This is the final shoot I did, in which I created a range of setup’s in order to produce images that represent the different elements of fire, water, earth and air.
I think that the water and fire images turned out the best and along with my other shoots I maintained the scheme of muted colours and monochrome to ensure that they will all link together when creating my photo book.
Images
Edits
Best photos
I think that this is one of my best images due to the colours being muted but the flame still staying the most vibrant and looking as though it’s coming through the image itself. I also like how a meaning can be given to the image, making it more subjective and personal to the viewer.
This is one of my best images due to the composition of the image, with the reflection of lights making it seem as though there’s electricity connecting the pieces in the water.
Lastly, I selected this photo as one of my best images due to the composition and colouring of it. Due to the muted colours it helps the whites to stand out more against it, which is shown more explicitly through the flower covering a small bit of the card.
This shoot aims to show how we ‘bluff’ or deceive our opponents by masking our emotions. While having different meanings behind the use of mask, this shoot was inspired by the conceptual artist Gillian Wearing and her mask identity photos.
This shoot was created at home, using a small game set up as well as a mirror. Since I don’t have the money to be able to buy the high quality prosthetic masks that Wearing uses in her photos, I settled for a plain white mask which still turned out well and also showcases what I had intended to do so.
Images
Edits
Best photos
I think that the muted tones in this image really help to create the dramatic effect I was going for. I also really like the composition of this photo as it links well to the main idea I had for bluffing, especially with the way one of the cards is covering the mouth of the mask.
Similarly to the photo above, I really like the composition of the image, however they differ due to the angle and colouring of them. This image gives off a more dejected feel to it, creating a sense of sadness for the viewer but ultimately still showcasing an exaggerated perspective of bluffing.
I selected this photo as one of my best images due to the composition. I think that the photo creates lots of different meanings behind it that can be up to the viewers interpretation, for example it could be symbolism for how shes changing the game, making the photo interesting to look at.
Lastly, i personally think that this is one of my best images as the colour, composition and overall final feel of the photo turned out well. The darkness and contrast helps to create a dramatic feel to it, while the placement of her hand on the mask makes it seem as though she’s shushing it which links back to bluffing.
This shoot was inspired by my artist reference, David Llada, who take photographs of players during a chess tournament. I aim to show focus and concentration through my photographs in order to display how we observe the game while coming up with strategies.
I took this shoot at home, creating a small game set up while making sure to keep a blank background to make my friend the main focus of the image. In order to capture her natural expressions we ended up playing a small match against each other, which i found also helped to make the set up of the board game look more realistic.
Images
Edits
Best photos
I turned this image to grey scale as it helps to highlight the light and darkness of the image, bringing our attention to the playing pieces. I also am fond of the body language presented in this image, with her head in her hand suggesting that shes stumped as to what move to make while her other hand is preparing to reach out and move a piece.
Similarly to the photo before, I think that this image displays her body language really well, conveying across to the viewer that she’s concentrating hard on what move to make next. Additionally, I am fond of the composition of the image and the way that it was taken from a slight angle, making it one of my best images overall.
Lastly, I think that this image provides us with a good idea of what its like to observe, seek and challenge through chess with her body language once again showing how she is observing the game in front of her. The more determined look on her face also suggests to us that the game is difficult but she is still looking for a way to win.
This shoot was taken in my garden and uses a mirror in order to show how the queen, in both chess and cards, is reflected in real life. I had my friend wear a red dress in order to stand out against the background when I lower the exposure of my images to stick with the theme across all my shoots. The red also helps to link her together with the card, showcasing the connection between the two.
This shoot was heavily inspired by Claude Chaun as she is well known for creating portraits that often reflect some kind of meaning in them, mainly how gender is stereotyped. In my case, I aim to reflect how we seek to gain power in games in order to win, for example in chess the queen is the most powerful piece in the game.
Images
Edits
Best photos
I chose this image as one of my best since the muted tones really help to draw attention not only to the redness of the dress but also the playing piece in the center. I also think that the droplets of water on the mirror help act as lines which draw our attention back to the queen piece. The mirror also being framed by the grass helps to create a sense of texture to the image, making it more interesting and pleasing to look at.
