Vision and IdentitIES

headshot

a) EQUIPMENT:

• Fujifilm X-S10 Body

• Fujinon  XC 15-45mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS Power Zoom Lens

• Benro Camera Tripod

• 2x Andoer USB LED Video Light w/ Tripod Stand

• 2x MAIA 85W LED Softbox

• Andoer White Reflector

• Light Stand

• Reflector Arm Holder with Swivel Grip Head Clamp

• Mi 9T Smartphone with Fujifilm Camera Remote Application

• Desktop with Capture One 23, Adobe Lightroom Classic, and Adobe Photoshop

b) LIGHTING and EXPOSURE:

Loosely inspired by JR's initial portrait images, my goal is to capture a complete and detailed image of myself that is separated from an evenly lit background — hence I did not opt for a dramatic lighting setup. 

Instead, my lighting setup is designed to light each feature of my face and the textured background.

I used a pair of LED softboxes as key and fill light. I opt to use two instead of one for the following reasons: (1) to light my face symmetrically and (2) to avoid instances of direct light reflection on my glasses.

The softboxes provide diffusion to the LED bulbs that help in eliminating any sharp shadows in the background. However, to eliminate the sharp shadows completely, I used two additional 6x4" LED lights — positioned 90° towards the subject (my face) but placed much further back to decrease their intensity. The 6x4" LED lights mainly act as backlights as well, further separating each detail of the subject from its background.

I also used a white reflector — propped up by an arm holder that is attached to a light stand  — mainly for its background texture but also to bounce more light from the LED softboxes towards my backside. The bounced light further helps ensure the separation of the subject from the background by a subtle degree.

Chairs are also present in the set for easy access to the remotes of the LED softboxes.

The image shown above is the result. My face is fully lit on both sides, with no reflection on the glasses, and notice how even the strands of my hair are clearly separated from the background. There are also no apparent sharp shadows in the background but there are enough to maintain the 3D form of the creases.

I used my default aperture and shutter speed settings, however, I opted to shoot in an ISO twice the amount of what I normally use to ensure that the image taken (no natural light, only practicals) is not underexposed. Lastly, I used my phone as a camera remote, with a 10-sec timer, and an external screen to correctly place myself in the frame.

c) On BACKGROUND:

I wanted to incorporate the background to the connecting theme of both images, "a vision of my identity." 

By significantly increasing the creases on the textured background from the Headshot to the Candid Shot, I wanted to tell the audience a visual metaphor that depicts the process of an artist delivering his vision — from noticeable creases to extreme crumples in the paper, from glimpses of ideas to a fully-executed art piece.

d) On STYLE:

Style is essential in self-portraiture as the visual character of oneself is the first thing that gets reflected back to the audience. For the Headshot, I wanted to establish a sense of bravado and authority — to present myself as a man with a strong vision.

I posed my head directly leveled and straight towards the camera and included my relaxed hand in the shot, giving attention to two steel rings with a black vintage finish. A Stag Ring fits on my left index finger as a dramatic adornment that represents leadership and ambition — similar to how ancient figures wore rings on the same finger to establish hierarchical authority (The Meaning Of Each Finger For Rings, 2023).

The middle finger, by being the tallest and central finger, represents purpose in life and to a greater extent, my identity (The Meaning Of Each Finger For Rings, 2023). I wore a Gridlock Ring that is meant to represent how I have a gridlocked or tight-knit purpose in life, i.e., I am aware of what I want to do.

By knowing what my self-thought purpose is, a ring on the middle finger stands for capability and self-sufficiency.

I also styled my hair back for the self-portrait instead of letting the curls lay on my forehead. This hairstyle is chosen to show more of my face as a subtle nod to confidence. 

Finally, I asked my sister for help in giving my eyebrows a much fuller and darker shape. She used a thick brow pencil and an angled brow brush for the makeup.

REFERENCE

The Meaning Of Each Finger For Rings. (2023, January 27). Aureus Boutique. https://www.aureusboutique.com/abx/the-meaning-of-each-finger-for-rings

candid SHOT

a) EQUIPMENT:

• Fujifilm X-S10 Body

• Fujinon  XC 15-45mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS Power Zoom Lens

• Benro Camera Tripod

• 2x Andoer USB LED Video Light w/ Tripod Stand

• 2x MAIA 85W LED Softbox

• Mi 9T Smartphone with Fujifilm Camera Remote Application

• Desktop with Capture One 23, Adobe Lightroom Classic, and Adobe Photoshop

b) LIGHTING and EXPOSURE:

The Candid Shot uses the following jpg as the base image:

I shot the image with a fast shutter speed to clearly capture my jumping motion and then increased the ISO until the image is no longer underexposed.

I have also utilized the same lighting setup for consistency with the Headshot. The only minor adjustment is the removal of the white reflector that acts as the textured background.

