Shape

Shape

Definition & Theory

• A shape is an area enclosed by a line. It could be just an outline or it could be shaded in.

• Shapes can be either geometric, like a circle, square or triangle, or irregular.

• When drawing shapes, you must consider the size and position as well as the shape of the area around it. The shapes created in the spaces between shapes are referred to as negative space.

Bill Brandt

Comment on how Brandt has used negative space to create this intriguing composition:

Brandt has used negative space by making the arm form a triangular shape to make use of the space of the frame. Her face and body are also making up a lot of the frame, leaving only a little bit of negative space around her arm. The contrast between the negative space and her form, as well as the shadow on the side of her face makes the image intriguing and mysterious in some sense. He may have also used negative space to highlight the female form.

Write an account of how you respond to this image and it's connotations. Is this art or sexual objectification?

I feel as though this image is art and is not sexual objectification but actually represents her vulnerability. This is shown through her being in her natural female form, a shadow covering half her face and her hand positioned to cover some of her face. If she was confident, she would be facing the camera and she would not have her hand in front of her face. This could possibly show she is hiding away from someone or something.

Research (of artists and techniques) 

Irving Penn

Irving Penn (June 16, 1917 – October 7, 2009) was an American photographer known for his fashion photography, portraits, and still likes. Penn's career included work at Vogue magazine, and independent advertising work for clients including Issey Miyake and Clinique. His work has been exhibited internationally and continues to inform the art of photography. A lot of his still life images contain shape in them. Penn was among the first photographers to pose subjects against a simple grey or white backdrop and he effectively used this simplicity. Penn constructed a set of upright angled backdrops, to form a stark, acute corner.

Some of the above images were photographed using black and white film and some were taken in colour. They are all similar and it is clear that he has his own photographic style when it comes to creating images and putting together his compositions. Most of the images that I have selected as examples are still life. The still life images show a clear definition of shape and its many forms.

Bill Brandt

Bill Brandt ( born 2 May 1904 – 20 December 1983) was a British photographer and photojournalist. Although born in Germany, Brandt moved to England, where he became known for his images of British society for such magazine as Lilliput and Picture Post, later his distorted nudes, portraits of famous artists and landscapes. He is widely considered to be one of the most important British photographers of the 20th century. In 1933 Brandt moved to London and began documenting all levels of British society. This kind of documentary was uncommon at that time. Brandt published two books showcasing this work, The English at Home (1936) and A Night in London (1938). He was a regular contributor to magazines such as Lilliput, Picture Post, and Harper's Bazaar. He documented the Underground bomb shelters of London during The Blitz in 1940, commissioned by the Ministry of Information.

I gained inspiration from this by producing my own images based on shape and trying to recreate the style of Bill Brandt, trying to recreate the images of hands and objects and then further editing them into both black and white, and some colour using Photoshop, depending on what works best for the image in order to enhance the shape aspect of the photograph.

Image Bank

The following images were added as part of my visual research.

The above pictures are a collection of photographs that represent the visual element of shape. These are also images that I felt that I could recreate well myself. These images show various different forms of shape. They are also taken with a variety of different angles and with different techniques which I hope that I am able to do within my own work.

(AO1:  You must ensure that several of the visual ideas/inspirations within the image bank are pursued.)

Selected Images

Contact sheet(s)

My Best Images (target 4 - 6)

I selected the following as my best images:

Images that require improvement. 

(AT LEAST 2 IMAGES)

There were two images that I selected that needed improvement for a variety of reasons. The first image that I selected I decided needed improvement because I felt as though I didn't capture the image in the right way. What I intended to do was to create negative space using the light from the background of the image. As I discovered when I took the image, it was not light enough to create a more defined silhouette of the ukulele. If I was to improve on this image, I would find a more suitable place to put the ukulele, possibly somewhere with a brighter background so the object became more defined and the use of negative space could be more effective. I would have also taken it somewhere with a simpler background so the main focus of the image is the ukulele itself.

The second image is an image that I felt needed improvement for various different reasons. One of these reasons is that the image itself is blurred and is not sharp enough to be able to capture the element of shape in the photo. If the image was sharper, I would have been able to define shape in a better way, both using the camera itself and editing in Photoshop. Another reason is that the stones are not on a simple background, but are surrounded with other stones and soil, so the main focus cannot really be the stones themselves. If I was to improve on this image, I would take the stones from that background and put them in a simpler background to make them the focus of the image. Additionally to this, I would use a tripod to ensure that the image was completely still so that it could be focused on the shape of the image.

