2. * “I need sunshine, I need angles” – ‘I need’ by Maverick
Sabre
* “All these days seemed to fade away, as I lost faith in
myself” – ‘I need’ by Maverick Sabre
* “How I didn’t go out of my mind, only God knows” – ‘I
need’ by Maverick Sabre
* “Fading out again” – ‘Bloodstream’ by Ed Sheeran
* Song title ‘Blk & Blu’ by Chase & Status
* “I stared up at the sun” – ‘If I lose myself’ by One
Republic
* “Which way is right? Which way is wrong?” – ‘Too Close’
by Alex Clare
* “If destiny’s kind, I’ve got the rest on my mind” – ‘For
Reasons Unknown’ by The Killers
* “Somewhere between psychotic and iconic” – ‘Furthest
Thing’ by Drake
3. “How I didn’t go out of my mind, only God
knows”
The word ‘God’ brings a
religious focus to the lyric.
It is highly representative of
the model’s personality and
circumstances. It is
instantly hard-hitting for
the viewer and adds a
higher degree of seriousness
to the whole situation.
The term ‘only God
knows’ portrays the
model’s inability to deal
with his/her current
situation on his own, it
tells us that he/she feels
the highest force possible
is the only explanation.
This is a bold statement
which would cause doubt
among athiests and more
sceptical viewers.
The model’s ‘mind’ is
another big talking point in
this scenario, it is unclear
how trustworthy his mental
state actually is. This casts
doubt from a viewer’s
perspective over the
validity of the whole
statement. It also creates
more depth to the model’s
personality and background
in general.
The introductory word ‘How’
portrays the theme of the rest of
the line which is uncertainty,
questioning and belief, both by
the model and the viewer. The
fact this line starts with a
question as opposed to a
statement suggests the model has
a lower level of self-confidence
and independence.
4. “Somewhere between psychotic and iconic”
The word ‘somewhere’
instantly shows the audience
that the model is indecisive,
vague and uncertain about
his situation. This mindset
heavily influences the viewer
to take different
interpretations from the
image rather than having a
set view point.
‘Psychotic and iconic’ are very
contrasting and portray the idea of
a completely split personality that
the model could have. It also
encourages the viewer to look
closer for detail which could reveal
a more ‘psychotic’ or ‘iconic’
reality.
The word ‘psychotic’
is sudden and
shocking as it is not a
word often used. This
startles the viewer
into looking further
for psychotic
evidence in the
picture.
The fact that in the image the
model is ‘somewhere between’
psychotic and iconic suggests to us
there is a middle ground that the
model finds himself in. The
irregularity of a middle ground
like this effects the whole mood
of the image, making it more
strange and interesting.
5. *
*“
With Roberts’ work, I really like the way
she uses black and white to enhance
mood and atmosphere in her photos. This
is a theme I feel I can implement into my
edits, whilst still making them unique and
linking them back to my lyric.
6. Composition: The model’s hand
positioning is dramatically
smothering the majority of her
face. This could symbolise her
attempt to hold her emotions
inside. This links to the idea of
‘more to a book than the cover’
in that a lot of detail is lost from
the constraints of our physical
sight. Her eyes also
conveniently coincide with ‘the
rule of thirds’, meaning our
attention is enhanced on the
model’s eyes.
Facial Expression: The model’s expression is
that of fear and anxiety, portrayed through her
wide-eyed, paranoid stair. It suggests that
there is a presence she fears beyond our line of
view. With her hand covering the majority of
her face we are only to assume she is frowning
and trying to suppress an imminent scream.
Colour Scheme: Although a
black white portrait, you can
see a great depth of colour
in it. The blacks are heavily
emphasized, especially in
the background and also in
the model’s eyes. The dark
theme creates a twisted and
dark undertone, making us
sympathise with the model.
In contrast, her hand is fairly
light which symbolises a
positive force keeping her
mouth shut.
Mood/Atmosphere: The
atmosphere is intense,
dramatic and
uncomfortable. It seems to
be moments before or after
a shocking event which adds
to viewer interest. Another
sense you get is one of
emotion. Her eyes look as if
they are watering slightly
leading to the assumption
she is in a horrific situation.
Lighting: Hard lighting is used
in this image to highlight the
strong emotion portrayed by
the model’s facial expression.
