For my Portraiture project i had many ideas floating around in my head. For a while I had a leading idea where I was going to photograph my family with one of their childhood toys, the catch was they had to actually dress up like the toy they had in the photograph. Due to time and resources I decided to scrap this idea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

^^ The Toys that would have been used for the project. In order: Carrie Doll, Gonk, Miss Bunny

 

Instead I decided to stick with the theme of “Nostalgia” and try to recreate photos of members of my family from when they were children.

 

Maisie [Sister] – 2003 (aprox) 

Taken when my sister was very young this image captures the innocence children have in their youth. Sat at our family table one lunchtime she feeds banana to a stuffed white monkey, common and relatable a lot of people would have done this when they were young.

Fast forward 10+ years and there are subtle differences. There are subtle differences like the walls which have been painted over, the subject has grown and changed their hair colour. But a few things remain such as the same white stuffed monkey and the same bowls. I couldn’t quite match the lighting seeing as the original photo was shot midday probably during the Spring or Summer time, I was shooting during the evening in the Winter so strong natural light is hard to come by. Instead artificial light was created using a s strong lamp.

 

Jemma [Mother] – 1974

This Photograph of my Mother was taken in Shillington, Bedford which is where she originally lived. My Grandfather (who was a teacher of design at the time) took this photo in their Bungalow. The Dress she is wearing was made by my Grandmother and really captures the style they had in the 70’s, even down the style of hair my mother had and the shoes she’s wearing.

Since I didn’t have access to my grandparents home i had to improvise dramatically. Luckily in our house we have a chair similar to that of the original photo. Again the lighting proved difficult as the original photo had strong natural light so two strong lamps were used either side.

 

Mat [Father] – 1985 (aprox)

Taken at Hind-leys High School in Shepshead my Father would have been around 12 in this school photo, wearing the standard uniform the highschool had at the time.

Using Lightroom I was able to almost replicate the original image fully with the same coloured shirt. Seeing as the original photo was taken at a professional shooting the lighting is entirely artificial which meant I had an easier time trying to match the backdrop and lighting my subject.