Checkpoint 1

5/ Product Research

''Choose a product type and research eisting advertising material, particuarly that which follows a particular advertising campaign strategy and produce 4 different location shots with people/actors/models that individually tell a story. There is should be a consistent strategy applied to the 4 photographs''

My chosen product is deoderant. I thought this would be an interesting product to choose rather than clothing for example, because it will allow me to broaden my skills and challenge myself with advertising/editorial photography in a slightly different area.

Included below is a collection of images that advertise various deoderants. Each image individually tells a story, but the series (for example the first two photographs) hold together a consistent strategy. Common themes between the advertisements are that they are interesting, narrative, ironic or humorous and they all sell an idea by association. A very common theme in these examples and in most advertising is to have the image represent a slogan so that the viewer is exposed to the idea, reads the slogan, and then marries it to the product.

The target audience is also different in each example, the most obvious demographic is gender, and then of course the age, sociocultural group, etc. For example a common target audience in deoderant campaigns is the sporting individual aged 18-25 who 'needs' this product to perform comfortably at their peak.

To gain the most out of this folio I am going to photograph different scenes to promote different deoderants so that my photographs can appeal to various target audiences.

4/ 10 Photographs

Please note that all these views are subjective.

Photographs I Dislike

This image is poorly lit - the lighting is too harsh for the subject and target. The colour balance is too cold to the extent that the shadow on the model's left shoulder is purple. There are odd shadows casted on the model's face and dress by the bag; these have not been considered and contribute to the factors that make this image unsuccessful. The bag is not parallel and is cropped off on the bottom right hand side of the frame, and the background is dull. There is also a degree of posterization which can be seen better on the printed version - the photographer has probably edited a JPEG past its capabilities as opposed to the raw file. The font used for the logo is an overused and indistinctive font that to me does not look professional.

Source: Wintour, Anna 2010, Vogue, February 2010, p. 24

You can't tell in the image above (I will show you the printed version), but the image looks like it has been interpolated (when resolution is 'added' to a small image in photoshop). As a result the quality loss in so incredible that even someone who does not have a 'trained' eye could tell immediately, it's surprising that this has actually been published, especially when it is for Loreal!

Source: Wintour, Anna 2010, Vogue, February 2010, p. 47

The layout of this advertisement is visually appealing in that it is balanced and simple. However the photography does not appeal to me, it looks like it has been shot with direct camera flash, casting an unappealing shadow next tot he bottle and the model's hand. If this were shot in a studio with a softbox and slightly more dramatic lighting I think it would be more successful.

Source: Wintour, Anna 2010, Vogue, February 2010, p. 5

It is hard to tell in the above image but the actual printout of this adertisement is unfocused. It looks like it has been shot using a very high ISO and/or on a low end camera with a small sensor, because it is very noisy. The depth of field works in this photograph, but it should have been shot where there was more avaliable light so that the photographer could have eliminated the noise caused by the high ISO. The highlight on the woman's face does not compliment her and the skin from her neck down is too dark in comparison to the rest of her body. There is also an unusual pink dot on the left hand side of her fringe.

Source: Wintour, Anna 2010, Vogue, February 2010, p. 8

This isn't the worst photograph I've ever seen but when it is placed next to high end fashion campaigns I do not think it stands out. The model looks awkward in her stance, and the lighting is too safe - there is nothing in this shot that makes it stand out from the rest of the fashion photographs published.

Source: Wintour, Anna 2010, Vogue, February 2010, p. 76

Photographs I Like

Studiovski has lit and composed this photograph beautifully. The direct light source casts hard and soft shadows on the models body, enhancing the model's definition and masculinity. The post editing is enough to enhance the image without overdoing it.

Photography: Nik Studiovski, Copyright to Nik Studios

Source: Studiovski, Nik 2010, Nik Studio Industries, viewed 14 March 2010, [http://www.nikstudio.com/].

The initial appeal of this image is the balance of cool and warm tones - the blues in the sky and the yellow light on the subject. The expression of the model and body language compliments the garments and location.

Photograph: Emily Abay

Abay, E 2010, Emily Abay Photography, viewed 14 March 2010, [http://www.emilyabay.com/index.php].

This is one example of the many extraordinary photographs in the Gucci Summer campaign. Alas & Piggot have lit the model beautifully, underexposing the background to create mood. The low angle accentuates the model's long legs and implies boldness and strength.

Photography by Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott

Source: Luxe, L 22 December 2009, Gucci summer 2010 ad campaign, photographs and information about campaign, viewed 10 March 2010, [http://www.luxuo.com/fashion/gucci-spring-summer-2010-ad-campaign.html].

Photograph: Nigel Riches

The viewpoint, pose and decisive moment are what make this photograph stand out. Riches has created an interesting photograph which clearly accentuates the model's attire and keeps the viewer's attention.

Riches, N 2010 Nigel Riches Photography, viewed 10 March 2010, [http://www.nigelriches.co.uk/flash/].

