In Red - 30-09-17 (Shoot 3)

In Red - 30-09-17

Photographer Research - Svetlana Belyaeva 

       For this shoot I have decided to take inspiration from Svetlana Belyaeva who photographs women in beautiful areas of nature. I really liked the idea of dressing someone up really glamorous to reflect the beauty of the flowers or leaves surrounding them. The first image I like the lady isn't looking at the camera, she appears to pose for the camera without acknowledging the camera is there. I like the fact that she is wearing green but has red lipstick which is a complementary colour. I would like to bring this kind of posing approach to my work so that it looks professional and has a slight 'fashion photography' approach. My favourite aspect of the second image is the the extreme contrast between the complementary colours, the red and the green really p-lay off of each other therefore having the lady in red makes the images even more bold. This is what I plan on doing in my own shoot. 

Image Bank 

The images above are photographs I found online when typing in 'People in Nature', I really enjoy these photographs as they are beautifully composed and have a calming tone to them. They are less 'fashion' orientated, instead they are more natural, they reflect how people act in these surroundings, the people look like they belong and and comfortable in their environment. I really enjoy these photographs and want to bring this calming feeling to my own work. 

Contact Sheet 

Best Images (Edited) 

This image was edited using dodging and burning due to the bright background when adjusting the exposure using curves. I dodged the sky in order to gain some of the detail back and make it looks less white. I also burned my subjects face in order to brighten it due to it appearing to be covered by a shadow. 

Images requiring improvement 

      I believe this photograph requires improvement due to the underexposure of it. As you can see, the colours aren't as saturated as the rest of my shoot, the red top that my subject is wearing looks burgundy or almost black which then doesn't stand out against the green tree behind. Even some of the leaves on the tree look dark and dull again not going the complementary colour effect I wanted to achieve. If I was to take these images again I would change my camera settings, perhaps to a larger aperture or a higher ISO to capture the vibrant red and green. 

        I feel that although technically speaking this image is good I think from an aesthetic, artistry perspective it isn't very good. The image isn't interesting it doesn't catch your eye, there's nothing very interesting about it, it's not got a narrative or a good composition. I feel that my subject was too far away from the tree's behind, she looks separate from nature when my aim was for people to appear close to it and look like the belong in their settings, whereas this hasn't happened here. I wouldn't try this particular setting again as there is no way of standing close to the bush, instead you have to stand on a bridge. 

AO1 - Develop ideas through sustained and focused investigations informed by contextual and other sources, demonstrating analytical and critical understanding. 

      When researching 'People in Nature' photography I came across the photographer Svetlana Belyaeva who inspired me in this shoot which I have titled 'In Red'. The main aspect I adopted from her work was the complementary colours she uses in some of her work. I feel the colour contrast set the photograph off, it gave it an artistic edge that showed planning in advance to get the perfect photo. I thought the most achievable colours for me were red and green as I could dress my subject in red and go to the field and forest area near my house. Another way I felt influenced by Svetlana was through the fact that her work is quite glamorous, beautiful clothing and makeup. I tried this in my shoot by dressing my subject in a beautiful way to reflect the 'fashion beauty' aspect against the 'nature beauty' aspect. 

AO2 - Explore and select appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques and processes, reviewing and refining ideas as work develops. 

      When taking the photographs I didn't use a tripod, instead I held my camera and used a fast shutter speed of around 1/500secs in most of my images, in order to avoid unwanted blur. In this shoot I really concentrated on the desired outcome of each photograph that I took, therefore I changed my aperture nearly every time. I done this due to the fact that in some images I wanted berries in front of my subjects face therefore I needed an aperture of F22 to ensure that the berries and the face were in focus. However some images I needed a low aperture to counteract the exposure of the image. All the way through the shoot I used a relatively low ISO of around ISO400 due to it being a bright day, therefore I kept the correct exposure without the photographs being overexposed. I believe one improvement I would make on my technique is to use a reflector in some photographs in order to utilise the natural light, without the shadows appearing too harsh. To do this I would use a reflector on the darker side of my subjects face to reflect some light onto them. 

      Another way I am refining my work is through Photoshop. This particular photo originally looked slight washed out, where it was such a bright day. I wanted to get rid of this effect by using curves to darken the leaves and clothes within the photo. I think this worked well as it has made the comparison between the red and green much more obvious, overall it gives a richer colour and a much more aesthetically pleasing appearance.  

AO3 - Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions, reflecting critically on work and progress.  

      I believe my work does reflect Svetlana Belyaeva's photography especially in the complementary colours aspect. The second image in the photographer research section on this post is mainly what my  shoot is based around. The red and green contrast is evident in all of my images, just in a slightly more reserved way then Svetlana's work. I also think my work links to the photographs in the image bank. I liked the fact that those photographs were slightly duller tone rather than over saturated and the people looked relaxed and comfortable in their environment. I believe this has been achieved in my work due to the more tranquil and natural appearance of my photographs compared to the extremely staged, exaggerated ones that Svetlana takes. 

AO4 - Present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and, where appropriate, makes connections between visual and other elements. 

      I really enjoy how this shoot turned out, I believe it is my best shoot so far as it was focused and had a refined idea behind it or focusing on complementary colours between people and nature. This aim has been correctly displayed in my work. I feel that this shoot has given my whole project a good direction, 'People in Nature' is an idea that I can work on and build on. During my research for this shoot I have found other photographers that do similar work such Amelia Fletcher and Carlotta Manaigo who will be my inspiration for upcoming shoots.