Hair

Diary Entry

This project was uber-frustrating. My contact sheets came out alright, but all of my final prints ended up gray. The print of Renee was the most difficult print I have ever had to produce. I had to keep changin all of the settings- the filter, the aperature, the time of exposure. I tried so many different combinations trying to get the print to work. It wasn't working. At one point I was actually up to 1000 seconds of exposure! After developing that one, it was still very white. I finally switched enlargers to see if that would help. It did. Something was wrong with the enlarger I had been working on. Of course, after switching enlargers, I had to completely start over to find the right settings. It finally came out, but it doesn't have the contrast I would like it to. The same goes for my other two prints- I wish they had more contrast. This was defiantely not my best project.

Theory Notes

Flashes need to be used when there is not enough natural light to expose the negative. Usually, you should use flashes indoors. Flashes work best when they are not mounted on the camera and are placed at an angle in reference to the subject. If the flash is placed straight in front of the subject, an unnatural reflection of the flash is usually seen on the subject. A common example of this is the redeye effect. To prevent this, the flash only needs to be moved to another angle. Another good practice when using flash photography is to point the flash at a white surface so it will reflect off of the surface onto the subject. This means that the flash is not as powerful because less light is exposed to the subject, but it has a more natural look. If you choose to use the flash in this manner, you may need to make the flash stronger and point the flash at another wall.

Light meters are used to determine what aperature and shutter speed settings you need when you take a picture. It is especially important in the circumstances where there are different levels of light intensity. For example, you would want to use a light meter if you were taking a picture of a sunrise or sunset. The most important thing to remember when using a light meter is to point it at the area of an average light intensity. This will help you to avoid one part of the image being underexposed or overexposed.

Printing Compositions

Filter 3 Aperature 5.6 Time 100- way too light

Filter 3 Aperature 5.6 Time 200- needs more time

Renee Final Print: Filter 3 Aperature 5.6 Time 230 seconds

Aperature 5.6 Time 130- needs more time- black is not dark enough

Aperature 5.6 Time 150- needs more exposure

Ines Final Print: Aperature 5.6 Time 180 seconds

Filter 3.5 Aperature 5.6 Time 600-still too light

Filter 3.5 Aperature 5.6 Time 700-still needs more time

Faith and Renee Final Print: Filter 3.5 Aperature 5.6 Time 850 seconds

Image Bank

Andy Chipling:

Chipling has been doing proffessional photography since 1979. He works with clients very well to produce beautiful images in both traditional and modern styles. I chose this image because...well, it's just really interesting. I like the puffy hair above the forehead, the colors, and the strands along the neck. It is very unique.
http://www.hair-photography.com/

Jim Crone:

Crone lives in the UK where he specializes in hair/beauty photography. He is very experienced, with over twenty years of work behind him. I chose this image because I like the way the light is reflected on the hair, giving it a faint red glow. It is very glamorous, but not in a "me, me, me" kind of way.
http://www.jimcronephotography.com/

Rick Bedrosian:

Bedrosian has been taking pictures since he was a young boy. He got opportunities to travel when he became involved in the band Hair of the Dog. He also worked as a tour guide. I chose this picture in particular because I like how depth is shown in the hair.
http://www.hair-of-the-dog.com/bio_rick/photography.htm