Jessica Drosdzowski - 10005687

Digital Studio Photography "Making photographs, not taking photographs" IntroductionWeek OneWeek TwoWeek ThreeWeek FourStudio Lighting Set Up INSPIRATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS:∙ David Bailey∙ Rankin∙ Julia Margaret Cameron∙ Annie Leibovitz∙ Yann Arthus-Bertrand MAJOR PROJECT:∙ Brief∙ Learning Outcomes∙ Initial Thoughts/Ideas∙ Exploring Concepts∙ Selecting a Concept∙ My Chosen Model∙ Simon Carter∙ Alexandre Buisse∙ Alexandre Buisse Tips∙ Jim Thornburg∙ Mike Hutton∙ Test Shoots∙ Studio Set Up∙ Final Photo Set

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Final Photo Set

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Studio Set Up

To gain the desired shot of Jon in the studio, I did have to get in a rather awkward position. I was on a ladder that was behind the backdrop, I stood on this and leaned over to shoot downwards onto Jon - the ladder acted as a foot rest for Jon too - to help make a realistic composition of his body as he propped himself up near to the backdrop. There was some difficulty with the lighting as Jon was not stood directly in front of me, everything had to be modified to suit his positioning. My assistant was on hand to be directed, for some shots they held the light up as the light itself could not go as high as I required. 

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Simon Carter

I chose to concentrate on Carter's photography work as he is well known within the niche field of rock climbing photography and his images capture individuals in a natural and very real setting in which they perform the sport.

"Simon Carter is a professional outdoors photographer recognised internationally for his distinctive rock climbing photography. He was named by Men’s Journal Magazine (USA) as one of the World’s Best Adventure Photographers and described by the editor of Rock and Ice Magazine (USA) as “arguably the greatest climbing photographer of all time."

Compared to Carter, I am very limited with regards of being able to travel to the places which he has been able to in order to execute the shots, though I shall work with what I have got in the studio environment. All of the climbers which Carter has got included in his photos have an obvious passion for the sport - they are also professionals as they are mounting dangerous territory and would have to be very skilled to climb the walls that face them. From the photographs by Simon Carter, I am able to concentrate on the compositions of the climber's and investigate their body shapes on the rock face - I need to translate a realistic outcome for my shot, so accurately mimicking the real with my set-up studio is vital and will hopefully appear professional and convincing as a shot. 

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Exploring Concepts

As I was unsure whether to move ahead with the rock climbing idea or a brush manufacturer, it was vital for me to explore both concepts before pursuing one further.

I took a trip to my dad's studio - where he manufacturers brushes for the potteries industry in Stoke-on-Trent. My idea was to capture objects and materials which he works with daily in order to gain some inspiration regarding what three items I could choose for the triptych. There was a lot of choice so selecting the most suitable three would be a vital decision to make. 

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Test Shoot #3

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Test Shoot #2

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Jim Thornburg

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Triptych Test Shoot #1

*all photographs can be clicked on to make them bigger on screen*

My plan for this shoot was to get a feel for how the mini studio worked and to figure out which three items would be best to use for my final piece. At this point, I had a list of possible rock-climbing related items:

∙ Rope ∙ Rock climbing helmet ∙ Carabiners ∙ Rock climbing shoes ∙ A harness  ∙ Rock climbing chalk

There was no initial set idea about how to capture the image - with regards the the framing, I went into the shoot with the plan to experiment with cropping, lighting and composition.

For the shoot I utilised the mini studio, a Nikon D90 SLR camera and two key lights which were angled in from the right and left side. When necessary, a reflector was used that was held by my assistant. The button on the mini studio allowed me to control the amount of light which it let off from underneath/the back. 

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*photographs by Simba*

For this first test shoot, I did not have a rock climbing helmet with me. However, Simba was photographing a cap in the studio on the same day as me. Neither of us were particularly inspired by the outcomes of the hat photographs as the images, like with the rock climbing shoes, turned out flat - there is no excitement about them. Due to this, I have decided not to pursue to concept of having a rock climbing helmet as part of my final photo set.

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