Unit 2 - Identity
Andreas Poupoutsis
Experimenting with Hidden Identiy
Artist Analysis
Andreas Poupoutsis is a 28 year old Greek Cypriot photographer. He fist pursued the path of business but after not feeling the passion in that topic he focused on graphic design and later photography. He moved to New York in hopes to study photography and then moved to LA where he got his Masters in fine art in photography. In the image bellow, I see a screaming figure who's face is covered by a white piece of fabric. I would describe this photograph as breathtaking and mysterious. It links to hidden identity and being trapped so it could be described as emotional an horrifying.
The bright white piece of almost sheer looking fabric shields the personal features of the face from the darkness of the background. The shadows on the cloth show the person behind the mask is screaming as if in pain, their mouth so wide open you can almost hear their screams form outside the image behind the screen. The genre of this photograph is broadly portrait photograph but it can be seen more closely as horror. This photograph reminds me of me when I was younger hiding under my bed sheets in a game of hide and seek feeling suffocated and trapped, scrabbling for breath but also hoping that the seeker finds me last.
This is an abstract image, seeing this would make you think of monsters of horror and that is very far away from natural. This photograph was made with a digital camera. I can tell this because of its smooth texture and modernized idea. The lighting is also captured perfectly and cannot be achieved with a film camera. The most obvious and important element is the white sheet. Without that key factor, the
photograph would not be as impactful or scary. However, the figure without the face underneath the facial expressions would not be there I feel like this point id rather self explanatory but it is still worth
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mentioning. The image overall is smooth and pleasing to the eye, complimented by the stretches and wrinkles in the cover. In this image, the face is illuminated by light and the background is a dark shadow. I imagine a photography white light was used to create this effect. In everyone of the photographers' images the subject is in the center of the scene. In some of the images, the end of the sheet is lifted off the ground. I imagine they used another person to help them with the display. This photograph is different from real life, not only because of the sheet monster being captured but because you would not normally have a jet black background with a bright white subject in real life. The screaming figure is the most captivating part of the image.
It intrigues me to try and imagine what is churning in their mind and what they are thinking, you will never know. The photographer has captured the image when the person is screaming, their agony is forever trapped in the image. The dark colour in the background adds depth to the image and makes it look more 3D instead of just a 2D printout picture. If I could, I would ask him what inspired him with his work and why he decided to follow through with it. With further research, I have discovered that he is inspired by cubism, shapes, shadows and textures and by transformation. I would name this image 'screaming' because the action of the figure screaming is isolated in the image. I feel it is so meaningful you can almost hear them coming out of the page. I think this photograph is about hidden identity and who we are behind our mask.
If I were in this photograph, I would be walking in complete darkness, just walking without seeing any chance of escape,. From a distance I see a white figure. He turns around and I see he has no face. I start to run, scream and the creature starts to chase me. What would it be like to live there? I wouldn't know, there is no way I could possibly survive because of the dark plain ecosystem with no signs of food, water or life. I think the artist made
this image to uncover the questions of what we are behind the masks we wear in front of other people and why we wear them in the first place. Andreas Poupoutsis's work reminds me of the very few images form the photographer Kat Blundell. Her interpretation of this type of photography is not as well executed. I feel the loose wrapped bandages are less aesthetic and the dark grey background leaves the image less contrasted than Andreas's work. The model is also wearing a zip-up hoodie and it is less impactful than the black body suit. In Kat's work, the facial features are not defined and you cannot see what expression is being made by the model. In her work, there is also not as much shadow and definition which leaves it less poignant than my chosen artist. However, I do like the concept of having the sheet layered to create texture in the image. Andreas's photos can survive on the fact they are very surreal and the idea is very interesting but the texture and pattern make make them more intriguing and different to one and another. On the other hand, I notice that his images are very fascinating with his simple concept of minimalism.
