Controlled Shadow in Photography
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CONTROLLED SHADOW IN PHOTOGRAPHY: THE DEVELOPMENT OF A TECHNIQUE FOR CHILD PORTRAITURE by Mark Mindry 2017 Controlled shadow in photography: the development of a technique for child portraiture by Mark Mindry Dissertation in partial compliance with the requirements for the Degree of Master of Applied Arts in Photography, in the Department of Visual Communication Design, Durban University of Technology. I declare that this dissertation is my own work and has not been submitted for any other degree or examination at any other institution. Signed Date: 17/04/2017 Approved for final submission: Supervisor: Professor D.D. Pratt (DTech: Language Practice) Signed: __ Date: 18/04/2017 Co-Supervisor: Professor B.M. Pearce (PhD: Drama and Theatre Studies) Signed: _ Date: 18/04/2017 Abstract This research deals with both the cultural and technical aspects of the use of controlled shadow in child portraiture. This study was contextualised by setting it in a theoretical framework of visual culture, and by exploring the connotations of shadow in western culture. The theoretical framework provided by visual culture suggested that the way in which shadow is interpreted is dependent on the context in which it is set, and, in the context of child portraiture in particular, shadow tends to be avoided in commercial shoots. As the commercial viability of photography depends on the public being comfortable with the images produced, child photographs are usually staged or touched up to ensure that no sinister or foreboding connotations might be conveyed by shadow. While the use of harsh shadow is generally not aesthetically pleasing, and obscures the very lineaments which personalise and animate images, it was the contention of this study that use of controlled shadow might add depth and character to portraiture, and has the potential to create aesthetically pleasing effects in child photography. The empirical work explored both the cultural and technical aspects of photography. The cultural aspects, relating to the potentially undesirable aspects of photography, were explored in questionnaires and surveys carried out with groups of practising professional photographers and parents of young children. The technical aspects were explored by developing a technique for achieving pleasing aesthetic effects in child portraiture by use of controlled shadow, using the soft shadows cast by natural objects or those associated with play. The results suggest that photographers would be willing to use a technique such as that developed, provided that the results were acceptable to their clients, and thus commercially viable; the parent responses suggest that clients would find child portraits with controlled shadow aesthetically pleasing. i Acknowledgements To the many people who have either directly or indirectly made the completion of this dissertation possible, I would like to express my heartfelt thankfulness and appreciation: To my Supervisor, Professor Dee Pratt, for your patience, guidance, exacting supervision and determination to see this personal journey through - you went beyond the call of duty! Our family will be forever grateful. To my Co-Supervisor, Professor Brian Pearce, for your expert literary advice, scholarship and enduring encouragement to pursue the concept of shadow as an aesthetic, and its possibilities in the creative realm. To my wife, Melanie: Thank you for tolerating lost annual holidays, lonely nights and unfailing love in these past few years. Without your support, this dissertation would never have happened. I love you with all my heart. Dedications To my saviour Jesus Christ, for your guidance, patience and never ending love. It was your strength that enabled me to complete this journey. I dedicate this dissertation to you. To my late Dad, Alfred, who is no longer physically with us but ever present in spirit, I long to be with you again. To my “model”, son Timothy Mark: Your rare genetic condition (immunoglobulin-deficiency) taught your dad a whole new meaning of the word dedication, and is the motivation for this study. Our journey showed me not only the physical attributes of aesthetics through the lens, but also the understanding of the “deeper” sublime experience of total commitment and love a dad can discover for his son through adversity. ii Preface DECLARATION I, the undersigned, hereby declare that the work contained in this dissertation is my own original work and that I have not previously in its entirety or in part submitted it at any university for a degree. SIGNED: Mark Mindry DATE: 18/04/2017 The referencing system used in this dissertation conforms to the Harvard style as set out in the Referencing guide: Harvard referencing style (Durban University of Technology Library 2013). EndNote 7 was used to generate the Reference list, using the DUT Harvard EndNote style 2013. The convention for use of acronyms and other abbreviations in the text will be as follows: the term will be written in full on its first use in each chapter followed by the acronym in brackets. Thereafter, only the acronym will be used (Hofstee 2006: 189). iii Table of contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................ i Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................... ii Preface .......................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ........................................................................................................ iv Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Background to the study ...................................................................................... 1 1.3 Aspects of child portraiture in previous studies .............................................. 2 1.3.1 Empathy aroused in the viewer .................................................................... 3 1.3.2 The posed setting, with costumes and props ........................................... 4 1.3.3 Juxtaposition of documentary and fiction .................................................. 5 1.3.4 The provocation of extreme emotions ........................................................ 6 1.3.5 The stylistic schools developed ................................................................... 7 1.4 Focus of the study ................................................................................................ 8 1.5 General aim and scope of the project ............................................................... 8 1.6 Main themes of the research .............................................................................. 9 1.6.1 Visuality ............................................................................................................... 9 1.6.2 Visual culture ...................................................................................................... 10 1.6.3 The nature of visual depiction in photography .............................................. 11 1.6.4 Technique vs. digital effect .............................................................................. 11 1.6.5 Shadow ............................................................................................................... 12 1.7 Definitions of key terms and concepts ............................................................... 12 1.7.1 Definition of visuality ......................................................................................... 13 1.7.2 Definition of visual culture ................................................................................ 13 1.7.3 Definition of aesthetics ..................................................................................... 13 1.7.4 Definition of controlled shadow ....................................................................... 13 1.8 Value of the research ........................................................................................... 13 1.9 New contribution to knowledge ........................................................................... 16 1.10 Conclusion: overview of the rest of the dissertation...................................... 16 Chapter 2: Shadow and visual culture 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 18 iv 2.2 The concept of visual culture .............................................................................. 18 2.2.1 Definitions of visual culture .............................................................................. 20 2.2.2 Elements in the definitions relevant to this study ......................................... 21 2.2.3 The four elements of visual culture informing this study ............................. 22 2.3 Interpretative aspects of shadow ....................................................................... 26 2.3.1 Shadow as the darker side of the personality .............................................. 27 2.3.2 Shadow as the essential spirit or soul ........................................................... 27 2.3.3 Shadow signifying sinister intent in film ......................................................... 28 2.3.4 Shadow in story, myth and legend ................................................................. 31 2.3.5 The changing nature of visual images ..........................................................