Top 2

• (1/2) – Defeat

The photo shows the shadow of a “knight” kneeling on the ground looking defeat while a huge shadow of a dragon is presented looking superior. This work is suppose to reflect the “defeat” of one. Lighting control and shadow projection was the main techniques used in this piece. Alongside, we expanded the concept of “negative space” and had it overlayed with shadow to create a “negative” spaced image with the subjects being presented on blank spaces. This photo communicates a despaired emotion through the intimidating dragon’s contrast to the defeated night.

• (2/2) – Rivalry

“Rivalry” is the extensive concept of rival where two has a never ending competition, in other word they are nemesis. Here, the shadow of two subjects is presented to be battling with one another. Once again, shadow projecting and lighting angles are the main techniques used here. The photo also shows a perfect balance between left and right, as well as up and down. This photo communicates a competitive feeling, built from the rivalry presented between the two subjects.

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1. Rule of Thirds

• The Dragon’s head pop out from the right grid all the way to the middle grid which perfectly fits the rule of thirds as the subject take up 2/3 of the whole composition. Could be improved if the dragon took up more of the frame.

1. Leading Lines

• Although not very obvious, the way that the subject is positioned as well as its distance from the camera achieves the effect of leading lines. Could be improved if the “lines” were more obvious and objective.

1. Symmetry and Pattern

• Literally the definition of symmetry and pattern, a rubik’s cube. We thought presenting symmetry and pattern in a literal way would be interesting, therefore this was captured. To improve, there should be more cube than shadow.

1. Framing

• A light combined with a chair created this triangular box of light while the sides are completely dark. This was thought to be creative because an additional frame was created in the already existing camera frame. Could improve if the lighting was shine from a different angle making the box more obvious.

1. Depth of Field

• The subject combined with its shadow in the background forms a menacing composure putting both the background and foreground focused. Could improve if the shadow was more obvious and visible.

1. Negative Space

• The idea of using the empty space and filling it up with shadows creates this shadow art which is a presentation of “negative space”. To improve, we should make the shadows more obvious, creating a clear contrast.

1. Balance

• The concept of “rivalry” creates this shadow picture of the two subjects fighting, each taking up half of the frame and one is hight while the other is low. This creates a perfect balance. To improve, the background cloth where the shadow is reflected on should be flattened out more.

1. Perspective

• A low to hight shot of the main subject falling off a “cliff” while others all “charge” at the subject in the middle center. To improve, the subject being “charged” at should be made clearer and more obvious.

Thomas Yue

Thomas Yue, born on 2009, Beijing, China, practices photography at ISB.

Thomas’ favorite photography aspects are camera angles and lighting. He believes that through perspectives and shadows will the audience be truly able to connect and appreciate his work.

Thomas’ highly desires monumental scenery summoned by the natural elements of nature. He believes that these moments are what truly express the value of photography of which is to capture them. Throughout the photo shooting process, he would often make simple adjustments to the lighting or tone in order to generate his own version of “beauty”.

Thomas aims to communicate appreciation in his works. He wants to express gratitude to the moment he captured, the people viewing his work, and receive the same back from his audiences through is photos. He believes that this is the pure meaning behind photography is to converse emotions, ideas, and amusement.

Thomas Yue currently lives and studies in Beijing.

Refined Statement of Intent: I intend to capture natural moments in society of those who are unnoticed and present them in a “spotlight” for my audience to view.

• I changed my statement of intent because after multiple attempts and trails, I have decided that capturing natural happy moments of that sets relief to stress was not realistic. Simply speaking, those moments were too hard to find. Therefore, I decided to revisit my trails and attempts which concluded in the foundation of the new statement of intent. I choose this because I found it amusing to put attention upon “normal” individuals in society that is not explicitly noticed. Doing so not only creates an interesting presentation of subjects but also surfaces the stress many people face, which from the root can lead to the relief of them (stress).

Final Set of 5:

• For this set generally, I choose to use very light editing such as slight shadow fixing and saturation managing to cope with the “natural” part of my intent as I believe to capture the explicit moments of unnoticed individuals in society, everything but be kept at its most natural form (edits were still applied).

<Man of Time> (Favorite)

Critique and Rationale: This image is named “Man of Time” because the imagery of the subject checking his watch while riding his bike makes him look like the manager of time, a figure related to the concept of “time”. To capture this image, I stood by the sidewalk and waited for someone to come into this setup frame and took the photo. This image was successful in terms of composition as it perfectly frames the man in the center while background elements contribute to the imagery. To improve, I should put blurs in the background leaving the man as the only focused and clear subject to contribute and enhance the imagery of “time” as well as the intent, explicit presentation of individuals. I choose this as one of my favorites because it demonstrates an abstract impression of an untouchable concept (time) for humanity.

