Photographing Creative Hair Styles
Module 1
Aims and Objectives
To develop and extend your knowledge of planning skills, research
techniques and to work on a work based photographic assignment
(specifically a location shoot and a studio shoot).
To develop new experiences of working to a photographic brief to meet
the portfolio needs of the hairdressing and beauty department.
To produce black and white images of the highest standards, fulfilling the
assignment criteria and personal creativity in the interpretation of the
creative hair styles in the finished prints.
Develop the concept of self assessment of planning and assessing final
prints. Review key learning points for future development.
1
Assignment
Brief
You have been asked to produce a set of promotional photographs for the
hair and beauty department that shows the creative hair designs of the
students, your photographs should illustrate the work of the hair and
beauty department. As this is creative then this can also be the format
for the completed prints. Creative making can include such techniques as
creative edges, hand colouring, toning, and bleaching. It is recommended
that you use external lighting rather than use on board flash as the first
assignment will take place on location in the hairdressing salon where the
use of on board flash could produce unexpected bounce lighting. A second
session will be to photograph models in the Photographic studio and a
second set of factors will need to be taken into account.
The key stages of this assignment are
1 Research
2 Planning
3 Working on location
4 Developing film
5 Printing the pictures (including creative techniques)
6 Complete a self assessment of the photographic shoot and the final
prints/images produced for the portfolio.
2
Research
Identify a portrait photographer and identify their style techniques.
How can you use their ideas in the images you are about to take and the
prints you will produce? Can you use their composition ideas, lighting
techniques, poses they have used in your images?
Create a style board to accompany research
Identify Photographer
Techniques they use
Lighting
Composition
3
Planning Stage
In this part of the assignment you will need to plan the photographic
shoot
Identify equipment needed
for the shoot
Identify the type of film to
be used
Identify any additional
lighting equipment
Identify any additional props
Additional ideas
4
Story Board
How to plan for the images you want to get
Identify types of portrait pictures you want to take i.e. Profile, front
facing, lighting, shadows, moody, full length, reportage.
Content of Picture /
Possible creative making ideas
Reportage
Head and Shoulders
Profile
Props
Mood
5
Taking photographs on location, factors to consider
Health and safety
Time management
Working with other
agencies/people
Lighting
Physical surroundings
Any additional requirements
that may need to be taken into
account
6
Self Assessment of the photographic shoots
Evaluate how the research, planning, location and studio shoot went and
did you get the images you wanted.
Having taken photographs on location how did it go, did the research help
to identify styles of images, lighting techniques, poses, props etc?
Did the plan work and make the location shoot manageable.
What worked, what did not and ideas for improvement.
1 Research
2Planning
3 Images /Story Board
Did you get the images you planned for
Other factors
affecting location shoots
7
Develop Film
Develop film as normal
In the dark open this canister, take out film, cut of end tab with scissors,
and Load film onto spool, place spool onto column put column and spool into
tank put on funnel and lid.
Measure out 300m of developer per film; take the temperature of the
developer.
Check your film, make, type, ISO and look up its development time on the
chart
Adjust the time to compensate for the temperature of the developer.
Set time on the clock and pour in developer develop for the required time
agitate regularly to move bubbles on the film.
Empty the developer down the sink.
Fill with 300m of stop bath per film
Allow to work for 1 minute and return to the container
Measure out 300m of fixer and allow to work for 5 minutes agitating as
required and then pour it back into its container.
Wash for 5 minutes in cold running water.
Take negative of spool in one single motion.
Remove excess water from negative and place in drying cabinet.
Remove film from cabinet before it curls.
Cut into strips of 6 negatives to enable fit to the negative folder.
8
Make Contact Sheet
1 Place negative strips into contact Frame by slotting them behind the
thin plastic strips, attached to the glass. Place them in numerical order as
viewed from the back of the negative.
2 Place the frame on the base board of the enlarger and ensure the light
cover the whole of the frame.
3 Set the filter wheel to grade 2.5 (make sure the red light is switched
of).
4 Set the lens aperture to f8.
5 Select the enlarger timer to 3 seconds.
6 Make your test strip by placing a piece of photographic paper into the
frame (ensure the enlarger light is switched off). Press run on the
enlarger timer, to expose the paper for the three seconds, and then
cover a 2cm strip with black card and press run again for a further 3
seconds. Continue this way until you have reached the end of your sheet
of paper.
6 Now develop the paper in the usual way.
7 Your test strip should now show strips of grey tones. In White light
chose the most suitable time by counting up the strips in 3s (time of
exposure).
When you have chosen your estimated time, go back to your enlarger,
place a of 10x8 sheet of paper into the frame. Set the enlarger timer to
your new time and press run
8 Print in the usual way.
9
Evaluate images on your contact sheet
Once you have printed your contact sheet you need to evaluate which
prints you want to work on for your final prints.
Factors to consider
 Composition
 Tonal range
 Subject
 Grab factor
 does it meet the assignment brief
Identify why you want to print negatives as above
1
2
3
4
5
10
Use Selected negatives to print
Decide how you are going to print images
(Taking into account creative making)
Borders edges vignette type of paper
Dodging and burning grade split grade printing etc.
Print pictures (2 Final prints are required and all evidence of work leading
to final print and contact sheet)
Complete any post printing work
Bleaching, toning, hand colouring spotting etc
11
Final print assessment sheet
Develop a self assessment sheet of the factors you assess as the most
important for a picture to contain
Ideas, tonal range, composition, grab factor, technical quality, creativity.
1
2
3
4
5
12
Conclusions
Improvments
13
Learning points and reflections on module
14