HND1 Rhys Davis

[rdavisarchive]

Modulating devices research:

Reflectors: 

In photography and cinematography, a reflector is an improvised or specialised reflective surface used to redirect light towards a given subject or scene. 

Filters:

Filters are mostly made of high quality glass (or resin) and when attached to the front of a lens, are used to block (filter) certain colours or types of light coming into the camera. Some filters (eg ND filters) are designed to reduce the overall light intensity coming into the camera.

Bounce umbrellas:

The bounce umbrella, a parabolic in shape, keeps the light closer to the same distance from the subject. It also forms a light that can be seen from the side of the subject (wrap). While it is less diffused than the shoot thru umbrella, the bounce creates a more even light with the added wrap for cutting contrast.

[rdavisarchive]

New Portrait Photographer - Research:

Edward S. Curtis: Edward Sheriff Curtis was an American photographer and ethnologist whose work focused on the American West and on Native American people.

[rdavisarchive]

Conceptual Photography:

‘People also askWhat is conceptual portrait photography?What is Conceptual Portrait Photography. Simply put, conceptual photography is a genre that portrays an idea. It usually has a narrative or a hidden meaning behind the image. The photographer decides the concept before taking the image and tries to illustrate it in the most accurate way possible.’

[rdavisarchive]

Self Portraiture:

‘The simple definition of a self portrait is a picture of oneself. ... Self portraits are carefully composed, well-thought-out, and meant to create a lasting impression of yourself. Selfies are usually taken quickly with a smartphone camera and deleted if unsatisfactory.’

[rdavisarchive]

B&W Conversion:

Comparing my two images, i still feel the black and white version comes out on top. I do feel the subject - Seb’s trousers go slightly with the underside of th skateboard, although this shot is overexposed. 

I feel this is much easier to fix when converting to black and white - also i feel it brings a balance to the image - trying to draw attention more to the subjects face and hands rather than the colours of the board and clothes. 

[rdavisarchive]

Clean White - Inspo:

One of my favourite photographers Jason Roman inspired my clean white shoot, also known as ‘stockezy’ Jason Roman is a NY based photographer who documents street culture with usually very eye catching street shots. 

[rdavisarchive]

Clean White Final Image

[rdavisarchive]

Risk Assessment Environmental Portrait

[rdavisarchive]

Environmental Portrait Thoughts:

For this project i will be shooting a friend of mine and one of the best skateboarders in Scotland - Andy White. 

Location: i will be shooting between two DIY skateparks in order to suit the theme. With the locations being full of street art, and being mostly outside this will allow me to get a good amount of light in my images and hopefully allow me to incorporate the environment well.

Lenses: I will be bringing my XF 50mm f/2, and  XC 35mm f/2 in hopes of getting that ideal wide environmental portrait look. I am also looking into borrowing my friends 28mm or 18mm incase these are more suited to the job.

These two locations also fit, as they are a sort of second home for my subject. I hope to communicate this level of comfort in my images.

[rdavisarchive]

These four images are from The New York Times, Time magazine, and Life. These images I feel tell a story very well - especially the last image of the doctor. I feel these images have great emotion, and all focus on the subject very well whilst maintaining the ability to tell a story. 

The first image: plays with the idea of a tear falling from the eye of Lincoln - which co-exists with the whole theme of why they are still fighting a civil war.

The second image: I feel this is a standout image, with the soldier being in uniform - the viewer is instantly familiar with what they are looking at.

The third image: This image is my favorite of the four, the framing of this shot gives great depth to the scene, the colors are very grey with a sort of green to me, which works well with the subjects suit. the face of the subject is well lit and the pose is very eye catching.

The fourth image: I feel this image has great emotion, and focuses on the subject very well whilst maintaining the ability to tell a story. The emotion on the doctors face to me says worry or exhaustion, which is exactly how i imagine any healthcare worker to be feeling since the pandemic started.

[rdavisarchive]

Shoot 4: Evaluation

This shot is a  back-up as i was under the impression initially that i could use multiple images of the same model. This shot is very average, the use of the reflector brings no real change to the image as this was my first time using it. 

this is actually a moment that the model was unaware a photo was taken. 

if i could go back i would reposition the model to be facing the sun and manipulate the light to highlight some of the models features better. 

Though i am not happy with this image - it does feel good to look back and criticise in order to help me know what i need to do for next time.

[rdavisarchive]

Shoot 3: Evaluation

This shot was taken on a very clear day, the shadows on the side of the subjects face were very harsh and would have been a nightmare - if not for the reflector, this time due to the weather i used the gold side for the right hand side of the face in order to try get rid of any shadows inhibiting me from getting the shot. 

Looking back the framing of this shot is very underwhelming, if i were to go back i would pose my model to ensure a more interesting shot and incorporate shadows from the surrounding buildings.

[rdavisarchive]

Shoot 2: Evaluation

This is one image from the task of choosing streets in Glasgow, and getting a strangers portrait. I have done this sort of thing before which gave me confidence that i would be able to ask - which doesn’t always mean getting a good shot. 

I tried to frame this shot close, from a slightly lower angle, and used the reflector to utilise what little light i had to bring some extra details to such a dark image.

[rdavisarchive]

Shoot 1: Evaluation

Shoot 1 - This was my first time properly planning a portrait shoot, i found this very fun although challenging due to weather conditions on the day. 

For this shoot i knew i wanted to get a closer and more intimate shot of my subject as this will also be used for Artist head-shots in a few local magazines. 

Once the sun broke out of the clouds the race was on, i used the gold side of my reflector to maintain a decent level of exposure across the subjects face, while still trying to get the sun light over the eyes.