PORTRAIT ASSIGNMENT PROPOSAL

Self Portrait

My life has a lot of ups and downs, and sometimes I feel like I am just performing a part that I wasn’t really meant to play:  I’m clumsy, I’m not a great dresser, I’m not feminine in any way and I tend to say the wrong thing at the wrong time.  And even though my life seems kind of tragic, all you can really do is laugh about it.  For my self-portrait, I would like to portray myself as Charlie Chaplin; the king of slapstick comedy.  Drawing inspiration from old silent movies and the song “Smile” by Charlie Chaplin, I will create a contemporary drag version of the old movie star’s character “the tramp” and make it my own.

The image will be a full-length portrait using broad lighting on a white background.

Single Portrait

 I have chosen the option of producing a contemporary studio portrait for a women’s’ magazine cover.  The portrait will ¾ length (as I am shooting a full length for my self-portrait) and will also be on a white background.  The lighting for this shot will be a basic Hollywood design.  The model will most-likely be dressed in slightly off-beat fashion with hair and make-up done by myself.

Group Portrait

As I don’t have a lot of time handy, I am also going to do the group portrait on a white background.  It will be a full-length Band Shot with the lead singer further forward on the focal plane than the other band members, as they are the “face” of the band.  This will be a difficult shot to manoeuvre, but I am confident that if I use a smaller aperture such as f/22 I will be able to keep everyone in focus.  I will use two broad lights so that I get the least amount of shadow and have them directed centrally so that everyone is in the light, but the most light is on the lead singer. 

Single Portraits

The following pictures were all shot at 1/60th of a second. 

SHORT LIGHTING

f/5.0

f/5.6

f/7.0

f/8.1

BROAD LIGHTING

f/5.6

f/6.3

f/7.1

f/8.0

REMBRANDT LIGHTING

f/6.3

f/7.1

f/8.0

f/9.0

f/10.0

Group Portrait

f/6.3

f/ 5.6

f/5

f/5

f/4.5

Group Studio Photos

f/4.5

f/5.0

f/5.6

f/6.3

f/7.1

Content for Essay

PARAGRAPH 1

How portraiture became popularised before WW2.  From Documentary-style photography, to using it for more artistic purposes.
  - People used to collect photographs of specific interest such as photographs of "Natives" etc. (Henry King).  There has always been a trend of photographing Native Australians, even today. (hmmm, high risk subject... It is slightly perverse how most Aboriginal people are still used as "photographic studies") 
  - Long exposures to capture the ritualistic marks of the Aboriginal People. 
  - Studio Photos instead of actual photos taken within the tribe.
  - During the Gold Rush, photographers became more interested in photographing people in the bush, in their natural environment, Stockmen, Miners etc.  The idea of the Pioneer was very popular.
  - World War I instilled a kind of euphoria in people and the concept of Daily Life was popularised.  Wealthy families sitting on their verandah.  Attitudes towards life had changed drastically and so did attitudes towards photography.  It was no longer just used to take snap shots of daily life, people were discovering it's artistic purposes.  Some of the first Australian Artistic Nudes. (Cecile W. Bostock)
 

PARAGRAPH 2

By the 1930's, things were becoming more commercial.  Hollywood was booming and nurtured peoples' romantic/ glamourous side........... until feminism came along.... Freedom and Truth were fundemental concepts in the 60s and 70s. (Carol Jerrems)
  - Shadowy, Brooding with soft-light caressing the cheek.
  - Influences: Asia (the Orient), Parasols and Flowers
  - Fasionable women were photographed for Magazines and Housewives would be photographed and their household displayed in magazines.
  - It was around this time that women were beginning to be used as advertising tools.
  - Then Women's Lib came along... (enough said atm really).  It's all about REALISM and Truth.

PARAGRAPH 3

To be continued....  (Bill Henson, Julie Rrap and Anne Zahalka)


ENNIS H. and CROMBIE I., Australian Photographs: A Souvenir Book of Australian Photography in the Australian National Gallery. 1988, Australian National Gallery, Canberra

FRENCH B. and PALMER D., Twelve Australian Photo Artists, 2009, Piper Press, Sydney?

New Assignment - Trends in Australian Professional Portrait Photography

TASK: Write and essay (600 - 1200 words) investigating the styles and trends employed in Australia over the years (post WWII) in the production of portraits.


Your essay should cover the following points:
  - Styles of photography
  - Influence of overseas cultures
  - Current and possible future trends
  - Media Influence
  - Australian culture
  - Change in style, trends due to changing technology
  - Lighting techniques used (and how they have/have not changed over time)
  - Design and composition
  - Use range of services, books, magazines, libraries, internet and exhibitions
  - Examples of Images are required.


Visit as many exhibits as you can especially if you have the opportunity to travel interstate.  Visit the CIT or public libraries and browse through the photography books published over the years.  Also visit the AIPP and ACMP websites and view their online galleries.


DUE: 11th May 2010 (week 19)

TO DO:

1) Go to the National Portrait Gallery and take notes, pamphlets and magazines)
2) Find a book (or two) on Australian Photography in the Library and take notes
3) Look up Pictures, Websites etc.... take notes.
4) Draw up outline of Essay ( 3 core paragraphs will be sufficient)
5) Have this done by the end of next week!

Experiment with Blacks

Camera Built-in Light Meter indicated that the image would require a shutter speed of 125th of a second.

I found that this was a little too dark as she is wearing black clothes that blend into the black background.  I made it a slower shutter speed of a 100th of a second to bring out any detail missing.

250th of a second created an image that was too dark and the detail in the clothes and hair was lost.

A 50th of a second shows more detail within the shadows but much detail is lost in the highlights and mid-tones (the tones of the subject's skin).