First Shoot

Here you can see my all the images from my first shoot. All the images are in a simple low-key style.

I Really like this image, due to the low-key style and use of a shoot through umbrella I have managed to cast a soft light over the face of the model, I deliberately positioned the light so that it would not leave harsh shadows on the face, but just enough so it still leaves the dark shadowes towards the back of the head, I really like this effect of how the head seems to drift off into the darkness, I like how I have managed to make the head seem as if it is standing alone without a body, this is due to the model wearing only black, but also because i have positioned her just far enough from the background to cancel it out. I beleive that the subtle tones and colours in the image almost make it look like a detailed painting, and the shiny head scalf helps the head stand out from the background. I think this image would appeal to people of all ages, and beleive it could be used as a stand alone peice of art.

This image on the right has been created with all of the same methods as the previous image, only this time i have decided to crop the image right up against the models face to try and create a more intimate feel within the image. I feel this is quite successfull, as by looking at her face you start to wonder what she is thinking about, and i beleive that the inclusion of the large dark area infront of her makes it seem she is looking into nothingness, and increases the viewers perseption that this woman is deep in thought.
I find it quite interesting to see that a simple prop can change your whole perception of a person, with the scalf the model does look quite comfortable in it and i dont beleive many would question her wearing it, despite not being of muslim faith. Again i feel this image is suitable for people of all ages, but i dont think it is as commercially viable as the previous image, I dont think there is enough shape or pattern within the composition to acheive this effect.


This is my most favoured of the selection, I think I have managed to make the model look attractive despite most of her face being covered, maybe this could go towards saying that beuty is in the eyes. I decided to crop this image right upto the face, this is so that it would make a focal point of the eye. I feel that this image isnt the most artistic looking image, I think the could appeal to people of all ages and backgrounds and beleive that it could have use within the fashion industry, it think it would be a great way to advertise makeup or eye liner. I really like how the light reacts with the shiny material of the scalf, I like how u can have very bright glaring sections on the scalf which is then cancelled out by an adjacent dark spot held within the folds of the material.


Here on the right u can see the image that i took before the previous image, sa you can see it is very similar in characteristics only the cropping is different, with this image I included most of the upper torsoe and tried to include as much as the scalf as possible within the composition. I quite like the image, but the whole point of the image was to make a focal point of the eye, and with it having loose cropping I feel this draws the viewers attention away from this. I feel you are more inclined to look at the scalf rather than her face, although I did try to use the scalf as something for your eye to follow towards the focal point.


With this image on the right i thought I would play arround with the perspective to try and put a little more interest into the shot I am very pleased with the outcome of this shot, I like how the low-key lighting has picked up on all the creases on the stretched peice of scalf, creating pattern and detail. Despite these plus points I dont think it meets upto my requirements for the shot, despite the scalf leading your eye along the composition towards the eye, I dont think the eye is in enough of a view to be considered as a strong focal point.

I have chosen to include the image on the right as i believe it to be very close to what i was looking for in my final peice, I think the focal point of the eye is very clear, but I think that with closer cropping it would make a strionger focal point of the eye, and also allow the veiwer to see all of the detail, coulours and patters in the eye itself.

Emma Jones

Although I am not interested in doing lingerie shot, I chose this image by Emma Jones because I like the compostion and the stance the model is in, I like how you can use the contours of the models body to create shape within the image. Again it's a low-key shot with a simple spotlight casting a soft light on one side of the models body.

This image on the right again is by Emma Jones, it's another example of a low-key shot with a simple spot light lighting the model, I like how this style of lighting has been used to draw emphasis upon the womens muscley physique, I also think the inclusion of the chain is quite fitting to the personality of the model and helps increase the feeling of toughness that surrounds her character. Again this showing how a prop can be used to manipulate the feelings in an image.



This image has undergone some digital editing via photoshop, I think Emma has played arround with the hue of the figure and also put a blue tint onto the umberella. It contains many values that I would like to put across into my final idea, the way it is cropped is nice and simple and the composition is just what I will be looking to create. I feel i will do this so not to draw emphasis away from the face, which I belive will be a main focal point within my final images.

I really like the blue tint that has been added to this image below, i am not sure if it has been created in photoshop, but i beleive this same kind of effect can be created by simply placing some coulored gells infront of the flashes. Ithink that using coours in this fashion can create a unique look to any images.








