Giorgio Frattolillo is creating a final photography project focused on chiaroscuro style, which uses extreme contrast between light and dark. They will take portraits emphasizing shadows on faces and bodies. Frattolillo researches photographers like Alfred Kypta and Charles Heckel, who use strong monotone contrasts. They conduct a first photoshoot experimenting with spotlights on a subject. Photos are then edited to enhance contrasts between light and gray tones. A second shoot aims to emulate Charles Heckel's style of a lighter face against a dark background.

1. Chiaroscuro Photography By Giorgio Frattolillo

2. Brief. For my final project I have chosen to do the figure in the style of chiaroscuro. This is the extreme contrast between light and dark. I have chosen to do figures because I love the shadows which can be casted under features on the face, and also on the body. I will be looking at some photographers , and looking for some work that I really like, and taking parts of that idea and making it my own. Most of my photos will be monotone, as I think that the dark and light contrasts much more strongly without colour. Giorgio Frattolillo

3. Artist Research Mkorchia http://jonti.org/vocabulary/word-in-context-chiaroscuro I have chosen to analyse this photograph because I love the very extreme contrast between the dark and light. I love the way that the shadowing on this photo really brings out the detail in the face, and also in the upper body. The white body stands out on the very dark background, and I love the mysterious effect that the eyes have been completely shadowed by the photographer. I hope to create an effect like this in some of my shots. Giorgio Frattolillo

4. Charles Heckel http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=8301514 I have chosen this photo to analyse because again I love the contrast. The contrast in this photo isn't as strong in this photo, but still I think it is a great photograph because it still looks mysterious, as you want to know what she is looking at. Her dark body and hair still does have a very high contrast with the face which seems to be ‘glowing’ as it is so much brighter than her hair and upper body. Giorgio Frattolillo

5. Ricardo De Martini http://www.flickr.com/photos/36771423@N04/3387727987/ I love this photograph because of the composure of the shot. I love the angle and timing of this shot, and it looks better in colour than it probably would in monotone, as the colours show off the light and dark very well in this photo, without just having it black and white. The young boy looks sad, and lonely, which gives a story to the photograph within itself, which is something that makes a great photograph. This photo is different from the other I have analyzed because the contrast isn’t between white and black, it is between the dark and the light, which I find gives a great effect in the overall picture and it makes it more interesting than the other I have looked at so far. Giorgio Frattolillo

6. Alfred Kypta http://www.flickr.com/photos/jbalfred/3205188644/ Again, another photograph in colour, which I love. I love the expression on this man’s face, and I love the way that he is sat face on so it is a portrait. I really like the way that half of his face is dark and the other side is light. The way that this man has been told to pose makes this photograph very interesting and I do not think that this photo would be as interesting if the man was sat in another position or if the photo was taken from another angle. Alot of the chiaroscuro style photographs taken of the figure seem to be very mysterious, because of the dark and the light contrasts over different parts of the body, and this is quite a mysterious photo because of the way that you can only see half of his face. Giorgio Frattolillo

7. Patrick Shaw http://www.flickr.com/photos/patric_shaw/2063887561/ I love this photograph, because of the ‘silvery’ effect to this mans face. His face doesn't seem to be a grey, as grey is more dull, but in this photo it seems to be shining, which I think gives a really different effect between to contrasts to other photos, as other photos are between light and dark, black and white, whereas this one is between shiny and dull, and I really like this effect. Giorgio Frattolillo

8. Giorgio Frattolillo http://www.samysnider.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/harcourt-letitia-casta.jpg Cosette Harcourt I love this photographers work because the contrasts are strong but too strong, so that alot of the photo is black, and I like this effect because it creates a different contrast which is between the lighter and the darker greys in the photograph instead of just black and white. I also love the way that all of this photographers work is mainly portrait. I will be trying to do work like Cosette’s as I will be concentrating on figures in portrait.

