Tone
The Zone System
The Zone System is a photographic technique for determining optimal film exposure and development, formulated by Ansel Adams and Fred Archer.
These diagrams 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.
Zone Identifying
find zone 0,3,5,8 and 10 (if there is a 10) in the imageas below.
I think the use of the harsher use of tone increases the texture of the image along with making the picture become more serious, hard, more masculine and intimidating towards the viewer; due to the increase of lines/wrinkles.
The use of softer tones creates a dreamy and feminine effect. it decreases the vision of wrinkles giving a smoother effect on the image. this also gives off a kind approach towards the viewer as it makes the object in the image a
i-D magazine
i-D is a British bimonthly magazine dedicated to fashion, music, art and youth culture. i-D was founded by designer and former Vogue art director Terry Jones in 1980. The first issue was published in the form of a hand-stapled fanzine with text produced on a typewriter. I have noticed that the left eye is always covered; with either a wink or an object. I would like to try this in my work where I have a one specific gesture in my work.
I was immediately drawn to this magazine cover from i-D as i find this specific time period looks aesthetically pleasing. I like the way how they've used longer eyelashes on the bottom lash line to create a rounder and larger look to the eye. I would like to recreate this 1960's looking piece in a similar way with the hair slick back and the rounder eye look. however, when i edit my photo's I'm not sure if i want them to look like a magazine cover or not. i think it could look okay but I think i might ruin the image if i make it look that particular way. i would like to incorporate more colour than what this image does in my work also to give off a more modern look of today's way of life and society
This image also enticed me as the grainy effect really stood out compared to the rest of the magazine covers. I like the use of colour in this image too as it makes the woman's face stand out from the background and her coat. i like the way the photographer for this magazine used an object to cover the left eye rather than a simple wink. This inspires me to use objects in my work so I can have a more abstract and edgy approach to my work. I feel that if my work was similar to this I wouldn't want to edit it too much as it could ruin the image but I could use the grain effect on Photoshop to create a similar piece to this. however I think I would prefer to use complementary colours instead of analogous ones if I were to use colour.
I like the use of tone in this image as you can clearly see what is light and what is dark. I like the way how they've used the woman's hair to block out the eye. It also fascinates my why the only light tones are the background and the white of her eye. It may have been a better picture for tone of it was in black and white. I like the was how the lady is looking into the camera lens as it looks like she is looking at you no matter the side or angle you look at the image from. I think I could use the idea of having a strand of hair in front of my models face. to give off the youthful rebellious look that i think i-D are trying to show. I would like to incorporate tone into this work and mainly use black and white work as I think tone won't look as good with colour involved in the images.
Contact sheet
In this photo shoot I decided to try and mimic the coverage of the left eye. I did this so I could relate to my artist research and I liked the abstract look the magazine gave and I wanted to create a similar look in my work. The images outlined in red are the ones I need to improve on either they are out of focus or I didn't like the outcome on the image. however, the photos which are outlined in green are the ones i like the most as they either created a look that I like or I know I will like once I have edited them to further improve the look.
Editing process
In this edit I know i didn't cover the left eye like the magazine but I genuinely like the image that was taken as i was inspired by the 1960's image with the eyelashes on the lower eyelid instead of the top eyelid. This gives off a doll-like look aesthetic with the phrase "dream big" which is similar to barbies phrase "anything is possible". I first turned the image into black and white, I then changed the preset shades to a lighter more feminine sense of tone. This creates a lighter more free and smooth look on the skin to make the model look more awake and younger than she actually is. To further improve this image I could have used a pink colour for the font to still be able to give off the Barbie doll 1960's aesthetic that I wanted to give off.
In this edit I covered the left eye like the magazine and made the image black and white as the original coloured image was too distracting and non focused. also, it becomes easier to notice all the different tones in this image when in black and white. I wrote 'behind the scenes on the paper backgrounder to show to the viewer that this is what happens in a photo-shoot and how the studio is placed and its structure. this shows off the modern magazine look to my image. This mimics the i-D magazine with the coloured headline to drag attention to its buyers (in this case my image). This edit has a darker tone compared to my other picture giving it a more serious approach to the modelling and magazine industry. I think to further improve this image i could've changed the black and white scale with the brightness to make it slightly darker so I am more able to further portray my intention.
Final Images