With this image, I toned down the vibrancy of the colours in order to make the photo feel more dramatic which, in turn, draws the viewers attention to it. I additionally think that the composition of the image was done successfully, I mainly like how we can see hesitation in her body language through the use of her hand getting ready to grab the piece, linking to how we hesitate and think through our moves before acting during games.
Here I once again really like the composition and layout of the photo, the hedge background making the image seem more dramatic and potentially linking to chess in the way that they are sometimes used to block paths the same way we use pawns to block our opponents move. I once again kept the colours muted and the contrast high which in my opinion worked really well here.
I selected this as one of my best images as I am fond of the simplicity of it. The crack in the wall helps to symbolize a sense of vulnerability or weakness and when paired with the chess piece in her hand we can infer that she may be on the brink of losing. I also like how the white background makes her the main focus of the image with nothing else to distract us.
Lastly, I really like how we are able to see a lot of detail in this image, from the way the water on the mirror ripples to the contrast in black and white tones. I also think that having the image in gray scale works really well for this image as it helps to highlight the mirror in the grass as well as the model herself, making them the key focus points.
For this photo shoot I went to Gorey castle with my board games as well as some blue tack. Once there, I walked around the castle to find different locations which would serve the purpose of linking to the playing pieces of the board games. In order to create some of these shots I stuck the pieces down using the blue tack so I could compose the image in a way that would appear interesting to the viewer.
The main purpose of these images is to show the connection between the game pieces and the real life representation that can be found in a castle setting as well as to link to my artist reference Jan Roald. When editing these photos I once again kept the image tones to be muted while also creating some photographs to be monochrome in order to be able to connect all my photos together.
Images
Edits
Best photos
I selected this image as one of my best photos as I am very fond of how the colourful card contrasts against the dark metal of the knight. I also like how we can see the details of the knight, helping to provide texture to the photograph and ultimately making it interesting to look at.
I really like the composition of this photograph and that the black and white tones of the image help to make the details stand out more, for example the white in the brick. I am also fond of the placement of the card as it helps to highlight the connection between it and the statue.
Similarly to the photo above I am very fond of the placement of the playing piece and that the connection between the knight chess piece and the horse statue becomes very evident. Once again, having the photograph in black and white helps to highlight the details of the image, leading it to be one of my best photographs.
With this image I kept the tones muted to link it to my other photographs however I feel as though this helped to showcase a more medieval/old timely feel to the image. I am also keen on the lighting here as it helps to highlight the chess board as well as the chair.
Lastly, I liked the lighting once again here as the fairy lights in the background. I also think that overall the composition of this image is successful, with the stone table contrasting against the chess board.
This photo shoot aims to use lighting in order to make the game pieces appear more interesting. This, in turn, will balance out the other more complex images making it more visually pleasing for the viewer, since having too much going on will confuse the viewer on where to direct their attention. I took these images at home, creating a set up studio and using a floor light to create my lighting.
For editing, I plan to keep the consistent theme throughout all my shoot’s of having my photographs contrasted and the colours more muted down to make the images more aesthetically pleasing to look at as well as creating a connection between them.
Images
Edits
Best photos
I have selected this photo as one of my best images due to the way it focuses our attention onto the playing pieces through the lighting and the blurring of the opposing pieces. I also really like the amount of detail that can be seen here, for example the reflection on the board, as well as the angle that the image was taken.
This is one of my best images as I find it appears very clean and concise. While there inst a whole lot going on in the photograph itself I think it is still very successful in how nothing takes our focus away from the playing pieces. It also doesn’t feel crowded which means it will be a useful image to have when paring it up beside a more complex.
I chose this image as one of my best images also due to the composition and layout of it. While lighting isn’t a key factor here, the way that the checker’s pieces are sprawled out across the board creates an interesting arrangement that draws in the viewers attention.
Here we are able to see the texture of the board as well as how the lighting highlights the left side of the board, casting the shadows of the chess pieces. Overall, I think that the image is visually pleasing and provides us with a good account of the aesthetic of the game. I am also fond of the angle that the image was taken since I feel as though this helps to create more dramatic feel for the image.
Lastly, I selected this photograph since I find the muted colours create a more calming feel which contrasts against the many different games being shown in the picture. I also find the lighting here to be engaging and helps the viewer to focus their attention so the rest of the image doesn’t become too distracting.
