This document reflects on Abygail Jones' final portraiture photography project. It summarizes the technical and creative aspects of each photo, including the use of black and white vs. color, props, lighting, composition, and post-production techniques. It also discusses the influences of photographers Annie Leibovitz and Irving Penn. Peer feedback praised photos 5 and 8 in particular for their storytelling ability. The document evaluates Abygail's growth in skills like depth of field, exposure, editing, and time management. Overall it finds the photos fulfilled the goal of conveying meaning and questions to viewers.

1. Reflecting on my Work
Task 7
Abygail Jones

2. Visual Language?
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Each one of my final photographs differs
from the other, although almost every image
has one corresponding factor, which is that
the central focus of each is the
subject/model, apart from image 6 where
the central focus is the beer can.
The majority of my images are in black and
white although three of them are in full, vivid
colour to outline certain aspects such as the
first image is supposed to come off as
childish and silly, through enhancing the vivid
colouring of the shirt, I think I have achieved
this.
The black and white photos have as much
impact and reasoning as the full colour
images do, through the use of levels and
curves after turning the image black and
white, I have managed to outline important
features, expressions and put emotion and
feeling in to some images, such as image 3
where I have used these techniques to show
that the model/subject is in distress.
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There is some symbolic reasoning behind
using certain props in my images for
example: the makeup and bright shirt that I
used in image 1 was to outline the childish
aspect – not a lot of people wear this sort of
clothing with pride and as a child, you don’t
really care what you’re wearing and so
equipping this was proving that point, the
second image the model is wearing formal
clothing this was because the image effect
was supposed to be professional.

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Visual Language
Leading lines is not a common composition
that I have used in my photographs – I have
however effectively used it in image 5 – the
line directs you to look from the back of the
head of the model to the reflection of her – I
think it’s the eyes that the viewers would
follow, they may even start by looking at the
reflection and then looking at the back of the
models head.
I have also used it in image 6 with the beer
can, you look at that first as it’s the most
sharply focused thing in the entire image, then
the viewer takes in the background and
realises that there is someone in the
background looking at the can – it poses the
question: “does the person want the beer?”,
“are they an alcoholic?”, “Why are they
looking at the beer can?”, “is there someone
they know that is an alcoholic?”, “Are they
worried?”, “What is their expression?”, “why
are they stood the way they are?”, “What does
the beer can represent?”, “What does the
whole image represent?”, “what is the story?”
and so on.

4. Audience?
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Portraiture photography is pretty
popular with a majority of different
age and social groups.
Portraiture has been around a lot
longer than any other kind of
photography – portraits in general
have been around for decades.
The way I see it is that if I was to
open up my own studio and I put my
8 final images up as examples of my
work, I think it would appeal more to
younger audiences from roughly
around 12 – 30+ and the only way
younger or older audiences would be
interested would be because the
supposed 12 – 30+ audience has
influenced them to try – for family
portraits, first pictures and so on.
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I think females would be more
interested in getting portraiture
photographs with either friends,
family or by themselves – males
could be equally as interested but I
think it appeals to girls more.

5. Context?
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Annie Leibovitz was a huge inspiration for me
during the research process – her images are
unique, interesting and they always manage
to capture a little bit of the person that she is
photographing – when it comes to
celebrities, she always makes sure to outline
that certain something that tells us
something about that celebrity that we
didn’t know – whether that’s a serious actor
in a ridiculous pose or through the use of
props.
Annie Leibovitz is a modern photographer
although she has been in the field since
1971.
I like the idea that each one of her images
tells a story and I really wanted to
incorporate that in to my own images – I
think I have managed to do this – at least in
some images such as 3 and 7 in particular.
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Another photographer that has influenced
me greatly is Irving Penn, his images were
known for being calm yet classy – I liked his
style a lot – mostly the way he managed to
make any model almost candid and natural
even though the images were always high
key and artificial.
Although I enjoy his style, I pretty much did
the exact opposite and attempted to make
some of my images loud and shocking – such
as image 7.
I think if my work was going to be used for
any kind of commercial practice it would be
in magazine help pages or on billboards, web
pages or advertisements for things such as:
mental health, health in general and care –
things like: self harm, depression (images 3,
5, 6 and 7).

