PhotoWise Masterclass

David Penprase

Description

For most keen amateur photographers, developing an identifiable personal style is something to which they aspire. This PhotoWise book explores the development of David Penprase's own unique style and approach to photography. In this highly personal and revealing study, David takes us on a journey from his early photographic beginnings to the refinement and sophistication of his later work. He also reveals the alchemical recipes for his edgy and thought-provoking photographs in detailed captions for the 79 images included herein. As well as a personal account of the author's own development as a photographer, Developing a Photographic Style is also a masterclass on such topics as: influences; working with models; studying and critiquing your own work; discussing your work and accepting criticism from others; previsualisation; lighting and ... post-production. Developing a Photographic Style is both inspiring and challenging for keen amateur photographers who want to take their photography to the next level. The book provides the opportunity to learn from an experienced professional photographer who offers us his insights on the origins of his own unique style.

Informations

• Publié par: RHE Media Limited
• Date de parution: 12 juin 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781910226339
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

MASTERCLASS
DEVELOPING A PHOTOGRAPHIC STYLE
By DAVID PENPRASE


www.RHEMediaPhotography.co.uk

RHE Media Photography Titles
Series Editor: Tony Worobiec


Photographing Landscape and Weather by Tony Worobiec
Using Free Image Manipulation Software by Peter Cope
Exploring Black and White Photography: An Introduction by Paul Gallagher
Camera Kids: Photography Projects for Children by Paul Sanders and Rachel Riley


MASTERCLASS TITLES:
Developing a Photographic Style by David Penprase
For more information about our PhotoActive and PhotoWise series please visit our Photography website at www.RHEMediaPhotography.co.uk


Copyright © David Penprase 2015
This book was first published in 2015 by:
RHE Media Ltd
5 Pennsylvania Crescent
Exeter
EX4 4SF
www.RHEMediaPhotography.co.uk
ISBN 978-1-910226-33-9 (eBook)
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from RHE Media Ltd.
Disclaimer and warning: David Penprase’s photographs are often erotic and thought-provoking, and include both male and female nudity. The models have been treated with the utmost respect and were all fully aware of the type of photographs the author creates before agreeing to take part. This is a book on photographic techniques by a highly respected and celebrated photographer and many of the images herein have been displayed in galleries and in other public forums. The author and publisher can bear no responsibility whatsoever for individual and personal reactions to the images included herein but we here give clear warning that if you are easily offended by nudity and erotica then this is not a book for you.
The copyright in all the photographs in this book belongs to the author David Penprase. For permission to use any of the images included here please pass your request to the publisher, who will then forward the request to the author.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
This is a fixed layout ebook designed using the Merryweather typeface from Google fonts.
www.BluewavePublishing.co.uk


www.RHEMediaPhotography.co.uk

Contents
FOREWORD
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
1. INTRODUCTION
2. PROFILE
3. WORKING TOWARD A STYLE
4. INFLUENCES – HOW IMPORTANT ARE THEY?
5. WORKING WITH MODELS
6. TAKE YOUR TIME
7. STUDYING YOUR OWN WORK
8. DISCUSSING AND CRITIQUING
9. PRE-VISUALISATION
10. LIGHTING - KEEP IT SIMPLE
11. CAPTURE
12. DARKROOM AND POST-PRODUCTION
13. FINAL SAY
14. EQUIPMENT/PRODUCTS
15. THE GALLERY

FOREWORD

W hat is ‘style?’ It is one of those illusive qualities that is difficult to define, but easily recognised. Sadly it is often confused with a mannered method of working that serves as a veneer, disguising an otherwise uninteresting image. With the advent of Photoshop and other similar editing software, photographers are easily seduced into areas of manipulation that do not do justice to their original image. Style comes from the soul and cannot be created by the whimsical touch of a button.
When commissioning this book, David’s name was the first we considered; it was an easy decision as I am fortunate to have one of his wonderful creations hanging on my wall. I have long admired his photography, his skill, his passion and, most importantly, his honesty. But what makes this photographer so uniquely qualified to discuss such a difficult and contentious subject as style?
First, he is one of a dwindling group of photographers still working in the dark room. This is not to say that one cannot achieve a genuine sense of style when working digitally; it is just that when working with film, the temptation to introduce facile layers doesn’t exist.

