Independent Investigation and Final 2 Images:
Using the skills and knowledge you have developed over the duration of the course, produce a series of 2 images to be exhibited in the National Gallery on the theme of New Art from Old, drawing on your contextual investigate and generate and inform ideas.
I would love to explore portraiture, as I have always loved photographing children and how candid the children in the photo can be.
Child portraiture ( the joy of expression)
Most recently in November I caught my children with their cousins just as the sun was setting and there was so much joy in their expression.
Street photography and use of colour – On a recent visit to The Photographer’s gallery in soho I was drawn to the street photography in New York with children and the use of colour. It reminded me of my own exploration with my child growing up and would love to use a pop of colour in my final image too.
The two pictures in the gallery below were taken in New York in 1971 and 1972.
The three pictures above are of my daughter ages 18 and 19 months in the streets of Greece and Paris. I love the use of colour as well as the canid expression.
Landscape with children – I love taking photographs of my children outside with a great view and the two below show both leading lines and framing.
The use of light and dark and shadows with Georgia outside – The use of contrast between dark and light in a picture can add great depth and drama. In the picture below my daughter looks like she could be in children’s story like a little fairy, as the contrast adds a mystery/magic to the image.
Ruud Van Empal dutch photographer– In class we also discussed Ruud Van Empal and how he places children as a layer on top of colourful/nature backgound. I was interested in this and creating a fantasy layer behind the subject.
Taylor Wessing Portrait Gallery – I also had the pleasure of visiting the Taylor Wessing Portrait gallery and loved some of the portraits of the children.
I experimented in Richmond Park with taking photos of my children. It was a bright sunny day so my camera settings were on shutter speed 1/400, F stop 4.5 so the faces were the focal point and ISO 100.
National portrait gallery – At a recent trip to the national gallery it was lovely to see how old artists had painted children. The faces are often in a bright exposure. I was also drawn to Renior’s dancing girls and Monet boats with the use of pastel colours and textures. Joseph Wright’s an experiment on a bird in the air pump (1768) was incredibly painted with the use of light in the dark room.
The two paintings I will be using to generate my two final images are –
Renoir dancing girl & Gainsborough the painters daughters chasing butterflys:
In both paintings I like the use of light and reflections and shadows. I love the use of pastel colours and in Renoirs dancing girl as well as ‘capturing childhood’ in Thomas Gainsborough’s.
I was really inspired to capture an image of my daughter as a dancer, its something that is very important and special to her. I experimented at sunset by Barnes pond, reflections of light could also be caught on the water in the background.
I loved the pretty colour of the reflection on the water and the movement in Georgia’s hair as well as the pastel colours in her dress. My camera settings were on a shutter speed of 1/320 Fstop 2.5 and ISO 100.
In our last week we also experimented further using the studio equipment of a black backdrop, lights, flash meter and coloured gels.
Practicing on where the light was placed and what camera settings to use was really useful. There was dark back drop and then we used both purple and green colour gels. My camera settings ere 1/250 F stop 4.5 and ISO at 100. The draped fabrics created a great reflection on the models face.
For my 2 final pieces using the Renior and Gainsborough paintings I wanted to achieve one portrait picture inside with a floral background as if Georgia is dancing in a meadow or theatre. Then the other picture I wanted to capture the innocence of children and play outside with a dark wood behind them like in the Gainsborough picture.
For the dancing girl image I initially had the idea that I could maybe use Georgia’s meadow murial wallpaper in her bedroom as the background.
I experimented with this and the light wasn’t quite right in her bedroom, not enough natural day light and then not enough light from the use of lamps in her room.
I then looked at another floral wall hanging in our kitchen which had lots of natural daylight as well as lamps.
I placed Georgia on the Island in our kitchen so her face was directly in front of the wall hanging, I angled her so she was facing the natural light streaming down on her from the skylight above her to my left and there was some more gentle light from the hanging Island lamp to my right. I changed my zoom lense to a 50ml fixed lense to give a slightly better portrait image. As there was lots of natural light in the room I had the ISO at 100, I could keep the aperture low at Fstop 3.2 so that it created some blur behind her and her being the focal point and the shutter speed at 1/30. From the natural light above her it created some lovely shadows under her chin and neck and reflection in her eyes as well as lighting up her ballet costume.
I was really happy with this image. It captured ‘the dancing girl’ with the pastel colours, flowers and light reflections on her face and costume.
With some gentle touches in Lightroom, I increased the contrast and vibrancy to pop the colour and increased the whites to brighten it up slightly and cropping slightly to the edges, I had produced my final image.
FINAL IMAGE 1
Evaluation – I am really pleased with how beautiful the picture looks. There is a sense of calmness and prettiness like in the Renoir painting . The added touches of the flower in the hair and the textured dancing outfit with the flowers in the background are all inspiration from the painting. The use of light with shadows on the neck and light reflection on the costume are similar to the painting.
I was able to use 5 materials in the process. A fixed 50 mm lens, my camera, two different light sources one natural and one warm lamp and the flower wall hanging in the background.
If I was to improve the picture I would want to see Georgia’s finger where she is pointing up and maybe move her less central and add a rule of thirds. However this was too tricky to do, as the wall hanging was not wide enough in the background with the 50mm lens.
And below is another picture from the process which I took, this emphasises the light on her like a beam of sunlight or a spotlight on a stage.
And lastly for my final image 2 I wanted to capture the children outside using some childhood props (basket bag and teddy bear) and hopefully candid expressions I could ‘capture childhood’ like Gainsborough did in his painting of his daughters. I wanted to have the children in a dark wood like the painting and have the faces lit up. I placed myself in front of the sunlight with the camera so the faces would be lit up and I crouched low so I was looking up to the children. My camera settings were on a low aperture of Fstop 3.5, shutter speed 1/30 and ISO 100.
With some touches again in Lightroom, I increased the exposure and contrast so their faces were lit up, as well making the trees more prominent with the light seeping through in the background. I increased the overall vibrancy so the picture became warmer and cropped it so the children became the main focal point of the picture like the painting. I was really happy with their great expressions (this helped with my husband playing what’s the time Mr Wolf with them!)
FINAL IMAGE 2
Evaluation – I am really happy with the picture and how it is influenced by Gainsborough’s painting of his daughters. The children are in a similar setting of a dark wood and the candid expression captures childhood with the little help of the props (bag and teddy) even the hole in Georgia’s tights depict ‘childhood’!
Initially after I had made the picture more vibrant in the Lightroom I was worried there was too much light coming through the trees in the background, however on reflection I now like it, adds a touch of magic and warmth to the picture. As I wanted to really expose the children’s faces like in the painting I placed the aperture quite low, however Georgia’s face is slightly out of focus as it was dark, so I maybe could have increased the aperture slightly. To add more light and shadow to the children and their clothes I would need to add another light tool and reflector in to the process. I had the natural sunlight behind me which was creating an overall broad light effect.
Its been really interesting to see how so many artists and photographers have been influenced by old artists and paintings. Through my process I have discovered how much I enjoy taking pictures of children. I was initially scared of just using the manual on the camera, however after practice I am now getting used to this and feeling more confident.
UAL Level 1 Photography 