The Body Project (:

Sbuxo · Feb 27, 2010

Latest newsss: Can't change the thread's title again, but it WOULD be: TeenEDGE Project. This is my fall '10 semester Advanced Photography project focusing on the theme of Teens/Young Adults habits, activities, insecurities and such. I specialize in B&W Film Photography, so eat your hearts out digifans! Haha, you can check my flickr for the 3 prints I have up so far. There are actually 4, but for one of them the model told me not to expose on the internet. Pshh, from now on I'm making them sign MR forms.

Stay tuned.

*The final photos of the (Spring '10) project has been uploaded to Frolicker! Check them out

My grade: 38.2/40 (points) ->95% and a semester average of 95.6% A. I'm proud of myself, the final images I'm very happy of! Feedback please. <3

Feel free to C&C my previous project, titled: The Body Project. I'd guess you can say they're pretty much artistic nudes, so..warning I guess? :lol:

It is IMPERATIVE that you read the description of the set before viewing/critiquing the photos. Available here: The Body Project - a set on Flickr

:mrgreen:
Thanksss.

Sbuxo · Feb 27, 2010

-_- 21 views..but nobody comments. Hmm.

c.cloudwalker · Feb 27, 2010

What were the reactions at your school?

Sbuxo · Feb 27, 2010

Lol, well I'm in an Intermediate Advanced Photography Class. I'm the youngest @ 20, the rest of my classmates are 22-26. Um, reactions, as in? Shock? None of that. If you mean what'd they say in critique, they said they wanted more contortion of the body.

c.cloudwalker · Feb 27, 2010

Intermediate Advanced? What the hell does that mean?

No lol here, it was a serious question because I find them utterly boring and not very well done anyway. If you are going to shoot nudes, shoot nudes.

There is a very good reason why photographers go through the "nude" phase. They are very hard to do. Yes, seriously. And, yes, it is a very good exercise and that is why I was interested in the reaction from your classmates.

However, it is very disappointing. And I can't help and wonder what intermediate advanced means...

c.cloudwalker · Feb 27, 2010

Btw, the fact that you are in Florida and have spanish text in your sig makes me think you may be of latino origins. That is part of my disappointment. I think latinos are more comfortable with their bodies than anglo-saxons and that means you should be able to get better photos related to your theme :grumpy:

blakjak8 · Feb 27, 2010

Please realize I am just a hobbyist with photography but I will try to critique a few as I see them...please take no offense. Just trying to help and photography is very subjective. I actually like 4,5 and 6 (Iv,V and VI) the best. More contortion to me seems less natural as in #10 and #11. Body V has the knees cut off and the top right background is a bit distracting (to me

), but I like the use of the curves of the torso into the lines of the raised legs. My eyes actually "flow" through the photo. VIII has a harsh shadow on the wall and an odd white spot in the lower left (armpit) but again...nice smooth curves. Just an sincere attempt at helping you...I hope it does. I've used Tri-X film years ago...400 speed is a bit "grainy" for my taste. Unless that is what YOU want and YOU are the photographer here. 100 speed may soften the photos considerably and the female body ( I think) is usually enhanced with a softer look.

Sbuxo · Feb 27, 2010

Cloudwalker,
They are not SELF PORTRAITS. And, if you read the description of the set, you would see they didn't start out as nudes. Thanks. I appreciate your honesty, but really don't find any depth in your 'theory', because ONE, you're wrong. My text is not Spanish. Two, not all photographers go through a 'nude' phase for the same reasons, this is just to try it out for a semester. To explore new horizons.
Intermediate Advanced meant either or, I should've just used one but oh well, your critique has no substance. It's boring to you, why? There's a subject and predicate to a sentence, and you just gave me a dead subject.

Your whole speculation about my signature has nothing to do with my photography, why? You have no idea what ethnicity the model is. It's one thing to give constructive criticism, and it's another to make false & highly generalized assumptions.

Anybody else?

Sbuxo · Feb 27, 2010

blakjak8 said:
Please realize I am just a hobbyist with photography but I will try to critique a few as I see them...please take no offense. Just trying to help and photography is very subjective. I actually like 4,5 and 6 (Iv,V and VI) the best. More contortion to me seems less natural as in #10 and #11. Body V has the knees cut off and the top right background is a bit distracting (to me ), but I like the use of the curves of the torso into the lines of the raised legs. My eyes actually "flow" through the photo. VIII has a harsh shadow on the wall and an odd white spot in the lower left (armpit) but again...nice smooth curves. Just an sincere attempt at helping you...I hope it does. I've used Tri-X film years ago...400 speed is a bit "grainy" for my taste. Unless that is what YOU want and YOU are the photographer here. 100 speed may soften the photos considerably and the female body ( I think) is usually enhanced with a softer look.

Ahh, yay, a real critique. Thank you so much, about the film suggestion, I used tri-x but pulled to 200 because of how contrasty 400 can be. I don't really have an issue with the amount of grain, as it usually only really shows if I crop an image too closely. the only 100 speed film I would use is tmax 100 and that I usually use for outdoor photography. I definitely get the shadow on the wall, utterly distracting, is so true! In the end of the semester, I'll be creating a final portfolio (after 2 more regular critiques!) of the best of my prints, with means I'll be shooting another 2 rolls of film where I will definitely reshoot Body V with knees included!

so, thank you so much for your suggestions!