<Back Then> (Favorite)

Critique and Rationale: This image is named “Back Then” because the subject with his back turned around looking into the roads felt as if he was reminded of his childhood and the early stages of his life where he had no concerns and was able to roam freely. To capture this image, I waited on the side of the road (already found this shade earlier) until someone came in and took this photo. This image was successful in terms of shadow control and contrast. I used the natural shadow provided by the shade to form this dark and light contrast creating the nostalgia feeling. To improve, I should frame the subject closer or crop the image so that the object the the bottom right corner does not ruin the photo. I choose this as one of my favorites because it objects the reflection of oneself.

<Fate> (Favorite)

Critique and Rationale: This image is named “Fate” because the subject of whom is a delivery person (offered referred as “unsuccessful” by parents) resents a sad yet harsh truth of “you can’t fight your fate” (delivery people are very unlikely to rise up and grow out of their poverty). To capture this image, I turned around looking for subjects at the perfect time when this man riding his motorcycle came into the frame while a strip of light shine down at him which I took a photo of immediately”. This image was successful in terms of lighting usage and natural momentum. Specifically speaking, the moment was just right, I was able to naturally capture this light strip and imagery without any setup or planning, it all just completely naturally occurred. To improve, I can edit the contrast and saturation a bit more to create a bigger difference, making the light seem like “hope” to the delivery person and as if he was in his redemption moment. I choose this as one of my favorites because it is a high succession of my natural and individual intent as well as an extremely lucky moment.

<Old Times>

<Bubble>

Critique Image:

<Disfavored>

Rational and Critique: By all means I do not hate or dislike this photo. However this is chosen as “disfavored” because it contains a mistake I repeatedly made, thus I have selected it to explicitly denounce. The occurring mistake here is framing error. Specifically, the intended subject, which is the girl in the center walking away is “too small” and since the framing is way too big, she becomes barely noticeable which makes the audience lose their focus. Moreover, the foreground and background is too “messy”, containing many other elements which “distracts” the audience and make them lose focus. To fix these mistakes and prevent from making them in the future, I will ensure that I properly setup my composition before taking an image.

Extra Set of 4:

<Summer Day> (Final vs. Original)

<Curtain> (Final vs. Original)

<Dead End> (Final vs. Original)

<Rain> (Final vs. Original)

Other/s:

Artist Link

-Admittedly speaking, most of these works does not match my artist of research in both style and theme. As seen mostly, except for image 2, all of the other pieces has multiple colors indeed but only of one tone barely differing the colors. Additionally, most of these images seem rather depressed than happy. Reflecting on these phenomenons, I believed that aside from my personal issue of being unable to capture my intent within photography, it is generally hard to perceive and capture moments of happiness in such a stressful society where everyone has weight on themselves by all means and through all forms. To counter this problem, I will attempt to capture more moments by myself and if seen unsuccessful, I would attempt to change my statement of intent and theme.

Story

-These photos do not tell a whole story altogether. However, each photo stands for an individual aspect of their subjects and presents a tale of them roaming within the society, providing the value they hold themselves and then disappearing into the sea of people never to be noticed. Following this point, it is more of a perspective ratio of the subject to the society (the environment around them) they habit within.

Order

-The order of 1-5 is based on my personal likings of the pieces. There were no specific rule or standards within my judgment, nor is it related to the theme/intent (does not mean I am ignorant of them). I believe that I should present what I am most proud of.

Skill Development

-A big improvement I have made since the last trial is subject framing (composition), something that I have pointed out in the last trail. For photos in this set, the subject are framed much more proportional and rationale (framing makes sense) which achieves the effect of focusing on the subject yet also enhancing it with the background.

Self Development

-As a photographer, I have grew more patient and certain, both in the photo-shooting process and the editing process. For example, this trail, I spent a considerable amount time roaming around looking for good angles instead of just taking whatever I saw during the last trail. Additionally, while editing and selecting, I was more decisive and critical on the photos I choose to present. This is obvious by the quality and quantity contrast of this trail and the last.

Strength and Success

-One great significance that I achieved was to capture the exclusive the moments of life on individuals. Aside from this, I believe that I was able to produce decent pieces despite not being able to effectively communicate my message. Continuing from this point on, I believe that I benefitted a lot from my photographical and skill development during this trail and is overall successful.

Improvement

-I most definitely need to work on communicating my intent. However as stated earlier, after many attempts and trails there is a complication of reasons to the absence of my intent within these photos which I will most likely decide to change my statement of intent in-order to effectively combat this problem.

