Prints:

Photobook Final Layout:

Evaluation:

This is the final layout design of my photobook – which I am telling a story through, explored by three different sections of the book. The first section is called Folly, composed of various monochrome images, with motifs such as cobwebs and animalistic features and props. There is movement and photos with a slow shutter speed in this section of the book, which is momentarily disrupted when the cobwebs are introduced. The second section is called Prudence, composed of colour images, most keeping a similar combination of tones. I wanted to create a stark difference between the two sections. The third section is called End.

Layout: Drafts

These are my draft layouts for my ‘Union’ photobook – I will be designing this photobook as 7 x 7 in (18 x 18 cm).

Photobook Cover

Pages which will include typography:

Page with title, introductory page to first half of photobook.

Conclusion to first half, introductory page to second half.

Conclusion to second half, final page.

Final layout drafts:

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Layout: Final

This is my final layout for my photobook. (7 x 7 in)

Presentation 1: x1 A4 image, x2 A5 images – photos mounted on foam board, which will be mounted on a black background.

Presentation 2: x1 A3 image – photo mounted on foam board, which will be mounted on a black background.

Presentation 3: x1 A3 image – photo mounted on foam board.

Presentation 4: x1 A3 image – photo mounted on foam board.

Using Photoshop, I experimented further with my edited photos from Lightroom.

Selection of photos:

For this edit, I had an idea to make it look like the figure was being trapped or round up by another- using my photo of a spiderweb as a source of inspiration. Once I decided on how I would merge the first two photos, I changed the second photo to a linear dodge (add) layer and decreased the opacity to 83%. Finally, I flipped and positioned my photo of the spiderweb to where I felt it fit best, where the spider at the bottom of the photo is still visible, and changed it to be a difference layer.

Final edit:

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Selection of photos:

For this edit, I wanted to get the feeling of a greater sense of movement from my slow shutter speed photos, which I would do by having an image which seems like a previous frame behind a frame which looks more recent. To make the merged image more visible, I added a gradient overlay, and set the layer to ‘difference’. However, as I wish to use the merged photo elsewhere I did not want to make it too visible.

Final edit:

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Selection of photos:

Final edit:

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Selection of photos:

Edits

For this photo I felt like the arcade game on the wall distracted too much from the subject, so I created a mask and lowered the exposure in that area. I also added another mask on the telephones, as I wanted them as a main focal point of the composition.

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b&w/slow shutter speed photos

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Contact Sheets

Overview:

Including rejected photos:

Visualising potential photo layouts (unedited)- My photos feature either a warm and cool tone, or both. This I will keep in mind when I am deciding on my layout, along with potentially organising the different motifs, for example motifs of time (clocks/watches), methods of communication (telephones), etc.

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Selection of photos I might edit:

Edits

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Overview:

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Photoshoot 1:

Contact Sheets – Objects

Selection of photos I might edit:

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Photoshoot 2:

Contact Sheets – Chapel & trees

Selection of photos I might edit:

Union – Two or more things united or joined into one, something formed by combining.

For this project, I will explore ‘Union’ by experimenting through a dark interpretation of the word. A few of my initial ideas surrounding the word ‘Union’ is an exploration of things which are combined in a cruel manner, for example; conjoined and contorted subjects, confined metaphorically or physically in a location, cannibalism explored as a metaphor for an embrace, kiss, or hug. Another idea was exploring ‘Union’ through extensions of body for example masks, animalistic accessories, spider webs/thread. I may also explore some Religious themes and motifs such as faith, rituals, occult, things that have a mystical or paranormal quality to them.

I wish to plan photoshoots and take staged photographs of my friends, myself, landscapes, buildings, and objects taken on film and also my digital film camera. These photos of individual objects, buildings, and landscapes will be presented alongside the portraits shown in a way which could tell a story.

For these photoshoots, I will take photos of interior and exterior locations such as woodlands, dilapidated buildings, and old buildings such as churches, castles, and sheds. Along with photographing the locations separately, I will also take portraits inside of these locations, focusing closely on clothing, accessories, use of props (masks, furniture), and also the details within the backgrounds. As I wish to interpret ‘Union’ in a darker sense of the word, these photographs will be taken in gloomy, dull environments, which is usually at night, meaning I will have to pay attention to the type of lighting I use. I will take these photos during blue hour, twilight, night, maybe during a full moon, and I will use artificial means of light such as candles, torches, or lanterns. I will use a tripod for some of my photos so I can use slower shutter speeds which allow motion blur of the subject.

I may manipulate or change of my photographs, either by applying paint, ripping/tearing/burning them, cutting a subject or something out, or re-joining the same or a different photograph with thread. Another way I could possibly change the photographs is merging or overlaying these photos digitally to create a blurry effect in certain areas.

To develop my project, I have looked closely at the art movements of Romanticism (including Sublime and Dark Romanticism), Symbolism, and Surrealism. I have also looked at the paintings and artworks of Francisco Goya, Gustave Doré, Gustav Klimt, Serafino Macchiati, Odilon Redon, and the photographs and books of the photographers Francesca Woodman, Claude Cahun, and Josh Kern to inspire the way I take and present my own photos.

Francesca Woodman was an American photographer who was surrounded by art from a young age – her father was a painter and her mother was a ceramicist. When she was 13, Woodman was given the camera which she used to create her first works. The archive of her work features over 800 black and white photographic prints, a large portion of these being self-portraits, each photograph carefully considered and choreographed in empty studio spaces and abandoned buildings. She sometimes would utilise pieces of furniture as props, along with using wallpaper and shadows to conceal herself. Woodman has stated, ‘I show you what you do not see – the body’s inner force. You cannot see me from where I look at myself.’

Francesca Woodman studied at Rhode Island School of design, where she developed her photographic style, often working in empty rooms, she stated, ‘I’m interested in the relationships that people have with space’. Woodman experimented with longer exposures, the dichotomy of her movements ranging from subtle to more drastic blurring of her figure. These were created by simple gestures such as shaking her head, creating mysterious and blurred proportions that contrast with the sharpness of surrounding details.

While studying in Rome, Woodman lived near a bookshop which specialised in surrealism, inspiring her to research artists associated with the movement. She embraced some of the characteristics of surrealism, such as dream-like compositions and chance.

Woodman’s use of Gothic tropes as a commentary on the photograph as a place of subjective confinement can be seen throughout her work. A critical version of Woodman’s work is Abigail Solomon-Godeau’s association of the House series (1976), ‘In these photographs the woman’s body is practically devoured by the house … Swallowed by the fireplace, layered over by the wallpaper, effaced, occulted, Woodman presents herself as the living sacrifice to the domus.’

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A look at Francesca Woodman’s exhibited work: