Kayleigh Von Grimm is a student who is currently studying photography. Rather than being a fully published photographer, Kayleigh currently shares her work on a site called Flikr where she has a wide array of photography, spanning from landscape to documentary and Portraiture.
I chose to research Kayleigh Von Grimm, because I like her use of the bulb setting in her work. She has used the setting to create thought provoking images, as well as clearly presenting the emotion that the subject is feeling at the time. The images look very simple, yet very complex as there isn't any kind of props in the work. I want to explore the bulb setting in my work, as I want to show people's personal struggle with mental illness. I will use it to portray Schizophrenia and Bi-Polar disorder.
This image shows multiple faces and bodies, all of the same girl within one image. The background is completely black which slightly contrasts with the the girls skin and her red hair. The image is very desaturated, highlighted by both the background and the red hair. The girls hair provides some colour to the image, making the image stand out . The photographer has used the rule of thirds, placing her model in the centre of the frame, meaning the viewers eye will focus in one the subject in the middle straight away. The photographer has used the bulb setting to achieve the multiple images within one frame. There is a surreal feel to the image, created through the use of body language and the ghost like affect of the image.
Subjectively, I think this image is a very powerful one, showcasing some strong emotions which feed through to the viewer very clearly through the use of body language and facial expressions. On the one hand the image looks quite simple as a result of the plain black background, however, on the other hand, the image looks very technically complicated, due to the multiple figures that overlay and overlap each other as a result of various different photography techniques.
Objectively this image shows what appears to be the body of one man with multiple versions of the same head. He is wearing a black T-shirt which contrasts with the multitude of colours coming from both the mans face and the background. The two faces are merging into each other, both with different expressions on the face.
I think this image accurately portrays the manic schizophrenic thoughts and emotions of the man in the image through photography techniques such as the bulb setting, slow shutter speeds and movement. However, I feel as if the multiple colours take away the powerful impact of the image as it masks the emotions on the mans face. Even though I want to experiment with a technique similar to this, I will not be doing it using multiple colours as I think it makes the concept used less visible and less powerful.
This image shows a young girl looking frightened with another image of herself beside her.
The supernatural concept of the image creates connotations of death, further inspired by what looks as if the girl is leaving her body. The background is completely black with the girls reddish, brown hair standing out against the background. The girl is very drawn into herself and vulnerable contrasting with the angry side of herself. The image is very desaturated as the girl is very pale, something which is highlighted further due to the contrast of the black background. The girls hair colour feeds a bit of colour into the image. The photographer has followed the rule of thirds with this image, as the real girl is positioned to the right hand side of image and the second image of the girl positioned to the left with nothing directly in the centre of the image other than the lines connecting the two girls.
Subjectively, I think the image is very emotion based. On the one hand the girl looks very frightened and scared of the other image of herself, where she looks quite demonic and angry. I like the simplicity of this image as it is clearly very technically complicated. I want to do something similar to this in my work to show someone's battle with a mental illness such as Schizophrenia or Bi-Polar disorder. Personally I like how the photographer has managed to create an image in which it looks as if a spirit is leaving someone's body simply in the studio, with no work on Photoshop.
Response
For m response I used the bulb setting on my camera to take multiple shots of my subject, all within one image. Just as Kayleigh Von Grimm does, I wanted to showcase the multiple personalities of a person, whilst centring the image on the subject. To construct this image, I blacked out the room and manually flashed the flash, whilst asking my model to adopt various different positions. I believe that this photo has been successful, as the image portrays multiple personalities, all of a different emotion, within one person and one photograph. Rather than separating the bodies out more, I kept them all within close range so that they overlap one another. This is something that Kayleigh Von Grimm does in her work, possibly to show that 'personalities' are all still one and they belong to the same person.
Experimentation
For my project I wanted to experiment with a bulb setting technique, mainly to portray the multiple personalities someone with a mental illness such as Schizophrenia would experience. This was something I have never previously worked with however, it is a technique that I feel I would like to carry on experimenting with throughout my project.
For this image, I wanted to experiment not only with portraying a person 'growing out of themselves' but also with making the image black and white. Objectively, this image shows three different sets of the same person, all in different positions, but all connecting in some way. The image is black and white, with the background being black, therefore contrasting with the models skin tone and white t-shirt. Subjectively, I believe this image shows the growth of a person, and they are possible growing through their mental illness.
Objectively, this image shows three different sets of the same person, all connected by the legs, but in different poses from the upper body. The three different sets all have different emotions. The background is black and the model is wearing a white t-shirt which contrasts with the background. For this image I wanted to show the different personalities someone with schizophrenia can have, whilst still having the bodies connected, to signify that they are still one person. I wanted three completely different emotions that would all contrast with each other so that I could portray Schizophrenia to it's extreme.
Objectively, this image shows three sets of the same person, all in different positions and different places within one picture. The different sets are all showing different emotions. The background is black and the models jacket is blue, therefore there is a slight contrast in the picture. Subjectively, I think this image shows the inner turmoil of someone who suffers from schizophrenia. There are three different sets of emotions shown in this image all on the same person. Overall, I think there is a great vunerability in this image, widely shown in the middle image of the subject crouching on the ground, shielding themselves from the world around them.
For this image I wanted to explore with different photography techniques such as the bulb setting on my camera using different levels and layers within my image. Objectively, this image shows three different bodies all connected by the legs, using the same model. The first body is lying on the floor looking up towards the ceiling, the second body has started to rise out of the first body, and this one is looking straight into the camera, and the third body is sitting straight up, looking straight forward. The models clothes consist of a white t-shirt, which contrasts with the black background, and black trousers with brown boots. The boots introduce a small amount of colour in the image.
Subjectively, I think this image has been fairly successful in exploring and experimenting with the bulb setting on my camera, using different levels. There is a lack of emotion shown in this particular image, however, this is something that I wasn't particularly focusing on.
Objectively, this image shows three figures all with the same physical features and characteristics. The figures overlap each other creating depth within the layered image. There is a range of different emotions on the three separate figures, ranging from distress to anger. The tone of the subjects skin, creates a large amount of contrast between him and the black background.
Subjectively, I think this particular image has been an overall success, as it encompasses three different emotions through the use of the bulb setting, something which Kayleigh Von Grimm also does in her images. The use of emotion within this image emphasises the distress of the image as well as giving the overall picture a dramatic tone. I used the studio lighting to create both the technical effect of the image and the balance of colours and light.
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