Anyone who knows this photographer is aware that he is a true ‘master craftsman’. His wonderful images are immediately recognisable as they all have that ‘Penprase’ stamp of originality.
Second, his superb mastery of lighting. Examine the work of the great painters of the past and you will see that the unique mood of each of the canvases has been achieved by a fundamental understanding of light. David Penprase shows the same canny awareness.
Third, he shows an admirable capacity to introduce narrative into all his images. David truly develops the notion that ‘every picture tells a story’; the images he produces are deep, sometimes dark, yet always engaging. He positively invites the viewer to interpret his images on a personal level. What I also find remarkable is that he is prepared to share and develop his ideas with the model he is photographing. This shows not only a disarming modesty, but also a fundamental understanding that the most interesting outcomes often occur as a result of collaboration.
Finally, he understands that photography has its own cultural heroes; by studying the great photographers of the past, he shows a contextual appreciation of style

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

that he is able to draw on when developing his own. He understands that we should never work in a vacuum and that we can learn from one another.
He has had numerous publications printed over the years, all considered ‘classics’ by those who have bought them. Irrespective of the subject, his attention to detail, his natural capacity to compose, coupled with a deep understanding of light, leaves the viewer enchanted by the imagery. Added to this is his forthright and unpretentious style of writing. I have not the slightest doubt that you will find this publication a great help and inspiration to your own development as a photographic artist.
Tony Worobiec, April 2015

MANY THANKS
Many thanks to my friends for their continued support.
Geoff Squibb of Cornish Pixels for digital adjustments.
Andy Reid for copying my fibre prints onto digital format.
Chas Halsey at Focal Point Imaging.
Toby Herlinger at Fotospeed for Toners.
Phil Jones at Associated Photography.

1 . INTRODUCTION

A chieving a distinctive style is something to which we all aspire. Probably the greatest compliment we can receive is for someone to recognise an image as being ours. Within these pages you will, in easy terms, understand the journey to attaining a style, and I have approached this in an inspirational way, rather than as a tutorial.
This is definitely not a techniques-based book; there are hundreds of those to choose from. It is more about how I approached my chosen subject and how you can adopt a similar approach though, importantly, from your own perspective. The book will show you my reasoning and it will show you why we need to consider our imagery from the initial idea and carry it through to the final print. Although I work with film these principles apply to the digital worker as much as to the analogue one. There are no long-winded ‘art speak’ explanatory pages of text, just down-to-earth explanations of my own personal development. While acknowledging good technique as being very necessary it should never, in my opinion, override content and interpretation.

The images commence with my early, uncomplicated figure studies and move through to the current, more conceptual, work, where the images are planned thoroughly before we step into the studio. These images and their explanatory texts are, of course, an expression of my personal opinions and feelings. You may not agree with everything but I trust that it will encourage you to take your photography to another level and on to the development of your own personal style.

2. PROFILE

I was a very late starter, buying my first camera at the age of 40. However, in no time at all, photography took over my life. I was immediately obsessed with black and white film and being in the darkroom with its seemingly limitless avenues for personal creativity; it resulted in my spending the next few years in there at every available hour. It was during the printing stage that the realisation of the mood and atmosphere I felt at the point of capture could, with practice, be interpreted and put into the print. I believe that imagery should not just be an accurate portrayal of our chosen subject, whether that be landscape, still life or the figurative. It has to be more than a just a record; it should have intent, content and, importantly, affect the viewer on an emotional as well as visual level.
Like most people, in the early days, I photographed anything that moved and pretty well everything else that didn’t; from rusty old drainpipes, paint peeled

doors to landscape and seascape. But it was portraiture and figurative studies that grabbed me and, when someone whose opinion I valued said ‘stick to your portraits’, I did. Of course what he probably meant was that the landscapes were rubbish!
With the unpredictable Cornish weather I soon warmed to the total control of studio lighting. In those early days I would go in the studio with little or nothing planned. It was all new and, by working my way through a session, I always ended up with something useable and, to some degree, fresh to me on my learning curve. Gradually I added new images to my portfolio.
The process of selection was important too. I remember being at a lecture back in the 1980s and I’ve never forgotten the speaker asking the audience ‘What is the most important bit of kit in the darkroom?’ No one got it right ... it was the waste bin!
A few years down the road I took t