Nick Waplington - Living room series (1990)
Richard Billingham - Rays a laugh (1996)
Image Bank:
The images above are photographs I found online when I researched 'grandparents documentary' bearing in mind that I will be shooting my nan in her home. Although these images are very quiet and can seem lonely, I enjoy the composition and framing in them, this is something I will definitely take inspiration from. I also like the idea of the lighting bleeding through the window and brightening aspects of the image, I might try this with my own shots.
Contact Sheet:
Best Images:
Shutter speed: 1/6 F.3.5 ISO 200
Shutter Speed: 1/20 F.3.5 ISO 200
Shutter Speed: 1/13 F.3.5 ISO 200
Shutter Speed: 1/60 F.4 ISO 400
Shutter Speed: 1/60 F.4 ISO 400
Shutter Speed: 1/60 F.4 ISO 400
Shutter Speed: 1/10 F.3.5 ISO 200
Shutter Speed: 1/10 F.3.5 ISO 200
Shutter Speed: 1/6 F.3.5 ISO 200
Shutter Speed: 1/3 F.4 ISO 200
Shutter Speed: 1/3 F.4 ISO 200
Shutter Speed: 1/60 F.4 ISO 400
Shutter Speed: 1/60 F.4 ISO 400
Shutter Speed: 1/60 F.4 ISO 400
Shutter Speed: 1/5 F.3.5 ISO 200
The reason this image wasn't successful was due to the long shutter speed, the image was shooting for half a second which without a tripod will result in a very blurry image as shown above. I felt I needed a longer shutter speed to let more light in so that my images weren't under exposed, however this ultimately created an issue that could have potentially been avoided if I used a tripod. I have been trying to avoid using a tripod as I am shooting a documentary series and try to shoot in the decisive moment without planning, although I might need to think about experimenting with a tripod at times.
Shutter Speed: 1/25 F.4 ISO 200
Shutter Speed: 1/20 F.4 ISO 200
Images that require improvement:
Shutter Speed: 1/5 F.3.5 ISO 200
The reason this image wasn't successful was due to the long shutter speed, the image was shooting for half a second which without a tripod will result in a very blurry image as shown above. I felt I needed a longer shutter speed to let more light in so that my images weren't under exposed, however this ultimately created an issue that could have potentially been avoided if I used a tripod. I have been trying to avoid using a tripod as I am shooting a documentary series and try to shoot in the decisive moment without planning, although I might need to think about experimenting with a tripod at times.
Shutter Speed: 1/25 F.4 ISO 200
These two images experienced the same problem resulting in under exposed, dark images. For these shots to be successful I would need to use a smaller number aperture to let more light into the lens for the images to be brighter, the shutter speed was at a reasonable speed to avoid creating a blur but this will have then needed a smaller aperture to avoid these under exposed images.
AO1 - Develop ideas through sustained and focused investigations informed by contextual and other sources, demonstrating analytical and critical understanding.
For this shoot I have taken inspiration from both photographers Nick Waplington and Richard Billingham, by mixing the two together I have developed a range of techniques within both shooting and the editing process. They both have similar moral ideas about photography and why it is important, to portray a social issue or message through the images. Both of the photographers work was not only aesthetically pleasing for me but meaningful and powerful in the way that they shot their images and presented ideas implicitly and explicitly. Looking at these photographers works and blogs e.t.c has guided me in a clear direction and enabled me to produce a meaningful and visually pleasing series. From Billingham I have taken inspiration to look deeper into the relationships around me and for this shoot, particularly the relationship between my dad and his mum. Also, there are 3 images within this shoot that specifically remind me of Billinghams work with spontaneity Additionally from Waplington I have taken inspiration from the way he shoots freehand and still focuses in detail the composition of his images, and also the way he presents an imperfect sense of life. Finally, I have edited my images in such a way that gives them a film camera style with pinkish tints.
AO2 - Explore and select appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques and processes, reviewing and refining ideas as work develops.
When taking the photographs for this shoot I used a handheld approach as usual for the style of documentary, I was shooting in aperture priority and manual mode, shifting between the two, with the understanding that some images may appear blurred if I were to shoot in darker settings as they need a longer shutter speed. With this in mind I made sure to start the shoot around 11am so that I had daylight. I used an ISO of 200 and 400, dependant on what I felt was necessary for the particular shot as some areas of my nans house are a lot darker than others.
I used the curve and the eyedropper tool to a white balance in my image. I selected the eyedropper tool and clicked on an area of the image that was already white and then adjusted the result if necessary with the curve tool. The reason I did this was because I turned the kitchen lights on in these images so they had a yellow tint to them which I needed to remove.
I followed the same steps for the rest of my images.
To begin, it is important to adjust the brightness slightly as some of my images tend to be darker. The easiest way of doing this is by using the slide bar tool. I had the idea of tinting my images with a pinkish from the beginning, originally inspired by Nick Waplington. Some of his most famous works in the Living Room series have this pinkish tint as he shot with a film camera, which is the aesthetic I was aiming for in my images.
The perspective crop tool was a very important part of my editing process as it enabled me to adjust the composition for some of my images in the cases that the camera was not being held completely straight.
AO3 - Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions, reflecting critically on work and progress.
I believe my work reflects a sense of both Richard Billingham and Nick Waplingtons photography, aesthetically, visually and with the key ideas of family values. I did this shoot in my nan's purposely to show my nan as a whole, a product of her time. This also offered a visually pleasing series which perfectly portrays her relationship with her son suggesting ideas about matriarchy and gives the images an intimate feel. The setting gives the viewer a strong essence of my nan and her life, with an underlying theme of british culture, which is consistent in both Billingham and Waplingtons work. Some images are more visually similar to one photographer than the other, but this seems to work when the series comes together as a whole. Particular images are brighter, with more colours that mirror some of Billinghams work, but also has strong similarities to Waplingtons photography as well.
Waplingtons work has clearly inspired the pink tint in my image and the angles and composition in include in my shots. There are lots of similarities in the both of these images, including the old style of room and furniture, the lay out of the room is similar and where the people are positioned in the image. The casual-ness and relaxed body language of the people in the images, and the way that they are both enjoying one anthers company but not actually sharing eye contact.
The two first images are the works of Richard Billingham and the bottom image is my own. I feel like this image has strong resemblance's to Billinghams work. His father is a spontaneous man, often alcoholic. Billingham tends to take pictures at the right time, despite them being completely random. The image I shot is of my uncle who has moved back in with his mother, the timing was lucky enough that he is framed by the mirror behind him, the facial expression and the blur in the image almost completely mirror a mixture of both the images shown shot by Billingham.
Waplingtons work has clearly inspired the pink tint in my image and the angles and composition in include in my shots. There are lots of similarities in the both of these images, including the old style of room and furniture, the lay out of the room is similar and where the people are positioned in the image. The casual-ness and relaxed body language of the people in the images, and the way that they are both enjoying one anthers company but not actually sharing eye contact.
AO4 - Present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and, where appropriate, makes connections between visual and other elements.
I am happy with how this shoot turned out, I believe it is a consistent progression from my first two shoots in regards to both shooting the images and the editing process. After this shoot I have additional ideas about where I can take this projection and the right direction to head in. I am looking at shooting in film in the future, and mightt take short videos for my next shoot to include sound, this was suggested to me by Billingham himself in an email and seems life a good direction to head into from here. My ideas are still growing and I still need some improvement on both shooting images and finding different ways to edit and present my work.
Final Images:
Final Images:
No comments:
Post a Comment