9. Plan For Photoshoot #1 I have been thinking about what I might be doing for my Photoshoot #1, and I think I will be making a room very dark, and taking portraits of someone, using spotlights, torches and lamps to aim the light onto the persons face, as I think the flash off my camera would give off way too much light which would be directed straight on at the models face. I might use some props, for example, a hat, or a pair of glasses to make the photo more interesting and to give it more of a story line behind the photo. Giorgio Frattolillo

10. Giorgio Frattolillo Photoshoot #1 – Contact Sheets

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15. Giorgio Frattolillo Chosen Shots From Photoshoot #1 26122009005-001

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19. Evidence Of Editing Image 26122009005-001 Giorgio Frattolillo First I decided to change the curves to make his face a little lighter and for the cheek to glow a bit more.

20. Giorgio Frattolillo I then changed the levels of light in the photo to make the white parts of the photo a little more grey bit I made some parts more black around his face to create a more shadowing effect around his cheeks. This screenshot shows me experimenting with the levels of exposure and gamma in the photo, and I decided to do this because it made his face a little lighter and a darker grey.

21. 26122009005-001 Edited This is my final, edited version of this image. It has changed from the original because the greys have been darkened and the contrast between the grey and the black is now alot stronger. This photo relates to one of the artists I have researched called Alfred Kypta, as half of his face is black whereas the other half is light and visible.

22. Evidence Of Editing Image P1141780 Giorgio Frattolillo This is the original photo I decided to crop the image as the light used had shown some draws in the background which I didn't want in the shot.

23. Giorgio Frattolillo I then changed the curves by a tiny amount to just make the face a little lighter, making the contrast more strong between the dark and light. I then adjusted the levels to make the right side of the photo a little darker and to make the right side lighter, again, making the contrast stronger.

24. Giorgio Frattolillo I changed the exposure and the gamma by a tiny amount to just make the shadows a bit stronger and so the darker and lighter greys contrast with each other as well as the dark and light between the black and the white in the photo.

25. Giorgio Frattolillo P1141780 Edited Here is the final version of the photo. In the editing I have darkened the right of the photo and enhanced the greys, while making the light on his shoulder a bit brighter to give a slight glow to the left side, making the contrast more extreme. This photo relates again to the artist Alfred Kypta as half of the face is shadowed and one half is visible, and also like alot of Alfred’s work it is a portrait.

26. Giorgio Frattolillo Evidence Of Editing Image P1141798 This is the original photo Here I changed the curves by a very miniscule amount just to make the photo a little lighter overall.

27. Giorgio Frattolillo I changed the levels of grey and white in the photo so the whites and greys would contrast higher and more strongly with the black. Here I changed the exposure (lowered it) to make the bottom half of his t-shirt more suttle and not stand out as much. Also changed the gamma to make the photo’s greys a bit stronger.

28. Here I changed the brightness and contrast to make the light on his shoulder be a bit brighter so the contrast between light and dark is stronger. Here is the final version of the photo, and I have made the contrast alot more strong and extreme. I think that this photo could relate to the two artists Alfred Kypta, and also Charles Heckel as they both have very strong contrasts in their photography and most of their photos are also portrait.

29. Giorgio Frattolillo Evidence Of Editing Image P1141772 Here I am cropping the image as the left side with the draws in was unnecessary and a distraction to the main focus of the photo.

30. Here I am changing the levels of light in the photo as I thought that the right side of the photo should be darker to create a stronger contrast. Here I am making the bottom half of the photo darker to shadow the bottom half of the figure, making the top half of the photo look brighter making a more extreme contrast between the light and dark.

31. I very slightly changed the offset and the exposure in this photo, to mask the whole photo in a very suttle grey mask over it. I then painted over the white mark at the bottom of the photo from where the light had been shining from, and I also painted over a bit at the top of the photo, (pointed at on image above) as I thought they were another distraction to the photo.

