Selene Test Shoot

To start this series of shoots, I wanted to test out a new camera. For my previous shoots, I used the Nikon D8100 which is a full frame digital camera. It worked really well, but for my final pieces I wanted the images to be blown up even bigger than I did for the Christmas exhibition, which was 1.25m x 1.05m. A medium format camera would allow me to blow the images up bigger than this without it looking grainy or the quality diminishing due to blowing up the pixels. I decided to try a digital medium format camera as it's better for my budget and I don't personally get on with film too well. I would have liked to use the digital Hasselblad, however as this was booked out I tried the Mamiya 645AFDII with a Phase One back.

I decided to do a test shoot in my back garden with this camera and the two nikon speedlights I had used previously to see the quality of the resulting image and the compatibility of the equipment.

The first thing I noticed was that on my own, it was rather hard to focus on myself, and so I got my brother to stand in my place while I focused the lens. However, I knew I wanted a low angle and so getting the right frame was also hard because the two lenses provided with the Mamiya were not wide enough for this to work well. As the frame was very cropped, I couldn't get low enough for everything to fit in frame and still be from a low angle. In the future, if I wanted to use this equipment again I would put myself on a stool to create more height between me and the camera.

One of the main things I wanted to test with this camera was the light off my moon prop I have. This prop has the details of the moon 3d printed onto it, and also emits light. I wanted to see how well the camera worked with this. I'm aware that to get the details of the moon and the full amount of light emitting from it to show I'd have to use multiple exposures in my final image, which is completely fine and easy to achieve with layers in Photoshop. However it was finding the right settings and position for the moon and the camera that I needed.

Below are some of the resulting images and some edits that I did to hopefully bring out the aura that I want people to feel from them - something mystical and otherworldly. Because of this I used a few gradient maps using blue and purple colours, as well as making the images cooler toned as a whole.

1.

This image shows how I struggled with the focus of this camera, as it has focused on my hair rather than my face. I shot at 1/50sec ; f/4.5 ; ISO 800 as I found that the image on the back of the screen looked terrible quality and so I wanted a good amount of light to hit the sensor to reduce this. Combined with the flash, which I didn't want too bright as to create harsh shadows, I think the lighting was close to where I would have liked it for this shoot - yet there is still a lot of noise in the image, but would hopefully be reduced if this was more in focus.

The theme of this image is Selene looking at the moon in which she holds within her hand, because as previously stated I wanted her in an active pose to project her role within the world of Greek Mythology. Also to distinguish her role I used one of the three headbands that I bought for my Selene character, however because of the low angle the moon cannot actually be seen as well as I would have hoped, but is more of a subtle touch. Regardless, the stars on the band can be seen so it doesn't retract from the image in my opinion.

Like the paintings of Selene that I studied, I tied my hair up. I decided to keep my own hair rather than using a wig because this cosmetic element of the image varies within the paintings anyway. I also think that these images being self-portraits is a really large part of why I am doing this project at all - because I am in the process of both discovering and creating a more desirable world for myself, almost like a coping mechanism for simply living in the world today where we are surrounded my disaster. Because of this, my hair being my natural hair is very relevant because it is perhaps what I am most known for and most recognised for - it has become a large part of my identity and I want that to be an element that stops the image from being completely removed from reality.

For the edit of this image I  first changed the colour balance to be a little cooler than the original. I then changed the curves to add a little more contrast and dimension to the image. Then I started playing with gradient fills and used two on top of each other that gave the image that mystical look I was going for by using a washed out kind of look to the image in order to create a psychological difference between the image and the viewer, and removes us from reality. I then changed the curves in another layer to reflect this also, and changed the opacity of the gradient fills as to not feel so distant that the immersiveness of the image that I really desire to get across. To make the moon stand out a little more, I created a circular gradient fill and place it so it's coming out of the moon, making it the key feature of the image as it draws the eye to that part of the image as well as creating that otherworldy feeling stronger. To finish everything off, I decided to use a simple purple colour fill at a very low opacity over the entire image. Purple works well with the spacey feeling as well as representing power, royalty and most importantly, mystery. This final layer helps pull everything together and make the image seem more whole and finished.


