Portraiture
Hicham Benohoud
Visual Literacy
1. Simply describe what you see in the image writing as many things as possible.
The image shows three teenagers sitting at their desks doing their school work. The desk that is in the centre is being held up higher than the others by what looks like two paint pots stacked on top of each other. The girl sitting at the heightened table looks uncomfortable as she is having to stop herself from falling off the chair and having to stop her work from sliding off the edge of the table. No one is looking at the camera or at the girls table, everyone is busy looking at their work, suggesting that the other students haven't noticed that her table is being held up by pots.
2. What do you find unusual about the photograph?
I find the table being held higher unusual because it's not what you would usually expect to see when you're in a classroom. I also find the girl unusual because she doesn't look like she is bothered by what has been done to her table. She looks a little uncomfortable as her feet are positioned awkwardly like they are stopping her from slipping off the chair.
3. What do you find interesting about the photograph?
No one else is looking or paying attention to her heightened table and her awkward way of sitting. Although the pots are unusual, I also find them interesting because we don't exactly know why they're there and what the point of having them there is. I think that having this photograph taken in a school setting is interesting because I haven't seen any photographs that are taken like these ones.
4. How would you describe the background?
The background of the image is very plain - as school walls usually are. There are no clues in the background that explain where the photographs were taken or why. This empty background allows the focus to be solely on the students and her strange table.
5. How does the photographer use 'space' within the image?
The photographer has placed the subjects directly in the middle of the image and the room. There is nothing around the students, this could be to avoid the viewer looking anywhere but at the students.
The image shows three teenagers sitting at their desks doing their school work. The desk that is in the centre is being held up higher than the others by what looks like two paint pots stacked on top of each other. The girl sitting at the heightened table looks uncomfortable as she is having to stop herself from falling off the chair and having to stop her work from sliding off the edge of the table. No one is looking at the camera or at the girls table, everyone is busy looking at their work, suggesting that the other students haven't noticed that her table is being held up by pots.
2. What do you find unusual about the photograph?
I find the table being held higher unusual because it's not what you would usually expect to see when you're in a classroom. I also find the girl unusual because she doesn't look like she is bothered by what has been done to her table. She looks a little uncomfortable as her feet are positioned awkwardly like they are stopping her from slipping off the chair.
3. What do you find interesting about the photograph?
No one else is looking or paying attention to her heightened table and her awkward way of sitting. Although the pots are unusual, I also find them interesting because we don't exactly know why they're there and what the point of having them there is. I think that having this photograph taken in a school setting is interesting because I haven't seen any photographs that are taken like these ones.
4. How would you describe the background?
The background of the image is very plain - as school walls usually are. There are no clues in the background that explain where the photographs were taken or why. This empty background allows the focus to be solely on the students and her strange table.
5. How does the photographer use 'space' within the image?
The photographer has placed the subjects directly in the middle of the image and the room. There is nothing around the students, this could be to avoid the viewer looking anywhere but at the students.
A set of instructions for your portrait:
You will be working with another person chosen by your instructor. Collaborate appropriately with them - creative collaborations.
You are going to create a 'portrait' of your partner, in order to create an interesting portrait you need to be able to;
Loosen up
Play with possibilities
Be open to doing things differently
Take creative risks (but be safe)
Be tolerate that things may not go the way that you want it but be open to happy accidents (you may have planned one thing but if something else happens, go with it!)
Technical Information
You will take only two portraits
We must be able to see some of the person
Think of your frame as a photobooth
One portrait must be taken inside and one must be taken outside
Composition is an important element
Use two or more props
Consider the background carefully
Think about the foreground
Have some special awareness
Create a portrait that has not been conceived yet
Enjoy what you are doing
Take your time
How did you approach the task?
I think that I was very nervous when this task was introduced because I didn't really have time to plan what I wanted my photographs to look like. I think that I would've been less nervous if I knew what objects we were going to be working with and if I didn't let myself worry so much about collaborating and being embarrassed about what I was going to create. I also felt overwhelmed by the amount of props that we were given and I felt that none of them were things that I would have picked myself and suddenly working with someone else was very had for me because I am so used to working and creating photographs by myself. I definitely could have worked differently, choosing my props and creating my idea while my partner was creating hers instead of wasting that time.
Did you complete the task well?
I think that I didn't complete the task as well as I would have liked to. I think that I held myself back too much and didn't take full advantage of what props we were given.
If not what is it that you need to improve?
I think that I needed to not care what anyone else would think about my idea(s) and not be embarrassed about what my partner would think too. I could have used the props more imaginatively and I wish that I had tried to take more creative risks.
You will be working with another person chosen by your instructor. Collaborate appropriately with them - creative collaborations.
You are going to create a 'portrait' of your partner, in order to create an interesting portrait you need to be able to;
Loosen up
Play with possibilities
Be open to doing things differently
Take creative risks (but be safe)
Be tolerate that things may not go the way that you want it but be open to happy accidents (you may have planned one thing but if something else happens, go with it!)
Technical Information
You will take only two portraits
We must be able to see some of the person
Think of your frame as a photobooth
One portrait must be taken inside and one must be taken outside
Composition is an important element
Use two or more props
Consider the background carefully
Think about the foreground
Have some special awareness
Create a portrait that has not been conceived yet
Enjoy what you are doing
Take your time
How did you approach the task?
I think that I was very nervous when this task was introduced because I didn't really have time to plan what I wanted my photographs to look like. I think that I would've been less nervous if I knew what objects we were going to be working with and if I didn't let myself worry so much about collaborating and being embarrassed about what I was going to create. I also felt overwhelmed by the amount of props that we were given and I felt that none of them were things that I would have picked myself and suddenly working with someone else was very had for me because I am so used to working and creating photographs by myself. I definitely could have worked differently, choosing my props and creating my idea while my partner was creating hers instead of wasting that time.
Did you complete the task well?
I think that I didn't complete the task as well as I would have liked to. I think that I held myself back too much and didn't take full advantage of what props we were given.
If not what is it that you need to improve?
I think that I needed to not care what anyone else would think about my idea(s) and not be embarrassed about what my partner would think too. I could have used the props more imaginatively and I wish that I had tried to take more creative risks.
Photographs I took of my partner
These are the photographs that I have produced of my partner. I think that they are successful but not at all creative. I think that I should have incorporated colour into my images more because they look extremely boring. I definitely think that my photos show that I was uncomfortable and not sure what I was actually doing. I don't like the photographs taken with the camera because they have come up really blue and I think that this ruins the look of the photographs.
Editing using Photoshop
Here I have used Photoshop to edit some of the photographs I have taken. I changed the saturation of some of these photographs first to try and make them look more yellow than blue. After this I used levels and curves to make the photographs darker in some parts and lighter in others. Some of the photographs turned blue and a little bit green, I like the one that went a little green (the last photograph of my partners face) because I think that it makes the photograph look more interesting because they have a different colour and more noticeable tone.
I then turned these two images black and white (after they had already been edited) and further changed the levels and curves so that it some parts would be a lot darker than others. I really like these photographs in black and white because I think that they show that the image has more tone, however I don't think that there is enough light tones in these photographs. I think they would look better if they had extremely light/white parts and dark/black parts.