P.S.: The ones you like are the ones my professor detested! Lol.

blakjak8 · Feb 27, 2010

Just a suggestion...don't limit yourself to 1 brand of film. I used Kodak 95% but Fuji gave the same shots a different look in color rendition and also the graininess. ASA 400 from Kodak sometimes looked more grainy and flatter colors than Fuji 400. The fun part of photography is "thinking outside the box" and discovering ALL the options you have! Are you using On-camera flash? Think of your light source position to remove shadows or place subject closer (or farther ) from the background. Also...look online at similar type photos and see what appeals to you. A crumpled sheet draped behind may look better than a stark wall...

Sbuxo · Feb 27, 2010

blakjak8 said:
Just a suggestion...don't limit yourself to 1 brand of film. I used Kodak 95% but Fuji gave the same shots a different look in color rendition and also the graininess. ASA 400 from Kodak sometimes looked more grainy and flatter colors than Fuji 400. The fun part of photography is "thinking outside the box" and discovering ALL the options you have! Are you using On-camera flash? Think of your light source position to remove shadows or place subject closer (or farther ) from the background. Also...look online at similar type photos and see what appeals to you. A crumpled sheet draped behind may look better than a stark wall...

Well, my professor HATES crumpled sheet and prefers stark wall. And that would take away from the subject, in my opinion. She actually wanted me to get a white or black background, so, the wall served as such pretty easily. I couldn't afford to buy a yard of black velvet so I went w/ the white. I'm not using flash, and I have to pay more attention to shadows on the walls, definitely. About the film, I don't have the money to be testing out new types of film, I bought the kodak in bulk (14 rolls) for the whole semester. I quite like it, but when the semester is over, I will definitely experiment with other brands. I've actually heard a great deal about Fuji, so definitely will be trying it out!:thumbup:

terri · Feb 28, 2010

Hi Sbuxo: I moved your thread from the Alt section to Discussion, since these images don't represent alternative techniques.

RE: the comment above about trying other films - I think you are actually wise to stick with one film while learning. If you are shooting, developing, and making print enlargements all from the same film type, you will become expert at what you can expect from that film type. When you eventually try others, you then have something solid to compare it to. You'll learn much faster with the next film you try, and you should use it for some time, as well. Eventually you'll be able to decide in advance what film you want for which project you're shooting, because you will be able to predict the results better. This is how we learn!

Good luck, and keep shooting!

CW Jones · Feb 28, 2010

I once took a film photography class, and like all professors they had a very specific way they wanted the shots done, or styles they liked. I can honestly say I don't believe I took a single shot the way he liked, or how he wanted to see it done... I got an A+ in the class for being creative, thinking outside the box, and NOT following the "directions/guidelines"

Just another thought. I don't really like the contorted body look personally. I much more prefer a closer crop. What I use to do for my projects, get the shot set up and framed the way I wanted and then take another 4-5 steps closer or zoom in even more. I like body shots when you can barely tell your looking at a foot, arm of breast. But if you look long enough you will figure it out.

Good luck with the project and keep us up to date on it please!

-Collin

SoonerBJJ · Feb 28, 2010

Agreed that I don't really care for the contorted body look. I really like Ralph Gibson's work and the notion of isolating body parts and "deconstructing" the human form. I'm working with a similar subject and finding just how hard the nude can be (no pun intended).

I also prefer the stark background to a crumpled appearance. I think the crumpled or textured background has to be used very carefully or it detracts attention from the subject.

Just a few points. In my last roll I wanted to use natural lights and hard shadows. I found that to truly integrate the shadows you have to be extremely meticulous with composition or else the image looks sloppy or haphazard. Ralph Gibson is a master. Check out his work for effective use of shadows and the nude. I also really like Marc Koegel's nude work.

I only have a few minutes, so I'll give my .02 on a couple of your shots.

#1 I don't really care for the centered vertical subject. The sidelighting isn't very flattering for the subjects skin texture. I think in this case the crumpled sheets detract from the subject and they appear OOF, particularly to the left side. I like a soft look but the OOF sheets to left appear haphazard to me.

#2 Again I don't care for a centered vertical subject. For me, the contorted nude should capture and exploit the sensuous lines of the human form and that's hard to do with a hard vertical.

#3 See above for my feelings about the hard vertical. The near arm immediately draws my attention. It is lighter and the soft focus doesn't add anything. It isn't a very flattering view of her arm and because of it's prominence it keeps drawing my eye back. The sheets in the background are distracting.

#5 I don't like the crop and the busy pattern of the sheets is distracting.

#9 is my favorite but I don't like the crop at the bottom. I'd like to see a little more separation between her leg and the background toward the right side of the image.

I'm finding that particularly in the nude studies the photographer has to be extremely meticulous about every detail within the frame. Backgrounds, sheets, shadows, wrinkles in the underwear, etc etc. The devil is in the detail. I was talking to my teacher about this very thing and he said that this attention to MINUTE detail is what separates the Gibsons and Westons from all the other hacks.

Hope all that helps.

Keep at it!

Sbuxo · Feb 28, 2010

I don't like the contorted body at all, but my professor loves it for some reason and suggested me to do so, and I think my classmates just agreed with her, to say something.