The black and white duo

Kerry Deans Images of two models interacting I feel are her strongest. The black and white really works well for the mood of the images mainly so the people aren't lost in the colours and distracted by the background.

 Cherry's Designs 

I am really pleased with these images also and feel the stone of the background works well with the rocky/ edgy designs. The botom image is my favourite as it is relaxed and seems natural.

Nature

In Nature

Kerry Dean works a lot in nature having her models interact with the surroundings they are in. In a lot of the images the model is at ease and often closing her eyes as if she/he is absorbing the moment. I really like this way of shooting and can see how this fits into the style I want to create.  

Also learning from the magazine module I have been creating these images as if they could fit in an editorial of a magazine. In case these images go further. (Image on the left is my favourite)  

The Influence

Looking back to Hania Komasińska I could see I was inspired by her through this part of my shoot. I hadn't seen the image below until after the shoot but I produced quite similar images through her influence.

  

A Change in the wind

I have had been asked to shoot a fashion line for two young designers in Cheltenham. They organised the location in Croome Court, the home of the Earls of Coventry. The house and Gardens are beautiful with a lot of spec for extravagantly posed images. I took the opportunity so I could experiment with this new more relaxed style. Looking at Hania's indoor location work gave me inspiration for using natural window light instead of staged lighting as I felt that would add to the contrived look I was trying to avoid. I do feel that you can achieve beautiful natural shots through using studio lighting but as I am trying not to worry about staging so much I decided this would be the easiest way to loose control. 

Kerry Dean 

I started looking into Kerry Deans work this year after Grant Scott (my lecturer) had showed me her images. She is brilliant at capturing relaxed models and not worrying so much about the perfect compositions in fact those imperfections are what makes the images different. Each image has a story and an atmosphere. All quite odd, yet intriguing. The lighting isn't advanced but actually natural or she uses flash. This is what I would like to try. 

The clothing was really interesting and dynamic. I felt it would be easy to fall back into the overly posed soots I control to much. I decided to take two different versions of the shoot. How I would normally approach the subject and Something a bit more experimental. This would mean I would have the choice if the shoot doesn't work out with this different way of photographing.

The Stylist and designer on the shoot was Mag Cz a model I had worked with previously. The other designer/ Model was Cherry Kcy they both had very interesting looks that complimented the styling and worked well with the clothes. Both models where very natural infront of the camera allowing me to not direct as much as I normally do so I could step back and capture moments.

(Image to the right is behind the scenes of the first room in the mannor house that I found worked incredibly well with the look of the shoot we wanted to create.)

These are two examples from my raw shots. The first part of the shoot was more like 'My normal style' The next half I relaxed and so did the model. I went through and edited the hole of the shoot as I had teken over 800 images and I discovered how much I preferred this new style of shooting. I even took it a step forward and starting shooting as if there was a story behind the images like Gregory Crewdsons shots.

No Entry

These are two of my favourite images as I feel they have a story behind them. I called them No Entry because in the second image by the door that is what the sign says. I have treated the room as if something strange happens there. Something people fear as if it's an asylum or a safe house.    

Other images from the indoor shoot that i felt worked well with this new style.

The Royal Room

The royal room needed some accessories to match the atmosphere of the grand location. Thick gold necklace and dramatic earrings added to the styling and matched the room. One of my critiques from second year was that on a shoot I didn't match the styling with my location (snow ballet shoot) So this time I made sure the people fit in the surroundings they are placed in. 

We moved to the summer house where they had massive windows. As soon as I saw this location it reminded me of the Lara Jade shoot she did during a creative live session.

She spoke about using high ISO and bleaching the background light through the window out to get an authorial and light shot.  I was really pleased with the outcome of this part of the shoot. Below are some rew examples of my results. 

The White Light

Relax

Everyone says relax

During these testing weeks for my final major project I am reflecting back on all the critique I have had over the past year. One piece of advice that has come back to me time and time again was that I needed to relax. Not only with my constant strive for perfection in my photography, which makes me very uptight about any negative feedback but also how I need to relax in my approach to taking a picture. Instead of planning every detail and pose I need to be able to let the model move in the space without controlling the shoot so much. This will help me to achieve more comfortable images that don't feel contrived. 

