Photographic Design: Rob and Craig Shields

Rob Shields

Craig Shields

I'm not sure if these two designers/photographers are related, but they have the same last name and their work is very similar. I love this type of work. I feel like it really appeals to me because it has both a photographic and graphic approach, who as a Viscom student, is exactly what I love and am involved in. Most of the models in these images appear to have been styled and posed in a fashion manner and have added graphic devices applied afterwards. I really like the movement and colour that is achieved, giving the images a luminosity and vibrance which definately grabs your attention. I also like how text is incorporated into several of the images, such as "forget the past, look to the future," and "someday the paid will be useful to you." They almost have a supernatural feel, while also having an advertising approach as well. I think that this type of design on top of photography would take quite a long time to complete and I think that if I tried to do something similar to this that I would end up copying it, something I definately don't want to do. Therefore, I will use these images soley as inspiration.

Research into Experimental Photography

I thought that I'd take a step back from my theme for a moment and take a look at experimental photography to give me inspiration. I really liked what I found. Most of these photos deal with texture and colour which I think is really interesting.

I especially like what appears to be the reflection of a building on another building's windows where the lit apartments create a colourful pattern.

The photo below it is quite interesting as well, the idea of projecting images onto something else. I think it would be quite interesting to try taking several photos of different things and printing them onto OHT paper and overlaying them on a scanner or light box to see how the images work together as one. each photo could relate in some way or be completely random, where the final product comes together in an unexpected way. Here, I could explore the use of colour, contrast and composition in a really original way.

The photo below this appears to be the view inside a glass, but also gave me the idea of photographing through a surface or object to create an interesting viewpoint. For instance, looking through a glass or a fishbowl would totally skew the shape of the image.

I think the image of the buildings in a kind of over-exposed manner is also really effective. If I chose to work with the OHT idea, it could be quite interesting to play with the idea of over-exposure and negative images.

The final image I have here really appealed to me when I saw it. I really like the smooth texture it seems to have, almost an illustrative look. I also really like the use of colour and the unusual viewpoint.

This little bit of extra research has given me a few ideas as to where I can go from here. I am really interested in looking into the OHT idea. I think that a series of these photos held in glass frames with no backing and a frame holding them together could be a really professional way of displaying them. I just need to decide whether I want to deal with the same subject matter through these layered compositions, or totally change my original idea.

More Research into Child Photography

This photo is really cute. I like the idea of placing the child in unusual surroundings like this.

I love this photo, an image like this would be so difficult to capture. Although this image appeals to me, I am not interested in just taking photos of cute kids. I want my photos to say more than that.

I like the idea of using close-up or cropped shots like this. If I chose to run with my theme, it could be quite interesting (for instance) to show a close-up of a child's foot inside an adult's high heeled shoe or something along those lines. This would be a more subtle or abstract way of showing my theme.

This photo fits in with my theme in a different way, dressing a child to look like an adult. I really like the angle of this photo and angles are something I should definately look into when shooting my next photos. Looking down on the child in this way makes them look smaller, which I think works really well.

I really like the lighting of this photograph and the ambiguity of it. You wouldn't really know what it was about or what the child was looking at unless it was part of a series or had a caption attached. I like the idea of photography that makes you think and is not really obvious.

Once again, I like the idea of the close-up shot on body parts. I think this photo has a really interesting viewpoint and I like the use of colour. At first, I thought it might be nice to use really bright colours and high contrast in my photographs, but I would also like to explore the option of using black and white, photo filters or a selected colour range in my series of photographs.

This is also a very cute photograph, but I really like the lighting that is used. It creates a really soft effect which is very appropriate to young children. I also think the use of colour (or lack of) works really well.

Conclusions From My First Photo Shoot

Overall, I am a bit disappointed with my first attempt at this subject. I didn't realise that it would be so hard to photograph children, especially ones as young as Aerika. I got a few photos that I like, but I think I need to work more on working with the whole space, such as the backgrounds or at least using a plain backdrop that will be easier for me to mask out where necessary.

From here, I am not sure if I want to either stick with the same subject matter and re-shoot it, stick with the same subject matter but approach it in a different way, or completely abandon this subject to work on something different. I will explore all options and do some more research to help me decide where to go from here.