This is my most favoured of Jones' selection, It contains many aspects which I would like to put across into my own idea, the whole mask idea ties in well with what i want to acheive. It is also a low-key shot and contains coloured lighting, coming from a single light. This is something I'm willing to experiment with, and also see it as being an acheivable task. I really like how the image has been cropped right upto the head, this makes sure that the image doesnt become to confusing and also makes the focal point clear to see. This type of cropping is something that I may put into contention when undergoing my project.

Steve McCurry

I have included this image as I think it will tie into my ideas for my final image, I think that for my final image I will be using a model and i will be having part of her face masked by some kind of veil or other interesting props. Bellow you will see that I have included some information about the reasons behind some muslim women wearing burqa's or niqab's this just to help me understand the mentality behind it.

A burqa (also transliterated burkha, burka or burqua) (Persian: برقع) is an enveloping outer garment worn by women in some Islamic traditions for the purpose of cloaking the entire body. It is worn over the usual daily clothing (often a long dress or a shalwar kameez) and removed when the woman returns to the sanctuary of the household.
Many Muslims believe that the Islamic holy book, the Qur'an, and the collected traditions of the life of Muhammed, or hadith, require both men and women to dress and behave modestly in public. However, this requirement, called hijab, has been interpreted in many different ways by Islamic scholars (ulema) and Muslim communities (see Women and Islam); the burqa is not specifically mentioned in the Quran.

Islamic dress controversy in Western Europe

Face-covering Islamic clothing has become a controversial political issue in Western Europe, and some intellectuals and political groups advocate prohibition, for various reasons.

The government of the Netherlands is the first to plan a legal ban on face-covering Islamic clothing, popularly described as the 'burqa ban', although it does not apply to only the Afghan-type chadri. Immigration and Integration minister Rita Verdonk announced the legislation in November 2006.^[1] In the November 2006 general election, the Party for Freedom won 9 seats: it advocates prohibition of the burqa. In response, a group of Muslim women organised a pro-burqa demonstration at the newly elected Dutch parliament in The Hague.^[2]

Islamic dress that covers the face of women has also caused controversy in Great Britain (see main article at United Kingdom debate over veils). A senior member of the government, Jack Straw, asked Muslim women from his constituency to remove any veils covering their faces during face-to-face meetings with him. He explained to the media that this was a request, not a demand, and that he made sure that a woman staffer remained in the room during the meeting. A media furore followed. Some Muslim groups said that they understood his concerns, but others rejected them as prejudicial.^[3] It is not clear that any of the affected Muslim constituents were wearing burqas, as the Arabian face veil, or niqab, is more common among British Muslims.

I chose this image as I think it shows how the whole look of a portrait shot can be changed by a prop, I do understand that the mans hat in this image is part of a religious gown, but it does show how a simple prop can be used to brighten up a composition. I think I will include some kind of props in my images to create the artistic style im looking for. Due to the low-key lighting you will be able to see a shadow on the left hand side of the mans face, I like how you see this shadow get swallowed up by the background making it seem as if his face is fading into the background.

Steve McCurry

This image by Steve McCurry is another favourite of mine, its a low-key shot, and I beleive he used a 'snoot' to cast a controlled amount of light onto the man's face. This causes the figure to stand out from the black background, and with the subtle earthy colours of his clothes it almost makes the image almost look like a highly detailed painting. I like how McCurry has cropped the image, I think its a formal composition and due to the nature of the model I feel this type of cropping suits the image well. A character like this looks as though he should be treated with a little dignity, and I feel that the photographer has managed to capture this within the image.

Preliminary Images

These set of images are from my first shoot. I used this shoot to experiment with the lighting so's to help me gain an understanding of how the light reacts with the model and to see what effects it can create. As you will see these images are all in a Low-key style, which consits of a single light with a diffusing umbrella attatched to cast a soft light upon the models face. Due to this single lighting it creates an areas of light which then fade into dark shadows. This effect is very good at highlighting facial features and bringing out the contours of a face. I feel that this type of lighting would be more suited for a model with a more interesting face, by this I mean someone like an older persons, who's face could contain lot's of wrinkle's and intern lots of detail. I have included this image on the right just to show you the effect you can create by using a low-key lighting setup. I think this models features are a little too soft, for a shot like this i would prefer a modle with a stronger bone structure.

