Shoot 4

Photographer Research: Richard Billingham & Larry Sultan

Practicing golf swing (1986)

Reading at the kitchen table (1988)

Larry Sultan photographed his father and family over a ten year period spanning the 70s and 80s as part of an elaborate project that included his parents own photos, home movies and statements. This was the Reagan era which preached the values of family life, a version Sultan didn't recognise. "Photography is there to construct the idea of us as a great family and we go on vacations and take these pictures and then we look at them later and we say, 'Isn't this a great family?' So photography is instrumental in creating family not only as a memento, a souvenir, but also a kind of mythology." (Larry Sultan). Produced in the 80's, these images can look almost fictional, and seem surreal based on the decor in the home and clothing on the people. Sultan appears to use lots of light in his photography whether it is natural sunlight outside or gleaming through windows, or artificial lighting inside to keep the images bright. The way that he captures his parents through the documentary truly offers an insight into their middle-class American lifestyle. I assume that they take pride in their home and appearance and notice this by things like his fathers watch and their bright clothing. I can also assume this due to the details in their home with the way that the yellow chairs match the yellow wallpaper. I really like the composition in both of these images, particularly the top image which shows Sultans father practicing his golf swing in his living room, the light behind him isn't too much to over expose the image and make his father a silhouette and offers a very peaceful, summer like feel. I will use elements from both Sultan and Billingham in this shoot, and mix ideas and morals to create a nice balance in between Middle - class America in the 80's and Working - class England in the 90's.

Image Bank: 

Contact Sheet:

Best Images:

 ISO 800 F.stop 3.5 Shutter Speed 1/25

 ISO 400 F.stop 3.5 Shutter Speed 1/25

 ISO 400 F.stop 3.5 Shutter Speed 1/25

 ISO 800 F.stop 4.0 Shutter Speed 1/25

 ISO 800 F.stop 3.5 Shutter Speed 1/25

 ISO 800 F.stop 3.5 Shutter Speed 1/25

 ISO 800 F.stop 3.5 Shutter Speed 1/25

 ISO 800 F.stop 3.5 Shutter Speed 1/25

 ISO 800 F.stop 3.5 Shutter Speed 1/25

 ISO 800 F.stop 3.5 Shutter Speed 1/25

 ISO 800 F.stop 3.5 Shutter Speed 1/25

 ISO 800 F.stop 3.5 Shutter Speed 1/25

I also took this video which is a short interview with my Nan about what it was like growing up as a young girl during the second world war. 

Images that require improvement:

The reason that I feel this image requires some improvement is a lot to do with the flash being shot in this image, this and the fact that this image looks slightly staged as it seems like my nan is framing the image to show the camera. Although this was truly an unplanned moment in which she was appreciating her wedding photos, it can seem set up as if not capturing true reality. Additionally, the fact that the flash is on gives the aesthetic a less film camera feel, the image looks very clear and crisp in comparison to some of my others. Also this image has a slightly yellow tint, although I could have probably fixed this on photoshop with white balance.

This image also wasn't as successful as I would have liked. As I arrived at my nan's early she still had rollers in her hair, I saw this is a perfect moment to capture the true reality of her life, although she didn't much appreciate this. I tried to take some more but she wasn't very happy with the idea of being photographed with rollers in her hair. This is the difference between some of my work and the photographers I have looked at so far, as the families in the images I have looked at seem to be completely unbothered by their photo being taken no matter what they are doing or what they look like. I struggle to capture unusual or spontaneous images like that in my shoots. Also, the framing and angle in this image isn't great either, although I like how my dad is hidden by my nan and only his leg is showing as it still has a matriarch feel to the image.

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 Richard Billingham and Larry Sultan, 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 nan and his adult sons. I have taken inspiration from the blue tint in some of Billinghams images as it seems like the shots are taken on a film camera. Although my family are more like that of Sultans in regards to behaviours and morals, with tidier houses and dressed well.