32. Final Edit of Image P1141798 This is the final edit of the photograph, and throughout the edit, I was mainly manipulating the light to give the photo a stronger contrast, as this is the main thing in chiaroscuro photography, the extreme contrast between dark and light. I would relate this photograph to the photographer Alfred Kypta and also Ricardo De Martini, as they both take portrait photography with half of the face visible and the other half shadowing into darkness.

33. Photoshoot #2 In this Photoshoot I decided to try and get a different effect to Photoshoot #1. in this Photoshoot I was aiming to take some photographs in the style of Charles Heckel, using a female model and focusing on the face being the lighter part of the photo with the hair and clothing very dark. Giorgio Frattolillo

34. Photoshoot #2 – Contact Sheets

36. Giorgio Frattolillo Chosen Shots From Photoshoot #2 P1161831

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38. Giorgio Frattolillo Evidence Of Editing Photo P1161831 I cropped the image as I wanted to remove as much of the cluttered background as possible.

39. I then made the shadowing under the eyes darker. I changed the levels to make the lighting under the chin a little lighter to contrast with the shadows under her eyes.

40. I then made the photo a little darker and changed the contrast by making it higher. This screenshot shows me the after effect of when I painted over the background, as this makes the models face glow more, giving the photo an overall higher contrast.

41. Final Edit Of Image P1161831 This is the final version of this photo, and I have darkened and made all the shadows more extreme throughout the photo. I would relate this photo to the photographer ‘Mkorchia’ as they have the background and hair very dark and the face very light in many of their photos to create a mysterious effect.

42. Giorgio Frattolillo Evidence Of Editing Photo P1161883 Here I have rotated the image as obviously, it was the wrong way around.

43. I then cropped the image as I felt that the background was too busy and having a smaller space would give it a better effect to contrast in.

44. I then changed the levels to make the top of the photo darker and to also make the candle a bit lighter. I then changed the curves to make the photo darker from the sides, making it look as if the candle is even brighter as it has shadows from the side.

45. Here I changed the exposure and corrected the gamma in the picture to darken her face. This screenshot is showing the painting over the background. This makes the photo look a bit more mysterious, and to also make the contrast between the background and the candle higher.

46. Final Edit Of Image P1161883 This is the final edit of this image. In the editing I have used shadowing effects and manipulated the light to make the photo look quite mysterious. I think that this photo relates to a two of the photographers I have researched, Mkorchia and also Ricardo De Martini as they both have a very mysterious look to them, as the face is covered by shadows.

47. Photoshoot #3 In this photoshoot I was aiming to get more of the body in the photo and to also use a different kind of light, instead of using a candle, which flickers and is hard to control which direction it flickers in, and I also wanted the light to be alot more harsh, as a candle has more of a glow and is alot more suttle. In this photoshoot I was using a phone light (the back of the phone where the flash comes from – not the screen) to give a much more direct and harsh light to create sharper shadows in the photo.

48. Giorgio Frattolillo Photoshoot #3 – Contact Sheets

49. Giorgio Frattolillo

50. Giorgio Frattolillo Chosen Shots From Photoshoot #3 P1161891

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52. Giorgio Frattolillo Evidence Of Editing Photo P1161891 I cropped the image as the light source at the top was a distraction.

53. I then made the photo a little darker using the levels tool to create sharper shadows. I then made the photo darker around the edges and on the models top to create a stronger contrast between his face and the background.

54. Here I am changing the brightness by a small amount to make the photo a little more suttle and lowing the contrast as it makes the shadows more intense.

55. Final Edit Of Image P1161891 Here is the final edit of this photo, and I have managed to manipulate the lighting in the photo to cast sharper and deeper shadows over and throughout the photo, and to also lighten the face a little to keep the contrast strong. I think that this photo relates mostly to the photographer Mkorchia from my artist research as the shadows under the eyes are similar to the one in my artist research.

