Style and/or Genre

The style I aim to achieve is subjective to a dramatic,

dark and surrealistic style. This style will be generated by
the conventional use of isolated lighting, dull colouring
and effective change in toning to create that dark,
dramatic imagery effect. The surrealistic sensual style will
be incorporated by the choice of costume, precise use
of framing as well as specific outlay of setting. These
conventions will be interpreted to develop such a style
that fits into a conceptual-fine-art genre of photography.
Through this my production can aim to distinctively
create a similar style of Zack Snyders that I hope to
achieve in my work. The dramatic, surrealism and
incorporation of consistent dark tones and moods is
distinctively distinctively used in Snyders work to create
a specific story-telling genre, such as the 300 and Man
of Steel, even though they are film, they have influenced
the style and genre that I aim to achieve.
Techniques of engagement
My photographs are going to incorporate a stylistic
convention of movement, even though they are
photographs, I want my techniques to engage the
audience via submerging real movement into the still
image. This can done through particular camera
techniques and overall engages the audience by
formulating a similar feel to a moving image intending to
draw similar focuses that viewers have on film to my
particular product. The framing of my images will have a
great impact on my narrative and how understandable it

is to readers. If my framing does not correspond with the

story I am telling in my photographs then no
comprehension can be made by viewers. This makes it
highly important that I consider how I frame my subject
to compose certain intended ideas that further suggest
the story evident in the series. The more consistently
cautious I am with my framing in relation to my narrative
the more specifically engaged I can make my audiences.
Such attention to framing in order to propose
importance to narration can be found in past works of
Eadweard Muybridge where a very simple use of framing
was used consistently and simultaneously, however it is
not this feature that I want my work to be influenced by.
It is the connection such framing has with the story
being told in the images. Continued on next page -

How Muybridge has effective collaborated his consistent

framing to communicate and make the narrative so
comprehensible to audiences is want I hope will be
achieved in my final product. Although it is highly
important that I consider my framing in great detail it is
almost just as important to identify what means of
lighting, colour and toning I want to merge into my
photographs. Conventional uses of isolated-like lighting,
dull colouring and effective changes in toning was
previously suggested as an aim to achieve a certain style
but how will I use this to my advantage to create
engagement is equally important as how I will make use
of framing. By an isolated use of lighting, I can
manipulate the exposure in the image to seem little and
hopefully directive to only certain elements in my
photographs such as the subject of my series. By this
convention, I am allowing myself to create a unique style
of lighting to effectively enable my production to increase
my level of engagement.

Besides this, I can make creative use of faded colours

and effective tones to incorporate specific dream-like
and surreal shades of light blue, pink, brown and/or
green to not only suggest a certain style that creates
some artistic presence again in my work to raise the
audiences level of engagement. These toning effects can
be identified in these images created by Elena
Karagyozova who has effectively engaged in her use of
toning and colour adjusting to convey very dramatic and
dark moods through the extraction of saturation, as well
as some surrealistic tones through specific green-yellow
and purple-pink colour toning. These works next to each
other are very different, however they are both
techniques used that to some extent increase that level
of engagement and story telling.

Subject and/or topic

My photo essay will feature a particular subject through a
personally crafted narrative. The subject of my story will
be a character that represents a suffering individual
defeated by social empowerment. The character will
reflect a deficient sense of self-direction and selfconsciousness through key symbols established within
the character and her story. The story of this individual is
depicted around a young-female, who ventures as far as
way as society or reality they can get physically and then
mentally, through her body she will express and
communicate how she feels exploring the connection
between the state of mind and the physical body.
Through the character and narration of my production I
can represent the issue that reflects the productions
topic which explores the means of society,
expressionism, individuality and dance. This character
will be featured as a young blonde female who actually
composes herself to express throughout dance her
whole life. Therefore the ritual connection that I want to
establish within my work will not be all created, some of
what is felt by viewers should be observed as very
natural. The female will be characterised by her blonde
hair, figure, her costumes and her intent to emotionally
connect to her body and express herself.
Image Composition and/or Layout Design
My production will compose of a cinematic aspect ratio
therefore my depiction of framing will be narrowed a
great deal. However effectively I can creatively explore

placement of subject and the framing of my matter

specifically to construct a meaning and convey a certain
image about the subject. My framing will be used quite
precisely so that I can repeat certain frames to introduce
contrasts in certain images. For example framing my
subject in a close up shot from behind in a specific
environment and then repeating this yet in another
environment to propose certain differences that are
involved within the frame to communicate certain ideas.
My images will be presented in a horizontal strip, where
viewers will be able slide through the entire photo essay.
I believe this is most effective to my audience and best
suited to my production, since it is a narrative based
series I want it to be consumed as a narrative. Such as a
book, page by page, side by side, It could be supposed
that I anticipate that the layout of my photo will share the
same nature and look like frames from a film. For
example whenever we are exposed to frames from a film
it is quite common that they are shown in order of so
that audiences can assume certain themes, topics or
expect certain genres and styles about the film. Similarly,
I want my audience to experience this in my production
as such so that a profound sense of cinematography or
moving image are evidently contributing to the overall
style of the photographic production. Here, audiences
will be able to sense certain elements of the productions
subject-matter, theme and especially narrative where
expectations and assumptions can be slightly developed
about the product.

