Family and friends photography

Research-

Daniel Meadows                                             Larry Sultan

The first image by Daniel meadows ‘Lyn and Stella Brasher, sisters, Southampton 15.5.74.’ The image is in black and white which creates tone and contrast between the plain white background and the clothing of the girls. I like the simplistic look of the image as it isolates the 2 subjects and shows the relationship well, as they are in each other’s arm and positioned together, we would expect them to be close. The second image by Larry Sultan ‘Argument at the Kitchen Table 1986’. The image is of an old couple in their home, the use of unaltered lighting creates a feeling of a more realistic and natural environment. I like the natural feel of the photo as it feels as though I’m looking into their life.

Intentions-

I intend to explore family relationships, photography and how technology and age might be factors. I will do this by taking mid shot portrait images of family members. Then I will ask them questions about photography and technology to see how views and opinions differ between the generations and ages. With the answers I will Photoshop the back ground out of the photos making them white and black and use text to show the most important or relevant quotes.

Process-

I started by taking the images. I took mid shots of my family, while doing this I thought about the back ground and decided I was going to take it in a natural environment instead of an altered one, the environment was a place familiar to the person. For example the kitchen or a specific place they spend a lot of time.

I decided to ask the subjects questions on photography and what it means to them. The questions included: How’s photography changed through their lifetime? , What is the first photo of you that you can remember? , What do Family photos mean to you? , What do you do with the photos you take? , What type of photos do you share on social media? With the answers to the questions, I chose the most relevant quotes to show their feeling towards the subject or to show how photography has aged.

To manipulate the photos I used Photoshop. I first duplicated the layer and changed the copied layer to black and white and experimented with the tone till I was happy with it, I then used the ‘merge down’ option followed by the ‘layer mask’ then ‘reveal all’. I was then able to use the brush tool to add the colour back in. I chose to make the subject in colour and leave the back ground in black and white, this focuses the eye on the subject. Then I used the text tool to write the quote having it in black or white depending on which stood out the best of the back ground. I placed the text above the subjects head and made the text bold therefore easier to read.

Final pieces