jleonconstructedphotography

[jleonconstructedphotography]

Week 6 - Constructed Photography

I have exciting plans for this next assignment. My favorite part of it is the focus I have chosen; Man vs. Nature. I want to attack this focus as metaphorically as possible. My plan is to create a piece of art out of a photo, with the subject purely being nature, it will be printed on a type of aluminum, steel, or metal. I want to really emphasize the contrast of nature and man. To gain more inspiration on this assignment and my focus, I have been researching and following artist: https://www.nicolasruel.com/en/new_york.php . His work is primarily printed on stainless steel, and I want to portray that contrast as well.

Here are a couple of photographs I have taken with this project in mind: (unedited)

As you can tell these photos are all about nature, I was focusing on framing when taking these. I believe these types of photos printed on seeable aluminum or steel will serve my goal perfectly.

[jleonconstructedphotography]

Week 5 - Constructed Photography

This past week was a small success for the assignment. Printing went relatively smoothly, only a couple of issues with matte paper. The printing settings can get extensive and with that, confusing. There is a lot of specifics with printing photography, and using different variations of paper led me to an ink problem. On a couple of my prints I used ink that was for glossy paper on the matte paper, so it printed dark and contrasted. Besides that, the finalizing of my assignment went rather well.

The critique in class was very helpful, I was able to pin down exactly what I want to work on and improve. My low-lighting shooting needs to be adjusted to be clearer, and my backgrounds need more quality. On-the-other hand, I learned a lot about how to utilize post-editing and photoshop more. Seeing some of my peer’s work and critiquing it really helped my understanding on photoshop flow. Now, I feel more confident for future assignments and projects incorporating photoshop, it’s an exciting new medium for photography and editing. I can't wait to see what’s in store for me and my work in the nearby future.

[jleonconstructedphotography]

Week 4 - Constructed Photography

This week was very successful. I finalized my assignment and finished my post edit work. Adobe Photoshop was my main source for editing and I am really happy with the outcome: 

Inspiration for my work came from copious amounts of research online about post-editing and photoshop in photography. I didn't want the edit to take away from the photo or the narrative, so a lot of time was spent getting it right. Just as other artists are careful as well, some of my favorite examples are:

It’s about a fluent post-edit, no roughness or harsh edges, only accuracy. I wanted simplicity with confusion regarding my series. I wanted the interpretation to be open for discussion. Overall the photos came out the way I wanted them to, especially in relation to the narrative aspect, and emotion factor. My favorite part of the series was my color implementation, it truly brought the photos to life.

[jleonconstructedphotography]

Week 3 - Constructed Photography

More and more progress is being made throughout this past week. After brainstorming, I came up with the focus to be more on the emotion behind the photo. Essentially, what does the photo say to you? Using light, props, staging, etc., a message can be portrayed easily. This past week was definitely a success, I narrowed down the narrative to revolve around love and the journey behind it; especially with Valentine’s Day around the corner. 

I needed help coming up with ways to portray emotion in this narrative piece, so I went to resources of some very known photographers. Annie Leibovitz is always a go to resource for inspiration, her work is very profound and detailed. I would go through pages and pages of photographs, galleries, stories, and portfolios just to find one simple or small idea worth trying. A good resource I like to go to is: http://portfolioone.com/photographers/annie-leibovitz/

This is a perfect example of portraying humor into a photograph. Just one of many ways to involve emotion into a photo.

Another artist to go to for similar inspiration, in my opinion, is Cindy Sherman. Her constructed images are so detailed to provide some sort of message or narrative, and they can really stir up some thinking. A good resource for this to go to is: https://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2012/cindysherman/#/2/ 

This is the type of work I like to go to in relation to emotion in photography, because its done so well without color. Starting the hard way will make using color much easier with emotion.

I’ll close off with an example of my recent work (unedited) in regards to emotion / color, inspired by the above:

[jleonconstructedphotography]

Week 2 - Constructed Photo

This week I began experimenting and focused on light. I wanted to construct lighting that helped tell a story or a narrative; even the slightest bit. I worked with a subject holding a guitar and having a carefully placed dead flower in the seen as well. Working in a dark environment also required steady tripod use and patience. Setting the camera’s specs to get the shot you want can be a process thought rewarding when you see your shots previewed. This can definitely be defined as a successful week for me in this project.

I need to now focus on improving the location and creating more of a sense of narrative. I have some ideas in the works about clarifying a message or story within my photographs, and I am excited for what these next few weeks have in store for me. For now, I am continuing researching for inspiration and brainstorming more everyday. My main source this past week has been Gregory Crewdson, an American photographer, and a good place to start is this: https://www.artsy.net/artist/gregory-crewdson

[jleonconstructedphotography]

Week 1 - Constructed Photo

This week has been an up and down experience with this new topic of photography. I don’t have much experience in staged or constructed photography though I have always found it to be interesting. This past week turned into a heavy brainstorm workshop. In terms of progress on this project, this week is a small failure. I couldn’t come up with any test shots, most of my progress came in the form of ideas. I brainstormed and researched to better grasp my concept of constructed images and how to go about them. Websites such as: https://www.artsy.net/gene/staged-photography and http://www.historygraphicdesign.com/the-age-of-information/national-visions-within-a-global-dialogue/513-staged-photography

The varieties are endless and become extremely abstract, though the setting and resources of known examples greatly differ to that of student. This makes my brainstorming at times difficult and I am also naturally indecisive, so progress can be slow. Though amazing outcomes have arisen from slow work, it correlates with taking your time and being careful. Overall, I am still in the beginning stages of constructed photography and this project, but progress is soon to come with help of peers and visuals.