Photograph: Karl Lagerfield

The soft and limited pastel colours along with the balanced composition of this image appeal to me. The models pose is simple yet effective and gives a strong yet feminine appeal. These factors imply high fashion without the need for too many props or a cluttered composition.

Shoots 1

I have been asked to create '5 modern location photographs in the style of famous fashion photographer Helmet Newton'.

Newton's work can be described as narrative, provocative and, in his own words 'does not necessarily look like a fashion photograph.... a photograph that looks like it's out of a movie'.[1] With all this in mind I aimed to photograph a scene where a male's attention has been taken away from his car. I aimed to modernise Newton's style to the style of 2010.

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[1] Source: Newton, J Helmut by June, Canal Plus Byzance Productions, viewed 15 March 2010, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9wkCLkVWcI&feature=related].

If I use this shot above I will re-shoot lighting the model from a different angle so that her feet are actually lit - I had about 5 minutes to shoot these so I couldn't perfect it like I usually would have when I was there:( She was lit through the window and its the bottom of the window that cut off the light.

In this shoot I aimed to produce images which tell a story. My theme was 'waiting', I aimed for soft lighting and a semi-old fashioned and feministic look.

"Choose a product type and research existing advertising material, particularly that which follows a particular advertising campaign strategy and produce 4 different location shots with people/actors/models that individually tell a story. There should be a consistent strategy applied to the 4 photographs''

Product: Deoderant

Image 1:

I was aiming for harsh and moody light in this one, a cold sort of feel and a determined expression. Is it too harsh?

The power pack (even when it was plugged in to the wall) was dying, it gave me about 10 shots. So I plan to shoot this again anyway and maybe shoot it vertically (although I did try this and the composition worked better landscape... but if it were to go in a magazine it would have to be vertical, unless I added extra negative space on one side and made it a double page spread).

The text/product aren't perfect on the RHS I just wanted to see what it would look like.

Shoot 1

Wow. The 90% charged battery pack only lasted 10 minutes on my shoot today, and my models were SO KIND in offering to wait until the pack was charged. So my parents came back and picked up the pack, took it back home, charged it for 30 mins and came back with it. So in a shoot that took a forever to plan, organise and prepare for, the actual shooting went for a total of 15 minutes. I can't believe I was able to set up the lights and get the right readings in such a short amount of time, I was under pressure to get the shots but I knew exactly what I wanted. Haven't seen the photos yet but I hope they are 'IT'!!!!

Also, in the actual time that I was shooting, the battery pack kept turning off the modelling light after each shot that was taken, so I had to keep switching that on between every shot. Also, because there was movement in my shot (the model was walking) and it was night I had trouble focusing on the model - I tried getting her to stop at the point where i knew i was going to take the shot and focusing then setting it on manual, as well as autofocusing using the points. Just writing this all down so I don't forget to ask questions on how to improve all this in class!

3/ Urs Recher Workshop

10 March 2010

Nath, Pam, Teri, Aimee & I went to the Urs Recher lighting workshop at Sun Studios today. We learnt an incredible amount about light in two days and we are pretty keen to reproduce some of these lighting setups in our own studio! I still need to clarify a few technical details with Julian but overall the two days were incredible. Will post some photos from the day once I get them from Nathan.

• P70 because it shines light within a 70 degree angle
• Softbox closer to subject = high contrast. Soft light but with hard drop off. Working with closer lights also gives the subject more 3D
• Set up lights one by one, master one (e.g. background) then move on to the next one. Let each light do one job, so that if something needs to be changed it is easier
• The further away the light, the harder the quality
• The hardness of light effects the saturation of colours. Diffused lights = lower saturation
• Make sure whites never exceed the 250 value (less than 250)

T01 = 1/8000th of a second. For sharper pictures use T01

T05 = 1/12000th of a second. T05 is technology/pack dependant
Graffit 3200 = 15
Scoro 3200 = 3.1
Therefore because the scoro has lowest output you can shoot with a close light but at f/2.8
• Use cable to get the fastest sync speed as opposed to RFS or IR. Cable has zero seconds delay. The IR has a delay in the power pack. The RFS has no delay on packs but a wake up time.
• Leaf shutters (e.g. hassleblads, mamiyas) have no sync speed, so you can get extremely sharp images which is especially useful for movement shots
• If reflector is too strong make it smaller or grey
• Although a lot of the light techniques we reproduced aren't ideal in terms of eliminating blemishes and using 'safe' light, it doesn't take long to photoshop a few blemishes when you produce something that is beautiful and more interestingly lit. Don't just play the 'safe' option. Take risks and touch it up. Also, don't 'give up' on light if its not perfect and you know you can touch something up in photoshop in 2 seconds, it's worth this compromise if your light is more interesting then standard 'safe' lighting. These are Recher's beliefs, and I agree with his philosophy.

2/ Helmut Newton Photographs

Source: Opus Art, 2004 Helmut Newton 1920-2004, viewed 28 Feb 2010, [http://www.opus-art.com/artists/HelmutNewton].