I feel there is an element to the majority of my shoots that are too posed. I normally disregard these images as they come out too stiff. By identifying my control issue with a shoot I have been able to step back and notice the more I pose and direct each movement the more contrived the image. I feel I need to do this to start a shoot of as I have always had feed back from my models that they like the direction. So as I am testing for my final major project I wanted to to work on techniques and different ways of shooting that would fall into any category I decide to shoot.    

Anastasia Volkova
www.anastasiavolkova.com

Volkova is a young photographer from Russia. She is a great example of capturing relaxed natural models still making the images interesting. I chose her photography to look at because it had a soft snapshot element to the images. As if they weren't planned structured or controlled but captured because she had been inspired by nature and a beautiful face. I feel this free way of shooting could teach me a lot a give me the release to relax with my approach to snapping an image.

"For the Love of Photography"

 (Anastasia Volkova website title)

Not only does Volkova have a freedom in her portraits but she has a personal version when approaching a subject. You can tell this through her website as she reveals how she see the world through personal projects and snap shots of her journeys. This shows a true passion and way of living through her images. As she captures all her experiences through a lens with a unique and personal vision of her surrounding world.

Hania Komasińska

Another example of this natural approach is a young Polish Photographer called Hania Komasińska who works beautifully with relaxed models. They explore the photographic place as if a camera isn't present as if caught in a moment of down time and reflection. I prefer the colour in Volkova's work  as these images are slightly duller but I feel they have more of a concept of story behind the images. 

(Top Left) Why is she sitting their? What is she reading? who is she waiting for?  

My spare of the moment shoot

Taking note of this Snap when and where you can method. I grabbed a model at the weekend and did not over think posing, styling or structure of the shoot but I shot what I found beautiful and snapped the moments I felt caught the natural essence the girl (Racheal Doyle) I was photographing. 

In this first set of images I was experimenting under a tall blossom tree. I was against the elements as it was raining and the wind was rapid. I also couldn't decide on a perspective I cold shoot at with how tall the tree was but while all these things were racing through my head I just started to shoot. Let the model naturally pose as I hid in the blossoms and didn't control every element of the image. 

This is my favourite image from the Blossom tree shots. As it isn't controlled, I embraced the elements and went with the movement of the shoot.  

I moved the shoot as it started to rain. The first two images of the Purple series I feel are too posed the top right especially. I really like the bottom main image. Even though the angle and body could appear distorted as it is a strange body position. but actually it is a more relaxed and natural image than the perfectly placed photos also making for a more interesting shot. 

Using the Inspiration

After seeing these images from Katerina Plotnikova's I wanted to do some test shots using smoke pellets. I ordered 5 white and 2 red pellets and had an assistant to light them. They lasted about 30 seconds so I had to capture the shots fast. I focussed on portraits as I didn't want to waste or over complicate the shoot. 

My favourite image from the shoot was an accidental shot as the smoke flooded the image.

Inspiring artists

Katerina Plotnikova

http://500px.com/katerina_plotnikova

Katerina has a beautiful way of shooting atmospheric images that leave you wondering the story behind them. Each cinematic photograph look like a tear from a fairytale novel or a screen grab of a scene in a surreal movie. I would like to create images with this open concept that leave you thinking about the story you have been given a glimpse of. Katerinas work is an example of how to take image manipulation to the next level turning an image into a story.

 The last two images I have paired together remind me of Gregory Crewdsons work but manipulated on photoshop. Crewdsons work is more sophisticated as he is the master of creating narrative in a still image. His budget and cinema influence create large scale dramatic images that open you up to world full of mystery and curiosity. His work is not manipulated but comaritivly shot on 10 by 8 film. His images are all staged and created with percise and excellent execution as well as interesting and evokative lighting. 

Gregory Crewdson

Mood Boards

The start of my Final major project I had to create mood boards for inspiration to begin the idea process. After my project in the digital manipulation module (Impossible world) I started to create images that are impossible to take in camera. I have always loved photoshop and wanted to expand my skills by using this brief to create magical things. I took inspiration from Rosie Hardy and Lissy Elle amongst other great digital artists. I have continued to create these images throughout the year and feel this aspect of photography is a strong point of mine. These mood boards are collections of images that I feel bring childlike imagination to life...