Contact sheet

Some of my previous work that might fit in with this brief.

During this weeks seminar one of my class mates made a comment about a previous image from last term, explaining that this particular image would work in this project. Of course I would rather take new images rather than recycle old ones. But I wanted to get some ideas and inspiration from my own work, rather than looking at others. So going through my old work from Uni and also personal projects, colabs with other blog owners, I pulled our a selection of images I could use to inspire me with this project, different framing I could use etc. Also the style of some of the images below very slightly reminds me of Tellers work simply due to the slight fashion influence. 

The above image was part of my first second year project where I was looking at movement when you put more than two frames together. This is a segment from that. I feel this image works due to the expression on her face, she seems very dazed, yet obviously would have been aware of the camera. Like Goldins work for example, she seems confident and unthreatened that the camera is there. This ties in with my deeper theme of expression in portraiture/ snapshot photography. If I was to use this image again I would edit it and make it better but for the research this wasn't needed. 

This image I've shown a few times on the blog and this is also the image someone in my seminar group mentioned would work in this project. I'm not too sure, yet it links with the nude shots / underwear shots i've posted on here but I feel that this image is too posed or set up to link with my idea of snap shot photography and also due to the hidden face, i couldn't use it in a portraiture and emotional area. This image would probably not work for me in my exhibition.

The above image was taken on a shoot for a fashion blog I regularly photograph for - although this isn't one of the images for the blog. During the break I just continued to snap images and this was one that came up. This was a completely natural situation which I think shows within the frame - thus linking it with my theme. Again I'm not sure about the edit and tones of the image but this is something I could easily change with a bit of photoshop tweaking. There's a slight depth of field which I think makes this image more interesting and it is definitely something I want to use more in my photography.

 The three similar images above were also for the fashion blog I help with. These are the images i thought have a very slight Teller quality about them - if anything they are probably more bold then his work in response to the tones. I put the two above as a triptych because this is something I could experiment with when it comes to the layout of my exhibition. I could start taking two very expressive portrait - yet snap shot- images of people and exhibit them as pairs. This could be something to consider.

This image was part of a personal project and is actually a self portrait. If I could link this image with any of the photographers I've researched it would have to be Larry Clark, simply due to the slight grittiness of the image and also the tones, black and white. This works with the idea of expression however not so much the snapshot side of it, the image has obviously been set up - or to me I see it in that way.

Similar to a previous image yet in black and white, with also a different crop. I prefer this image in black and white but I feel that the absence of colour takes away the natural feel to the image which I want to connote in my images. 

Some edited images.

Tonight I've been experimenting with the tones of my images. Like before with the blonde girl image, I've gone onto photoshop and the easiest term to say would be that I 'played around with the saturation' etc.  I wanted to use blue tones to move away from the Nan Goldin stereotypical work and create something slightly unique. I really love how the image has turned out, however It might be a tad too bright/ over exposed. I feel that this works with my other images of the same night though, so as an exhibition point of view it would work. These ideas aren't definite though, I just wanted to practice on photoshop, see what looks I could create - if I could create something different at all and also I wanted to experiment with my images. 

I decided on black and white for this image also so that I could link my practice with previous photographs practices that I have been looking at, such as Larry Clarks, Tulsa images. Despite this I wanted to also create a twist of his work by using softer tones and a more 'vintage' faded out effect, rather than the dark toned images Clark was taking. I would say that the vintage black and white works with the images. The girls features are still focal and standing out, however by having a faded blur effect on the image, I feel it takes away the natural snapshot element i'm after and also it takes away some of the detail / distracts you from the rest of the image.

More Juergen Teller

Jurgen Teller

German photographer Jurgen Tellers work I find absolutely eye catching and interesting. Not only is his advertising conceptual and beautiful but the way he captures models expressions is what I'm particularly looking at now.

Examples of what I'm talking about:

His Celine campaign -

Marc Jacobs Campaign- 

Jawbone Campaign -

Jalouse September 2013 campaign - 

His style of work I would consider experimental fashion photography. Although like the Jalouse campaign there's hints of artistic snapshot imagery which is a beautiful interesting twist on my project. He captures their expressions in a quirky 'unaware' of the camera candid way which I personally would like to incorporate into my own work. A positive i've taken from Tellers work would be, that he has managed to make what looks like chilled, snap shot images look high fashion and interesting - this is something i've been struggling with. I do feel that it's the models that have enhanced this though, which is something i wont be able to recreate due to my project being about me and my close friends / room mates. However this is something I will just have to work on. 

Walter Pfeiffer

Pfeiffers work is incredibly sexy and homoerotic which is some ways isn't what I want to connote in my own work however I've looked into his work due to being shown in The exhibition I mentioned previously on this blog. His images are of a snap aesthetic which works well in response to my theme and idea of the brief. 

Out of all his images I felt this one was the most relevant to my work. Despite the male being faced towards the camera - very much aware of it - the expression says other wise. It connotes a story and encourages the viewer to look at in more detail, picking out all the other details of the image. 

Dash Snow

Dash Snow is an american photographer from New York. His photography also links with the snapshot aesthetic however his images have a sense a rock and roll lifestyle which makes them extremely interesting. His images like Golding and Clarks, show scenes of drug abuse, sex, and violence - they're extremely gritty and eye catching. Some of his series such as his polaroids and "Dash Snow is a rising star"

A brief insight into the personality of Snow -

Some examples of his polaroids :

Small snippets of his work: