DOCUMENTARY: Richard Billingham

Richard Billingham:

Born in 1970, West Midlands Lives and works in Swansea, Wales 

Billingham graduated from the University of Sunderland in 1994 and in the same year took part in his first group exhibition at the Barbican Art Gallery, London.
the world of photography became increasingly analytical, subjective and confessional of family life,the very private was becoming very public. However, Richard Billingham didn't care about how his family ought to look and instead he focused on them and their situation at the heart of working class life in Thatcher's Britain. Billingham's snap shots form a kind of family album no ordinary family member would ever show to anyone. This is not a family life of fake smiles and awkward calendar events, it is more like a backstage glimpse of the chaotic happenings within everyday life. It's a view that turned Billingham from a would-be painter into a well-known photographer.

The series of photographs, taken over a period of years are a stark, painful and often humorous documentation of the emotional, often violent relationship of his parents and brother. 

He never considered photography when he was living with his father Ray, he was simply a painter in need of a patient model. He began taking pictures of his bed bound alcoholic father that would act as a source material for his paintings as he wouldn't stay still for longer than 20 minutes at a time. This was how Billingham first started taking photographs.

 

 

I think these photographs aren't particularly astetically pleasing however this is because they aren't staged but are natural, there are no fake smiles and show the real expression of everyday life according to the photographer. The surroundings don't look very clean and is cluttered with empty bottles and cans of beer. A lot of Billingham's pictures are of his mother waiting on his father whilst he is sat down, showing the unequal distribution of domestic labor at that time.

High Key Lighting Studio

High key photography uses unnaturally bright lighting to blow out most or all harsh shadows in an image. High key methods were originally developed as a solution to screens that couldn't properly display high contrast ratios, but has developed into more of a stylistic choice such as modeling to create a positive, lighthearted or upbeat tone.

 

Gilbert and George

Gilbert & George started working together in 1967 after they met at St Martins School of Art and believe that everything is a potential subject for their work. The  inspirations and overall ideas are mostly a reflection on society. They are known for their distinctive brightly coloured graphic-style photo-based artworks and have always addressed social issues. The backdrop and inspiration for much of their work is the East End of London where Gilbert & George have lived and worked for over 40 years. From street signs to Ginkgo trees, from chewing gum stains on the pavements to vistas of urban grandeur and decay, their work is both an ongoing portrait of a city and a reflection on the human condition.

 

I find this photograph by gilbert and George strange yet intriguing in that the background and subject are almost unrelated in terms of colour scheme. The picture is heavily dominated by lines, leading the eye in many different directions and confusing the audience as to where they are supposed to be looking. The composition

is fairly balanced and symmetrical by having both gilbert and George on either side of the picture. The grid lines create an element of the composition 'rule of thirds', where things are placed purposefully to create focal points.

 

 

The early work in this style is black and white, later with hand-painted red and yellow touches. They proceeded to use a range of bolder colours, sometimes back-lit, and overlaid with black grids. Their work has addressed a wide variety of subject matters including religion and patriotism.

 

 

To achieve a Gilbert and George style picture I flipped and duplicated my original photo and edited the colour and style using photoshop. I also put a grid over to the top to add to the Gilbert and George effect.

 

 

I feel that this was a successful edit because it relates well to my chosen photographers with the grid, repetition and bright colours. There is also an element of fun and isn't a serious photograph. the positioning of the subject looks like she is holding hands with herself, offering a sense of unity and connotes happiness.

Nick Chaffe 'Combining photographs with design'

Nick Chaffe 'Combining photographs with design'

Nick is half English half Swedish and currently lives in Manchester. Trained in graphic design, Nick went on to work full-time  for many different companies. Since 2008 he has operated independently from his own small studio in the UK. The image below expresses thoughts and feelings in the background patterns and shapes. This picture helps me to understand more about the subjects personality also the black and white effect makes the picture seem more significant and emotive.

 

 

My image has the same effect but with words and pictures to summaries the meaning of 'life' expressing my interpretations which include both good and bad aspects. I achieved this picture by using grey scale and removing the background of the images of people. l chose not to do the lines on my piece because I interpreted it in a slightly different way, however I still learned the same skills as everybody else but produced an alternative picture.

During the Chaffe project I have learnt new skills such as drawing and editing lines on a picture, below is a step by step on how to achieve a Chaffe style photograph.

 

What is ISO?

What is ISO?

When you change your ISO setting  you're adjusting your camera's sensitivity to light (which can be anywhere from 24 to 6,400). This is the most important part of the camera  because it is responsible for gathering the light and transforming it into an image. If you were to use a higher  ISO number, the level of sensitivity will increase. However if you were to lower the ISO number, the level of sensitivity will decrease. Higher sensitivity is expensive but with increased sensitivity, your camera sensor can capture images in low-light environments without having to use a flash. without a flash your camera may take too long to shoot, resulting in images that are blurry and out of focus.  Alternatively, a photographers  option is to increase the ISO number to 800 or higher. Some photographs are intentionally grainy/blurry to help create mood in a scene.

 

CANON 450D AND APERTURE, F-NUMBER AND SHUTTER SPEED

Canon 4050D

The twelve megapixel EOS 450D (Digital Rebel XSi) is a very similar camera to the EOS 400D, however there are a range of significant improvements; twelve megapixel CMOS sensor, 3.0" LCD monitor, Live View with both AF modes (contrast-detect and passive), 14-bit processing and RAW, spot metering, improved AF, 3.5 fps continuous shooting, a larger viewfinder, SD/SDHC storage and a new higher capacity battery. All in all a fairly impressive range of usage oriented improvements and refinements.

Aperture:

Aperture is a hole where light can pass through. The aperture of a photographic lens is a hole that can be adjusted to different sizes. This lets the photographer control the amount of light reaching the image sensor. The aperture is changed along with the shutter speed to control the amount of light that enters the camera. This amount of light is called the exposure.

F-number:

The size of the aperture is described as an "f-number." This is a number that describes the size of the hole proportional to the focal length of the lens. A low number (such as f1.4 or f2.8) means the aperture is wide open, and lets in a lot of light. A high number (such as f8 or f11) means that the aperture is small, and does not let in as much light.

Shutter Speed:

A fast shutter speed will not let much light in causing the picture to be dark, so the photographer will use a larger aperture to correct for this. A slow shutter speed will need a smaller aperture to stop the picture coming out bright. In addition to its effect on exposure, the shutter speed changes the way movement appears in photographs. Very short shutter speeds can be used to freeze fast-moving subjects, for example at sporting events or light pictures. Very long shutter speeds are used to intentionally blur a moving subject for artistic effect.

SELF IMAGE: Shadi Ghadirian 'Like Everyday'

Shadi Ghadirian 'Like Everyday'

Ghadirian challenges the international preconceptions of women’s roles within an Islamic state, her photographs draw from her own experiences as a modern woman living within the ancient codes of Shariah law. Ghadirian’s everyday objects become a group of distinctive portraits, wiping away her identity using these objects (such as irons and frying pans) to create a brand new stereotype-based one.
Her 'Like Everyday' Series was created from the domestic gifts she received after her wedding. Ghadirian’s photos  portray an interpretation of  housewives, reducing their identities to cooks and cleaners.
Replacing the expected  black chador with vibrantly patterned fabrics, each portrait suggests a sense of individuality and character, however restricted by the limitations of stereotype.

 

 Shadi Ghadirian example

My version of 'Like Everyday' is a statement about stereotypical teenagers 'always being on their phones'.

In this photograph my identity has been taken away an replaced with an iphone, also my uniform has the same effect because it does not show individuality.

My version of 'Like  Everyday'