Shoot Eleven - Work Diary

In this shoot I wanted to create hellish, dark and gruesome images inspired by Nadege Meriau's work. I believe I successfully executed my aim in this shoot as the images are gruesome and cringeworthy; the majority of Nadege's images are dark and unappealing therefore this is the aspect of her work which I have explored in this shoot. To conduct this shoot I used the following equipment: a reflector dish to light up the front area of the squash, a snoot in order to control the direction of light, a tripod to steady my camera, a macro camera to take the images on, the object itself in order to have something to shoot, a black backdrop to aid the low key lighting effect, a knife to cut the object open, a light meter in order to help me set my initial camera settings, and lastly a table in order to have something to place the object on. 

Below is a lighting diagram of how I set up the studio for this shoot:

Overall, I believe my shoot went well as the outcome of the images satisfies my aim for this shoot. The pomegranate almost appears to be dead, or like human flesh which aids the creation of the abstract vibe these images elicit. I wanted low key lighting for this shoot as hell is considered a dark place, therefore this would show connotations to a hellish environment. The black backdrop that I used also works well in this shoot, as it acts as a negative space within the images. 

Best image from my shoot:

This image is one of my more successful images from this shoot as it makes the appealing unappealing, due to the object appearing to be flesh and skin which obtains gruesome and dark connotations, linking this with hell. The seeds in the fruit work extremely well, as the juices from the fruit sit on them, and drip down them acting as blood over the fruit. The black area in this image acts as a negative space within this image, as due to the curved shape of the fruit this makes the negative space a creasant shape, like a moon which suggests nightfall and darkness. This image is shot on the following camera settings: ISO 200, F 32, shutter speed 1/200, the high aperture setting allows all details in this image to be focused on, allowing the viewer to see all of the disturbing details of the 'flesh', this shows how fruit can be like us humans as fruit too has 'skin' likewise to humans. 

Worst image from my shoot:

This image is one of my poorer images from this shoot as there's no depth being created, the promegranet is flat, and the seeds do not provide much detailing to the overall image; despite this, I do like how the darkness fades into the object without being too sharp, like a vignette. Not many connotations can be associated with this image, due to it being a plain image, however the seeds in this image could be mistaken for tiny tadpole eggs which would link to the theme of life. 

Experimentation: 

Within this shoot I also wanted to experiment with coloured gels and how they can appear on organic objects. I used a blue gel in this shoot for a couple of images, I chose blue as this is a direct contrast to the reds and pinks in the object; however I was not happy with the results as you cannot see the blue a lot, therefore it doesn't have as much of a profound effect as I would have expected. Despite not liking the image as a whole I did enjoy experimenting with other techniques in the studio instead of just exploring macro photography. Below is the lighting diagram me for the sub-shoot I conducted using the gels:

And below is the outcome of the image when using a blue gel:

I like the image as a whole however I believe the blue colouring looks out of place within this image, making this a bit too random, possibly an orange coloured gel would have looked better, however there was only a blue coloured gel available.

Progression:

As these images look like flesh that's been cut up, I may leave them to go mouldy and then photograph them again, in order to explore life and decay within these images of organic objects; this idea will show how we are like these objects, as we to live and then die and decay. 

Studio Equipment:

Snoot- a tube object which fits over a light in order to allow the photographer to control the direction of the light more precisely.

Reflector dish- a reflective surface which fits over a studio light, and is used to project light onto the object.

Tripod-  a stand which holds a camera on top, in order to keep the camera still to prevent any blur that may be caused. 

Light reflector- a reflective surface, which allows light to be reflected back onto the object in question, this can also be used to diffuse natural light. 

Gel- a coloured gel is a transparent coloured material which fits over a studio light, in order to project the light as the chosen colour.