Thomas Longo

Thomas Longo

Thomas Longo is a talented photographer who doesn’t need any explanations to his photographs. He uses Photoshop but not in all of his work. His work is very symbolic for example the image of what appear to be a young lady with a pair of scissor placed on her tongue subjectively I feel as the images says ‘Silence is golden’. It could symbolises power and how in society we may not be able to say the thing we want to say freely without being punished or judge for it. I thought in terms of my own work it would linking in with how victims of domestic abuse want to speak out, however their abuser stop them from doing this, by cutting their words away metaphorically as they may be scared to speak out. Objectively this image uses split a lighting successfully to present a dramatic effect. Similarly to his work I aimed to represent metaphoric scenes in my work. I wanted to produce photograph, which would shock the viewer yet the message is still being addressed successfully. They would be photographs which would make the audience feel uncomfortable however speaks the truth.

Image with in a photograph

Majesty

I have chosen to analyse this images in terms of symbolism it has to attach to them. Subjectively the image shows a sign of purity as a result of the white clothing, which the model is wearing, as the light reflects of the white. The lighting is fairly vibrant and the colours in the photograph are considerably warm and saturated. The angle at which the photograph is shot at may also convey a sense of anonymously, which would be common in a victim of domestic abuse. They tend to live in secret and don’t know what people to know who they are. Subjectively it would appear that this image does not need the model in it, to understand what is happened, or the events, which have taken place before hand. It would represent the idea that the subject is missing a moment, which she once shared. The use of the image with in a photograph is also another effective technique, because as an audience we are drawn to the image, as it tells us something about the anonymous victims. I feel as though the photographs using a film camera for this shoot would also be, as it would bring out the raw graininess in the images. I would appear rather real, instead of a staged scene.

Trapped behind the glass

Définir, c'est limiter

The effective aspect of this photograph is photographing behind a window or piece of glass this is something which appears to be fairly effective as it represents the model in a way that they look trapped. It represents them in a vulnerable way, as this would be something I would very much want to achieve in my own work. The model in this image appears to be trapped and as an audience. The focus is on the models hand as it is the only area, which is in focus. This also represents an anonymous model that could and may play the victim in this image. This would relate to my topic of as this could be a possibly representation of a domestic victim. The background is fairly dark also suggesting that the model is trapped in a dark place and may want to escape from her current scene. The image is also in black and white, which may suggest that the circumstance that the model is suffering may be fairly dark and harmful to them.

Silence is Golden

The following image I have chosen to analyse is the image with the scissor against the models tough I feel though this image is symbolic as it can be interpreted as being a metaphor. The idea that a person could be so intimidating and controlling that they can cut away the words that they want to say. In terms of domestic abuse I felt as tough this linked into my work as the abuser could often stop and control what a victims does and says. They have no voice of their own. This could also be interpreted as a social issue how society controls what we say and do.

My response shoot 1: In the studio (dramatic lighting)

Thomas Longo’s studio, work appears to be fairly dark. So I took my model into the studio and used a black backdrop. I his images tend to be black and white. For my response I then went on to edit my images so that they were black and white. I placed my model in the centre of the studio so that all the attention was on her. I then ask the model to place their hand in the shoot to as an abuser.

I was pleased with the lighting in all my shots and I felt they were all fairly dramatic. For the first image I used the split lighting to add a sense of wonder. We wonder why the model is feeling this way. I wanted to portray a victim who appeared to venerable as a result of domestic violence.

The second image exposes the victim, and the abuser, this symbolises that audience cannot understand what is going on behind closed doors. We only understand had of the story and through these images I wanted to demonstrate the idea of exposure, and the events, which take place within the household. The model is covering her face in fear of what the abuser is doing to her.

I was pleased with the way these images were produced and I feel as though used Thomas Longo as a guideline for this shoot. I do feel as though his style is reflected in my work. However I would like to start to take photographs outside the studio. I want to show different styles of photographer for example outdoors photographer and using natural lighting to create various effects.

Shoot 2: Wet windows

I then started experimenting with an outdoor shoot. I wanted to take photographs of my model in the rain with my model standing on the other side of the window. I feel as though this is effective as this symbolises that the victims is trapped behind this wall which we can not see, it creates a barrier between the audience the abusers. It is often that we miss the signs of domestic abuse because we cannot see them; this is demonstrated through the glass window. The rain also stresses a sense of vulnerability.

I then edited my images by, changing the contrast and converting them into black and white images. I feel as though the black and white edit is more effective in comparison to the original image, it demonstrates a sense of mystery. I also attempted to vary the focus points which seemed to be effective as this suspended the victim’s identity which could symbolise that as society we may not notice victims of abuse, as the abuse is not always physical. For my next shoot in order to move forward I wanted to experiment with taking the lighting kit home and photographing a model in a home setting , in order to add realism into my work. I want to explore the literal conception in this shoot. I would benefit my work, if I consider the position of the light, as this could create some successful images. 

Home shoot  

   For my home shoot, I wanted to take a lighting kit home and attempt to use this is my main source of light. I wanted to represent a victim in their home environment looking fairly distressed. I also experimenting with using a mirror as I feel as though mirrors are symbolic as they can represent a literal situation but also a metaphoric representation.I was inspired by the image of that Longo produced which contains a girl carrying another image close to her chest.

After my shoot I was pleased with the effect of the lighting kit however I was pleased with the ways my images looked. I felt as though I should have used plain clothing and bet sheets as I feel as though there are various distraction with in the image such as the models tops and the design of the bed sheets. If I was to re shoot this shot I would take into considerations these aspects, so all of our focus point is on the model and nothing else surrounding her.