6. Realization and Fitness for Purpose
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Originally I set out to make my images half
and half images – for example: image 1 was
supposed to have on one half an image of my
model, Shania, happy bright and colorful and
the other half was supposed to be the model
in dark clothing with a sad expression – I
found it hard to align the faces and features
and so I gave up on that idea and moved on
to another one.
Using the same poses/makeup and clothing
ideas – I took full portraits instead of just half
and used a handful in the end to put through
post production.
If I was going to do this project again I would
probably try harder to stick with my original
ideas or maybe use a mixture of my old ideas
and new – making a few images half and half
and some full portraits. I think if I could go
back and change some things I’d try to make
less black and white images and try to use
colour a lot more because the majority of my
images were black and white.
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The purpose of my images was to tell the
viewer a story with one picture just like
Annie Leibovitz’ – I think I have achieved that
with some images such as: 3,5 and 6
although one or two are just of the model
smiling – they don’t really tell a story.
I think my images have fulfilled my purpose –
even though some of them are just of the
model smiling – it could pose the question:
why is she smiling? I think my final
photographs are good and I think some of
them could end up in galleries and could
potentially shock people because of how
brutally honest some are such as images 7
and 3 which have a very serious undertone.

7. Technical Qualities
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All of my images are in focus – the images
that were not so much in focus as the
others that went through post production
was not picked for my final 8. I’ve used
Aperture to make the background of some
images less in focus than the actual
model/subject whose clothes and features
are sharply in focus.
The images are lit adequately, I do like how
the lighting is natural and ambient and the
only artificial lighting was used for image 7
– but some of the images could have been
lit a little better – a lot of images had
potential but had to be scrapped because
they were not correctly lit.
Most of my images had the right exposure,
only a few didn’t and they did not make it
in to the final 8, nor did they make it in to
the post production process.
This is one of the potential images that didn’t
make it because the subject’s hands are
blurred and she’s slightly out of focus.
Here is another example of a potential image
that didn’t make it because of the lighting.

8. Aesthetic Qualities?
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I think the majority or my final images
are interesting and unique – I feel that
if I was someone who hadn’t ever seen
the photographs before I would be
intrigued by some of the images, I
would have a lot of questions – in
image 3, why is the girl in distress? Is
she in distress? Is she scared, tired,
angry?
Shania: I think that photograph one is
the most interesting because it is
bright and colourful. It also shows a
different personality side and that you
can have a lot of fun with
photography.
I think my images have come out really
well, I was pleased with the way they
were even before post production
because they still had interesting
aesthetical qualities – they were still
eye catching and intriguing.
Before
After

9. Skills and Knowledge Gains?
Technical Competence
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With the use of Aperture, changing the settings to F16, I
managed to control the depth of field quite well – you can
easily see this in images: 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. The background is
slightly blurred in contrast to the main subject i.e. the
model.
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I didn’t have to really change the shutter speed because I
wasn’t recording any movement – but on an image that I
haven’t actually used you can see the slight movement that I
got the model to do – it was originally intended to be used
for the childish image but because of the movement I
couldn’t use it – however along the course of the project I
have learnt how to control shutter speed in order to record
movement or to prevent movement from being recorded.
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I didn’t really need to change my ISO settings – but over the
project I have learnt how to control ISO settings so that I get
the right amount of light in to each image – with my final
images, I used a lot of ambient lighting rather than artificial
lighting and therefore only had to change the ISO setting
when it was necessary such as when it was too dark or too
bright, for example I wanted image 2 to have a lot of light in
the image to highlight every detail.
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I didn’t actually change the White Balance at any point
mostly because I didn’t need there to be any kind of filter or
effect on my images.
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I have also learnt how to effectively use photoshop tools
such as: changing levels, colours adjustments & dodging and
burning.

