Photography

1. Looking at Gregory Crewdson
PHOTOGRAPHY

2. Gregory Crewdson is a contemporary
photographer born in 1962 in Brooklyn, New
York. He takes photos using professional
lighting equipment, the same as large,
Hollywood movies do. The finished
photograph therefore resembles a film still.
His photos usually look at American families
and the disturbing realities. I liked how most
movies glamorised American families,
portraying an ideal “breakfast cereal” family.
However Crewdson’s photos almost
exaggerate the disturbing reality of ‘normal’
families and portray a story about a character.

3. MY IMAGES
First shoot

4. To achieve the same kind of photos as Crewdson I used two different lights; a
light panel and a spot light. I set them up to achieve different shadows and
dramatic lighting. By doing this I was able to achieve a tense and sinister
photo, much like Crewdson.
In my photos I presented a character of a young woman struggling with some
sort of mental illness. I portrayed this by using dark and ominous lighting.

7. I cropped this photo to remove the pictures on the wall as well as the window frame.
This gave the photo a more professional feel. I like the lighting on the side of her face,
especially how it casts a shadow on the wall.

9. Again I cropped this photo to remove the photos on the left. I like the reflection
on the mirror. However because of the lighting, smudges on the mirror show up
more. Next time I would also think about the set more. For example I wouldn’t
have the guitar in the background.

11. SECOND SHOOT

12. Using what I had learnt from last time meant I was able to set out the scene
more like I wanted it to be. I was able to use the character that will feature in
my final piece as well as props (book). From my first shoot I learnt to diffuse
the light by reflecting it off a wall and then to have a brighter spotlight on the
person’s face.
SECOND SHOOT

16. FINAL THREE

17. I cropped the pictures to get the composition I wanted as well as
removing some things that didn’t fit into the scene. I feel like the
final 3 photos reflect a story and have the film still feel, same as
Crewdson's photos have. I didn’t change the exposure of any of
the pictures as I was able to achieve the light I wanted while
shooting by using a spotlight and light panel.
FINAL THREE