56. Evidence Of Editing Photo P1161898 I cropped the photo as I think that the left side of the model is unnecessary.

57. Giorgio Frattolillo Here I am changing the lighting in the photo to make the photo slightly lighter in the white areas so the contrast with the background would be stronger. I then changed the curves by a miniscule amount as it made the creases in his jumper a little darker, making the photo more detailed.

58. I changed the contrast of the photo as it made the lighting around the model a little darker but seemed to keep everything else the same, I think this has given the photo a better contrasting effect.

59. Final Edit Of Image P1161898 In the editing process I decided to darken the background of the photo and also parts of the model, but I also lightened his face to create a very strong and harsh contrast between the face and the background. I think that this photo relates to the photographer Mkorchia but also the artist Rembrandt and his painting of his mother as the contrast in the painting also relates to the theme of chiaroscuro.

60. Plan For Photoshoot #4 For photoshoot #4 I am planning to use the drama studio. I want to use this because there is more space and it contains no windows so when the lights are off it will be pitch black, and also there are more resources such as spotlights and the reflective umbrellas that will able me to manipulate and experiment with the different lighting and angles I can try the shots from. Giorgio Frattolillo

61. Contact Sheets For Photoshoot #4 Giorgio Frattolillo

63. Giorgio Frattolillo Final shots from Photoshoot #4 P1231950

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68. Giorgio Frattolillo Evidence of editing photoshoot #4 P1231950 (Original Photo) I then cropped the image down to the size I think would look good

69. Giorgio Frattolillo Here I changed the levels of light in the photo, I made the photo darker. I changed the curves by a tiny amount so make the chin a little lighter.

70. Giorgio Frattolillo I then brought the contrast right up and lowered the brightness a little bit to make it look like the face is glowing out of the photo, which makes the contrast stronger. I then cropped the image again as I felt there was too much space around the photo.

71. Giorgio Frattolillo Final Edit Of Photo P1231950 This is the final edit of this photo. I would relate this photo to the photographer ‘Alfred Kypta’ as only part of the face is visible. In the edit I have cropped the photo and also made it darker to make the contrast between the face and the background more extreme.

72. Giorgio Frattolillo P1231941 First I changed the levels to make the photo a little darker but making the face a little lighter I then moved the curves to make the face a tiny bit lighter in the face

73. Giorgio Frattolillo I then made the photo a little darker and decreased the contrast. Here I am changing the exposure, offset and the gamma correction, which then creates a slight greyscale filter over the photo.

74. Giorgio Frattolillo I then changed some of the HDR toning in the photo to make the contrast slightly higher and more extreme. I then cropped the photo down as I felt there was too much unneeded space to the right of the photo.

75. Giorgio Frattolillo Final Edit Of Photo P1231941 This is the final edit of this photo. Throughout the editing process I have made the face a little lighter to create a higher contrast. I think that the grey masking effect makes the photo more interesting because it makes the white contrast with grey rather than black. I would relate this photo to the photographer ‘Mkorchia’ as you can only see part of the face and the photo has a mysterious effect to it.

76. Giorgio Frattolillo P1231959 I cropped the image as the light source was visible in the original photo and I felt that this was a distraction to the main subject. I then changed the light levels in the photo to make the shadow from the bottom of the photo a little darker and stronger.

77. Giorgio Frattolillo This screenshot shows me moving the curvature of light in the photo, and I am making it lighter in the grey and white areas of the photo. I then changed the gamma correction in the photo which enhanced the shadows at the bottom of the photo.

78. Giorgio Frattolillo Here I am making the contrast stronger between the dark and light in the photo. This is the final edit.

79. Giorgio Frattolillo Final Edit Of Photo P1231959 This is the final edit of the photo, and through out the editing I made the contrasts more extreme by enhancing the light in the photo. I would relate this photo to the photographer ‘Alfred Kypta’ as it is a portrait and also only half of the face is seen. I really like this photo because of the light only making half of me visible, and I also like the crazy background.

80. Giorgio Frattolillo P1231963 I cropped the image, as again, the light source was visible in the photo and created a distraction to the model. I then changed the brightness of the white and greys and made them stand out more to create a stronger contrast in the photo.