I moved the 6x4" LED lights a bit further to the sides and moved the subject back to the wall to give more space for the jump shot and avoid any potential incidents with the equipment.

I then combined a 10-second timer with the camera remote to give myself enough leeway and timing to execute the jump shot correctly in the image's frame.

c) On OTHER ELEMENTS

I wore black beads to stylistically match the two rings on my left hand and wore a black shirt and pants for a basic outfit that shows a clean look.

All the other visual elements in the shot will not be used for the final image.

d) On STYLE

The pose that I went with for the jump shot is a dynamic finger gun pose pointed to my eyes which visually pertains to my vision.

1. I first cropped the image to a desirable frame for editing.

2. I then used Adobe Lightroom Classic to apply the "Enhance Eyes" and "Darken Beard" one-click effects and decreased the intensity until I find it acceptable. 

Under the Develop module, I applied a subtle dehaze effect, increased the vibrance of the image, and minimally lighten the shadows.

My lighting setup and high ISO settings resulted in pale skin. Therefore, to liven up my face and make it much closer to my actual color in real life, I graded the image to a much warmer scale using the curve tool and the color correction tool (shadows only).

Lastly, a light and almost unnoticeable vignette is applied for aesthetics.

3. Using Adobe Photoshop, I used the healing brush to remove any noticeable pimples on my face and dry patches on my lips. Finally, I have taken the liberty to use a masked high pass filter to lighten my eyebags.

4. The final tweaks for the headshot use Adobe Photoshop as well. It includes masking and then re-adjusting the brightness of my eyes and applying a 3x4 crop to the image, ensuring a fill-the-frame composition. 

I have used the rule of thirds as a guideline to position my eyes to its uppermost horizontal bar, and to position my face center to the image with a slight lean towards the right-hand side. 

The lean is done to provide a little more negative space to the side of my face close to my hand.

candid SHOT

1. The Candid Shot utilizes heavy graphic editing but it still started with image color correction. I used Adobe Lightroom Classic to apply a much stronger "Enhance Eyes" effect since the subject is smaller.

2. I then exported the image to Capture One 23 to increase the image's brightness and saturation and slightly decrease the image's highlights to allow for more detail. I minimally added more saturation to the midtones of the image using the curve tool.

There is no actual reason on why I switched from Adobe Lightroom Classic to Capture One 23, it is just that I find the UI of the latter much more intuitive and easy to use.

3. After enhancing the eyes and doing color correction, I then cropped the image to a desirable frame for editing and transferred it to Adobe Photoshop to incorporate heavy graphics.

4. The edited image went through numerous design iterations but only the final one will be discussed below in a manner of graphic layers.

Inspired by JR's technique combined with my visual metaphor of an artist's vision as a crumpled paper, the Headshot is used as the image's background. 

The image is blended with an extremely crumpled paper texture with a monochrome effect (maximum white) applied to it. A haze effect is also applied to present the Headshot like a faded print medium.

A customized hole is layered on top of the background and a grungy ink wash brush is used to manually mark the image with repeating patterns of outlines. 

With its background removed, an image-corrected jumping shot is layered on top of the hole and the background. 

The first set of compositing is applied, adding shadows inside the hole and a drop shadow outside to make the hole pop out more. Additionally, red motion lines are added to the image to highlight the moving motion of the subject (from lower right to upper left). 

With the motion lines added, the pattern of lines behind it is faded for emphasis.

Using a combination of hard and soft brushes, additional shadows and outlines are manually brushed on the image.

The second set of compositing is applied. Subtle shadows that the hole applies to the subject are added to the image manually using brushes. 

Additionally, motion blur and a modified body shadow are added to the subject. 

These five layers produce a lighting composition composed of three different virtual lighting setups, resulting in the extrusion of a 2D image into 3D form.

The first layer is inside the hole (space of outline patterns, from where the subject is from) with a light source casting a shadow on the right-hand side of the subject. 

The second layer is the casted shadow of the risen parts of the crumpled paper towards the subject and the outline patterns.

The third and last layer is the casted shadow of the subject's body that is outside the hole towards the crumpled paper.

Additional visual elements are added, (1) a drawn calligraphy of the word "King" that is written in the shape of a crown and (2) two additional shining stars on the eyes that are visually meant to suggest great vision. 

Put together, both visual elements are meant to say "King Vision" or more correctly, "a king's vision" — alluding to how I hold high regard and practice great care for my vision when creating pieces of art and consequently, forming my identity in the process.

One of the shining stars on the eyes is made much larger than the other one. 

This is so the audience's attention is directed towards the eyes of the subject and not the strong saturation of the red motion lines. Additionally, all strong details of the image are placed on its right-hand side to compensate for the lesser negative space around it.

Although symmetry is not present in the composition, the following design ensures that balance is still achieved between all visual elements.