It also creates a focal point
that we can assume she’s
looking at, this creates a
range of questions in the
viewer’s head and increases
our general curiosity. The
lighting also creates strong
contrast between the jet-black
background with the
much whiter face and hand.
7. Kyle Thompson (January 11, 1992) is a
photographer from Chicago, Illinois. His style, as
he describes it, is surreal conceptual
photography; the creation of a surreal world in
order to depict concepts. He has a fascination
with abandoned houses and empty forests,
locations where the majority of his photographs
take place. He specializes in self-portraiture. He
has no formal education in photography.
*
When looking at a lot of
Thompson’s photography, I
noticed that he actually
has a lot of deeper
meanings to interpret from
his work. I thought this
theme would link into my
Maverick Sabre lyric really
well as I could use deeper
Religious imagery in my
edits as well.
8. *
Subject: Model (Rob)
Set: Run-down area. Possibly under
bridge, next to abandoned building,
over-looking city, woodland area
etc.
Composition: The framing will see
his full body and close ups shots.
but the camera will be fairly close
in. The back-drop of the image is
will vary from woodland areas to
in-city views.
Shot types: Long shots and close
ups.
Camera Angle: Varied.
Lighting: Natural.
Clothing: Black to match distressed
theme.
Camera Settings: Slow shutter
speed. Smaller aperture.
Props: None.
“How I didn’t go out of my mind, only God
knows”
I feel these images in particular
will influence my shoot.
Equipment:
- Camera
- Tri-pod
9. Shoot Thumbnails With this image I felt I had a
good base with strong contrast,
but there was still room for
improvement whilst editing.
The composition also went very
well with my chosen lyric.
I really liked the way I was
able to catch a defining
siluette, which convinced
me to use this one out of
the few I had. It also had a
nice natural-man-made split
which I felt would be nice
to edit.
Although nice, I didn’t like the
idea of using these images because
they showed too much of the
school grounds which took away
from the effectiveness.
10. Shoot Thumbnails
I chose to use this image in
what was an all in all
unsuccessful shoot, because
of my lack of concentration
on my ‘ISO’ settings.
However this was one of the
least grainy ones and I was
able relate it to my lyric.
Unfortunately, the majority of the other photos I tried
to capture were unusable because they were too grainy.
This was an inconvenient mistake as it lost me a lot of
time and I had to re-shoot. In future to prevent
problems like this I will make sure I’m more careful in
the planning stage of the shoots, especially when I go
somewhere other than the school.
12. Final Image I feel with this edit I was able
to achieve what I intended: A
lost, uncertain character
striving answers. Rob’s hand
positioning meant I was able to
successfully convey my religious
undertone, which instantly
connotes further meaning from
the audience. The addition of
strong natural lighting from the
sun on the model also has
connotation of a more powerful
force, because we are unable to
see what he is looking at. My
mistake of having the wrong
‘ISO’ settings in this
circumstances was for the
better. I feel they fit the mood
and atmosphere of the image,
creating a sense of the unknown
about the scenario in which the
model is in. Obviously the
grainy effect could be seen as a
big flaw, something which I will
have to rectify next time I am
out shooting.
“How I didn’t go out of my mind,
only God knows”
14. Final Image
Overall, I was pleased with the outcome of this
final piece. I was most pleased with my ability
to capture intensity in Rob’s facial expression.
The mood and atmosphere is drastically
enhanced by the piercing focal point created
by his eye, which appears to be looking
straight at the audience all the time. The
composition of the photo was another
effective aspect as Rob looks as if he is hiding
behind a tree, thus connoting a scared,
insecure interpretation of his personality. This
being an effect I desperately wanted to
emphasise. As a possible improvement I would
have got more of the tree’s bark in shot, this
would have made the ‘hiding’ element more
noticeable without any explanation to go with
the picture.
“How I didn’t go out of my mind, only God knows”
16. Final Edit This was all in all a decent outcome. I was able
firstly to create a sillueting effect which was
unique and also linking in with my inspired
lyric. It is also very diverse or open to
interpretation, I feel it could have a number of
meanings; anything from a confused man at
the end of his rope, to a man summoning the
courage to do something about his
circumstances. The backdrop which features
some trees is also particularly effective as it
suggests a lost aspect, or alternatively it could
make reference to the contrast between the
metallic fence and wildlife. The one aspect
that lets this photo down in my opinion is the
addition of the school grounds in the
background. It doesn’t really fit with my lyric
and was careless composition. This is
something I will take more care of in future.