81. Giorgio Frattolillo This screenshot shows me just making the shadows slightly darker.

82. Giorgio Frattolillo Final Edit Of Photo P1231963 Here is the final Photograph. In the editing process I decided to make the shadows slightly darker and make the lighter parts of the photo slightly lighter to create a stronger contrast between the light and dark. I would relate this photo to the artist Ricardo De Martini because the lighting is similar to his work that he does. I really like this photo because of the composition of the shot and the lighting which is reflected off the back wall.

83. Giorgio Frattolillo P1231980 I cropped the photo to make the composition of the shot more interesting. Here I made the photo slightly lighter.

84. Giorgio Frattolillo Here I moved the curves to make the whites lighter and to enhance the shadows. I then used the mosaic filter effect to break the photo into little sections and it creates a really nice effect to the background.

85. Giorgio Frattolillo This screenshot shows me just adjusting the gamma correction and I moved the exposure & offset a tiny amount to just enhance the shadows a tiny bit more.

86. Giorgio Frattolillo Final Edit Of Photo P1231980 This is the final edit of this photo. In the editing process I have changed the levels of light a tiny bit and broken the photo into smaller bits to make it more interesting. I think I would relate this photo to the photographer ‘Mkorchia’ as only the top of the head and the nose is visible.

87. Giorgio Frattolillo Photoshoot #5 For this photoshoot I have decided that I want to take photos of a figure, but not a human figure. I want to take photos of maybe a cat, dog, or any kind of animal. I have a dog so I think I will be using her as the model and I will be aiming to get the chiaroscuro effect by passing light through different objects to see how this can effect the photo and reflect the light in different shapes and directions.

88. Giorgio Frattolillo Contact sheets for Photoshoot #5

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90. Giorgio Frattolillo Chosen Shots P1302344

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93. Giorgio Frattolillo Evidence of editing in photoshoot #5 P1302344 First I cropped the image down as I think the bottom right half of the photo was unnecessary and I think cropping it gave the photo a better composition. I then changed the levels a tiny amount to make the whites stand out more.

94. Giorgio Frattolillo I changed the curves by a very small amount to make the photo a tiny bit darker to make the contrast higher between the dark and light. Here I am using the shadows and highlights tool to enhance the shadows by changing the tonal width and radius of them to make the photo have stronger and sharper shadows.

95. Giorgio Frattolillo I then painted over all the unnecessary bit in the photo (like the dogs bed) as it was not needed and gave a distraction to the main focal point. Here I cropped the photo again, to improve the composition.

96. Giorgio Frattolillo Final Edit Of Photo P1302344 Here Is the final edit of this photograph. In the edit I have enhanced the lighting and shadows to create a stronger chiaroscuro effect. I would relate this photo to the photographer Ricardo De Martini as his photos are mostly a figure disappearing into a black background. I like this photo because of the composition created and also the shadows which are casted by the light through a glass cup.

97. Giorgio Frattolillo P1302365 Firstly I cropped the photo as the light source was in the shot. I then changed the levels to make the shadows slightly darker and make the greys and whites slightly darker to create a higher contrast.

98. Giorgio Frattolillo I then changed the levels to make the photo have a slightly greyscale filter over it. Here I am changing the gamma correction to make the shadows slightly more sharp.

99. Giorgio Frattolillo This screenshot shows me changing the shadow and highlights in the photo and I wanted to make the shadows more harsh to create a stronger contrast. I then painted over some necessary marks and parts of the photo that I found were annoying and a distraction (there was a small white line in the top of the photo).

100. Giorgio Frattolillo This is the final edit of this photo, and throughout the editing I have moved the levels of light and the shadows to create a stronger contrast. I really like the composition of this shot and the way that the figure fades into darkness. I would relate this to the photographer ‘Patrick Shaw’ as half of the face goes into darkness. Final Edit Of Photo P1302365

101. Giorgio Frattolillo P1302390 I cropped the photo as I felt that there was a distraction to in the original and also I feel this crop has a stronger composition. Here I changed the levels to make the shadowing stronger in the photo.

