Images that persuade: THE LONG TERM EFFECTS OF SUFFERING

Above Ground:

French photographer and graffiti artist, has continually inspired my work from the start of me pursuing photography, as he does extremely well what I seek to do. Using minimal equipment and cameras that would not be considered 'industry standard' often repairing or purchasing them from charity shops on location. His style and composition are quite simple but they have a lot of intensity to them focusing on expressing the emotion of the subject. There is a range of colour palettes shown in his portfolio but they are mainly based off portra400 and fuji film grades, being quite pastel and soft on darker tones but punchy with lighter ones. I am also a fan of how he uses minimal/available light in his pictures which provide a well balanced exposure that does not make the image seem fabricated or he uses a very hard flash inside, which gives a very powerful exposure and contrast in a dark room. 

Frank Ocean I-D/Wolfgang Tillmans:

I chose to speak about this because his use of both studio and on location work in a very seamless manor, which points to his talent as a curator generally. All of the images also have an intimacy to them, which is crucial when working with models, as the photographer must find their way into the gaze of the subject to deliver the emotive content that will draw a reader into a spread and make them read the text to understand more. Equally the styling in this spread is varied and fun, you can tell this was a passion project from those involved and this friendship forges a strong sense of cohesion throughout the spread. Finally the use of pages here is varied without a need to use motif or repetition which is something to bare in mind for my work.

Rap Artwork:

Hip Hop is a massive part of my life, and also another reason I got into photography. Rap is an incredibly image based industry, and for that reason rappers often have very stylish album are and press shots. What I want to take from this is the striking nature of these type of images, but also it gives a good impression of what can be achieved on location with casual/'streetwear' attire as well. Whilst the client does not consider himself a rapper, these are the images I compiled for him based on what he requested style wise. 

Walid Labri:

This guy is something of a unicorn coming out of nowhere in the last two years, but making big moves as of now. I find he works with colour and fashion very well, in addition to being able to put the model to work at showing what it is they are about. His work either sits very still or carries a lot of energy depending on who is being captured. For example the image in the top right of Headie One, is very stoic and elegant where the devil is in the detail. Whereas in the pictures to the left of slawn the image is a lot more energetic carrying your gaze from one side to the other and utilising more texture for detail. 

Clash Shoot of Giveon:

Clash is the probably the biggest international music magazine still running in print. Whilst the weight of the content is mostly journalistic and centred around covering the latest stories in both charting and underground music, the visual side of the magazine is very thematic and stylised based on the theme of the issue and who will be featured in it. In this sense it walks the line between a music and a fashion magazine. There is also a lot of posters and print style spreads in clash which is why I chose it. This shoot of Giveon gives a good impression of the kind of thing that actually makes print. Whilst these aren't necessarily the most groundbreaking work, they are very well put together images that succeed in forming a photo story that would work well with a text accompaniment, also they have a nice range of more personal shots and some more playful ones whilst showing Giveons personal style and good looks. Finally there is a lot of nice contrasting colours that can draw the onlooker in for closer inspection. 

Sonny Hall:

These pictures of Sonny Hall have been put here for the lighting and colour grade used, as this kind of monochrome is what I would like to use for my work, as in available light it will give a smooth exposure on the subject and lots of texture into the foreground and the background, as there is a lot of room to play with highlights and contrast. The use of multiple exposure as an overlay adds additional texture that imitates a light leak providing soft wiggly lines on each as well as printing his tattoos beside him in various places. This is a very nice subtle way of adding texture and detail to images that I could consider myself. 

Here is the outcomes of some test shooting I did for the unit with Remz. The purpose of this recce was less about location and more about fiddling around with my camera to see what I could get int terms of my exposure composition and which sources of light I should put the subject in for best results. It also served as a reference for the composition of some of the portraits I intend to take, but the actual location is much more geometric. This is also a good point on which to base my final edits and grading, as it works nicely here without being too harsh or dirty, something which I have been guilty of in the past. This was also a nice opportunity to use polaroid for my collection as well which makes me a happier camper in the end. 

Here is a screen shot of the mock spread I made using the templates from Aula. This actually proved to be very useful for the actual shoot, as I knew how I would need to use space in my compositions to make for a seamless fit into the page design. This will also help me to remember which variations of spreads I had ideas to use when putting it together. The only real thing that needed changing about this was using the changes in the layout to give more narrative structure to the editorial, as break in form signify a procession naturally, due to the human brains tendency to identifying and storing patterns. 

Here is the outcome of the final shoot for this assignment. This was a very enjoyable shoot as I got to work with people that's I am friends with, and they were both very keen to let me go crazy with working to my own style and vision. The fact that Max wanted something dark and mysterious was perfect and the weather and lighting was also very ideal for the tone required. Also in comparison with other things from clash, this has a decent chance of making print should they show any interest in Max in the future, which is not unlikely since he has spoken to them before. The post production was a great success in bringing out what I wanted from the pictures. Hopefully you will see the same. In reflection I have gained a lot in terms of my thinking about how to plan and approach this term as well as seeing the benefit of using limitations and simplicity to my benefit.