10. Skills and Knowledge Gains?
Creative Ability
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I think that during this project, I think I have become more
creative – I also feel like I’ve been given the chance to show
my creative ability whilst also enhancing it.
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What I feel has inspired me to be more creative the most is
Annie Leibovitz , over the project I have talked very highly of
Leibovitz and her images and it’s true – the way she puts a
little bit of personality behind every single picture she takes
has inspired me greatly - especially her new Disney
collection.
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The way she has done this inspired me to try and create
images that have a story behind every single one and I think
with some I have definitely succeeded.
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I think that images such as: 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8 are my most
creative in my final 8, these images make you want to ask
questions, the image by itself speaks so many words and the
viewer comes up with their own theories and ideas and
that’s what I hope happens when people look at my images
– I really want them to see their own story in my images
rather than something that I have made up for them – every
image has a deep meaning or a meaning of some sort its
just unlocking what exactly THAT is that makes me feel
inspired.
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I feel like image 3 is the one with the most meaning and
questions behind it – that or image 6, the way the model is,
the way props are placed, the effects used, it poses so many
questions and so little answers.
Annie Leibovitz
Image 6
Image 3

11. Skills and Knowledge Gains?
Time Mangement
• I personally think that my time management has been very good – my images
were taken on the days that I needed them to be taken and at the right time so I
got the correct lighting such as:
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11:10AM – Thursday 30th January
3PM – Saturday 1st February
3PM – Tuesday 4th February
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These times enabled me to get the correct effect and lighting that I needed on my
photographs – although Tuesday 4th February was not originally planned and had
to be used due to previous photograph implications (not correct lighting – not in
focus etc.) although there was this minor mishap, I have still managed to get my
work completed for the deadline and completed everything that I needed to be
completed.
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The post production took less time than I had originally planned but it still fit in
quite well with my schedule.
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The only mishap that I had was having to take those few images again, the way I
would avoid this in the future is to thoroughly look through my taken photographs
and if I’m not happy with them, do them again to avoid ruining or changing my
timetable.

12. Peer Feedback and Responses
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Strongest Image: Image 8
The majority of my peers have selected image 8 as the
strongest image – their reasoning ranged from: “the dark
colour that’s present in the background helps the
foreground stand out and become more dramatic” to, “the
image tells a strong story which I really like”
I agree with this feedback, the whole reason behind
picking portraiture was to tell a story with my pictures like
Annie Leibovitz and I am really glad that someone picked
that up just from looking at it.
The other image that one of my peers chose as the
strongest image was image 5, they mentioned that: “it’s a
very effective image, due to the monochrome colouring
added to it, while the contrast of the white and black is
balanced evenly.”
I also agree with this statement although I don’t think that
it’s my strongest image, though it is one of the strongest.
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There was no corresponding areas for improvement but
one peer mentioned that, “a range of models could
improve this collection of images”, another that they
found, “the content quite bland and minimal” and the last
that they thought, “image 5 could maybe do with some
sharpening” I do agree with these statements and I will
use them in the future to help me improve any work.
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There was not a corresponding weakest image but the
images that my peers found the weakest were:
7 – “I don’t think it flows with the rest of the images”
3 – “there is not much white to contrast all the
darkness in the photograph”, “the image would have
been better if you could have seen some facial
emotion from the subject.”
2 – “the light caught in some of the areas of the image
is quite bright”, “the facial expression caught in the
image doesn’t portray a professional look.”
I do agree with these statements – although I disagree
with the feedback on image 3 – the whole reason that
the image is that dark is because it’s supposed to
represent fear and sadness, I have purposefully made
the image as dark as possible, although I still value
their opinion and will use it for future reference.
The majority of my peers have mentioned that my
strengths are the variation of monochrome and colour
images is a “nice balance.” I agree and it’s what I
aimed for – I didn’t want too many of one kind of
image and so incorporated two different types as
much as possible.

13. Portraiture Photography
The Final 8
Photographs and editing by Abygail Jones
Models:
Alix Burrell
Shania Carter

14. 1: Before

16. 2: Before

18. 3: Before

20. 4: Before

22. 5: Before

24. 6: Before

26. 7: Before

28. 8: Before