Firstly, for this photo shoot I plan to take photographs of the board and pieces by themselves, my main idea for it is to simply showcase the games alone while focusing on the lighting and layout.
I would most likely produce this shoot at home using a makeshift studio as to not move all the games around that will be included in the photographs.
Photo shoot 2 – Castle photographs
Secondly, I plan to go to one of the castle’s on Jersey, either Elizabeth or Gorey, and take photos of the playing pieces in the medieval surroundings.
This photo shoot is inspired by my artist reference, Jan Roald, as his project of ‘is the life also a chess play’ did a great job of capturing the viewers attention due to the links between the scenery and the chess pieces.
Photo shoot 3 – Costume photos
For my costume photographs, I plan to have my friend wear a red dress to portray the queen from both chess and cards since red often means power and was even adopted by kings around the middle ages to show their god-given right to rule.
I will most likely be taking my images in my garden due to the grass creating a more natural feel for the images. This shoot will also be inspired by Claude Cahun regarding the expressions and body language that she depicts in her own self portraits.
Photo shoot 4 – Portraits
For these photographs, my main plan is to try and showcase body language while playing a game. To do this, i’m going to have my friend sit down at a game and take photos of her playing the game in order to capture her reactions and expressions.
This shoot would once again be done at my house in order to make my friend more comfortable and give more natural responses. The shoot is also heavily inspired by the chess photographer, David Llada, who aims to capture peoples expressions as they play chess during tournaments.
Photo shoot 5 – Masks
In this photo shoot my aim is to display how we hide our emotions and expressions during games, or in other words how we showcase our poker face. To do this I will have a friend of mine wear a blank mask and have a game set out in front of them or have them simply looking into the camera.
The shoot will be inspired by my artist reference Gillian Wearing who uses prosthetic masks to showcase different meanings within her photographs.
Photo shoot 6 – Elemental photographs
Lastly, I intend to produce some photographs of the playing pieces in different elements, such as fire, earth, water etc. These images would symbolize different parts of game from emotions to different strategies, for example the fire could represent passion while water could represent loss or sadness.
Gillian Wearing was born in 1963 in Birmingham, England. In Wearing’s photographs and videos she records the confessions and interactions of ordinary people she befriends through chance encounters. Her work explores the differences between many things such as; public and private life, the individual and society, voyeurism and exhibitionism, and fiction and fact.
The work that I plan on focusing on is her masked photographs. In these images, she uses prosthetic masks to alter her appearance, showing how we hide away our identity.
Why I chose the artist
I chose this Wearing as an artist since I plan to display how we hide our emotions during games, showcasing what is commonly known as a ‘poker face’ which is an inscrutable face that reveals no hint of a person’s thoughts or feelings.
In order to achieve this i would masks, while they may not be as detailed or high quality as Wearings due to cost efficiency, they would symbolize how we hide our emotions and allow the viewer to take a more tactical look towards the games we play.
Image analysis
In this image we are able to see the prosthetic mask protruding from the mirror frame, creating a rather unique effect. The fact that we are still able to see her human eyes behind the mask could mean that we often hide our true selves behind false faces, only presenting the parts of ourselves that we deem worthy or perfect to the world in the same way a prosthetic is perfect.
I would definitely like to incorporate the use of mirrors into my own photographs since the idea of refection is a key part in Wearings photographs. I especially like how she incorporated only the mirror frame in this image though, making it gold and shiny in order to draw attention to it and link it with her eyes which are the only other glossy part.
Claude Cahun, also known as Lucy Schwob, was born October 25th 1894, in Nantes, France. She would later pass on December 8, 1954, in St. Helier, Jersey. Cahun was a French writer, photographer, Surrealist, and performance artist who was largely written out of art history until the late 1980s due to her being an activist during the second world war.
It is thought that Cahun took her first self-portrait at around 1913, a year later publishing her first collaboration with Malherbe under the pseudonyms Claude Corlis and Marcel Moore. They contributed a piece titled “Vues et visions”, or “Views and Visions”, to the literary journal ‘Mercure de France’ with Cahun doing the writing and Moore doing the illistations. Although she had tried out other names, by 1917 she settled on and adopted the pen name Claude Cahun. Moore’s mother and Cahun’s father married in 1917, and the two young women moved in together later becoming lovers.