2.

This image shows the power that this Goddess holds more than the first image. The low angle and the arms outreached represents this, as well as the stern, determined facial expression. The focus here is far better than the previous image, and although the arms are very out of focus due to the aperture, I actually feel like this makes the image more visually interesting. This was taken at 1/60sec; f/4.5; ISO 800, so a little slower than the image before.

This photo has a much clearer view of the crescent moon that sits upon the forehead of my impersonation of Selene, which allows for the viewer to potentially understand the image a bit more. I also feel that this gives a good range of textures to the image as the metal contrasts against the softness of the fabrics and skin.

The moon that i'm holding is cropped out of this image, and i'm not really keen on this, however I feel that with the edits it doesn't look too bad as it has given it this kind of spontaneous film look. I'd still prefer if it were composed with everything in frame, however using an 80mm lens from a low angle made this difficult, especially as I was alone taking these images when I usually have a friend as an assistant to tell me if I need to move to fit the frame. This would have been helpful in this instance as I clearly needed to move further along to fit more of the moon and my hands in frame. Even, however, I feel the frame would still look cramped simply due to the lens.

In terms of editing for this image,  I did much of the same as within the last image, in fact I actually copied and pasted a lot of the layers and adjusted it to suit this image. I first have the curves layer which instead of increasing the contrast I tried to even it out a little as the original was very strong with shadow. I then used the same gradient fills as the the other photo but used a different opacity percentage in order to compliment this image better. I then adjusted the curves one final time to rebrighten the image after the colour changes had been made, and then removed an odd line going through the image as seen below.

3.

This photo is very clearly out of focus, but I decided to see what I could salvage anyway. After all, who said photography has to be in focus? The blur does give the moon a nice smooth edge as well as making the headpiece reflect light really nicely. However this also means that you cannot see the shapes of the stars. I actually really like the dead space at the top as is creates a feeling of distance, isolation and subsequently mystery. Some say that dead space is a waste and to crop it out, however personally I think in this case it's being used as a tool to help create this story of Selene putting the moon into the sky.

This image was shot at 1/80sec; f/4.5; ISO 800, so yet again a little faster than the two before. I had actually wanted to have me in the middle of the frame, however composing the image by myself was difficult and I was way off from this, however I did accidentally get the moon on the centre line of the image and so I don't hate it. I like how the branches behind the moon seem to reach over it too, it feels like it creates its own sort of frame that encompasses the image as one.

It's not my favourite image from this shoot at all but I think it tells a story that compliments the character of Selene. Because of the composition, however it also makes this story less about the character herself as she is cut out of it, and becomes more about the moon itself. However, as Selene is seen not only as the Goddess of the moon but the embodiment of the moon I believe that this is still relevant.

For the editing of this image I found it a bit harder to create something that worked with the story of this image. As the original is quite plain I feel, I needed to add the mysterious and otherworldly feeling myself through editing.
First, I started with adjusting the colour balance as usual to create the cooler tones image. Then I adjusted the curved to slightly decrease the amount of contrast the image had, and then added the same two gradient filters as before and chose the opacity that I preferred them to be at, which was 13% and 4%, so rather minor but it still made a large impact. I then added the gradient fill that would create the glow from the moon, which I believe is an essential part to this image as it would look rather dull and boring without this. It creates something for the viewer to look at and makes it clearly the most interesting part of the whole composition. It takes on a new power with this glow. I then adjusted the colour balance yet again to add some purple hues into the image to accentuate the feeling of mystery. After this I used one more gradient fill filter which lightens the top of the image somewhat to create more dimension and framing to the image. I then added a colour fill layer with a dusky light blue colour set at 19% opacity. This helps wash the image out a bit, which isn't often a desirable effect but I think that here it is at the core of creating this whimsical scene. I did however add one final curves layer to even this out a little while keeping the colour tone of the blue.


4.