New Set Expectation

-The major expectation that I have for myself and my upcoming final set is that I can clearly and effectively capture, then demonstrate my statement of intent within my pieces. This will allow me to present the results proudly and “in good form”.

<1>

-This is my best piece yet, I used framing and lighting to capture this “deep” moment on a road lamp and used editing techniques to make it look cold and dramatic, forming this dim looking shot. For improvements, I can consider raising the exposure on the light itself so it contrasts with the darkness and create a scene of another level.

<2>

-This is a piece taken on the side of statues as if they were humans being photographed. Although seemly bland, this piece is a perfect demonstration of my creativity and how I express my own world, having it shine into reality. I exclusively exploited the rule-of-thirds on this image to frame a composing shot. To improve, I can pull the subject in closer or attempt different angles to achieve different effects.

<3>

-This is simple and standard, but perfectly introduces people as unnoticed individuals in society where everyone does their own job and never gets exclusive attention. I used a slight (barely visible) tilt on the shot to make it natural and attempted to capture the group of subjects walking by. To improve, I need to frame the shot on the subjects a bit more otherwise they almost fade into the background making this photo blend.

<4>

-This is a contrast of time. In the picture the old man is scene walking into the distant with a giant building in front of him. Aside from the big and small scaling, this is a reference from Attack on Titan scenes where they would have low to high shots to exaggerate the titan’s differences to the characters. With this photo, I portrayed a low to high perspective without any exclusive angles, something that I believe was done successfully. To improve, I should take lighting into consideration so that it can enhance the contrast that has been presented and create better scene.

<5>

-This is an accidental success. For this photo, I originally intend to take pictures of the kids playing while an adult was walking by. However because I was swinging on a machine while doing so, the picture ended up being tilted and slightly blurred to the point where the subjects looked like ghosts. Based on that idea, I decided to add more color to it and fixed the exposure, contrast, and highlights to make it look gloomy just as seen now. To improve, I think I can put more lights on the subjects so it creates a obvious contrast with the surrounding objects and environments.

<Others>

Major Critique: These photos were ones that I exclusively considered putting into the set but did not end up making it because I found them unfitting with the intent or the photo’s general theme does not align with what I am trying to communicate.

Top – <1>

Description: This is a picture taken while I was on top of this structure. In the image, I (the subject) am looking forward into the distant with a natural expression on my face. This representing freedom and hereafter which falls under nature as it is the human’s natural instinct to desire liberation within themselves.

Critique: To improve, the composition should be adjusted to a closer point where the subject fits most of them frame. Therefore, the audience will focus on the subject instead of the general background which delivers the message more efficiently.

Top – <2>

Description: This is a picture taken on Orrin of him gesturing a trending meme. In the image, the subject has their head turned to the side and showing their jawline while making a comical face. This is to tribute the internet meme culture through photography, which despite having modern aspects and elements, is still rather old-fashioned.  Such theme conveys happiness and a separation from reality because of its exclusive intent and message.

Critique: To improve, the subject’s face should be more centered and zoomed in to the point where the camera focus on the subject’s jawline. This can better the tribute of the Jawline Check meme which is the central point of the entire piece.

–Jawline Check Meme

Top – <3>

Description: This is a picture taken on Gene of him photographing someone else. In the image, the subject is exclusively shown in a third person perspective of a photographer. This presents a differed view of the term “photographer” as they are usually showcased through their own work but of someone else’s. The piece conveys the theme of plain and nature as it exhibits a naturally captured moments of what is usually a setup (photoshoots often requires setups and plans, even street photography).

Critique: To improve, the lens can zoom into the camera on the subject’s hands a bit more, best if to the point where the camera screen becomes visible as that will provide a vivid appearance of a “photographer” (referring to the camera).

(4) – Other

(5) – Other

(6) – Other

(7) – Other

(8) – Other

(9) – Other

(10) – Other

Artist/Photographer – Jamel Shabazz

Jamel is an American photographer born in Brooklyn, New York, 1960. At the age of 15, he started taking pictures of his families and friends which lead to him becoming one the most known street photographers of modern times. It is said that many of his earliest influences came from album covers that was passed down in his family through generations.

Jamel was chosen to be my inspiration because his works perfectly presented the elements I wanted to convey, happiness captured naturally and delivered throughly. When scanning through each different works of photographers down a list I looked up under “street photographers”, his works caught my attention quickly. Out of all the works, his, and only his was able to make me pause for a second as if I was taken out of reality and allow me to lay down my stresses for a second, appreciating his work before returning to the world filled with unwanted yet unavoidable anxiety. I then dug deeper into his works and eventually dedicated him as my inspiration because the subjects in his works are so animated that it almost becomes confusing as if they are actually there, present within the image in realtime.