Contact Sheets
For my fist photoshoot for Andres Poupoutsis, I intended to take a series of hidden identity images. These images would consist of a hidden figure with a bright white sheet over their head and a pitch black background. The successful elements of my images is the quality. the photographs in my opinion are very clear and defined. I also pride myself in having adequate lighting for my shoot. I used a bright, reflective photography light and positioned it in the right way for the photographs to be contrasted and defined. What I need to work on for next time is the composition of the head in the image. It was especially hard to find different ways to position and rotate the face. To make the image, I placed a large, white bedsheet over the models face. I then twisted the remainder of the sheet at the back of the head to secure and define the features. I had to clip back my models hair as the spare strands could at first be visible in the picture. In some of my images, I used tape to establish the qualities of the face even more. As the model held the twisted sheet behind her, I positioned her head the way I wanted and proceeded to take photos.
The setup of the room was very simple. A black sheet was secured by masking tape against a wall and a bright reflective light was positioned at an angle to the background. Taking the actual photos was easy as I used a digital camera with an autofocus lens. I chose to use this because I need a clear and defined photograph and it could not be blurry or out of focus. Using this camera made the image overall incredibly easy to capture.
The aspect I like the most is the bizarre nature to the images and how different they are to other photographs. Next time, I could try using a different background colour or maybe fairy lights to increase the mysterious elements to my work and make them more fun to look at. My interpretation of Andreas Poupoutsis's work has resulted in surprisingly good images. They are clear, intriguing because of their hidden identity concept and stand out from the background of the image with the contrast of the white figure and black background. In my photographs. there is little to no texture in them. The backgound is smooth but the sheet is ruffled . I think this creates a good difference between the subject and the backcloth. The pattern falls naturally and is tightly tied across the models face. There is a clear outline around the figure distinguishes the backdrop from the subject. Negative space is used quite well in the photos as the topic of the photograph is in the center of every shot.
Developments
I love the idea of hidden identity and how you could be anything behind the mask you wear in front of others. The lottery of not knowing what people are thinking or who they are behind their disguise is intriguing as it brings up a sense of empathy and sensitivity towards them as you know they are insecure of who they are. Like a celebrity hiding from paparazzi behind their sunglasses. This is why I took a shoot inspired by the idea of concealed identity, to bring out my passion for the subject. To take my images, I used a digital camera. I had my model sitting in from of a black piece of fabric which had been hung up and I took my photos from the neck and up. I chose to take the images like this because I was inspired by the photographer Andreas Poupoutsis who also took his pictures like I did. I think capturing just the face makes the viewer think and focus more on just the sheet and the abstract concept of that. If I took the picture any lower, I would have to position the hands in different way and it would take meaning away from the main subject of the image, the facial expressions and meaning coming from them.
This type of photography reminds me of the Sydney Opera House. Not for any deep and emotional connection but because of the shadows, line and colours. The Sydney Opera House located in Sydney, Australia is a bright white colour. When surrounded by vibrant scenery, the building really pops from its surroundings. This is the same with the black and white contrast of colours in my photographs. The bright white pops from the deep black in the background. In my images, the face and cloth have a distinguished and crisp silhouette. The is the same with the Opera House's sharp edges contrasting from the background as there is no other colour in the design. Also, the shadows are quite similar in the thought they stand out from the white and give them character and depth.
The aspects I like the most is when the head looks like it's being pulled to the side by the cloth. This ads even more to the idea of the hidden mask as it could be interpreted as the cloth controlling the head and its position. The cloth having power over the head and what it does ,and being part of the 'mask', could signify the mask and their disguise they put on for society having a grasp on their mental health and who they are inside. Hiding from reality for so long could have affects on you and your sanity. To improve my work, I could try more postions and expressions as well as maybe adding hand movements to the images. I could also experiment with long exposure as the viewer watching the figure try to escape could create a more moving affect on their sympathy towards the anonymous figure.
Editing Log - Showing the pprocess
First, I take any colour there might be out of the image by turning it black and white.
Next, I burn the background of the image. This gets rid of any dark patches the image might have and creates a dark and even backdrop.
Finally, I cropped the image where needed and moved onto the brightness and contrast. By increasing the contrast, it made the dark darker and the light lighter. This means the white 05 subject stood out more from the black background.
