Developing visual language


Although these photos aren't quite developed enough to be final outcomes, they express the initial idea of expressing different personality types by experimenting with different lights, poses and facial expressions.


 The photos were taken using different types of studio lights as well as using different angles of light. These captured the feel of a variety of different personality types by expressing different emotions and atmospheres.









 In the first two images, a low, soft light was used and combined with gentle, relaxed poses to create the effect of a care-free personality. The soft light also creates subtle shadows, rather than harsh ones, making the atmosphere appear more gentle and feminine.


 The third image was created by placing several large, flat, white surfaces around the subject to reflect light. This gave the image a powerful, striking atmosphere that could describe a bold, confident personality.

The fourth image uses the same type of lighting the third used; the only difference is the background is black. This is not an effective photo as it send off mixed signals about the personality and doesn't communicate very well. It also has a very unnatural effect which also factors in to why this photo doesn't work well.

The fifth photo is similar to the last, although the light is slightly lower and the pose if much different; much more relaxed.
This is sill not an extremely effective photo. However, it seems to be a stronger image, overall, than the last.

The qualities of the next photo is a huge contrast to the previous ones; it is much darker and more negative. The harsh shadows communicate the idea of an unfriendly, untrustworthy personality (the reason for this feeling of lack of trust in the personality is because half of the identity ((the face)) is hidden).What's especially important is the fact that the entire right eye and most of the left eye is covered by shadows. The eyes are where a person generally looks when interacting with them; it gives us a sense of their feelings, emotions and possible even qualities of their personalities.


A light directed to the side of the subject was used, this created a long shadow that covered half of the face, the left arm was also positioned into the the view of the light (this created a more fluid, dynamic feel.
Since one of the eyes of the subject is fully visible here, there isn't too much of a feeling of an untrustworthy personality. Instead, his seems to give off more of a feeling of mysteriousness.

In the last image, the subject is almost completely surrounded by darkness. The only part of the body that is immediately visible is the arm that is within the line of light.The next things that seem to be the most noticeable are the gleaming eye (small amount of light reflecting from the eye) and the very low amount of light towards the centre of the face. This makes this photo quite haunting, giving off a the feeling of a reserved, lonely person.

These photos were then looked over whilst the specific type of personality that I wanted to give off was thought over aswell. The stronger images that communicated my ideas the best were then chosen and later developed into more finalised, stronger outcomes.