Proposal for Assignment,
I would like to create a strong emotional portrait, by preparing my grandfather (a previous miner), as if he just finished work from the mines, by using theatrical make-up, then to make his face half lit by using studio lighting and reflectors. I am going to talk about my grandfather’s experience in the mines, in different stages, through photographs. I would like to end up with an A3 print to add into my portfolio.
The model,
I have chosen my grandfather to be my model , to unlock a interesting story into my assignment. My grandfather has lots of experience from the mines, in fact he had served 30 years working with the mining industry, this project will unlock memories, both enlightening and depressing. I would like to express his feelings through the photographs if I can, by using minimal lighting.
The model’s appearance
I would like my model to dress as he used to in the mines, I thought of a boiler suit, but he did not wear a boiler suit in his miner days, but he did wear a miners helmet with a heavy wet-cell battery on a belt, and used a miners lamp for testing methane gas, to ensure safety for himself and other fellow miners, this lamp prevented explosions from occurring in a mine, and a gas and air bulb on a end of a stick to test for gas in out of reach areas, I will get the model to demonstrate the use of these in the studio.
Using light,
I want to try and get the lighting very close to what the miners looked around with in the mine. So I will only use one studio light. I will also use a reflector to compensate lighting to the other side, but I want strong shadows, to show darkness from the mines. I will use barn doors, an adaptor that is used on a studio light to direct lighting.
Theatrical Make-up,
I wanted to make the model look like he had just came out of the mines. My communication support worker, Caroline suggested that I contact the theatrical make-up department in the college, so I got Caroline to set up the contact, she then emailed the department and will take my model down to the theatrical make up dept, while I will be setting up for the studio. I would like to thank Megan Bone and Maria Retter for being available to make my model up.
Evaluation for dramatic portrait, ‘Miner’
When this assignment brief was given to me, I gave a long sigh, because the previous portrait assignment went wrong. I don’t really like doing portrait photography, but then my brain started to think, I thought about my list of projects, I then came up with the Miner idea. I’m glad I did because everything went very well. I had the model available straight away, and the information and props ready for me. We, me and my granddad, had to go up to the Big Pit in Blaenavon. We had to get the lamp and headlight battery sorted out for the photo shoot and I wanted to learn more about the miner’s life. I did have trouble finding a similar photograph, to the one I wanted to end up with, but I made do with what research I could put together. I chose to let the model do what he would normally do with the equipment that he had brought. He had worked in the mines so he knew much more about the equipment than I did. Instead of giving the model direct instructions, on poses and where to face and body position I only gave instructions when I was not happy with the lighting. If I had wanted to shoot again I could have, but I chose to keep the ones I had because I had exceeded my own expectations. I am pleased with the results. I would like to thank Megan Bone for doing the theatrical make-up for my model, I was going to use charcoal, but someone told me I shouldn’t be doing that! I also had an idea for using talcum powder to make the atmosphere more dramatic, by making it smoky. The tutor said this wouldn’t make a difference and that it would only make the backdrop messy. The photographs are dark, but I intended to make them dark as I wanted to make the photo realistic so that it looked like they had been taken in the mines.