Portraiture

Portraiture has been around for many years, starting with painting portraits before the camera was invented. During the Roman/Ancient times, portraiture was used for artists to paint families and royals that would either be displayed or kept. Portraiture photography however, has been around since the camera was invented around 1816, where photographs were then used to take family and single portraits.

Moodboard on general modern portraits.

Alexander Khoklov;

His most talked about series is one of a collaboration with makeup artist Valyeria Kutsan. This series presents a mix of face-art and photography, combining the two together using portraiture. The photographs produced create optical illusions. The series is known as 'Weird Beauty and 2D or not 2D.'

Moodboard on the photographer Alexander Khokhlov

Objectively, Khokhlov's portraits show simple compositions. The subject is central to the composition which shows the head and the chest. The composition is taken up most by the face and there is no negative space. The series that he collaborated with Kutsan, is a showcase of a mixture of make up art and photography. In this particular portrait the woman is seen to have squares covering her face and chest. The make up artist Kutsan has created a pixelated effect. She has used different skin tones in each pixel created to show the shading within her face. The precision within the squares makes the piece surreal. The pixel effect, suggests the photograph has been computerised. The make up artist Kutsam, has placed the squares proceeding into the hair line, which creates the surrealism. Subjectively, the piece represents different skin tones and ethnicity. It represents the beauty of all women by using a simple composition of one model, therefore this can be used as a campaign against racism. The eyes and the hair in this photograph are not pixelated which make them qualities stand out, yet it is also a focus on the areas that are pixelated, focusing solely on skin colour. The pose of the model is distant, almost mimicking an old style portrait which reflects the simplicity and focus. 

Laura Williams;
A 19 year old student from Cambridge studied Photography. Her work has become very popular as she specialises in self portraits. She has experimented with different genres, yet the subject has always been herself. Her most famous work has captured the eyes of most of the UK, appearing in 'The Sun' newspaper, which is the 'Mirrors' series.

Moodboard on the photographer Laura Williams

The composition of this photograph is very simple. Objectively, the background is a plain grass area. There is a shallow depth of field present, therefore the trees and background are out of focus. The subject, which is Williams herself, is central to the composition. She is sitting with her legs crossed holding a mirror, which is sat in between her legs. She is peering out from behind the mirror. The mirror itself, contains the background, therefore in blends in with the area around her. It gives the effect of invisibility. Subjectively, Williams expression is very hesitant and scared, which represents her awareness of the invisibility and that she thinks of herself as invisible. It could then move on to become a deep, personal meaning, reflecting inner thoughts. She may have had a traumatic experience when she was younger when she felt that she was invisible which could be the inspiration for this series. Subjectively, the backgrounds simplicity creates an empty emotion. This emptiness, is something that could also reflect the feelings that she has felt. Personally, this photograph is relatable and would relate to many individuals. Essentially, there will be a point in life when you would feel invisible. These series of photographs reflect the emotion rather than the situation which can reflect upon a more general audience.

Lex Wilson;
Wilson is a creative person, specialising in illustration and photography. He is currently based in Nottingham, yet came from Cambridge. The photography he has produced are all self portraits that portray a surreal effect.

Mood board on the Photographer Lex Wilson

Wilson's series of surreal photographs, present some different and unique photographs. Objectively, this particular photograph shows Wilson central to the composition. He is holding a paintbrush which is pressed to the right side of his face (as point of view of the audience). The base photograph all in black and white. Wilson has used Photoshop to create a line stretching across his face which is in original colour. The lighting is subtle used by studio lights. The background is plain, which could suggest a studio, however it could also be a plain wall behind him. Subjectively, the use of a paintbrush suggests a creative input. The paintbrush, compared to an object like scissors or a ripped effect, suggests a positive mood to the photograph. Wilson's expression is neutral, therefore, the surrealism is speaking for him. Subjectively, it seems to me that it is reflecting his creative personality, in that painting is what brings him to life. It represents Wilson as a creative individual, using the movement of surrealism to portray this. 

Portrait experiments;

Initially I was mostly inspired by Laura Williams photography, therefore as an experiment to portrait photography, I attempted to recreate her 'mirror' self portraits. I used a tripod for this as I was on my own, so I also used the self timer. Firstly, I positioned the camera where I wanted it and took a photograph of the plain background. I chose to place this on part of the field, as relating to Williams photographs, there was a vast amount of space. I then left the camera in the same position, but this time I used the self timer and positioned myself in front of the camera. I held the 'mirror' (in this case I used an empty photo frame) in different positions against my body. Once the shoot was over, I then used photo shop to edit these to create the effect of the mirror similar to Williams.In photo shop, I used the plain background and created a layer over the top with the photograph of me in the composition. I then used the rubber tool to rub out the contents of the empty frame which revealed the background. As both photographs were exactly proportional, as I rubbed out, it was in line with the background creating the invisible effect. As you can see from my experiments, it looks as though I have a hole in my body and my face which I found successful. As an improvement, I would take more time to develop the composition, and think about it more thoroughly. As this was only an experiment, the background was not the best location, yet it linked well with Williams pieces. I would work on the lighting, whether that be on location, or using photo shop. My main aim for this experiment was to grasp the technique in which Williams used in her self portraits. I feel that this is a more modern version of portraiture which branches off from the traditional ways, yet I like the quirky style to self portraiture.

As an extension to my portraiture experiments, I got a bit of time in the studio. With studio work, I didn't want to create any effects as such. I was more focused on the lighting, and how changing the lighting and angles of the camera can create certain shadows and moods to a portrait. The first photograph I took was of a fellow peer, Leon. The light was placed in the direction to which he was looking. This created very subtle lighting to the front of his face. The next two photographs are of myself. The lighting was placed in the same position as before, yet I was facing forwards. This created the lighting to hit the right side of my face, whereas the right was in shadow. The next photograph down, I moved the light so that it was on the left side, I was looking into the light with my head, but my body was still facing forward. As you can see, more of my face has been lit up. The last photograph, the light was still on the left side, yet the camera was angled differently by looking down upon me. This created a slightly more dramatic look as half of my face is in shadow and the other lit up. This was a short experiment on how the lighting from different angles can change a composition. I have not edited any of these photographs.

As part of out lessons, we are experimenting with Photoshop.  For this portrait, I have changed the hair colour and eye colour, I wanted to stick to the theme of 'weird and wonderful' therefore I changed the colour to something extreme. Firstly, I highlighted the hair area using the selection tool. I then used the colour bar to change the colour of the selected area. The same process was used for the eyes. Lastly, to enhance the weird element to this photograph, I desaturated the face. This makes my skin tone look very pale and discoloured. Overall, this was an experiment on the techniques that I could possibly use with portraiture, adding a weird element to it to then take inspiration from this if I were to experiment further with portraiture.