Source: Studio Museum (Organization)

Image of Inspiration:

Rationale: This is a photo taken of 2 young boys off the street. The two subjects in the photo has very natural smiles, which brings true happiness to the audience’s hearts. Additionally, the slight tilt (visible through background) make this image seem more “on the spot”, live, and almost unreal, which brings the audience briefly away for a second to purely enjoy the happiness. There is also a variety of colors that differs but yet matches, corresponding with each other, providing the image with additional visual effects. Overall this image inspired me because it correlates with the elements that I intent to communicate, I personally belief I will be able to gain new ideas and strengthen my presentation in the final work through this inspiration.

Attention to Details:

-Eye contact with the lens

-Happy facial expression

-Creative and matching fashion (red and blue)

-Natural day lighting

Other inspiring images:

Images of Choice (On mind map/mood board): I picked out these photos because they best simulate what I intent to create, they do not necessary correspond to the elements near them but each element is involved and can be found in each photo.

7 Elements: Subject (Main), Theme (Side), Duration (Side), Lighting (Side), Composition (Side), Color (Side), Background (Side)

Theme: Joy, Natural, Humanity, Delight

Duration: Each photo shooting will be done within 1 min to preserve the “nature” part to it

Lighting: Mostly what fits the best in that situation, but preferably easy lighting so they look natural

Composition: Subject will take about 1/3 of the entire frame and slight tilts depending on the situation

Color: Bright and warm colors like red, orange, yellow, background colors will depend on the situation

Background: Walls or structures, landscapes if possible, but must look natural or at the very least calming

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Statement of Intent: I want my audience to experience a spry of joy that can set them apart from the stress of reality for a brief moment through the appreciation of live captured photos.

-I choose this as my intent because I am deeply inspired by the liveliness of street photography as it captures natural moments of subjects in random environments and portray a sense of nature, regardless of the background and theme. This creates a contrast from the reality we live in where stress is found anywhere and everywhere. Such causes inspired me to have the intent of taking my audiences into a “utopia” for a brief moment and let them “take a breezier” before returning to the stressed world.

Top 5:

Selection Rationale: I did not choose any image from the prior takes because as explained previously those takes all had some level/degree of mistakes that was overcame during this final take.

<Disappointment>

-This imaged is named “disappointment” because of the subject’s gesture. The prompt given for expression was: “you are witnessing your family in danger but can not do anything” where the subject gave a helpless and despair gesture smashing their fist against the table hating themselves for being “useless”. However to communicate stress on a further level, I named this image disappointment as if all the negative feelings were directed to/at the viewers as if the subject was blaming them (which naturally creates stress). The lighting was also done perfectly as I had the lighting shine in at a side angle where it not only shows a clear line of contrast but also makes clear of the subject’s expression. This contrast creates an additional layer of stress because of the shadows and sharp difference in brightness. Overall this is a quite successful piece, however I could improve by removing the light reflection in the background next time by finding a better location where the light would not reflect.

<Elder’s Sight>

-This image is named “elder’s sight” mainly because of the lighting and subject structure. I created a decent lighting contrast by shining the light from slighting down to upwards on the side. This caused half of the subject’s face to be covered while the other half is exclusively focused on due to it being bright and standing out. This feature will naturally lead the audience to focus on the subject’s eyes which then follows her sight down at the direction of the lighting forming this “sight”. Overall from the subject’s facial expressions and shadow comparison I was able to effectively and successfully demonstrate and communicate my message clearly. However once again next time I should find a more solid background or different location in attempts to avoid the reflection of my light on the background.

<Wise One>

-This image is rather different from the rest because instead of communicating extremely deep message, it is a general and formal presentation of an elder figure, hence named “wise one”. At the same time, despite the absence of deep meanings, stress is still effectively communicated through the subject’s facial expression of “concern” and “worry” while the lighting contrast also added the cherry on top of this stress cake. A point of improvement would be better framing where next time I would take more time to consider a more centered or meaningful framing of the subject.

<If Only>

-This image is similar to the first image, except this this one was taken at a closer distance (two separate takes). Because this is a slightly closer shot, it reveals a different layer of stress and emotion compared to the first. The subject in this piece more of “says” that “only if I…” in terms of regrets. Following the same given prompt as the first one, this is more of a self reflection which would pressure the viewers to think back on themselves generating more stress. The light was not exclusively done to add additional effects but was still carefully taken to create an additional layer of contrast for visual amusement and darken down the environment so the audience can “absorb” the emotions better. Next time to achieve greater heights, I would make sure I center the subject a little more for a better scale and capture of expression.

