We were given this image by Hicham Benohoud and told to describe simply what we see without knowing any background information. I noticed that you can't see anyones face specifically so it adds a sense of mystery. The photograph is a portrait of a boy standing on a stool just a little bit right from the centre, while there are six children in the background doing school work most likely. It's an odd photograph because the subject (supposedly the boy on the stool) contrasts the children in the back- he is doing something abnormal that you wouldn't usually see in a strict classroom while the children at the back are seriously studying. The walls are blank and empty, so it makes the kids in the background stand out and it emphasises the fact that they are serious about their schoolwork. In a classroom you would usually find posters and pictures because children are visual learners, so it made me think that the children are definitely in a strict country with not a lot of money to decorate their classrooms in a child friendly way. There is a light at the top of the photograph that is just above the boys head, and i noticed that there is a lot of negative space at the top half of the photograph but a lot of darkness and shadows at the bottom half. There are high levels of contrast.
RESPONSE TO HICHAM BENOHOUD
We had a set task to create collaborate with a partner and create two main portraits that we thought have worked succesfuly. This activity required us to:
loosen u
play with possibilities
be open to doing things differently
take creative risks
be tolerant, be open to happy accident
I went into this project with no clear vision of what I want. There was a big table with a wide range of props and I gravitated towards the bright yellow umbrella, mirror and the bubble wrap. We had to take two portrait photographs (one inside and one outside). I had access to the studio that had two lights on each side that created a beautiful scene where half of it was warm due to the warm light and the other half was cold due to the blond light. I directed Cian to stand where the lights touch which made him have two different lights on each side of him. I loved the way the lighting was set up so I didn't want to use flash which would interfere with the whole set up. I asked Cian to take the umbrella and spin it. The camera would then capture Cian clearly, but the umbrella would be blurry due to it moving. This photograph worked nicely, but I didn't feel like it was enough so I gave him the mirror and placed it in a certain way so I could capture both him and his reflection.