Looking at Gregory CrewdsonPHOTOGRAPHY

Gregory Crewdson is a contemporary photographer born in 1962 in Brooklyn, New York. He

takes photos using professional lighting equipment, the same as large, Hollywood movies do. The

finished photograph therefore resembles a film still. His photos usually look at American families

and the disturbing realities. I liked how most movies glamorised

American families, portraying an ideal “breakfast cereal” family. However Crewdson’s photos

almost exaggerate the disturbing reality of ‘normal’ families and

portray a story about a character.

MY IMAGESFirst shoot

To achieve the same kind of photos as Crewdson I used two different lights; a light panel and a spot light. I set them up

to achieve different shadows and dramatic lighting. By doing this I was able to achieve a tense and sinister photo,

much like Crewdson.

In my photos I presented a character of a young woman struggling with some sort of mental illness. I portrayed this

by using dark and ominous lighting.

I cropped this photo to remove the pictures on the wall as well as the window frame. This gave the photo a more professional feel. I like the lighting on the side of her face, especially how it casts a

shadow on the wall.

Again I cropped this photo to remove the photos on the left. I like the reflection on the mirror. However because of the

lighting, smudges on the mirror show up more. Next time I would also think about the set more. For example I wouldn’t

have the guitar in the background.

SECOND SHOOT

Using what I had learnt from last time meant I was able to set out the scene more like I wanted it to be. I was able to use the character that will feature in my final piece as well as props (book). From my first shoot I learnt to diffuse the light by reflecting it off a wall and then to have a brighter

spotlight on the person’s face.

SECOND SHOOT

FINAL THREE

I cropped the pictures to get the composition I wanted as well as removing some things that didn’t fit into the scene. I feel like the final 3

photos reflect a story and have the film still feel, same as Crewdson's photos have. I didn’t change the exposure of any of the pictures as I was able to achieve the light I wanted while shooting by

using a spotlight and light panel.

FINAL THREE