TONE

Tone - 

Definition - 

This refers to the lightness or darkness of  something. This could be a shade or how dark or light a colour appears. Tones are created by the way light falls on a 3D object. The parts of the object on which the light is strongest are called highlights and the darker areas are called shadows. There will a range of tones in between the highlights and shadows.Without tone Form does not exist, tone is therefore an important aspect in the visualisation of 3D objects.

Ansel Adams Zone System - 

This diagram shows the basic principle of the zone system. Zone 0 is pitch black, giving no detail in an image. Zone 10 is pure white, also containing no detail. Zone 5 is mid grey. When using a light meter, either external or in-camera the meter will always expose for Zone 5, whether this will give you the best image or not. Firstly we must understand how a light meter or in-camera light sensor works. A light meter will always expose for zone 5-mid grey, meaning that if you point your camera into a dark bin, on auto exposure, a grey image will be produced. Similarly if you point a camera at some bright white snow on auto, the camera will give a grey toned snow.

This photo has a quite masculine impact by the harsh lighting that emphasises his serious facial expression and the way they have enhanced the bags under his eyes shows how the features on his face are angular. 

This photo has a quite feminine look by the diffused lighting and the soft look that has been captured of Marilyn Monroe. The strong bold colour of her dress can make her look more innocent by the way she is captured in a lighter tone. 

Diffuse Lighting - Diffusing light means to soften it by reducing glare and harsh shadows.... Diffused light can bring out the best in your photography subjects by minimising blemishes and wrinkles. It can also be used to create a very soft, cinematic look. 

Harsh lighting - In nature, harsh light is found on sunny days with a clear, cloudless skies. Subjects in harsh light cast sharply defined shadows that are usually quite dark when compared to the highlights of the subject.

Artist research - 

Richard Avedon was an American fashion and portrait photographer. An obituary published in The New York Times said that "his fashion and portrait photographs helped define America's image of style, beauty and culture for the last half-century n 1944, Avedon began working as an advertising photographer for a department store, but was quickly endorsed by Alexey Brodovitch, who was art director for the fashion magazine Harper's Bazaar. Lillian Bassman also promoted Avedon's career at Harper's. In 1945 his photographs began appearing in Junior Bazaar and, a year later, in Harper's Bazaar.

In 1946, Avedon had set up his own studio and began providing images for magazines including vogue and life. He soon became the chief photographer for Harper's Bazaar.

Image bank- 

Contact Sheet -

Best images - 

 

Louie Beaton 

Hannah Cannell 

Ellie-Jay

Tia-rose Wimbleton 

Charlotte White 

Images that need improving - 

         AO3: Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions, reflecting critically on work and progress.

My idea for recording tone was to photograph portraits exploring different skin tones and present the different facial expressions. I was inspired from my research of Richard Avedon's photography with regards to the way he captured people. His use and variety of images he captured inspired me to try and recreate a similar style. 

With reference to the Best selected images...

I decided that my image of Louie Beaton (Drag) was a close up landscape shot so that I could capture his expressions. This was done to emphasise the elaborate makeup and look at how photography can be glamorous. 

      The image of Tia-rose Wimbleton was a more natural approach and was captured with a Canon dslr. It was shot at a wide angle in portrait. 

The picture of Hannah Cannell was inspired by one of the last images of Avedon's work by using hand gestures to flow through her hair, again focusing on a more natural look. 

With regards to some of the images that did not come out as I expected, I struggled to focus my camera.   Some images lacked lighting whilst in the case of others I struggled with techniques. I believe I can improve these by using a tripod. 

AO2: Explore and select appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques and processes, reviewing and refining ideas as work develops.

The majority of the pictures I shot were taken with the FINEPIX HS 25 EXR and were shot in the mode portrait. I also captured the majority of the pictures with a clear white background to focus on the subject that I captured. The majority were shot with an aperture of F4 however because of how the lighting changed the shutter speed varied from 1/45 - 1/600. After then choosing my best images I edited them in Photoshop using exposure, curves, brightness and contrasts. 

AO1: Develop ideas through sustained and focused investigations informed by contextual and other sources, demonstrating analytical and critical understanding.


(Here you will discuss how you developed your work based on your research of e.g. artists/photographers, etc).

The artist research was helpful as I realised that I could explore tone through portraits and understand the meaning of it. By focusing on how Avedon used beauty to capture tones this was helpful as it meant I could incorporate this into my own work. I did feel the emotion was an important factor as the variety of facial expressions meant that i was able to capture the different moods. 

(It is important that you show a progression of your work… which may mean revisiting a subject area and adding additional images showing a development of your ideas or refinement of the final images through).

AO4: Present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and, where appropriate, makes connections between visual and other elements.  

(At the end of the entry you will discuss whether you have produced a personal and meaningful response, this means  (are my images creative/relevant to the subject area studied/connected and influenced by any research undertaken). 


I believe that I have produced a strong series of images inspired by my research of Tone. I have been able to explore the depths through skin tones and by converting the images into black and white it creates the emphasis of how the images become bolder. 


Photoshop -