Photos From My First Photo Shoot

Taylah surrounded by bags and receipts, gasping at one of the reciepts from the amount of money she has spent. I quite like this photograph as it is, but I would like to look at using a different background. I would like to re-shoot the couch in the background and replace the blanket and the scarf with more bags, receipts and purchases to expand on my idea.

Taylah listening to an MP3. I might re-shoot this photo and get her to dance around or appear to be singing instead. I want to Photoshop in the album art of a band that use explicit language, something that she shouldn't be listening to. If I was to use this photo I would replace the background so you can't see my sister walking through.

Taylah dressed up to look like a famous person, in this case Lady Gaga. I think this photo is really cute and she really enjoyed doing it. I would like to replace the background with a shot of a bedroom wall that is plastered with Lady Gaga posters and memorabilia.

Aerika getting her hair straightened. I think this photo is quite cute, but I don't think it really says a lot. Probably wouldn't use the same subject matter in my final portfolio.

Aerika trying on high heels. For this photo she became really difficult and wouldn't get in the photo unless my sister was sitting next to her (you can see her dressing gown on the left hand side. My original idea was to have her sitting in the closet with a lot of shoes surrounding her which I think would've been a lot better. Could re-shoot with Taylah.

Aerika drinking milk out of a martini glass. This is probably one of the best shots I got. I think she looks really cute and innocent with her missing teeth showing, which also helps to show her age. If I was to use this photo I would use a different background (if it is possible to mask it out).

Aerika using my laptop. If I was to use this photo I would Photoshop in the image of a website that she shouldn't be looking at at her age. I would also mask out the background a bit.

My First Photo Shoot Experience

I called up my friend Amanda and arranged a time for her to bring her two children, Aerika and Taylah, around to my house for my first photo shoot. I had an AIPA (Advertising and Illustrative Photographers Association) form for each child for Amanda to read and sign to give me permission to photograph her children and use the photos for my portfolio and other applications over the next two years.

I wrote up a list of ideas for each child as a guide to what I would photograph. The list is as follows:

Taylah:

• Wearing makeup, looking in the mirror at herself
• Taking a pxt of herself, maybe sending it off where you can see the image on another cellphone
• Reading a Cosmopolitan magazine or a book like this that is too old for her
• Listening to an MP3 where you can see the album art of and artist who uses explicit lyrics
• Surrounded by receipts and shopping bags from spending a lot of money
• Wearing heavily labelled clothing
• Wearing a lot of jewellery, big earrings, etc

Aerika:

• Using my laptop to look up inappropriate things or using a webcam
• Pulling a top out of a drawer wondering what to wear, top has inappropriate saying or image on it
• Watching TV/movies that are too old for her
• Drinking milk out of a wine/martini glass
• Sitting in the bottom of a closet trying on high heels, surrounded in shoes
• Hugging a photo of a boy or kissing a poster of a famous person
• Straightening her hair
• Hair dyed (using Photoshop in post-production)

I began to work with Aerika first who was the younger of the sisters at age 6. I found her unbelievably hard to photograph. At first she would seem really excited to get ready for a photo but as soon as I got her in front of the camera she would refuse to do anything I asked her to do and nearly started crying at one point. Due to this, I cut her part of it short and only got her to do a few of the ideas I had come up with.

I then moved on to working with Taylah who is the older sister at age 9. She was a lot easier to work with and even helped me with Aerika during her photographs. Taylah was easy to direct and had fun doing it which made photographing her very easy.

The kids started to get a bit restless so I decided to call it a day and arrange for another time to take photos once I was back at tech. From here I will be able to look at the photos I have and re-shoot the ones I am not happy with and continue to work through my list of ideas. I will probably just work with Taylah on the rest of the photographs since she is a lot easier to work with and because of her age, is easier to get her to pose.

Photographic Typology

We were set a task this week in Photography to find out what Photographic Typology was so that we could explore it in class on Monday. I found a little definition for it at:

http://adferoafferro.wordpress.com/2009/03/16/photography-typology/

"Typology is the study of types, and a photographic typology is a suite of images or related forms, shot in a consistent, repetitive manner; to be fully understood, the images must be viewed as a complete series (Kristine McKenna, "Photo Visions," Los Angeles Times, 29 Dec 1991)."