102. Giorgio Frattolillo I changed the gamma correction and the exposure to make the photo have a slightly stronger shadow to make the face stand out more. I slightly changed the curves of light just to make the light a little more suttle as I felt the face looked as if it was ‘glowing’ and it was too strong.

103. Giorgio Frattolillo Here I moved the contrast right up and the brightness down to create a stronger contrast between the photo and again to darken the face as it was still too bright. Here I added a colour filter to the photo to enhance the greys in the photo.

104. Giorgio Frattolillo Final Edit Of Photo P1302390 In the edit, I have made the shadows stronger and more harsh but also made the face slightly more suttle as it was standing out too much. I really like the positioning and angle of this shot. I would relate this to the artist ‘Alfred Kypta’ because of the angle of the shot and the way that you can only see half of her face.

105. Giorgio Frattolillo Final Shots For This Project For my final shots for my Chiaroscuro project, I am going to be looking through my photoshoots and finding the photo(s) which have the best chiaroscuro effect, with the strongest and harshest shadows to make a sharp looking glow on the part of the face which is visible. I will also be looking for the photo(s) with the best composition, and the ones with the best background used. I think I will be picking out about 5 photos, (one favourite from each shoot) and then I will be writing a small paragraph on why I have picked it as my favourite one, and then after I have done this, I will pick my very final shot and write why I like it and have picked it for my overall final photo.

106. Giorgio Frattolillo P1141780 I have chosen this as one for my final shots as I really like the composition of the photo, and I also love the lighting which is lighting half of the figure and the rest is fading into a background.

107. Giorgio Frattolillo P1161883 This photo has been chosen for one of my final shots because I like the way that you can see the light source in the photo and the way that it is lighting only the bottom of the models chin and then the face is faded into darkness.

108. Giorgio Frattolillo P1161898 I really like this photo as the light gives a really mysterious effect, as it is a different light to the previous photos, it is alot sharper and more harsh, casting stronger shadows over the figure. I like the composition of the photo with the model being on the left of the frame instead of being in the middle.

109. Giorgio Frattolillo P1231963 This has been chosen as one of my final shots because I really like the lighting and the background used and also the light casting a very stretched shadow across the wall. I also like the way that the lighting hasn't made the whole room light, it has only made an elliptical shape around the model, which I think gives a really nice effect and contrast using the shadows.

110. Giorgio Frattolillo P1302390 I really like this photo because the dog looks scared and the desaturated effect makes the photo look really sad. I love the way that the light which has been places behind a glass has gives a really nice effect of the light rippling through the photo but the light is still strong enough to give the chiaroscuro effect. I like the way that this photo is in the middle of the frame and not on the edge, as it makes the model the centre of attention and the high angle makes her look innocent.

111. My over all final shot for this project - P1141780

112. Giorgio Frattolillo Why I Picked This Photo As My Final Shot I picked this photograph as my final shot because I love the composition of the shot – I think the photo has a really interesting effect when you look at it as the figure is fading into darkness. The lighting was done by a candle, which throughout the project I have found that a candle is not the best light for creating the chiaroscuro effect, as the light flickers and it is very soft, which doesn’t provide a very sharp shadow to the figure. Also the lighting has a yellow/orange effect to it, instead of a more whitey colour, which provides a very high contrast between the dark and light. If I were to improve this photo I would have used a more harsh light, (like I did in photoshoot #3, #4 & #5) as the light is more sharp and the effect is alot better. I would also have planned out my background more, as the background could have been less busy with less distractions in, so I didn’t have to Photoshop the distractions out. This is my favourite photo simply because of the composition and the way that only half of the face is shown, and I also think that the expression on the models face creates a really interesting atmosphere within the photo.