Further Developments
Mirroring
Editing Log - Showing the pprocess
To get the image duplicated and layered on the replicate, I first selected the image with the selector tool. Then, I pressed Ctrl + C to copy and Ctrl + T to move the image and expand it to how I wanted. Then I inverted the image so it was a mirror image of the other side.
Next I smoothed the merging point of the two images to make it look more seamless with the burn tool.
Experimenting with Double Exposure
Editing Log - Showing the pprocess
To get the image duplicated and layered on the replicate, I first selected the image with the selector tool. Then, I pressed Ctrl + C to copy and Ctrl + T to move the image and expand it to how I wanted.
the next step is to press the normal button and scroll down on the different options for exposing the image. All the headings make the image look different depending on what it does to the lighting in the image.
Experimenting with Curve
Editing Log - Showing the pprocess
First, I chose my image and cropped it to my preferred size.
Next, I selected the curve adjustment button and experimented with moving the curved line in different ways. I also experimented with the different colour curve options Photoshop has to offer.
Experimenting with Composition
my further developments consist of me experimenting with multiple editing techniques and tricks. For mirroring, I feel it looks quit futuristic as it is perfect and precise. I chose to experiment with mirroring because it plays more into the fantasy side of photography. It looks like a monster I would see in an episode of doctor who.
I like that the images perfectly bleed into each other and it appears so seamless. I continue with my further developments by experimenting with long exposure. This means layering my images on top of each other and changing the exposure to make the photos blend together in different ways depending on the light. I think these images were the most successful of them all because of the amount of ways they can be blended together. I edited a larger amount of images for the long exposure because there were more possibilities and ways I could experiment.
Another way I developed was experimenting with curve. For this trial, there were not as many ways to make the image differ. Using curve there are light changes in the lighting and colour. If I could improve, I would add colour look up images as well to further improve and investigate colour in my work. This would add more content to my gallery and make it more exciting to look at an examine. I continued with my experimentation by looking at composition. This means I took a select few of my previously edited images and put them in a line. This is a simple method but effective when developing my work further.
I also made an image where I isolated the head an duplicated it backwards multiple times to make it look like some kind of long exposure
Editing Log - Showing the pprocess
first, I opened my images on three different slides. I then selected the whole image with the selector tool and pressed Ctrl + C to copy and Crtl + V to paste on another slide. I repeated this with the other image
Next, I pressed the crop tool on my original image and dragged it outwards to expand the image.
I finished by arranging my images so they for a nicely composed line.
Experomenting with Ink
Contact Sheets
To expand and experiment with my shoot, I decided to recapture my images under water. To make this more exciting, I decided to add swirls of ink in the water. To do this I first acquired a glass dish to put over my printed out photos. I then got a pipette and ink and piped it into the water. I used the end of the pipette to swirl the ink into patterns. my intentions for the shoot were was to make it look like a intoxicating cloud of smoke covering the face. I took this shoot to exhaust ways to further develop and experiment with my shoots. Taking this one incorporated different materials such as ink and tequniques in figuring out what outcome I wanted and how to do it.
One of the many stuggles of this shoot was getting the ink to swil in the way wanted.I had to have many attempts in this as the water went murky with ink after a short amount of time. Shortly, I figured out I had to drop the ink on the border of the glass and use the end of the pipette to swirl the ink inwards to wards the centre.
On useful tip i discovered is to not touch or move the water too much or the ink will disperse into the water. On aspect I think went well was the swirls. They were a success and turned out thick enough to be seen when edited. Another massive struggke of the shoot was the glare of the lights. Unfortunately, To get a good, clear picture, you need good lighting. This created a reflection in the water which could be seen in the photo. However, the image still looked presentable as it adds contrast to the black swirls and you can not tell it was a mistake. If I were to take these images again, I would try to take them at an angle as to not capture the glare in the image.
