SHOOT 1 - CASE STUDY - BOXER

SHOOT 1 - CASE STUDY - BOXER

SHOOT 1 - CASE STUDY - BOXERCASE STUDY:My granddad is 74 years of age. In his late teens and early 20's, he was involved with amateur boxing with the potential and opportunity of professional boxing. He turned this down and was then involved in rugby. "I always loved boxing, but I loved rugby more. Being on a team was more exciting, when we came together and won we felt powerful." This is something my granddad had always said about his time in sport. It made me want to worth with my granddad as he felt there were always elements of power in his time doing these sports. To start, I did research. Similar to 'unknown' artist research, I asked for photos of my granddad during his years of boxing and analysed the photos (not the photographer). Because of the time period he boxed in, camera quality was not to the standard it is today however I believe this older, vintage look give a nostalgic feel. What struck me most was my granddads pride in these images and the care he took over them since they were taken in the 50's. I feel this is mentally powerful because of the amount of pride and joy these images give him.

This shoot was to show the effects of years of sport, weight training and a healthy lifestyle had on my grandad's body. The thing I found most interesting about this shoot is the way it shows positive and negative effects on the body. Because of a healthy lifestyle and acting young even at an old age, has kept my Granddad looking young and healthy, however the damage done by breaking and dislocating bones shows disfigurements in his hands.

His hands were the most interesting things to shoot. I felt the black and white highlighted the definition in his wrinkles and bone structures to highlight the impact his sports had on him. To created these images, I increased the contrast and exposure so the range of tones was more apparent. I feel this is visually effective because of the range of tones. Often in the image of his hand I used the rule of thirds, making sure that his hand wasn't simply centre of the image as I wanted a more personal shoot to have a powerful effect so that the viewer didn't focus on one specific thing.

Another one of the most successful images is one where my granddads face is visible as he lifts a sleeve to show his muscle. I feel this photo is very informal and causal. My granddad looks happy and proud in the photograph, which is a powerful message of how his lifestyle had made him feel even if he struggled through the pain of I also think the image was successful purely because of the composition. I like that the centre of the image isn't necessarily the main focus and it could be argued I used rule of thirds to create the composition.

The image to the left was by far the most successful of the shoot. I believe there are so many factors that makethis image so successful such as the variation of tone, the high contrast that highlights such small detail, the composition, the focus and the amount of interesting detail of the hand without these other elements. To me the hand shows a history of inury and experience. It's obvious so see where the fingers have been broken and dislocated and where they have regrown wrong. This is a fantastic element that shows evidence of pain and recovery. The tones of this image are also very interesting. Because of the wrinkes in the skin and veins, it's easy to see definition, however there aren't many wrinkles, an indication they're young hands, but the dry skin and scars indicate they're very worn.The high contrast of the image make these features more apparent and hightlight the countouring skin. I feel this image is so powerful because it say's so much about the person by just looking at their hands.

These photos are the same as the ones above however these have a different filter. I used a sepia-like filter over these images similar to the ones of when my granddad was younger. I feel these images are very successful. The sepia filter adds a warmer tone to the image and almost gives a sentimental feel to the image as though they were older photos (similar to the ones take of my granddad at a younger age) I feel the images also don't look as harsh as similar shoots, and therefore feel more informal and relaxed, a representation of being outside the extreme fitness and health lifestyle. However, I don't think they're as effective as the images above. I feel the images above are more intense and this idea of being intense is what I want to portray in my shoots therefore portraying what the theme of 'Power' is about.