Photo-shoot One
The Noise In My Head
In the style of Shawn Coss
Record
Production
Photo-shoot Title:
"The Noise In My Head"
Photo-Shoot Concept & Aim:
The aim of this photo-shoot is to create a visual representation of someone who suffers from a Paranoid Schizophrenia Disorder. Common symptoms for paranoid schizophrenia include auditory hallucinations (hearing voices) and paranoid delusions (believing everyone is out to cause the sufferer harm). However, two of the symptoms separate this form of schizophrenia from other forms. With this knowledge i can create a image in my head of what needs to be included to show these two symptoms
Date & Timing:
This photo-shoot will take place on the 3rd of September 2017 at 3pm. This time allows the sun to shine through the window giving the subject some natural light and brightens them up allowing for a clear photograph. The light will also help create some shadows in the creases and folds of the model and their clothing so that in post production i can exploit them while changing the contrast bar,
Location:
This will take place in East Herrington with in a bed room. I will need no permission. This location will be seen from a medium shot on the subject as i must include their body and head. The camera will be positioned eye level with the subject yet far enough back to allow them to be seen with the majority of their body.
Props:
Little props are needed within this photoshoot as it is just a clean image of the model however appropriate clothing will be needed to create the best photograph.
Models:
To keep within the theme and style of Self Portrait photography I will be my own model this also goes with the audience in which i wish to attract showing males can have mental disorders.
Team:
There is no team needed as i will be working alone for this shoot. I have a tripod to stand the camera on and I shall set a timer for the camera to capture the photographs. Everything before will be set up my me and post production work will continue to be done by me, of course because this is my personal project.
Equipment and Preparation:
The camera I have used for this photoshoot is a Fujifilm Finepix S9600 Camera with a Integrated 28-300mm lens. The batteries were fully charged before shoot. Additional lighting was used with a studio light facing the model or pointing away to create dark shadows. The ISO settings will be set to ISO-200 while the shutter Shutter Speed will be set on 1/500seconds and an Aperture of f/4.5.
Desired Shots:
My desired shot is the subject to be standing alone against a while wall looking as tormented and broken as physically possible with a black bubble above his head to show the mouths of him and others which will represent the symptoms of this Disorder. The photograph will be converted into black and white with sections altered with different contrast levels to make the photograph dramatic.
Reference Images:




Photographs
Product
Post Production
Evaluation
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Refinement
My finished product after the photoshoot. This is the raw photograph with no further editing. This photograph sits at the base line for my further development. This is the template i will use to further modify it.
The genre of this photograph is Digital Manipulation. The Shutter speed i selected for this work was 1/500 seconds. The aperture was F/5.6 while the ISO was set to ISO-200. This was to help me get the best possible photograph for this photoshoot. Visual Elements are used throughout work. My use of Line has been shown with the wavy lines from the smoke and the lines present on the subject via his clothes and skin. Shape is present in this photograph with the edges defined within the piece most prominently on the subjects elbows and the edge of the lips on the several mouths included in the clouded smoke. Form can be seen with the three dimensional quality of the subject standing in the frame, the shadow on the wall gives him a three dimensional quality. The width, length and height are all present on the subject. The smoke also gives a three dimensional quality because of the layers of cloud and smoke within the bubble. Tone is shown in this photograph more than the original because of its black and white effect the darkened parts of the photograph are seeing within the shadows of the subject. The clouds have darker and lighter parts but is overall the darkest part of the photograph as it represents the mind being a dark place. the teeth of the mouths are bright white to contrast the dark clouds. The grey shirt darkens the subject with lighter parts of him being his skin. The colour has been used by draining the saturation. The colour of black and grey have been intensified to contrast against the light of the teeth and subject. Space is present in this photograph with most of the background taken up by the subject or the smoke within the photograph however he photograph was expanded so the canvas size is bigger. This allows for the smoke to fit into the photograph. The space surrounding the subject allows me to communicate the feeling of isolation within my piece as there is nothing else for the subject. Texture can be seen with the surface quality of the smoke. The thick and coarse of the smoke gives the cloud within the photograph texture. The visual element of pattern is used with the pattern of the clouds and repetition of the mouths.
