Photo Shoots

SHOOT ONE (TEST) 8th November 2013

Equipment

Canon EOS 500D; 60mm Macro Lens; x2 extension tube; LED Light square

Settings: f/5.6; ISO 400-800;    Shutter 1/125^th; continuous LED lighting

Some experimenting was done with the LED lighting, and an extra LED Light square was added in some images.  The ISO setting was also changed, and the aperture was changed to f/8 to improve focus and these experiments are reflected in the images.  However, as none of these images gave me the close-ups I wanted, even with the cropped frame camera and 2x extension tube and two extension tubes of 3x and 2x magnification I knew that I needed to take more advice, and experiment further.  (SEE also Research)

TEST SHOOT 2

4^th December 2013

Equipment

Canon 6D; MP-E 65mm Macro lens f/2.8 with 5x magnification

Ambient light (tungsten)

I shot a few photographs at home and was able to capture the magnification I wanted for this project, in the example of a finger nail below.  The tiny imperfections on the nail and the creases in the skin around the nail is exactly the detail I wanted, so I knew I could successfully achieve the images I wanted with the model the following day. 

Raymond's finger nail 

SHOOT 3/4

Thursday, 5^th December and Friday, 6^th December

Equipment: as above with the addition of 2 Bowen Flashlights in the studio

Shooting was in RAW and j.peg using the same model throughout.  All were shot at ISO 100 and shutter speed of 1/125^th.

Some experimentation was made with intensity and position of the lights, and camera, and the camera settings.  Images were examined on the camera screen and adjustments made throughout.  See some j.pegs below.  The White Balance was set on Tungsten from the previous evening, but changed to Flash when the first images were reviewed in the studio, and these were edited to flash WB.

                           

                     
The Contact Sheet was created in Photoshop by making a new file and inserting the images shown
then text added.  See notes on Contact Sheet below (6th December Shoot 5)

5^th December 2013

Evaluation of micro shoots with MP-E 65mm macro lens with 5x magnification. Shooting with this lens proved to be challenging, particularly with focussing which was not always successfully achieved, particularly with a ‘live’ model and when shooting eyes, which are never still and have ballistic movements.  The model was wonderfully patient and tolerant which I appreciated. 

Another technical and artistic issue was with composition, as even when I achieved a focussed shot the composition was not as aesthetic as I would have liked, because to achieve the focus I had to sometimes include more or less in the frame than I would have liked (balancing the focus, magnification and composition was tricky).  However, tutorial advice led me to crop the final images into a square format, which worked well for most of the images I chose.  In the images where the composition was aesthetic I managed to make an effective crop, without losing the sense of wonder at these magnified body landscapes, which I was delighted to capture and had in my mind from the outset. 

I expected to produce high-key lighting images in order to produce beautiful bright abstract images to form the basis of Photo Therapy specifically for girls who had been sexually abused, or who had body dysmorphia with other causes.  However, I decided to experiment with aperture size, from f/2.8 up to f/14 with a wide range of Depth of Field and focussing, but more importantly with the sense of atmosphere and aesthetic achieved.  I was surprised to find that I loved a few images with low-key lighting, which were the opposite from what I thought I wanted.  These images of the eyes were dark and the whites appeared to be almost like liquid silver with reflected flashlight, and the very dark eyelashes surrounding it.  I chose one of these images as a final image, along with another from the succeeding shoot, as they are disconcerting yet also beautiful.  

Shoot 4, Studio,  6^th December 2013

Aperture Settings in images above.

Row 1 a-c  f/10, d-e f/13           Row 2  f/11                         Row 3 f/11    

Row 4 f/11                            Row 5 f/11                Row 6 f/11

Contact Sheets

The Canon 6D camera does not open in Photoshop CS5 or Bridge CS5 so I needed to purchase the CC version.  However, while I succeeded in creating one Contact Sheet the Output Option could not be found again.  I researched Adobe’s help and support site, but there was only enquiry  that was relevant was the following enquiry, but there was no advisory response. 

Evaluation:

I decided to use a smaller aperture in this shoot as I loved the quality of the detail achieved, and felt it still provided a sense of wonder at the complexity of the human body. 

The difference on the Friday part of the shoot was that I posed the model lying flat on a table, which meant her body and face were more stable, and the model was more comfortable, although the repeated shots of her eyes with the lens millimetres from her pupil was very uncomfortable for the model, who was very stoical in supporting me in this venture.  This was much more successful, although getting enough light into the area and the positioning of the lights and the camera (with the very close proximity of the lens to the body part) proved challenging. 

I also loved the detail I captured with smaller aperture sizes e.g. in the tongue where the taste buds are very evident, and saliva string under the tongue in one image. However, in spite of my fascination at the detail in these images and the diversity and beauty of the cells in the human body I realise the more abstract images worked better aesthetically as a group. The same is true for the fingerprints, which were very detailed, but also obvious rather than abstract.  However, I do feel they would be useful in Photo Therapy (for which these are intended) as the fingerprint is one of the ways that represents individual identity, which might offer insight into the uniqueness of the individual, and to create a sense of autonomy and agency, which was taken from the sexual abuse victim, so I have elected to include them. 

FINAL DECISIONS

In editing both the test shots and final images I elected to de-saturated them as some of the images were highly coloured and red, which might have been construed as having a negative impact in practice in Photo Therapy, as red has a connotation of passion, blood, violence and anger.  When desaturated they are less visceral, more gentle with a warmer rather than hot tone, and can be seen as less aggressive and more relaxing.  The final images work well together as they are in the same colour palette and are abstract.  Very little other editing was done, apart from in image 1 where small light reflections were removed as they were distracting.

Some of the successful images from the first part of the micro shoot on Thursday, 5^th December were chosen as final images, and the others from the Friday shoot.

I decided to include two of the low-key lighting images of the model’s eye, as they are so dramatic, with their contrast of light and dark.  These images may be constructive in therapy as they may reflect the fear and horror at what has been imposed upon them by their abuser.  The victim may find that these images allow them to speak about their experiences, in order to move forward to a new way of looking at their body, and seeing the wonder and beauty in it for themselves. They might also be construed as the view the perpetuator has of his victim as he abuses her, with its dark connotations, and particularly the second image as this angle of view suggests he is leaning over his victim.   The dilation of the blood vessels have the connotation of fear and helplessness.  

The other images in the set are diverse and fascinating to me, and hopefully to others in therapy. They offer a minuscule view of body parts, indicating unseen features and patterns in the skin, tiny unseen hairs in the ears, as well as folds in the skin of the lips - all of which represent the wonder of the human body.  

As already reported the images were cropped square, which is useful for my portfolio as I have three prior projects in square format.  They retained the artistic aesthetic I wanted and worked well as a group for exhibition, although I may choose not to include those images that are less abstract in an exhibition.

                                               FINAL IMAGES