Developments
With this photo shoot I further developed my work by layering ink over them and recapturing. To do this I first had to print out my images. With the print out copy I placed it under a clear glass dish filled with water. The most important step was to use a pipette to drip a few drops of ink into the dish. This created the effect that the ink was in the image and not just layered on top.
The biggest challenge of the shoot was getting the ink to stay separate and not merge together. As I used a skewer to mix and swirl the ink in the water, it had a tendency to mix into the water and dissipate the black swirls. It was also very hard to not have any glare on the image but still have a clear and well lit image. despite these problems, I think the most successful element of the shoot were the swirls in the water. They resulted in intricate designs fro each one differing in shad and pattern each time. However, like I pointed out earlier, the least successful element of my images was the glare on the water. It was impossible to not have any sort of glare in the photograph as that light is need to have a well lit photograph and to actually see the ink in the water. it also took a lot of tries to get a clear image as the movement in the water made the camera hard to focus on the image as a whole.
If i were to take these images again, I would simply take more. I am not happy with the amount of work and will probably take more of this series in the future. I have recaptured my images underwater and expanded on them by adding whirls of ink. To edit them, I increased the contrast and brightness to my liking, I did this by using Photoshop and the adjustment tool. I decided to make simple changes and only enhance the images features so it is obvious took the pictures with swirls and distortion already there instead of editing it onto the image. I chose to use the ink to add to the idea of hidden identity shown by covering the face with a cloth in the first place.
Editing Log - Showing the pprocess
For this image, all I had to do was increase the contrast and decrease the brightness by using the brightness and contrast tool in adjustments.
however, I perfected the editing by
Experimenting with burning images
Contact sheets
For this shoot, I intended to burn images and create an old and wrecked persona for my images. To do this, I performed many trial and error episodes. To get my finished outcome, I decided that the best way to burn the images with control was to use a metal skewer. I first printed out my images in small, A5 sized sheets. I then heated a metal kebab skewer over a hob until it was scolding to the touch (without touching it). I figured this out by touching it to the paper until it it made a hole. I heated my skewer some more before I placed it firmly against the paper, watching the tip slowly melt the edges of the paper. I figured out that I had to burn the image from the back to get the scorched fragments of paper on the front and have it create more of a burnt look rather than look like I cut out a chunk with scissors. Once I had made the hole big enough, I dragged the skewer at an angle along the edges of the holes to not take away any paper but leave it looking brown and close to fire.
I think the actual preparation for the shoot and how the pictures resulted worked surprisingly well. the unsuccessful elements was probably the developing of the images. The techniques I used were a bit too simple and I cloud have further developed my images even more. If I were to do these images again, I would burn more images. I think the only real flaw of the actual shoot was the lack of content.
Developments
For my further developments, I decided to burn some of my successful images. I did this to further expand on my shoot and make it more riveting to the mind. The edited versions of my images are better than my first products because they are more contrasted and refined. To make the subject of the image pop, I burnt the background to make it a flat tone and darker so the figure stands out more. I chose to do this technique to make the images look more professional. If the background was grey instead of black, the photograph would be flat and boring to look at. This idea of photograph reminds me of a pirate ship with hundreds of destroyed manuscripts which have decayed over time. I do not know why that is the first thing it brings to mind but the burnt edges and especially over the face always reminds me of that. I like how the placement of the scorch marks play with the composition of the piece. By this I mean how the positioning of the holes complement the face in the way they are positioned over the figure's eyes and around them.
Editing Log - Showing the pprocess
For this image, all I had to do was increase the contrast and decrease the brightness by using the brightness and contrast tool in adjustments.
however, I perfected the editing by
Redraft
Contact Sheets
Add analysis
For my second shoot for Andreas Poupoutsis, I decided to experiment with fairy lights. I have previously used them in other photoshoots, examining the work of artists such as Gjon Mili. In the Gjon Mili shoot, I used long exposure to create lines and patterns with the lights. I repeated this technique partly in this photoshoot but this time using a model and circular movements of the camera intead. Andreas Poupoutsis was exploring Identity using wrapped figures, so I decided to expand on that by also wrapping fairy lights. The fairy lights in my images look like barbed wire. This amplifies the concept of Identity, being restrained and told you cannot be who you are. It also makes the images look quite aggressive, which is compattible with the dark nature of hiiden identity and hiding in the shadows. When the lights in the room are turned off, the aggression is diminished by removing the sharp edge of the outline, and creates association of sparkling lights with fantasy.