<Once Upon A Time>

-This image is the most exclusive one out of all the takes. also the only black&white piece I created throughout the entire photo shooting process. I called this one “once upon a time” to reference the “history” emotion that black&white photos bring. Additionally, “once upon a time” is a phrase that will bring memories of the audience’s “once upon a time” to them secretly and silently injecting stress throughout the viewing process. The lighting contrast in this case was more “straight forward” as it is mostly just a line straight down the middle. However I believe this line is a feature of perfection because it creates an “edgy” feeling to the entire image and adds additional amusement to the seemingly vivid picture.

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All Final Takes (excludes top 5):

Main Critique: Overall there was a significant improvement from the last take because not only was I able to nail the lightings but the facial expressions were also up to standards communicating stress through the subject’s gestures. Next time for improvement, I would experiment with different photo shooting locations and backgrounds as well as considering the usage of props.

Theme: Stress and Contrast

(Emotion + Lighting)

<Top 3>

Main Critique: Although the emotions and light are all up to place, the contrast could be expressed better as for right now it looks completely blend. To improve, I should add more comparison of the shadow to the background therefore creating another layer contrast so that the original lighting contrast would stand out.

1.

Success and Critique: I succeeded in creating the contrast of lighting on the subject’s face. At the same time because I darkened the entire image through editing, making the subject’s face look like it is floating which I find rather creative. However because I edited a bit too much, the contrast was reduced overall as the bright part of the subject now looks like there is a layer of darkness covering it. Next time to fix this problem I will try to achieve similar effect during the shoot instead of editing.

2.

Success and Critique: I was able to generate bother emotional stress and contrasted lighting. In addition, parts of the contrast also differed from the background therefore the entire image isn’t “all smushed together” into one giant block. However, for whatever reason the lighting on the subject’s lips looks rather unfitting compared to the rest of the face. The lips part looks like the shadowing was reversed (was not) and even quite disturbing. Next time, I will ensure I experiment with slightly different angles in attempts to avoid this problem.

3.

Success and Critique: This was an outstanding piece and it not only expressed stress perfectly through the subject’s facial expression but the lighting contrast coming in from the side also smoothened the presentation of my central idea. In addition, the accidental blur generated a gloomy feeling for the viewers as if they are thinking deeply about themselves inside a dream. Next time however I would do another retake after seeing the blur just to experiment with different effects and see the diversity of outcomes it can provid.

<Other Attempts>

Theme: Stress and Contrast

<Top 3>

Main Critique: Setting aside the successes, one major problem I identified with these pictures I took was that none of them communicates “stress”. This is quite a severe problem and is something I should definitely consider fixing because “stress” plays the major part in my theme. Something I should try is to change the model’s facial expressions. Currently the model looks rather more “curious” and delightful” than “stressed” and “concerned”.  Another element that can support my “stress” theme is the color tone. This can help by matching it to certain facial expressions and such to generate different feelings.

1.

Success: The way I used my lighting perfectly demonstrated the contrast of lighting I wanted and intended. There is an extremely obvious shadow on half of the model while the other half is light. I achieved this by shining the light from behind to the right, generating a “face” on the model.

Critique: Because of the contrast, It is difficult to capture her facial expressions, and this fails the point of “stress”. To improve I should try a different angle to create the “face” where the light is shine on so that while being able to see the “feelings” there can also be a visible contrast.

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2.

Success: The way of the model’s body expression communicates stress to some level. I achieved this by asking the model to be “thinking” and “concerned about someone”.

Critique: Because of the lighting, the contrast – although well done – ruins the general structure and makes the model’s face way too exposed. This disrupts the “concern” that was built up and looked more “accidental” in a rough and unplanned way. To improve, I should shine the light from the side and not directly down at the model.

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3.

Success: The contrast created was perfect. This lighting contrast exactly resembles my reference and intention while at the same time it also does not disrupt or block the model’s facial expressions, making them highly and clearly visible. I achieved this by taking a close shot at the model while having the light shine from the right side, bother exposing the model’s face and creating a contrast.

Critique: Because of the model’s facial expression, “stress” and “concern” was not communicated, “beauty” and “elder” was presented instead. This is at my fault because I did not specify the “thinking” which lead to this mistake. To improve, next time I provide with instructions, I will make sure to specify my intent saying something like: “please think in a concerned way as if your family is in danger”.

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<Other Attempts>