Composition is used in within my photograph as vantage points can be seen as the perspective view point from a eye level shot. This is a medium close up of my subject. Framing has been used with in my piece as i have positioned the framing so the subject is in the bottom left corner. It wasn't cropped but the canvas size was scaled to have a bigger aspect ratio so that the clouds could be added into the frame. I have applied the rules of thirds as the subject stands on the left vertical line. If the main visual components (things in the image) lie on or near the lines then the image often tends to look 'right'. The use of the rules of odds and evens is debatable as even number of mouths in an image can sometimes create a feeling of tension or a slightly un-natural look. However the inclusion of the model with the mouth or just the subject on their own is meant to gave a feeling of balance but the unsettling feeling is still present. The rule of triangles has been used with triangles present in the folds of the subjects arms. This creates a solid composition. The use of space is is used to make the photograph more dynamic, The subject has been surrounded by white empty space to make him isolated however the black cloud fills up most of his free space. Symmetry was not used in this photograph to convey a more clustered message. Repetition and pattern can be seen used in this photoshoot as the patterns of the black cloud through the photograph while repetition of the smiling faces can be seen within the black cloud. Simplification was essential for this piece, the subject had to be surrounded by nothing to be completely alone for this photograph to work.
The narrative of this photograph is to convey the message of someone with Paranoid Schizophrenia Disorder. Paranoid schizophrenia manifests itself in an array of symptoms. Common symptoms for paranoid schizophrenia include auditory hallucinations (hearing voices) and paranoid delusions (believing everyone is out to cause the sufferer harm) Imagine sitting in your living room. You hear voices in the room, but no one else can hear them. You might hear one person’s voice or two or more people conversing. They may talk to you or about you amongst each other. They criticize you; cruelly poke fun at your real or perceived flaws. Suddenly, one of the voices orders you to hurt someone else or yourself. Although not real, to you they absolutely are. This photograph helps me to capture and explain the physical representation and portrayal of this chronic mental disorder allowing the definition to have a connecting photograph.
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What i wanted from the shoot:
I wanted to represent and convey the messages for someone who lives with depression and suffers from a Paranoid Schizophrenic Disorder.
Did I achieve this?
I believe i achieved this successfully with the contrast of the black clouds and the mouths represented in the subjects head. I also like the subjects body language and expression
How can I Improve Further?
I could improve further with experiments in the style of my alternative reference images. For example the use of hands emerging from the back of the subject surrounding him. Another one is having hands grab the subjects face. This could help carry on my photoshoots and work creating sinister photographs that violate social expectation
This refinement was created as the original photograph was taken with my old camera and dimensions are around the hundreds to 1000 while the new photoshoot using the new camera and equipment has aloud for a better higher quality photograph that dimensions reach 5000. This is to help incase Iwant to develop this specific photoshoot further with my final outcome.
Follow Up Progession
This will lead to my second photoshoot using similar techniques of simplification.
Evaluation
Refinement
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Refinement
This is a later refinement on my work in a similar style to Frank Miller and his Sin City styled work. This theme i have developed in later work has influenced this refinement of using a woman to connotate the embodiment of the illness and shares denotations of domestic violence towards men.
I believe the contrast and saturation has worked well with this refinement and conveys the message i wanted. To improve I wish I could have more hands however it proved difficult to photoshop the hands on and over the subjects face which is something i am unhappy with for the outcome.
This will link to my composition of ideas and help with developing my idea of colour popping more.
This is a later refinement on my work in a similar style to Frank Miller and his Sin City styled work. This theme i have developed in later work has influenced this refinement of using a woman to connotate the embodiment of the illness and shares denotations of domestic violence towards men.
For this refinement I thought instead of hands use arms instead as rightly so they proved better to edit onto the subject making this surreal photograph ever more realistic.
This will link to my composition of ideas and help with developing my idea of colour popping more.