“How I didn’t go out of my mind, only God
knows”
18. Final Edit
This was a very simplistic but
effective final outcome in the
end. I was able to emphasize my
focus on drastic contrast in the
white back-drop and the dark
foreground. Although seemingly
insignificant, I felt the white sky
made good use of negative
space, as there isn’t a defined
focal point and this leaves
openness to interpretation. The
composition is also particularly
effective because it shows Rob’s
hands in a praying position and
his eyes closed looking into the
sky. These simple details link
heavily to my inspired lyric and
add more depth to the image
with its religious under-tone. A
possible improvement could be
the addition of a prop, for
example a Bible, which would
relate it to my lyric even more.
“How I didn’t go out of
my mind, only God
knows”
19. *
Subject: Model (Rob) dressed in a
mixture of iconic and psychotic clothes
in a variety of positions to portray my
lyric.
Set: alleyway in Bristol.
Composition: Varied. Some shots will
feature Rob running, and some will be
full body portraits. However clothing
will be important in most pictures.
Shot types: Mixed.
Camera Angle: high, low and mid
(dependant on which shot is of model
is taken)
Clothing: Smart shoes and trousers.
Glasses, but ripped white T-shirt.
Camera Settings: Slow shutter speed,
large aperture etc.
Props: None.
“Somewhere between psychotic
and iconic”
These images in
particular will
influence my shoot.
20. Shoot Thumbnails
I felt this photo had a very psychotic edge
which made it more effective and gave it the
edge on some of the others. I also felt the eye-contact
with the viewer made the facial
expression much more powerful and
expressive.
This was a particularly interesting
image for me because of the
anger that his body positioning
portrays. It is very realistic and
links in well with my chosen lyric.
This photo told a
good story so I felt
it would be good to
analyse as well as
edit.
22. Final Edit
I had mixed feelings about
this edit. On the one hand
I was able to portray the
psychotic nature of the
model’s persona, with eye
contact. There is an
evident focal point which
instantly draws the
viewer’s attention, it has
an effect that also makes
you fear him and wonder
what he plans to do. His
glasses give him an added
sense of power and
authority, which could be
seen as dangerous in the
wrong hands. However the
addition of a ‘shape blur’
ruined it slightly. In
hindsight, the best option
would have been to stick
with the less blurry
version as it followed
inspiration from my lyric
better.
“Somewhere between psychotic and
iconic”
24. Final edit
I was happy with this edit
overall. It conveys my lyric quite
well in my opinion as it has both
aspects of it. We see two sides
of the persona one of which
being important with glasses,
shoes and suit trousers but then
this contrast very well and
confuses us when we see him
carrying a bin with a ripped top.
This type of contrast
automatically implies a lot of
questions about his situation
which adds to the interest in the
image. Another detail I added
was the in-colour shoes which
just adds to the iconic emphasis
I tried to convey. I feel that the
insignificance of a standard,
fairly run down road in Bristol
actually adds a mysterious
atmosphere to the whole thing
and keeps people questioning. “Somewhere between psychotic
and iconic”
25.
26. Final Edit
“Somewhere between psychotic and iconic”
This was an interesting final
edit. I was able to use fast
shutter speed to catch the
persona in a violent,
threatening, energetic
position. This connotes fear
from the viewer, and also
makes you wonder about what
brought about this scenario.
The body positioning is very
effective because it seems as
though he is going to punch the
door as hard as he can, this
aggressive attitude heavily
contradicts the smart shoes
and trousers, leading to the
assumption he actually is stuck
between his psychotic and
iconic personas. By increasing
the edit’s brightness, it adds a
sort of ‘cold light of day’
sobering feel to it. It puts into
perspective his insanity for the
viewer, especially in a long
shot.
Comparative
image by Henri
Cartier
Bresson.
28. Final Edit This edit was very focused on
getting the lyric’s message
across. His body language
insinuates someone who is
questioning why he has been
treated unfairly or alternatively
he could be seen as a
threatening character who is
angry. The black glasses portray
an attitude that he doesn’t
believe anyone really knows
him and that he is very
secretive. His open stance
could show his acceptance and
that he doesn’t care what
others think, maybe this could
be a more arrogant side to his
character. The effect of having
a black and white filter, is that
the image we see looks closer
to reality than one which is
bright and white which has a
“Somewhere between fake effect.
psychotic and iconic”
