This quarter at school has been a lot better, academically, than last quarter. By miles. I've been liking my Fashion class, Portraiture class, Alternative Processes Class and even my Digital Photographic Art Direction (in which I work with a graphic designer to create imagery for their layouts).
So - to get into a small bit of what's going on... In Portraiture class we've been going through and working with lighting styles and looking at how to light both males and females differently to accentuate them as their sexual differences dictate.
For starters, We did a "self portrait" that was to show something about ourselves. It could be as interesting, or bleak as we wanted to make it. I, of course, went with the very symbology driven tack in an image that oozes metaphor and simile.
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| ©Carlos Paradinha Photography |
However, this blog isn't about religion or politics, sex or rock & roll - though there will be images that deal with those things in the future, I'm quite sure. It's about imagery and the creation thereof - so let's continue!
The lighting pattern for this image was quite simple, and effective for what I was going for. I used a medium soft box, up and to my right, with a fill of a white painted wall to my left and an ineffective backlight on a black background (I later Photoshopped the light behind my head in to make the halo).
I have the plate on a small table covered in black fabric that absorbs all the light and has a deep black to it to make it be less of a distraction to the main image. I also made sure the meatball cross was right in the middle of the red stripe (I had to Photoshop that to make it 'perfect') for the proper effect. Finally, I made my face clean and as plastic-looking as I could, without going too overboard.
I got some pretty good reviews for it, and was chided for a few weeks afterwards about it. I kinda like it myself... :D
From the self portrait, we moved on to lighting styles - classic ones. For males, my favorite... Rembrandt lighting. For females, the ultimate in simplicity... Paramount, or butterfly lighting.
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| ©Carlos Paradinha Photography |
Rembrandt lighting is usually reserved for males because of the dramatic effect it has on the face, and the way it casts shadow that may be unflattering to women. Hence this type of lighting...
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| ©Carlos Paradinha Photography |
After we did these, all bets were off. We were to create portraits using whatever lighting pattern we wanted to make the assignments "sing."
The next assignment was "a portrait of a woman" where we were to create an image that would be not only pleasing to the viewer, but flattering to the model.
I decided to go the classic route and see what my long dead photographic predecessors had done. I have a really good book ("Hollywood Portraits - Classic Shots and How to Make Them" by Roger Hicks and Christopher Nisperos) that my partner got for me a while back with an image taken in 1928 that totally blew me away.
Eugene Richee took pictures of a young starlet named Louise Brooks with black on black and pearls. I fell in love with the images and wanted to recreate them so badly I knew I had to do it.
Here are the results:
©Carlos Paradinha Photography
I thought that they were pretty stunning, and the lighting pattern for these images were very simple. From what I learned, all he used were two beauty dishes at about 45º from the camera, aimed at the subject and at just at camera height.
The background in these images is far away enough that it falls to a deep black quickly, and the model's dress was exceptionally black as well, absorbing most of the light with no sheen.
Keeping with the classic style of portraiture from a past time, I looked at our next assignment - "a portrait of a man" and turned the clock forward a couple of decades from the previous shoot. With this in mind, I went with George Hurrell in the 1940s.
George Hurrell had a very vast array of lighting configurations and created masterpieces with them. He must have done a ton of experimentation and in so doing, achieved superlative imagery that is still emulated today.
©Carlos Paradinha PhotographyBorrowing from George's styles, I found images of Humphrey Bogart that made him look menacing and human, all at the same time. One of the original requirements of the shoot was that the subject for the shot was to be over 35 years old. My model had just turned 35 the week before (nudge, nudge, wink, wink!) and totally fit the bill! I know he would make a great character for the shoot, and I wasn't wrong.
The lighting style for these shots were not as simple as the one before. For the bottom image, I added a background light (I didn't have one for the previous two) to make it more "Hollywood" and in character for Hurrel. The first two were also in the Hurrell style, but I chose to leave out the background lighting and keep the rim or fill light in order to subtly define the black on black of the Fedora. The 3rd shot still has the rim/fill lighting of the first two.
So with this shoot, I used a background light (which I then removed), a key light behind and at about 30º to the camera's right and at camera level, a second key light as a spotted Fren-L from as high as I could and at about 60º off camera axis to the right, and finally a fill/rim light at about 90º to the subject and at about shoulder level.
Again, the results were stunning. I will definitely be taking pages from Hurrell's book of lighting and emulating his works in the future!
Our 5th assignment was to emulate a Master of Photography in the portraiture arena. I immediately clutched to George Hurrell and worked with a model who wanted to do a conceptual piece where he was Achilles. Since I *love* to do more editorial or theatrical imagery - I knew what was to happen...
The young man and I took a while to get the timing of the shot down, and we were plagued with an exorbitant amount of technical difficulties, including failed wiring and a burnt out lighting power pack - but we were able to get images nevertheless...!
©Carlos Paradinha Photography
Speaking for themselves, the images were as close to Hurrell as I could possibly get under the circumstances. the first one "Achilles," was a compilation of recreations of several different statues of Achilles we had found. The second, "Achilles Before the Arrow," was a piece done for the sake of using a slower shutter speed to capture the ellipsoidal patterning in the background that can't be seen when using strobes, which we did for the first shot. I was told that if Hurrell was alive today, he would most likely do nudes, both male and female. I, out of my own liking of the male nude, created a piece in Hurrell's style with my (and the model's) vision.
