Photography: Brief 1 "to allow the exploration of photographic portraiture utiising the variables involved in producing a photographic image."
The Brief
The aim of the essay was to research and put into practice the necessary techniques and ideas to create web-viewable portraiture taken using a digital camera and uploaded to the web. We were given the required tutoring and equipment to practice and develop photographs during independant study to meet the requirements of the brief. Three photographs were to be taken in varying styles and locations; one portrait in the style of a particular photographer, and one self-portrait. These were to be published on our portfolio websites with dimensions no larger than 500 pixels square, and with a maximum filesize of 50 kilobytes each. The full brief is available for viewing on the New Media website.
The Proposal
My initial ideas were to present another student as the model in the three first photographs as the brief intended. However, time constraints and commitments made this difficult - so I used a family member to fill this role. This allowed me a greater period of time to plan and take the images, and also a greater variety of possible locations to take the images in.
For the self portrait, I planned to take an "at-angle" shot of myself on my motorcycle using a timer and tripod setup - however, this proved very difficult to set-up and I compromised with the composition of the taken images.
Preparation
I prepared for the brief primarily by attending the planned lectures and taking onboard advice and techniques demonstrated by the tutor. For equipment, I used a FujiFilm S6500 digital camera primarily to take the images and also experimented with different lens configurations to achieve the final pieces I desired.
For research, I studied a book loaned to me, More Joy of Photography by Keith Boas, which provided some inspiration. I also read profiles of noted photographers on Wikipedia.
Portraiture
This photograph was taken infront of a war memorial - of the photographs taken, it is the one meant to potray some facet of emotion. From a technical aspect, the photo is taken from an angle to provide an unnatural viewpoint, and the subject is adjacent and parallel to the monument. The image has physical dimensions of 400 x 300 pixels, with a filesize of 49.92 kB.
The idea in this photo was to employ the technique of using the natural environment to "frame" the subject. The textured wall provides framing for the half of the subject visible, and provides an interesting detail. The image has physical dimensions of 400 x 300 pixels, with a filesize of 49.71 kB.
The over-shoulder nature of this photograph is meant to portray the backdrop as viewed by the subject. The image has physical dimensions of 400 x 300 pixels, with a filesize of 49.19 kB.
Self Portrait
This photo displays me returning from a journey on my Ducati, with the headlamp on full-beam. I feel this was a half-realised image from my initial thought process. The logistics of setting up the tripod and timer to take the image in the intended fashion were more difficult than initially thought, and the lighting from the headlamp bears no real impact on the image in the light of day. This might have been better displayed at night with a more central tripod positioning. I hope the lengths I needed to go to display a facet of my personality - my love of bikes. The image has physical dimensions of 400 x 400 pixels, with a filesize of 49.7 kB.
In the style of another photographer
This photograph was inspired by one with a similar idea, by Bret Dunsmore, a photographer from West Lothian. In his photograph, he displays a monotone match in the process of being lit. I have expanded on this by showing the subject holding the matchbox from where it has just been lit, in a blue hue, the polar opposite to the orange hue that would natural. The fiery explosion provides some movement to the picture. The image has physical dimensions of 400 x 300 pixels, with a filesize of 27.82 kB.
Review
Overall, I feel I have fulfilled the requirements of the brief to a satisfactory level, although some of the intended results on several images were unrealised. I found the self-potrait particularly diffiult to achieve due to the process of setting up a tripod and timing mechanism to take the photograph in my stead. I felt that the restrictions on filesize for the images, given the suggested resolutions meant that detailed images needed to lose significant colour detail in order to fit the requirements - which is why my images are 400 pixels across.
As a learning experience I found this brief very valuable indeed - I am quite pleased with the results given my level of knowledge in the area in the time before my study. I feel the skills picked up here will be very useful in future briefs and beyond.