This is the first shoot I have done with my latest idea of focusing on people in their own environment. As I still wanted to experiment with techniques I chose to photograph two of my housemates so there was no pressure to get it right first time. My tutor recommended to try and do the shoot in about 20 minutes as this would be good when I am in other peoples houses. I used a Nikon D800 with a 50mm lens.
The first shoot below was most successful. She had a large window in her room which let in a lot of natural light which highlighted the subject. As it was natural, soft light, it made for a more atmospheric photograph. I wanted it to be accurate so I simple told her to pose how she wanted and did not move anything in the room. She chose to sit on the bed, we tried different angles but facing the window worked best. I had to think a lot about composition as there was a lot of objects in the back and around her.
This shoot, also of one my housemates was a bit more difficult. She has a small room so there was less space to work with. As I was using a 50mm lens, this was challenging. I had to stand right in the corner of the room. Again, I used natural light from the window, I think this is more effective as it creates more tones than if I was to add in artificial light. I always tried taking more photos in portrait. It works better in landscape as the point is that it is showing their surroundings and you can see more of this when it is in landscape.
These are images that could be improved. The first one below is too dark, she is facing away from the window so the light is almost wasted. I like that the image is taken straight on, it is effective at showing her room clearly. The second one below is a good example of being aware of the surroundings. Firstly the door being open is quite distracting as it is showing bright ambient light from the hallway. The light from the window falls onto the wall in the background which could distract the viewer from the main subject. Also the angle I took the photo means the subject is not centre of the viewers focus. It is taken too high up, looking down on her.
This is the most successful of the shoot. Although there is less of her room in the frame, there is still enough to be interesting for the viewer. I got more down on the subjects level so it wasn’t like I was looking down on her. The angle I took it at also means you can only mainly see the light on the subject and not on the wall as well.
These are the most successful from this shoot. Although in future I do plan to stick to shooting in landscape. I used portrait as she had photographs going up her wall which was more effective when taken in portrait. The light was not as effective as the first shoot as the window was at the other side of the house. This is something I am going to have to get used to as if I am relying on available light, every room I go in will be different.
From this shoot I have decided that natural light works best as it creates more tones and will means there is no harsh shadow. This makes the images more aesthetically pleasing. The subjects being in their own environment is effective, I feel like they act differently than if I was to put them in a location they were not used to. I asked them to sit/stand/pose however they liked and it seemed to be natural for them.
Lucy Davis 