CONCEPT
My project is to portray entertainment as a form of art while incorporating face painting, balloon twisting, and balloon decoration to create an extended portrait to convey my assignment. Similar to David LaChappelle I will emphasize vibrant warm colors from his pallet; such as yellow, orange, and red. Nonetheless, they will not be limited; and I will incorporate complementary colors, such as violet, blue, and green to make the designs more attractive. I also will use black and white to support the designs.
TECHNICAL APPROACH (INPUT)
I will be shooting inside and outside. The pictures I will be shooting inside will be a little limited because of lighting; however, I will keep the ISO between 800-1600 to better the odds. The pictures taken outside; I will keep the ISO at 400, and if there is more light than usual I will set it at 100 – 200. The aperture will be f/5.6 to blur any background, and I will change it accordingly for some effects, but mostly it will be f/5.6 – f/6.3. Most of the pictures will be zoomed in for a better selective focus, and occasionally it will be zoomed out for more DOF. I will incorporate POV and DOF to make my work appealing. Since I want to resemble LaChappelle’s work; I will not convert them to Black and white because I want to explore his pallet to make my project compelling. My camera is a Nikkon D3500 and my lens is Tamaron 18-200mm f 3.5- 6.3, and I love to take pictures vertically more than horizontally; for this reason I know I should, but do not use the tripod. Because I will not render or freeze any motion there will be no need to use slower or faster shutter speed than 1/30.
TECHNICAL APPROACH (INPUT)
Even though I will upload my pictures on Google drive; I love Wolfgang Tillmans style, and will print different sizes and hang them asymmetrically on my wall.
RESPONSE FROM REBECCA:
Ione,
Thank you for this well-considered proposal. Having viewed your last assignment images, I’m excited to see you exploring this theme/subject further. So often, we make our most compelling images when we photograph the things that are closest to us, and your inside knowledge of this field/community will undoubtedly serve you and the images well.
Regarding your technical input, your proposal suggests that you have a strong understanding of camera settings and your equipment. For the outdoor images where you have plenty of light, consider dropping to ISO 200 or lower; if you can afford it, you should experiment with the smooth detail and color fidelity that the lower ISO’s will allow. The one line that gives me pause is where you say “I also will use black and white to support the designs.” I’m not quite sure that I understand the statement, and I would imagine that in a project where color plays such a central role, using black & white conversions will only disrupt the flow and hurt the visual unity of the series. I might steer away from that, but in your second paragraph it sounds like maybe you’re already abandoning that idea.
Its great that you’re looking ahead to the possibility of printing down the line. For now, consider focusing on sequence, finding a rhythm and flow to the images, and using a collection in Lightroom to make a deliberate sequence before you export your final JPEGs.
If you are interested in LaChappelle’s use of color, look at other photographers who use saturated color in an impactful and deliberate way, including Cig Harvey and Vivian Sassen (who uses a sophisticated approach to combining saturated color with quieter hues and neutrals). Consider the fact that the viewer may need a rest from the extreme palette, and that complicating your images with less saturated color may serve the series well. Karl Baden’s Rising series from 2013-2015 shows how bright, direct sunlight, intense shadow, and low ISO’s can create extreme color saturation. You may also be inspired by the work of Polixeni Papapetrou, for use of color, approach to the portrait, and documentation of communities. A famous recent series about clowns was Cindy Sherman’s 2005 series of clown self-portraits, though those were more about playing a character than about documentation and direct storytelling. Still, worth taking a look.
Reach out at any time with questions,
R
Ione, I admire how many passions and talents you have! And I love that this assignment will put on display at least three of your passions in one – photography, face painting and ballon decor. You are such an artist!
I enjoyed your color2 assignment, I think you really found your calling there with the vibrant color of LaChapelle.
Best of luck shooting, I look forward to seeing more.
Ione,
I think that this is going to be a really cool project and I can’t wait to see the end result! I think because you are capturing something that you love and are involved in you are going to photograph and show us things that we would not have noticed before. I agree with Rebecca and I think that you should steer away from any black and white ideas because from the way you are describing it I am excited to see these bold and contrasting colors in the final pieces.
Hey Ione, I’m excited to see this extended portrait of your work and art. Will there be a recurring cast, single appearances of people or more of a portrait of process? I think exploring portraiture through the individual and then the relationship to the job could be very interesting. Maybe even the interpersonal relationships that have formed with the people you work with. I would definitely love to see a recurring cast throughout different environments experiencing and creating them together.