Evaluation

The magazine portrait photographer Niamh Sames has used many different types of effects, camera
angles and lighting positions to show her audience emotion with a picture. Not too long ago Sames
had an interview on This Morning, and leaked her favourite photographers she looks up to from a
young age, she said, Peter Hapak and Jean-Baptiste Mondino, where the two people I looked up to
when I was younger, and I will always look up to them. How they both constructed their images
fascinated me and my work techniques.
Peter Hapaks work is all portrait images and mainly in black and white. He captures people as they
look in person, he doesnt edit or change his models faces. Below is an example of him work.

Jean-Baptiste Mondinos work has a slightly different composition to Peter Hapaks. Mondinos
photography has a lot of different ways of expression someones emotions. Some of his work has
been edited, but quite a lot of it is in colour but has been edited to fit the models emotion. Below is
an example of Mondinos photography.

Even though Sames has been inspired by these photographers, she has put her own inspiration into
her images. As you can see from the image below, she has created a strange alien like picture with
her photography just by composition and image construction.













I know what youre thinking, how did Sames construct that image? All she had to do was take two
images, one image (the main image) with her hands horizontally, and the other with her hands
vertically. The image with the hands vertically, she used a magnetic lasso tall to crop out both her
hands. Once she cropped both of them out she added them to the other image, the effect Sames
created is quite supernatural. It looks like her model has created a box around her face. Below
shows Samess editing process.
This image looks like Sames tried to portray the emotion of being trapped.


Start

The Process

Finish

Feedback on Samess work.

Dan a peer in her photography class says
The lighting compliments the subject and creates a warm mood.
The compositions are symmetrical, with nice positive and negative space.
The colour tinting of a black white image creates a unique quality to the pictures.

Rosie a peer in her photography class

The images are high quality and the subject is easy to understand.

The shadowing that has been used compliments her bone structure in her face.

You should edit some of the images differently and not always use black and white, and possibly use
another model because then they have a different face shape meaning you can make different
shadowing techniques.











Above shows Samess work and Hapaks, it looks like shes trying to copy his work (or just a clear
representation), however she has taken a slightly different approach to his original. Hapak has
added more lighting, to lighten up the picture, he also kept his white background, whereas Sames
blended the background into her models skin colour to show shadowing and almost a 3D affect to
the wall. As well as changing the colour balance and the filter of the image Sames has noticeably
sharpened the image to enhance the shadowing and the detail on the edges of her face. However,
the directional lighting shows off both models facial features, like there jaw line and hair line. They
are both aimed at the head meaning all the audience can see is there facial features.
Visual language
The Visual language in Samess photographs and both artists photographs are very similar. The
Shadowing used in Samess and the artists images makes the models look mysterious and slightly
eerie, this almost makes it look like they have something to hide.
A lot of magazine photographers use lighting to create shadow on the models face to show off their
cheek bones and jawline, Sames used that technique.

The image below of Sames work shows of the technique of lighting placement effectively, she has
placed a light that shines
slightly to the side of her
face and the back of their
head, this effective gives of
a sharp line on the edges of
her models head, this easily
identifies the shape of her
models face and shows off
different gradients, and
shadowing. The shadowing
is very effective as it covers
up both sides of her face in
both places (Head, eyes
down to the bottom of her
nose and chin). The overall
effect created from this
makes her nose and her
neck outlining stand out. The lighting almost makes a pattern on her face and splits her face into
two different emotions (hidden one side, but bright on the other).


The Image to the side
has been very
creatively placed and
taken by Sames, it is
almost a replica of
Hapaks work, where is
a very low lit picture
but the subject stands
out.
The visual language of
this picture involves
juxtaposition, the girl
on this picture is faintly
smiling and has a very
pure face and sense of
emotion, however she
is smoking giving the
effect of depression, or there must be something wrong with her to have started smoking in the first
place. The fact the models looking straight into the camera shows shes open about it and doesnt
care what people think, giving of a fears look to the viewers
This picture has the rule of three. Her eyes are in the middle both ways so are the subject.

In all of her images Sames used the camera settings on F5.6 1/125 but only changed the IOS, she
switched between 800 and 400 this changes the overall lighting on the camera
Audience
The audience of Samess work would probably range from 16 30, this is because in some of her
work she has her models smoking. This may seem like a harmless topic because a lot of people
smoke nowadays, however a lot of younger people get inspired by models or people they achieve to
look like. This is why I think it would be appropriate for someone too young to be viewing these type
of images.
With the audience in mine Samess work would be able to go into some magazines, but only
magazines the children wouldnt bother to buy/ look at.
Both females and males would like to look at these photographs however, mostly females would like
to look at these as it inspires them the most to change their look and look like the model. But men
might like to look at these images as an appeal, possible learn new ways of taking photography or
they might just find Samess model attractive.
The purpose of Samess images is for magazine photography, she has intentionally created her
images to look slightly different and original, to try and create a new sense of feel to her images a
develop the photography industries ideas and ways.









Above is another picture from Sames. This picture involves a lot of creative ability, this is not
because of the image but the editing, she has edited the girls face to remove blemishes, wrinkles
and spots, this is a hard thing to edit because you have to edit out the area with the colour of the
skin, to make it look like there has been no editing done to her face.

The feedback from the shout highlight that people like the way Sames has used shadowing to
emphasise facial features and bone structure. The shadowing that has been used compliments her
bone structure in her face. Also people like the way Samess work is original and isnt just general
photography.

However, some of the feedback is helpful criticism for Sames, You should edit some of the images
differently and not always use black and white, and possibly use another model because then they
have a different face shape meaning you can make different shadowing techniques. This feedback

explains how Sames need to try and edit her images differently because they all mostly look the
same, this would be a really good idea for Sames to take on because the she would be able to
develop her photography onto another area (that is how I think the artist should improve).

I think Samess work is very good, she has used a lot of famous techniques to make her photography
look really good. But, there are a few things I would add to make her images not all look alike. I
think she should add some colour onto he images, perhaps layering, make some of the picture in
colour and some of it in black and white. This way she would keep her images original, but make
them more visually pleasing and creative.