One of the most successful aspects is the lights. They help add impact to the photos by not simply being a wrapped head, but also adding the element of excitement; combating the surrealness and seriousness of what is underneath. Another successful element is the compositions. I think that there is a good variety of poses and positions that I had my model demonstrate. This shows the amount of time and effort that was required to get the right shot. Despite the positive aspects of the shoot, one of the few struggles was definitely the trial and error of the long exposure images. A digital camera was obligatory in this shoot as it is almost impossible to necessarily review it after each shot without one. If I were to take this shoot again, I would prepare a professional studio to control the lighting because it was time-consuming to constantly alter it.
Developpmetns
I took a series of imges expanding on my first shoot for Andreas Poupoutsis and edited them accordingly. For all of my photos, I simply increased the contrast considerably and increase the brightness reasonably. This enhanced the features already in the photos. To do this, I pressed the brightness & contrast button. Then sid the cursor up th bar to increase and down to decrease. For some images, I aslo experimented with curve to find the best ratio of contrast to brightness. I moved the curve above the line brighten the image and below the lie to darken it. To add final touches, I drew with the burn tool over the darkest areas of the imaeg to further increase the contrast. I also did this to remove any blemishes in the shadows.I expanded on my first shoot by using fairy lights. I editied them by using the curve becasuse the lights from the fairy lights would be too bright compared to the rest of the photo if I used the brightness tool. The aspect I like is the affect the fairy lights and how they make the series so muvh more interesting than my first one. In my third imge, I love how the lights reflet on the hands. I dont know why but it makes the images seem so much more magical and mythical than before. To improve my work, I could think of more compositons. My least succesfful photo was the one with my model behind a wall of sheer fabric this does not really tie in with the artist so if I took more experimentations with comoposition, it woud make my work so much better.
Editing Log - Showing the pprocess
First, I take any colour there might be out of the image by turning it black and white.
Next, I burn the background of the image. This gets rid of any dark patches the image might have and creates a dark and even backdrop.
Finally, I cropped the image where needed and moved onto the brightness and contrast. By increasing the contrast, it made the dark darker and the light lighter. This means the white 05 subject stood out more from the black background.
Experimenting with Double Exposure
Add analysis and process log
Editing Log - Showing the pprocess
the next step is to press the normal button and scroll down on the different options for exposing the image. All the headings make the image look different depending on what it does to the lighting in the image.
Then, I added the final finishing touches by increasing the contrast and brightness to my liking.
Experimenting with Mirroring
Add analysis and process log
Editing Log - Showing the pprocess
To get the image duplicated and layered on the replicate, I first selected the image with the selector tool. Then, I pressed Ctrl + C to copy and Ctrl + T to move the image and expand it to how I wanted. Then I inverted the image so it was a mirror image of the other side.
Next I smoothed the merging point of the two images to make it look more seamless with the burn tool.
Then I added the finishing touches by increasing the contrast and brightness.
Experimenting with Curve
Add analysis and process log
Editing Log - Showing the pprocess
First, I chose my image and cropped it to my preferred size.
Next, I selected the curve adjustment button and experimented with moving the curved line in different ways. I also experimented with the different colour curve options Photoshop has to offer.
Experimenting with Composition
Add analysis and process log
Editing Log - Showing the pprocess
first, I opened my images on three different slides. I then selected the whole image with the selector tool and pressed Ctrl + C to copy and Crtl + V to paste on another slide. I repeated this with the other image
Next, I pressed the crop tool on my original image and dragged it outwards to expand the image.
I finished by arranging my images so they for a nicely composed line.
To further develop my work, I used 4 editing techniques. This includes composition, long exposure, curve and mirroring. I think that my most successful set of developments were my double exposure ones.