AO3: Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions, reflecting critically on work and progress.

The main idea that I had and the main reason for creating images of shape was that I felt that throughout Harlow, there are various different places and building structures that convey shape in an interesting way. Some are more traditional and others are presented in a much more abstract way, and I felt I was going to be able to capture this well. A lot of my images were inspired by the work of Bill Brandt due to the fact they focus on the photography of hands and other abstract shapes. I tried to recreate this in the photos I took with the visual element 'shape' in mind.

The images that I retrieved from my time exploring Harlow turned out well and I felt that overall, I captured the visual element of 'shape' well. However, due to this being the first time I have used my camera in manual mode, there were certain aspects of my work that I felt could have been improved due to not knowing a lot of the camera settings when in manual mode, and to improve I would like to continue working on these skills.

With reference to the Best selected images... 

I I have six images that I feel are my best images that convey the visual element of shape in the best way. The first image is a close up of an ornament at my house. I chose this as one of my images as I felt that the shape of that particular part of the ornament was interesting, and with editing I feel as though the shape within the image could be accentuated as well as possible. The next image is one that I took in a Harlow forest from a low angle. The trees surrounding the area give the composition a nice shape, which I felt was appropriate for this visual element.

The next image is an image of raindrops on a garden table. I chose this image as I thought that it conveyed an interesting shape when the raindrops collected together in small puddles. The light reflecting off of the raindrops also accentuated the shape. The image of the hands I decided to take because I felt that this related to images by Bill Brandt and his images of hands. In editing at a later stage, I would like to edit them into black and white with a high contrast to relate to his work. The other images I chose because I felt that they represented shape in a good way, however I feel as though some of them could be retaken to improve them significantly.

The two images that I chose as my images that needed improvement were images that I felt that I could take again and work on the composition of the image. I would have either tried to keep the camera as still as possible or I would change the angle in order to accentuate the shape present with the image. In order to improve my images, I would also like to understand how my camera works better in manual mode, as I think this would improve my images a significant amount.

AO2: Explore and select appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques and processes, reviewing and refining ideas as work develops.

For all of the above images, I used a CANON EOS 1300D. I have not used my camera a lot before in manual mode so I feel as though I could still learn a lot about the different settings and that this would improve on my image compositions in a hugely positive way. For most of these images, the flash was on so I could capture shape in the sharpest way possible. For some of the images the flash was not on as this worked better for that specific image. To capture more detail, I would shoot with a flash if needed as I feel like this would capture more detail in the image.

If I were to reshoot this image again I would use a tripod to hold the camera steady and try to improve on the sharpness of the image, as I feel that I would be able to create a better composition in terms of contrast and detail.

In order to improve on the images that I took, I decided to import them into Photoshop in order to enhance them and improve on their composition and the way that they have been shot. In order to do this, I decided to put them into black and white in order to accentuate the contrast within the image.

The screen grabs that I have selected show how I used Photoshop to create a high contrast black and white image. To do use this, I used the Curves tool and the Black and White tool, gradually adjusting the colour sliders to get the clear contrast effect.

AO1: Develop ideas through sustained and focused investigations informed by contextual and other sources, demonstrating analytical and critical understanding. 

The artist research that I did was extremely helpful in the fact that I was able to gain an understanding of the different artists and their different styles. Knowing about when they were born and where they were born helps me to interpret their work and understand what they were thinking when they took a certain image. Researching images that they have created helps me to try and recreate these images and then shooting my own images in their style. For example, my research on Bill Brandt helped me to choose to take photos of hands and edit them with a high contrast, rather than with no editing. Additionally to this, I was able to get a better understanding of the visual element 'shape' and the various different types.

AO4:Present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and, where appropriate, makes connections between visual and other elements. 

Overall, I think that I have produced a good series of images inspired by my research of line, composition and the images of mainly Bill Brandt through the use of the daisy and the hands...  The final images produced were changed by developing the contrast and converting them into black and white images. If I was to improve I would have someone holding a flower to try and accurately recreate the Bill Brandt photo, rather than having them as two separate compositions.