Some Initial Shots

These were some of the first set of photographs I took on the day in the studio. They are too light and do not use the low key lighting I wanted. Also the model looks very stiff and isn't interacting with the animal.

Gregory Crewdson - Lighting Images

Gregory Crewdson - Technical Notes

Gregory Crewdson 'Beneath the Roses'

"Photographs take weeks to plan, days to create, then they're taken in a flash - But they have stories to tell."

I have looked at Crewdson's work because I wanted to see how a really really technical photographer works. His photography, whilst telling a story, almost like a film, is mainly about creating the right lighting and then everything else follows. Crewdson uses light to maximise dramatic effect.

'At the heart of all Crewdson's work is lighting. He is drawn to the uncertain hour of twilight, not only because of its haunting, sinister quality, but also because it allows him to combine artificial light with the fading rays of the sun. "We probably use 40-50 lights in one shot and they will vary from a tiny electric bulb to a huge, 12-kilowatt light on a crane. Unlike movies, photography has its limitations in terms of being able to tell a story - there is no evolution of time, no movement of narrative, no music, no dialogue. So I use light as a device to lead you through my photographs and tell you the story."'

Some Lighting experiments

These are some photographs which I set up at home using torches and candlelight. I did these to show examples of my experimentations with low-key lighting and how it can be set up in different ways and in different environments.

Timothy Allen

These are a couple more Allen photographs which I looked at, although the subject is different, the lighting is very much what I was looking at. Very low key and atmospheric.

Timothy Allen

Timothy is a photojournalist who in 2002 photographed the intriguing subculture of the world of taxidermy championships in springfield, Illinois.

Although his style and message, especially the high key lighting which he uses (which is the focus of my project) differs greatly from what I am trying to achieve with my work. I thought it was interesting to look at how a contemporary photographer has captured taxidermy in their images. Despite looking at fur as a fetish, this is definately not the approach Allen has taken with his images. Which having looked at much of his other work after seeing these photographs, I think is really beautiful.

Fur/Fetish in Fashion

Paul Outerbridge "Woman with claws" 1937

"Outerbridge was a designer and illustrator in New York before turning to photography in the 1920s. In 1925, having established himself as an innovative advertising photographer and graphic designer, he moved to Paris and worked for the French edition of Vogue magazine. There he met Edward Steichen, with whom he developed a friendly rivalry. Around 1930, having returned to New York, Outerbridge began to experiment with color photography, in particular the carbro-color process. He focused primarily on erotic female nudes, images that occasionally had menacing overtones and whose shocking, full-color realism resulted in a scandal, hastening the end of his photographic career. In 1943 Outerbridge moved to California, where he photographed only intermittently."

I chose to add these images on my blog to show what fetish photography can look like in the mainstream. It used to be risky and controversial but now photographers can push the boundaries much more. There is no need anymore to show a female nude in fetish photography, this has been done by many photographers. Much more effective would be to show as little as possible. I tried this with my own shoot.

Paul Outerbridge "Idle Collar" 1922

Fetish Photography - A fetish photographer takes photographs of people in fetishistic situations, such as bondage or wearing rubber or leather clothing. More extreme fetish photography depicts paraphiliac acts such as urination, enemas or Sm activities. Depending on point of view, fetish photography can be considered as fine art, erotica or pornography. Once only published in bondage magazines, fetish photography is now also published as 'art books'. Taschen is one prominent publisher printing fetish books on a mass scale.
Pioneering fetish photographers include John Willie, who published a famous fetishistic magazine 'Bizarre' from 1946 to 1959. Another pioneer photographer includes art photographer Paul Outerbridge who introduced fetish elements in his colour photographs as early as the 1940's.

[fet-ish, fee-tish] Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1. an object regarded with awe as being the embodiment or habitation of a potent spirit or as having magical potency.

2. any object, idea, etc., eliciting unquestioning reverence, respect, or devotion: to make a fetish of high grades.

3. Psychology. any object or nongenital part of the body that causes a habitual erotic response or fixation.

My low key Set up

A studio lighting set up can use 3 or 4 lights, it can be intimidating thinking about how the lights will all work together and what the lighting ratios will be. As I wanted a very low key, atmospheric lighting set up I only used 2 lights, mostly only one light with a snoot on it to direct the light onto certain aspects of my model, highlighting them by creating a spotlight.
A lighting ratio is the difference between the main light and the fill. If your main light were twice as bright as your fill, the ratio will be 2:1. A factor of 2 is equal to one stop of exposure, and if you increase your exposure, and if you increase your exposure by one stop, you are allowing in twice the amount of light.
A 2:1 ratio would mean that there is a one-stop difference between the lights. A 3:1 ratio would be a stop and a half difference, and 4:1 would be a two stop difference.

Friday 29th Feb 11:00

Tutorial with JO

- Re edit photographs into themes and folders, pick better images, more effective ones. By doing this it shoould help me find a final 3 images.

- Show evidence of the specific lighting from the shoot, how I got it and what I changed. Use notes taken, diagrams etc.

- More research into fashion photographs and fine art photographs using animals and taxidermy, reference older and more contemporary photographers/artsists working in this area.

- Look into fetish photography and 50's style. Fetishism, what they were trying to achieve, what is beautiful the them.

- Set up some more shots at home with more animals and dramatic lighting. Could create this with directional torches or candlelight.

Lighting Techniques

Lighting Techniques

Low Key Lighting SetUp

Positions and Composition

I like the look of this 'crab' position the model is in, I think it would be effective to use this in my images so the models head was almost floor level with the bears head.

More Possible Props

Props

This is an option to be used as my main prop in the photograph. I think it would photograph really well.

As a prop and a main feature I want to use taxidermy in my image. I don't particularly like the lighting or composition in this image but I have used it to show the effect of an 'animal'.

My Model

I have decided to use Stacey mainly for her hair, as is it so short it will be easy and effective to ruffle it up and make it look quite animalistic and raw.

I think the pose and the character of this image is lovely, It very much shows the personality of the model, which is something I would like to portray in my Photographs.

Robert Mapplethorpe

Love the Lighting Mapplethorpe uses, very low key and atmospheric.

Robert Mapplethorpe

Hannah Liden, Swedish Landscape Artist

Hannah Liden, Swedish Landscape Artist

I love the masks in this work. I like the idea of obscuring the face and making my images even more about the 'ideas' being the image and also more about the clothes, after all it is a fashion shoot!

Product Lighting

Product Lighting

Product Lighting

Examples of High Key Lighting

Examples of High Key Lighting