She is known for her self-portraits that portray her as ambiguously gendered. In taking the gender-neutral forename Claude and by shaving her head, Cahun actively and outwardly rejected social constructions of gender and sexual identity. To Cahun, identity was changeable, or unstable as shown in her self-portraits as she presented herself as a man, a woman and majority of the time androgynously. By fusing several gender stereotypes into a single character, she obfuscated her identity. It is not entirely clear whether Moore was the photographer of Cahun’s “self-portraits” or had some other role in their production. Moore did, in fact, photograph Cahun later on, and those pictures are attributed to her.
Why I chose the artist
While my project isn’t focusing on gender or stereotypes, I do plan to take inspiration from Cahun’s costumes and photography style in order to display a connection between the game and the person i’m photographing. To do this, I would likely have the subject of my photo dress up in a way that represents a certain piece from a game, such as a queen from chess or a joker from cards, and have them side by side.
I am especially fond of Cahun’s mirror photographs as it symbolizes many different things, like how we see ourselves in comparison to how others do. I would also like to try recreating some photos with the idea of reflection in a similar way to Cahun’s photographs.
Cahun links into the the theme of observe, seek and challenge mainly due to her photographs challenging gender stereotypes all while seeking to help spread awareness to the gender inequality many people suffer from. We, as the viewer, are able to observe Cahun’s work and understand the message behind her images.
Image analysis
– Claude Cahun
In my opinion, this is a powerful image that displays an important message. By looking at the clothes, we are able to see a cloak that is embellished in masquerade styled masks, which are typically associated with hiding ones identity. This produces the idea that since there are so many masks that the subject is struggling with their own identity. The cloak itself also helps to strengthen this idea since cloaks are often used to symbolize a disguise of sorts, with the definition literally meaning to cover or conceal.
The photograph itself is also very strong with the patterned curtain behind the subject helping them to stand out and making them the main focus of the image. Additionally, I think that the photo being in black and white helps to enhance the overall aesthetic of the image as we are able to draw out a lot more detail without being distracted by the colour.
David Llada is a 46 year old journalist, organizer, photographer and author born in Asturias, Spain and currently residing in Donostia-San Sebastian. Majority of his work goes towards promoting chess and was even the editor-in-chief of American Chess Magazine for a while in 2018. Llada also has published a book called ‘the thinkers’ which is a visual tribute to the game of chess, showcasing the emotions, exertions and desires of the players.
Llada has been an official photographer in countless events with his photos helping to bring awareness to the game of chess across the world, even being recognized by other chess photographers as one of the best.
‘I am particularly impressed by his quick perception, his ability to spot and also anticipate those crucial moments that make a photo memorable.’ – Niki Riga
“What I like about David, first of all, is his enormous interest and devotion to his work and chess players. Secondly, his brilliant skills and technique, and his desire to be perfect. And finally, his attention to details.” – Eteri Kublashvili
Why I chose the artist
I chose Llada as one of my artists as I am very fond of the attention to detail in his images. He is able to create interesting and meaningful images which focus on the players and their expressions which is something I would like to recreate in my own images.
While expression is a key point in his photographs, we can also tell a lot about the subject by their body language, such as when they touch their face it could signal worry or surprise etc. I also admire how he is not only able to capture the emotions of the player but also the details of the game.
Llada links to the theme observe, seek and challenge as he observes the players of the game, watching as they challenge each other all while seeking to win.
Image analysis
In this image, we are able to see the worry and hesitation shown on player’s face as she carefully observes the game in front of her. The way her hand is placed over the other indicates that she’s about to make her move but is holding back, presumably rethinking or reanalyzing the board.
We are also to tell a lot about the image by looking at the board in front of her, we can see that she has less pieces than the opposing player, suggesting that she is at a disadvantage. However, looking to the bottom right of the image we can also see the pieces both players have lost, such as the bishops and queens, giving us slightly more insight to the game. For example, both players have lost their queens which is a powerful piece in the game, suggesting they’re equally matched.
Overall, the image provides us with the story of their match and when we pay close attention to the details of it we can begin to unwrap and visualize what the photograph is trying to showcase.