This photo yet again has not got perfect focus, with my far arm being the part being closest to in focus.  The framing on this image is also rather odd, due to how cropped the lens is. It means that the moon i'm holding is cropped halfway, as well as my fingers being chopped off by the frame. It does give the photo a rather intimate feeling due to how close the audience is positioned to the model.
This image also has a lot of contrast due to how the lighting was set up. Regardless of using the built in diffuser, I think next time I will need to use the umbrellas again to get a more diffused light. A lot of the shadows are caused by me obstructing the light, and so to fully combat this I will need to use the second flash pointed in front of me rather than to my side.
I really like the feeling that this Goddess is unaware of the presence of the audience as this makes the scene that bit more intimate.
The low angle was used to create a greater sense of power. Although paintings of Selene don't feature this, large statues of Gods and Goddesses do as they position a viewer beneath them.
In this image the moon on her headband is rather hidden again yet the stars combined with the moon she holds means that this doesn't remove from the celestial feeling much.

This image had simpler layers for editing than previous images. I started with slight colour balance change to make the image a bit cooler toned, and then adjusted the curves to slightly bring a bit more pop to the image by increasing the contrast. The image already had a lot but I wanted the whites to be brighter, and by creating a slight S curve and making the darks darker this also makes the whites appear brighter in contrast. I then used two gradient layers at 18 and 21%. These add more colour too the image as well as making it seem more mystical by creating a sort of fade effect in both colour and contrast, as seen in the GIF above. The top of the image is therefore a slight coffee colour, and this change in colour also helps frame the image while also giving a kind of film-like look to it.
Lastly, to retain colour but also restore some contrast and brightness, I then used a second curved layer to create another S curve to finish the image off.





5.

This image is not focused where I would have wanted it to be - and is on the sleeve of the dress rather than my face or the moon I hold. Regardless I decided to just edit it and see how it would come out, and now it's been enhanced with editing I rather like the way that the facial features are not clear, but still visible.  It adds a rather dream-like feeling to the whole image. The audience can still understand that I (impersonating Selene) am looking at them, that I hold power due to the angle, and am also holding a moon in my hands just due to the shapes. The detail on the dress would be more significant and justifiable of the focus if the pattern on the fabric help importance or relation to the Goddess of the Moon, however.
Due to this focus, you can also see goosebumps on my arm from the cold which I think adds an element of intimacy and emotion into the image.
I feel that although the details aren't clear, the flash reflecting from the jewels on the headband is visible and gives the image a sense of power and fortune.

To edit this image, I first started with adjusting the curves to slightly reduce the brightness of the highlights as the image was rather contrasty and I felt that this would help induce a dream-like feeling to the image - for it to appear a little hazy.

I then used a rather blue toned gradient fill filter and layered a second, more earth toned filter on top of it at 24% and 20% respectively. This made the image the correct colour that I wanted it, a cool tone but still realistic and a hint of old film type look - however this made the image even more hazy and so I used a second curves layer on top of the rest to restore some of the contrast while retaining the colours from the gradient fill layers. This makes the image slightly more comfortable to the eye as it appears a little clearer and more refined. Finally, to secure this dream-like state feeling that I wanted this image to have, I decided to add a touch more of isolated haze and so used a final gradient fill at the bottom of the image which gives the illusion of mist or fog. This also adds a greater sense of mystery surrounding who the woman in the image is.

All in all, I would call this shoot successful but I'm not angry at it as this is exactly what a test shoot was for; to test the equipment - which I have found myself to need more practice and refining with; to test the visuals - which I am aware of my need to assistance in order to compose correctly; and to start to understand how I want to portray Selene. So it was a success in the way that it will help my next shoots go better.

While the actual content of the images is not where i'd like it to be quality-wise, I am fond of the edits that I did in order to compliment the images. The cold, moonlit feeling as well as the hazy dream-like state in many images worked with the contents of the images. I cannot say whether I will continue this as this point as I am unsure of the outcome of future shoots, but it's certainly not something that went wrong this time round.

Next time, I will try to create more distance height wise between me and the camera by possibly stepping on a stool. This will allow for more of me to be in frame while keeping a low, powerful angle. I will also make use of the second flash, and use umbrellas to disperse light more evenly.