Our 6th assignment was to capture an environmental portrait using any style of lighting that we deemed appropriate for the image. My first attempt, was not to the instructor's liking, and rightfully so. There was too much movement in the shot, and the individual's face was unrecognizable.
I didn't really "get" the structure and purpose of the environmental portrait at first. After doing a little more research and going through some relevant photographs, I turned in this image:
Our 5th assignment was to emulate a Master of Photography in the portraiture arena. I immediately clutched to George Hurrell and worked with a model who wanted to do a conceptual piece where he was Achilles. Since I *love* to do more editorial or theatrical imagery - I knew what was to happen...
The young man and I took a while to get the timing of the shot down, and we were plagued with an exorbitant amount of technical difficulties, including failed wiring and a burnt out lighting power pack - but we were able to get images nevertheless...!
©Carlos Paradinha Photography
Speaking for themselves, the images were as close to Hurrell as I could possibly get under the circumstances. the first one "Achilles," was a compilation of recreations of several different statues of Achilles we had found. The second, "Achilles Before the Arrow," was a piece done for the sake of using a slower shutter speed to capture the ellipsoidal patterning in the background that can't be seen when using strobes, which we did for the first shot. I was told that if Hurrell was alive today, he would most likely do nudes, both male and female. I, out of my own liking of the male nude, created a piece in Hurrell's style with my (and the model's) vision.
Our 6th assignment was to capture an environmental portrait using any style of lighting that we deemed appropriate for the image. My first attempt, was not to the instructor's liking, and rightfully so. There was too much movement in the shot, and the individual's face was unrecognizable.
I didn't really "get" the structure and purpose of the environmental portrait at first. After doing a little more research and going through some relevant photographs, I turned in this image:
©Carlos Paradinha Photography
With the image above, I chose to take it from a slightly lower angle in order to show that this guy was the owner, operator, creator, master cook and accountant for the business. What people can't tell from this image is that Calozzi's started as a street vending business and is, at the time of this blog entry, just finishing their first anniversary celebrations, and expanding the business. So, to convey that spirit of pride, hard work, dedication to something that's believed in and fought for - I captured this image of Al Calozzi next to his grill, armed with his spatulas, and beaming with tenacious pride.
One of the last assignments we had to do was either a group shot or a couple. I had a GREAT idea for a couple's shoot, but that was not to be. I would tell you all what that was about, but I may just keep it under wraps for a future surprise. ;-)
Since I had apparently been doing well in the class, my instructor pulled me aside one day and asked that I take a group shot of a graduating class in the Interior Design department at school. I was more than happy to do it, and severely honored as well. I found out that only those who are hand picked by the Photography department's faculty are able to capture that shot, and the image is displayed on the Interior Design's wall for a period of time - the length as yet to be determined.
It was a bit of a task to get the communications lines down, but once we did, I had a couple of classmates act as my assistants and we went to take the group portrait at a location of the group's choosing. They chose a nearby pier area, overlooking the industrial side of the city.
Sadly, my poor camera was having mechanical/electronic issues and quite a few of the images came out with a 'soft' focus, though the camera had been indicating the image takes was indeed in focus. I did what I could to save the day, but I thought it would be best to retake the image with a better camera - well, with at least one that wasn't acting funky...
Here is the image that was placed in the department's hallway:
©Carlos Paradinha Photography
Their instructor liked it a lot because it was fun and dynamic. I liked it as well - but knew I could do better for them, so once I rescheduled the shoot, I chose the location and thankfully the weather was a lot better that day than the previous day of shooting.
©Carlos Paradinha Photography
For the most part, everyone dressed in the same outfits for the shoot (it was a week later) and the weather was absolutely stunning that day. I thought the second shot came out weather nicely, and I was very pleased with the results. I had a couple of other classmates assist me with the shoot on the second day as well, and just as on the first day, their assistance was incalculable and priceless.
Lastly - we had group projects in between the regular assignments where the class was split up into three groups (I was part of Group 3), and were given different tasks throughout the quarter. The first task was to create an image from a word. Our word was "Powerful." We chose to use one of our group members to act as if she was a Captain of Industry and we lit her in a way that was more masculine and 'powerful looking." The other words were "Spiritual" and "Dangerous." We were told that we would get to re-do the task at the end of the quarter to se how our perceptions changed after we learned what were taught.
Our second task was to recreate a New York Times' Sunday paper cover using a down angle perspective with a very wide-angle lens. It gives the person shot a very distorted and comical look. Our idea was to do six stages of human life progression. We did well :)
Our third task was to shoot for a magazine - our group's was Fortune. We had to get a model who was young and and could portray an up-an-coming entrepreneur who had invented or created something of note. We used my son, Milan, to be the young person who invented a way to use recycled materials to create skateboards that could then be themselves recycled after they expired.
Our last task was to take the first task and create an even better image using one of the words (our choice). I chose to use ALL of the words in one and came up with the concept. I, as the model, played the part of a Powerfully Dangerous Spiritual image that was easily recognizable...
©Carlos Paradinha Photography
There was really no doubt in my mind that this image didn't convey the proper use of the words. Having learned a lot about how imagery, through portraiture, could tell a story about the individual photographed, I think I'll be doing a lot better in future classes where people are involved. I enjoyed this class immensely.
Next time - images dealing with... Fashion!