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 midday so that I had daylight. I used an ISO of 400 and 800, dependant on what I felt was necessary for the particular shot as some areas of my nans house are a lot darker than others.

As I shot in raw, when I opened my images to edit them they opened in Camera raw editing software to make detailed adjustments before additional editing on photoshop. Here, I adjusted the tint and used the slider to make it slightly pink, and adjusted the temperature and used the slider to make it slightly blue, so that over all my images had a purplish tint to them like Billinghams. I adjusted the contrast and saturation here to make it as aesthetically pleasing as possible. 

On Photoshop I used the text tool to add the date and time the images were shot at, as I know that old style film camera photos usually have this tag in the bottom left corner. 

After this I selected the filter tab and selected the noise filter to add a grain to my image just to elevate the old, film camera style aesthetic. 

Photoshop had this filter on recommended settings but for some of the images I made the noise filter stronger than others depending on what I felt looked nicer.

I placed some of my best, edited on to a white page. One Image placed above the other so that they are a final piece together rather than individual photos. 

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 Larry Sultans photography, aesthetically, visually and with the key ideas of family values keeping each photographers morals in mind. So far this is the second shoot based on my nan, and I make sure to shoot them in her house not only as it is convenient but to show my nan as a whole being, a product of her time, which is clear in her old fashioned home. This also offered a visually pleasing series which perfectly portrays her relationship with her sons suggesting ideas about matriarchy and gives the images an intimate , closer 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 Billinghams work. A strong similarity also between my shoot and Sultans is that being in the home, the images do really feel homey and comfortable. Additionally  although my nan's house is not as modern for it's time, it is very lived in just like Sultan's. Something noticeable in Sultan's work is his fathers reluctance or disinterest for being in the images, there is a similarity I feel between the character of his father and my uncle in this sense, who is much more of a background figure in my images, not very present. 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. 

The top image is the works of Larry Sultan, placing these images next to each other shows similarities in relationships and attitudes about being photographed. For example, in Sultan's shot his mother is looking over her husband who appears unbothered, almost mirroring my image. My uncle's attitude about being images can be similar to Sultan's father in regards to trying to be out of the way of the camera, uninterested in the project. In regards to aesthetic these images are very different, Sultan's house was a bold and colourful modern American home in the 80's. The style of my nan's house is a lot calmer, quite a typical 90's older persons house with duller, plainer colours and a lot smaller in size as it is in the UK. The composition of these images is also quite similar, however the subjects in my image are standing rather than sitting, other than that both images are a wide angle shot of the room, with one the individuals a big space apart with one on the right and one on the left. 

The first image is a shot by Billingham, in what seems to be some kind of dining/sitting room, as there it no TV I know it is not the living room. Here, Ray sits in his little life in the brown sofa, looking as if he is daydreaming with his alcohol on the table. Liz is clearly talking to him but he is paying no attention in some kind of a daze, similar to my nan sitting in her sofa. For both Ray and my Nan, their whole lives are in their homes which are very lived in. With photos and monuments on the walls and everything they need right there with them. The style of the homes are quite similar in regards to colour, although Billinghams home is slightly more earlier 90's than my nan's. The people in both of these images are complete products of their time and environment and happy in their small bubbles. 

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 three 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 project and the right direction to head in. I am looking at shooting some more video in the future, perhaps having a conversation with someone different about something important to them, although I liked the idea of discussing the past and growing up as it is nice to reflect. For my next shoot I plan to focus on my mum's parents instead, which will have a more modern feel to the images not only as they are younger but have quite a modern home. Especially as the next shoot will be heavily influenced by Larry Sultan. Additionally  the dynamics of the relationships in my mum's side of the family are a lot different so it will be nice to explore the types of images  will be able to shoot of them. My ideas are continuing to grow and I still need some improvement on both shooting images and finding different ways to edit and present my work.

Final Images: