Work Diary - Shoot 13: Underwater

Evaluation

For this shoot, I decided to continue with the use of water, but this time have a model lay in the bath, and be completely immersed in the water - which I assumed would then distort their face. For this shoot, my camera was set to 22F, ISO 200, and a shutter speed of 1/125. This idea is a follow up of Shoot 12 whereby I shot photos of a model in the shower, with water running down her face. I have enjoyed these two shoots because they portray the message of suffering very well, by emulating the feelings of drowning, frustration, and numbness. Most of the images in this shoot are black and white because this enhanced the emotion of the image, by making it more dark, depressing and scary. In some of the images the model is completely under the water, whereas in others their head is the only thing floating. I enjoyed shooting this because it is completely different to all my other shoots, particularly those at the beginning of this project, but it has also allowed me to explore and experiment with different types and techniques of portraiture. 

In this image the model is lying in the water, which is covering everything, apart from it is surrounding his face. The model is also looking directly into the camera, and because of this, as well as the black and white effect; this photo depicts a sad and emotional feeling, as the model looks drained and exhausted. This image could be seen as a visual representation of the symptoms of depression, as this image shows that the model is drowning, but is aware of it happening, but yet cannot do anything about it. 

In this image however, the model is completely under the water with his eyes shut tightly. From this, we can see that the model is holding their breath, but is slowly losing air as there are bubbles coming from his nose and mouth. I like this image because it shows that time is passing, and the model is losing air to breathe; yet he's still completely under the water. I also like that due to the black and white, it doesn't even look like the model is underwater, so that this could literally be how he is feeling normally - panicked, breathless and scared.

Progression

This is the final shoot to my project, and overall I think all my shoots were enjoyable and have produced the images that I wanted. I have enjoyed watching my progression from street photography, to portraiture, to emotional portraiture. As well as learning new skills in the camera and editing fields. 

Work Diary - Shoot 12: Drowning

Evaluation 

For this shoot, I decided to continue with the emotional portraiture concept, but experiment with using water in my photographs rather than with the editing. In this shoot, my camera was set to ISO 22, 22F and a shutter speed of 1/125. Therefore, I used a model in the shower, and took photos of them 'drowning' under the water, with smeared makeup and water dripping from their face. This is because the water portrays the 'drowning' feeling of being smothered with so many thoughts and emotions. I enjoyed using editing, as a way to portray the feelings of suffering with mental illnesses, but I also really liked using a practical way to indicate the same sort of concept. I believe these photos came out very well, and I used a mixture of black and white, as well as different colour tones to portray a more dramatic feeling depending on what the model looks like in the image. As some times the model looked quite sad and upset, whereas other times they looked blank and numb. 

I like this photo in particular because the water is literally smothering the models face, and you can also see how it has smudged her makeup. I added a black and white effect to the image to make it look more dramatic and depressing. Due to the models facial expression, this portrays the feelings of frustration and anger, as the model has her eyes shut and is just letting the water fall over her face, which is essentially what people do when they feel like this, they just let it happen. I decided to zoom quite close to the models face so that I could see the water clearly and also to make sure all the attention was focused on the water and their facial expressions. 

This photo is very similar, but instead I added a blue-green tone whilst editing, as it makes the photo look and almost feel colder and harsher. This also links to how the model is feeling, because in the image we can see that she is trying to open her eyes and mouth but the water is stopping her from doing so. Again, becoming very frustrated. I particularly like how the water is dripping off the models nose, and so we can see that there is a lot of water falling from her face. 

Progression 

I want to continue with using water to portray feelings of numbness and frustration, but instead in my next shoot I want the model to be completely underneath the water so that the water is covering their face, distorting the image. By using water I cancreate different and more depressing images as the models reactions are realistic, but by editing the photos to black and white it'll create a more dark and dramatic feel to them.