textures and shades within my photography.
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If I were to analyse this image in terms of the Rule of Thirds you will notice that I have placed my subject in the 'Golden Rectangle' of the image, allowing me to draw the viewers attention towards the subject and she instantly becomes the center of focus. This has allowed me to portray a series of emotions within my image even though you cannot see her facial expressions; the body language and the position of the model is enough for the viewer to tell that she is alone in the woods with a feeling of emptiness and longing as she peers into the forest. This reflects my theme of Isolation clearly and I feel that I have achieved the atmosphere that Andy Ellis shows in some of his work about the sad side of isolation with the black and white editing and the vulnerable and closed body language of the subject. This theme runs through all of the images from this photo shoot and I feel that I have learnt a valuable technique form Andy Ellis about conveying the mood and meaning of the image through the colour that is present after the editing process.
PHOTO TWO:
This is the second image that I took from my first photo shoot and edited it in the same way as all of the other images, I wanted to carry on the black and white editing technique throughout my images to create a theme that runs through this entire photo shoot that was inspired by Andy Ellis' images. If you apply the 'Rule of Thirds' to to this photo you will notice that I have placed the subject along the central column to allow her to become the focal point of the image along with the tree that has been placed in the foreground to help with balancing the image. I have also ensured that the subject is looking right down the camera lens so that she can emotionally connect with the audience and start to accentuate the atmosphere of the image. The negative moods that are reflected within the images by the cool colours allow me to represent my theme of Isolation, accentuated by the body language, facial expression and background of the subject. In this image I was trying to concentrate on the emotional side of isolation and how it can be a positive thing as well as a negative thing. I tried to imply that the subject enjoyed the peaceful and tranquil silence of the woods and that it gave her to time to reflect on the better things that she has in her life. This allowed me to experiment with the bleak and desolate background against the happier and cheerful face of the subject: based upon her body language it would seem as if she is embracing the empty forest and likes the idea of isolating herself to find peace in contrast to her usual, busy life. This is an alternative side of Isolation that I may develop further on into my project.
PHOTO THREE:
This image is a complete contrast to the photograph above as I have positioned the subject so that the image is conveying the negative sides of mental isolation: the body language suggests that she is feeling extremely alone and that she has curled up in a ball to protect herself from everything around her. However, I have intentionally made the background to this image very basic and full of blank space so that it suggests she is fully alone with nothing around her. This side of isolation is a very unpleasant one with the the very dark and drab tones within the image to help reflect this atmosphere to the viewer. I have positioned the subject to the right hand side of the image, facing out towards the blank space to accentuate her loneliness and to show how isolated the bench and the subject is from everything else around it. I used the same editing process as the previous images but slightly tweaked the levels of colour that were in the image to create the darker tones within the background to help create the sadder and lonelier atmosphere to the image which allowed me to convey my theme of Isolation.
PHOTO FOUR:
I decided to take this image in the tunnel that is at the entrance to the woods as the lack of light within the back of the tunnel and the sharp, white light at the front of the tunnel was a sharp contrast that reflected the emotions within the image well. The subject has been positioned so that her body is in the dark side of the tunnel but she is facing the light, the longing body language is accentuating this and suggesting that she wants to be outside in the light but something is holding her back in the dark. This creates the undertones within the photograph and begins to get the viewer thinking about the sad emotions that tie a person into the darker parts of their life, suggesting that the subject may be alone because she is depressed and feels that she needs to isolate herself from the world to deal with this. I have illustrated this within this image by altering the levels of shadows and making the foreground of the image even darker to contrast even more with the bright light in the background of the image. By doing this I was also able to make the subject a silhouette, accentuating the emotions that are in the background through her as well and making her part of the darkness in the tunnel. This image is conveying the mental side of isolation and the emotions that a person may be feeling to want to isolate themselves from other people: I think I have conveyed this idea well through the composition of the image and by placing the subject in the frame facing towards the light I feel that I have started to tell the story through the body language and positioning of the subject.
PHOTO FIVE:
This image is different from the rest of the final edits in this photo shoot as I have included the use of colour within the subject and a faint use of colour in some of her surroundings to try and lighten the emotions within the photograph and to convey the positive emotions surrounding the theme of isolation. In this image the subject is walking through the woods and towards a tunnel with no other people of signs of civilisation around her. I think that this moment has been conveyed as a happy moment to the audience through the use of colour: the greens that are in the trees and the stone of the walls show the peaceful and tranquil side to nature whilst the pinks and purples in the subjects hat are known to people as 'happy' colours so a positive emotion is conveyed within this image. I wanted to include an image that begins to show the diversity of emotions that surround one theme: isolation isn't always a bad and unhappy situation as it can also be a relaxing and calm experience. The composition of the image immediately draws the viewers attention to the subject as she is in full colour and is placed right in the foreground of the image, instantly making her the centre of focus. The lines of the walls of the tunnel act as leading lines for the viewers eye to naturally follow so the bright, light and colourful woods in the background also become a major focus of the image. I think that I have conveyed the moods and emotions that are in this image well through the use of colour which Andy Ellis also does within his photogrpahy: showing the two different sides of isolation.
Overall, I feel that this photo shoot was very successful in beginning to explore the various emotions that are associated with the theme of isolation and in incorporating the techniques that Andy Ellis uses in his own photography to help me convey these emotions to the viewer of the images. I am pleased with how the photographs came out and I want to explore and develop this idea of the subjects emotions within isolation further in another shoot, incorporating some of the techniques I have used here as well as adding some new ideas to help develop the idea.
Overall, I feel that this photo shoot was very successful in beginning to explore the various emotions that are associated with the theme of isolation and in incorporating the techniques that Andy Ellis uses in his own photography to help me convey these emotions to the viewer of the images. I am pleased with how the photographs came out and I want to explore and develop this idea of the subjects emotions within isolation further in another shoot, incorporating some of the techniques I have used here as well as adding some new ideas to help develop the idea.