As with the two above images this again is a low-key shot. I was interested in seeing the effect this style of lighting has on a male model, who I believe to have a stronger facial structure. I feel that a stronger facial structure creates more contours with the dark and light contrasts within the image. I feel this first image in which he is just wearing a t-shirt is a little to plain so I asked the modle to wear a coat, which is based on a 1940's Russian army jacket, I feel this adds an extra edge to the image, it creates a little more interest for the eye's, I perticulaly like the effect the low-key lighting has on the collar, the contrast from dark to light helps bring out the detail of the material. Although I think these images are quite nice, I do feel that they are too plain, and due to this they don't tie in with my ambitions of creating an artisticly looking image. As I have said earlier this first shoot was just for me to experiment with the lighting a help me gain an understanding of its capabilities. I did find this shoot very usefull, with this shoot I was able to find out the suitable lighting set up, knowing this would save me lots of time and energy when going on to complete my final shoot.

Lighting setup diagrams

Here you can see two simple diagrams of the lighting set up that I intend to use. After a little research I beleive that these setups will give the desired look that I will be looking to acheive.

Low-Key.
On the left is the set up that I will be using to create a low-key shot. The single light with a difuser over it will cast a subtle ray of light upon ther model stood in the centre. I can also use a reflector to help soften some of the shadows if they apear too dark, but despite this i may like the contrasty look from dark to light.

Low-key lighting is a style of lighting for photography, film or television. It attempts to create a chiaroscuro effect. In traditional photographic lighting, three-point lighting uses a key light, a fill light, and a back light for even illumination. Low-key lighting requires only one key light, optionally controlled with a fill light or a simple reflector.

Low key light accentuates the contours of an object by throwing areas into shade while a fill light or reflector may illuminate the shadow areas to control contrast. The relative strength of key-to-fill, known as the lighting ratio, can be measured using a light meter. Low key lighting has a higher lighting ratio, e.g. 8:1, than high key lighting, which can approach 1:1.

The term "low key" is used in cinematography to refer to any scene with a high lighting ratio, especially if there is a predominance of shadowy areas. It tends to heighten the sense of alienation felt by the viewer, hence is commonly used in film noir and horror genres.

Low-Key(with fill light)Here you can see the other diagram for my lighting setup. This setup is very similar to the low -key set up used earlier. Only with this layout I intend to use a second light as a fill light, this is used to cancel out any of the shadows a single lighting setup would produce. There is also something deifferent with this shot aswell, For this shoot i intend to use coloured gels to cast couloured lights upon the model. I feel when used in conjunction with appropriate props this will help to create the nice looking artistic peice I have been looking for.

I like how the blue shines through in this image, its quite striking against the dark background. I may consider using gells within my own images to put a coloured tint on the model. I think this technique will help me create the artistic style i am looking for. The shadows on the man are nice, this style of low-key lighting is just what I'm looking for. Its the contrast from dark to light that attracts me here. I feel the use of shadows can help bring out features in a models face and also create shape. When looking at the pose of the model I feel it lets the image down a little, I feel that the inclusion of a prop here would make it far more interesting.

After viewing this low-key image I am keen to see if I can create a similar effect, I like how the light has been used to highlight the focal point which is the womans face, I think I could use the technique to highlight a models eye's or an item of clothing she may be wearing. I feel this is a really nice image and it goes against the traditional laws of studio lighting, which mostly tend to lean towards nice cleanly lit images.

Timothy Alan

Although not taken in a studio, I really like the use of props within this image, i think the combination of the flower and the hat help draw emphasis on the eye's and act as a frame. I think that this idea is achievable providing i can find a suitable model. I feel that i may experiment with props to see the different effects that I can create with this. I like how the photographer has carefully chosen the props here, and I feel they work well within this image, I perticulaly like how the shape of the hat and the flower fit in line with each other, framing the eyes and creating shape arround the face.

In this jerry Avenaim image, I perticulaly like how he has cropped the image, I like how he has cut out parts of the models body, by positioning her to the bottom right of the image. I feel this can add an extra edge to some images. I also really like how the model has struck her pose. This idea of using the model to create shapes is a good one and if undertaken in my own images could go towards the artistic look I'm aiming for. Avenaim has used a high-key lighting technique here you can see this by the nice even lighting all over the body, there is very little shadow here.