Form

Definition & Theory
A shape is an area enclosed by a line. It could be just an outline or it could be shaded in. Form is a three-dimensional shape, such as a cube, sphere or cone; tone is used to create this. In 2D artworks, tone and perspective can be used to create an illusion of form.

Research

Billy Kidd

Billy Kidd is a well-renowned model photographer. He has captured many celebrities and models for advertisements, fashion and personal portfolios; his signature work is always monochrome.

This portrait of Merethe Hopland in front of a white backdrop owns a distorted appearance; this is due to Hopland being in a tensed body positioning and her facial expression being distorted. The photo is black and white, preventing any unbiased focal points from colour. The tones are mainly in the 5 to 10 zone from the zone system; this makes the photo brighter and appear softer, which is typical for female portraiture. The use of light to the left of Hopland creates shadowing, this obviously defines her three-dimensional form. The white backdrop and clothing, with also the harsh light makes this photo harsh in brightness. Since Hopland has tensed up her body, her shoulders are revealing muscle definitions which creates crevasses that are revealed by the use of light; they appear as dark craters on her skin which empathizes the distortion on her top half. The composition is an eye-level portrait, this makes sure the level of power between Hopland and the viewer automatically even as if the viewer is standing with Hopland. The background is plain so the only focal point is Hopland herself. Her arms are slightly cut off in the photo showing that the focus is the centre of her body and her positioning, this shows that the distortion is an intentional effect.

Image Bank

These photos represent the type of photos I personally enjoy and believe represent form the way I wish to present it. The human body is very intriguing and can be captured in intricate ways, the use of light being the most common but also the most effective I personally think. These photos are captured from Billy Kidd since he is my main and strong inspiration, his portraiture is majority of the time enhanced by the use of light on the subject; their form is presented by this. I find the dramatic but tranquil appearance on the subjects enticing for a viewer and believe it makes more of a story on the subject. I personally enjoy this style of work greatly and plan for my form portfolio to own this appearance of professional lighting use in portraiture.

Selected Photos

Contact Sheet

These are my raw photos for form, captured on my DSLR camera.

Best Photos
These are my best-captured photos, untouched.

Photos that require improvement

I believe these photos do not present form in the sense I intended. For both photos I find the lighting to be positioned poorly. For the first photo, the shutter speed was at 1/8, aperture at F8, and the exposure at ISO 1600. The way I am facing away from the light source causes for half my face to be completely covered by shadow and not being picked up by the camera. I believe if my head were to be positioned differently, this matter would be more appealing and quite dramatic, but that's not the case, so it isn't a flattering angle. If I were to retake this photo, I would reposition the light so more features on my right side would be revealed, creating an even blend into revealing form.

For the second photo, the shutter speed was at 1/8, aperture at F8, and the exposure at ISO 1600. The way I am facing away from the light source means my facial features will not be picked up that well from the camera since there is no light to reveal them. I feel as though this ruined the quality of form in this photo since you can't really see my face. If I were to retake this photo, I would reposition the lighting so my face (mainly my eyes) could be seen better; making the photo more flattering.

AO3: Record ideas, observations, and insights relevant to intentions reflecting critically on work and progress.

My ideas

My ideas for recording form was based on full inspiration from Billy Kidd's portraiture work, his heavy use of tone and alternative beauty is something I admire and enjoy for portraiture and form. People photography I believe represents form in the best way because people can create comedic, pure and dark emotions in photos, leaving so much option with how to present form. I believe my photos reached my intentions and inspiration since the use of light created an appearance that reveals form on myself in the photos. They own a slightly tranquil feeling, like Kidd's work and also appear dramatic.

Reference to my best photos

The first photo of me looking to the right into the light was inspired by a photo I saw on social media of a simple portrait. The shutter speed was at 1/8, aperture at F8, and the exposure at ISO 1600. I put this as one of my best since I believe the even blend of tone on my face creates an effective appearance of form. The positioning of my face makes the light hit my face on the shadow side; this creates a less harsh appearance, making the photo more calming.

The third photo of my arm and my hand in a clicking position was inspired by my fascination of the human form. The shutter speed was at 1/8, aperture at F8, and the exposure at ISO 1600. I find this to be one of the best photos because the use of light and shadowing reveals the form of my arm quite professionally. The clicking position of my hand makes this photo suggest motion; which makes it more enticing to a viewer.

The last photo of my top half facing the source of the light wasn't particularly inspired by anything, besides the model poses of Kidd's work. The shutter speed was at 1/8, aperture at F8, and the exposure at ISO 1600. Since I'm fully facing towards the light, the features of my face should be shown harshly; this wasn't the case since I'm facing slightly down, allowing the light to appear subtle on my face, grabbing all the highlight zones on a face. My arms positioning cause it to own harsh lighting, but this seemed to appear well since it creates a contrast and a suggestion of motion; as said before this is more enticing to a viewer. The subtle lighting makes this photo tranquil, like Kidd's work but also own a dramatic setting due to my facial expression and the setting in general.

AO2: Explore and select appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques, and processes, reviewing and refining ideas as work develops.

Use of Camera

I used a Nikon D3400 DSLR camera and a tripod for every photo taken. Since these photos were taken of myself, I had to capture myself using self-timer while my camera was on a tripod, I used someone else to make sure all the camera settings, focus, and alignments were right. The camera was in manual mode, shutter speed being at 1/8 fraction of a second, aperture on F8, and exposure at ISO 1600 since the light setting was dark. Once making sure everything was set right, I put the camera on self-timer (taking a photo every 5 seconds for 5 photos each time) and captured myself in various poses.

Final Pieces

Since my photo inspiration was Billy Kidd, whose work is all black and white, and this is form, I need to remove all saturation and enhance the texture in the photos. So I put my photos onto Photoshop.
I firstly pressed CTRL+SHIFT+U to remove all saturation from the photo. Then pressing CTRL+L to open up 'Levels...' and dragging the lighter mid-tones and light tones up since this photo were in a darker setting, to bring out more contrast in the photos.

Then pressing CTRL+M to open up 'Curves', firstly dragging the centre of the line slightly up to bring out the light spots on my skin. Then dragging the lower end of the line slightly down to darken the shadows, making a dramatic contrast between the light spots and shadows on the skin.

AO1: Develop ideas through sustained and focused investigations informed by contextual and other sources, demonstrating analytical and critical understanding.

My portfolio inspiration being Billy Kidd helped me feel more comfortable and have a clearer view on how I wanted to represent form. His work presents the human form in dramatic/aggressive but also tranquil/calming ways, which is something I always found fascinating. Form can be presented in many ways since the majority of photography work is captured with three-dimensional appearances, light is the main ingredient to present form, with the use of tone, you can see the shape and dimensional of things. I've learned from this topic my love for human life photography, and how natural it feels to me, so in the future I plan to continue this style of work.

AO4: Present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and, where appropriate, makes connections between visual and other elements.  

I believe my final pieces for form represent my intentions the best way possible. They own a slightly calming setting while still appearing dramatic with the tone contrasts. The use of light (i.e. tone) helps reveal the form of the subject (me). These are my final pieces for form.