Work Diary - Multiple Flash

Shoot Evaluation:
I thoroughly enjoyed learning about this particular technique because the results are very unusual yet stunning. I believe that with the right topic/theme in photography, this would be a highly interesting technique to experiment with, but the only downside to conducting this shoot today was that I saw no way I could progress this technique into my own topic of contrasts. However, now that I know how to set-up this technique properly, I think that it would be fun to experiment with this and contrasts in the future if I have time - who knows the results could look amazing?

Whilst initially this looked like this was going to be a really difficult technique to setup as I don't particularly enjoy working in the studio, once I was learning hands-on myself, I found the process to be quite easy and surprisingly enjoyable, as it gave me an insight into what working in a real studio would be like, due to needing extra helpers for the lights and the flash. What I did find difficult about the shoot is that as we were in the studio in larger groups, we had limited space and time to work with - with little preparation - so I felt pressured to think of some simple, yet original poses and shot types to work with - but at the end of the day it was only an experimental shoot needed to teach me the basics of the technique.

My time in the studio was divided between using two different coloured backgrounds - white and black. I think they both gave off interesting results; whilst the black background made the models stand out more, nicely showing the form of my subjects, the white background made the models look flatter, more like a 2D image but that patterns and the arrangement of the final images was more bizarre and artistic. I definitely preferred the black background because the results looked much more professional due to the lighting, but I do think that the white background could work well if I am looking to shoot something a bit more random and artistic.

I really love this photo - it is one of my favourties from all of the techniques I have conducted so far during the college year. This photo works well because of the lack in movement - only my model's arms moved - which has created a really effective design - making my model look spider-like. This photo would have been perfect if we had perhaps photographed this one particular image more than once to ensure that my model kept her body completely still to prevent the blurred movement seen across her face in particular - otherwise I'm really happy with the result. Also, I wish I had perhaps zoomed the lens out more to ensure that I captured the full length of her arms and hands after each flash, but this isn't as important as I managed to crop the final photo down so that it was even. Although it wasn't planned like this, I also think that the colours in the photo work really well with the technique specifics and the lighting. The lighting caused a really dark background which looks effective against the mixture of dark colours in her clothing. Also, the unexpected resemblance to a spider is hightened through my model wearing brown, patterned fabrics.

This particular image intended to be just an experimental piece as this technique often doesn't work well with a white background. What I do like about using the white background however is how it causes the final stages of the image to appear really faint, giving off the impression that my models are disappearing. In contrast to this, on the left-hand-side of the image, where my models' movements overlapped, a silhouette effect has also been created which looks particularly effective and adds to the creepy tone of the photo, added to by the ghostly effect in the right-hand-side of the photo. Like the other image, I would now like to perhaps re-shoot this photo, as I don't like that the lighting has created a very strong shadow on the white background on the left side of the photo. If it weren't for my models, I would have simply cropped this section out but this would have affected the actual photo too much.

How could I apply this to my personal project?
During the shoot I did start to think about how I could relate this particular technique to my personal project. So far, I think this technique is very similar to the multiple exposure technique we learnt last time, so I believe I could use this technique in a similar way to place two contrasting images together into one photo. For example, instead of getting my model to physically move after the 1st flash, I could get them to go from a smile to a frown, to show the contrast in emotions.