Method of presentation and Exhibition

The essay will be published online as an exhibition
accompanied by an originally composed piece of music.
The layout of the exhibition will be very simple and direct
to purposely displaying the images clearly. Having a
white plain background with each photo side by side,
accessible by a horizontal scroll. The site will be
accessible to anyone and in particular my target
audience.

Location
My photographs will set in one place. The local Cricket
Bat Tree farm. It is located along my local highway and
recognised as an iconic photography location. I will need
to have the authorised rights to access the property as it
is privately owned. Once the rights are provided, I intend
to have all my photographs connected to this one
setting because it is representative of my subjects
escape from reality. It will appropriately set the notion of
a surrealism and create the atmosphere I have
envisioned - isolated, dark, beautiful and individual. The
tall trees, the vivid lighting and dull colours of the
environment are already setting a base for my style of
imaging. According to this location, a limited source of
lighting is available meaning that I may need to apply
some artificial methods of lighting to better my
intentions. Other than this negative associated with the
location choice the only other limitation is the tallness of
the trees, as I may be limited to how much of the

greenery I can obtain in the background of the

photographs. Below are some images that I have taken
from my iPhone that show the location and provides so
indication of space, how it looks and how it feels,
basically outlining the potential it has to create these
intended effects that I chose the location for in the first
place. As you can see there is enough space to
photograph the subject and compose my intended
practice to shoot the photographs.

Lighting
The look I want to achieve in my product is of a
challenge to me as I hope to produce a juxtaposition of
darkness and beauty. To me this means use of little light
and also use of a lot of light. Somewhere in my images
there needs to be darkness and their needs to be
lightness, as beauty and darkness can be strongly
indicated by the illumination of light towards my subject
matter. It is quite generic that the most beautiful images
of subjects are filled by a balance of light, and the
darkest subjects are deprived of light and use so little of
it. Therefore, I have to include both some extent of a
balanced amount of light with my subject as well as
include a slight deprivation of lighting to convey a dark
presence. Because I am intending to use a wide aspect
the frame can be interestingly inclusive of both dark and
bright lighting. It is of importance that I beautify my
subjects and bring to life the themes of her conditions by
controlling how much she is light illuminates her however
it is equally as important that I project the required
amount of light to ignite the theme of darkness to
convey presences of isolation and depression too. To
create this look I may require using both natural light and
artificial light. The use of a wireless light omitted device
such as a torch and reflectors will be required to achieve
such lighting effects. A great deal of photoshop may be
also used to achieve this where I engage in levels, and
curves to adjust specific areas of which light is suppose
and not suppose to be incorporated into my images.
The effect of lighting my subject to emphasis on her

beauty but at the same time deprive the surrounding of

light around her and in the setting will perhaps achieve a
very clear depiction of both beauty and darkness as I
have been hoping to achieve throughout the whole
production. I will utilise as much natural light as I can to
act as a key light within my photos. This natural light that
I want to utilise will hopefully be diffused by an array of
clouds so that I have some soft light to create a low key
image. I do not want an overpowering look and feel to
my photographs in terms of the lighting. In this instance I
may perhaps add a reflector to improvise more light in
order to highlight specific details to the subject, and
intentionally signify some more characterisation for the
subject. As illustrated in works created by Brooke
Shaden where she has made exclusive use of soft
natural lighting to create a low key image that is
surrounded by other elements to suggest meaning. As
seen here in this example the lighting has not
overpowered other
elements of the
photograph, it has simply
illuminated her subject to
create enough focus on
what the subject matter
is yet at the same time
what surrounds the
subject is still suggestive
of the photographs
meaning.

Specialist Techniques
The technical aspects that I want to use in my
production resolve around an emphasis in depth of field,
selective focus, split toning and manipulation of light and
source of lighting. I aim to use a variety of depths of field
in my photos as each image in some photographs will
be highly connected to the physical state of the body
and and some may be highly connected to the mental
state of the mind. The selective focus in this instance will
depend similarly to my depth of field, as I am aiming to
focus on both the physical state of body and/or the
mental state of mind by creative means. However, ideally
the subject (young woman) will be of my selective focus
in majority of the photographs within the series.
Alongside these focuses, through photoshop and
Lightroom I intend to specialise in split toning of my
images with a consistent yet suitable variety of highlights
and shadow tones. I am intended to explore associated
dream-like colours that may be used here in order to
create that surrealistic look and feel to my images. I think
such technique will also imply a distinct fine artistic style
to my work too. As previously referenced through some
selected samples in my techniques of engagement
certain split toning additions will be achieved. However
as I came across Russian Photographer, Svetlana
Belyaeva, I was without doubt inspired by the specialist
techniques he used in his work. As seen in the images
provided as an example a very very narrow depth of field
is naturally imbedded into this works. This depth is so
narrow that it influences a dream like mood to the

images in which this mood is definitely supported by the

addition of these colours that have been added through
the split toning technique. Not to mention the
importance of Belyaevas selective focus of which is a
significant aspect too his work specially in these
instances where he has insures what features of his
image are to be of emphasis.

Although his subjects are of high clarity and his lighting is

specifically fine-tuned I hope to achieve similar looks
through his intent focus on the subject, the separation
the subject has from the background and the effective
addition of colours to endorse more inclinations of
surrealism. Overall the impact I want to create in such
colour toning can be produced through the similar
technique of a split toning effect and the adjusting of
temperature, saturation and vibrance is to imply an
obvious dream like presence, similarly to certain features
of these works that I was inspired by.