Conceptual Portraiture: Shoot 1 & Crit

Practice shots:
As I had bought a waterproof underwater bag for my camera I had to test it first to make sure it was fully waterproof which I was testing out in my bath. While I was testing to make sure it was waterproof I wanted to take some test photographs to see how they would turn out so I got a Barbie doll and put her in the water.

For a first try I was pleased with the outcome but it was hard to focus of the doll because the orange cover on the bag was covering the focus light of my camera. I only managed to take 3 photographs because I had filled the bath with cold water which was too cold for my hands to be able to press buttons and move my lens to zoom in. 
I decided to edit some of my photographs keeping with Horst P Horst's style of black and white. 

First picture:

First I added curves to brighten my picture up and then I added some contrast to the image

I then changed my photograph into black and white by changing the colour channels.

I then added more contrast to the image because when I added it before it made no difference to my image

I was showing how the amount of contrast affected my image

I then decreased the brightness of my image for a more darker tone.

Before & After:

Second picture: 

Adding curves to make my picture brighter

Changing my photograph into black and white
I found that when I was changing the different colour channels that it was only affecting her eyes and mouth. 

Adding some contrast:

Before & After:

I think the photographs look good in black and white but as they are close ups of the face that they don't come across as being underwater.

Shoot 1:
When I got to the location, people were still in the swimming pools so I had to wait for them to finish. As they were taking too long I was taught how to use the equipment. When the instructor was sure I could use the equipment well enough it was ten o' clock so I only had 25 minutes to take my photographs. 
I put my camera on RAW and in manual mode. At first I had my settings on F16 and shutter speed of 1/125 ISO 1600 but this was too dark. (I was quickly changing them while my model was swimming in front of me) I changed my settings to F10 1/50 and ISO 800 this was slightly better but still dark so I turned my ISO higher to 6400 where I could see my models. 
I managed to take 13 photographs underwater but I wasn't able to get out of the pool to check my photographs mainly for trying to take as many pictures as I could but also because the equipment was heavy out of water. I was having trouble with my underwater camera bag as the length of the lens was too long for my standard 18-55mm lens. To sort this out I had to push my lens to the end of the tube and put an elastic band over it so that the end of the tube would not be in my photographs but this didn't help with manually focusing my images. As the camera bag could float in water there was lots of air inside the bag it was hard to hold under the water as I was nearly a metre deep it was also difficult to press my camera buttons as there was so much air inside so my mum and dad had to empty the air. 
I wasn't pleased that my images were out of focus and grainy because I thought my images wouldn't be good enough. 

Contact sheet:

For our group critique we had to show 3 of our best images. These are the images I showed:

1)

 2)

 3)

 4)

These are the questions asked:

What is good about the project so far?

very nice, they look timeless and feminine. The clothing is not distinctive to the 21st century. They have a different setting and they liked the lines of the pool side.  

Which is the best image of the series?

The third photograph, it looks like an album cover.

What is working aesthetically?

The photographs you don't see the faces of the models or their heads are chopped off. 

Are the projects working as a series?

Yes apart from the 4th photograph as the dress looks like she's passing gas but also its more closer and it doesn't show her whole dress.

What are the photographs communicating?

They have captured the Horst P Horst style.  

What is good about the technique?

The photographs are out of focus and grainy which resembles old film. 

What suggestions were made about how to complete the project?
As the third photographs is in square format they should be all done in the format as old film was 6''x6''. 


After my photo shoot I was disappointed in myself that I managed to mess up my photographs by not having them in focus so I was desperate to find another swimming pool to take more photographs in. I rang up swimming pools but most places said no until a family friend contacted me saying one of his friends owns a swimming pool in Shipley and I would be able to take my photographs there. So my next underwater shoot is on Sunday the 27th from half past 2 until half past 4 I will be taking more photographs and hopefully they will be in focus.