Tone

Tone

Definition and theory

Tone: This refers to the lightness or darkness of something. This could be a shade or how dark or light a colour appears. Tones are created by the way light falls on a 3D object on which the light is strongest are called highlights and the darker areas are called shadows. There is a range of in between the highlights and shadows. Without tone, form does not exist, tone is therefore an important aspect in the visualisation of 3D objects. 

This image shows an example of different tones. The top part shows light tone, highlight, and the bottom part shows dark tones, shadow. The middle part shows something called transitional light which is the in between tone. 

In this picture, does tone connote strength and masculinity?

I would say that tone does connote strength and masculinity because the lighting shows the structure of his face as being more chiselled. The details of his face are hard to determine because of the dark tones causing shadows. This was photo was perhaps taken with direct lighting from a small light source. 

In this picture, does tone connote femininity?

I would say it does because the majority of the tones are light in the image which makes the woman seem elegant, as light colours are associated with this. There aren't many shadows and a lot of highlight in her skin, so the lightness in tone brightens her skin, as though she is a radiant and glowing. 

Research

Imogen Cunningham

Imogen Cunningham was an American photographer born in Portland, Oregon 1883. Cunningham was the fifth of 10 children. She grew up in Seattle, Washington and attended the Denny School in Seattle. At the age of 18, she bought her own camera. Cunningham studied at the University of Washington, and it wasn't until she was studying there that she became inspired to take up photography again, 5 years after buying her camera. She began to study chemistry behind photography with the help of her chemistry professor. She graduated from University in 1907 with a degree in chemistry. After graduating in 1907, Cunningham went to work for Edward S. Curtis in his Seattle studio. 

Image bank

I used Google Images to find the following images related to 'tone':

The above images are images that I selected images that I thought were similar to the photographer I researched, Imogen Cunningham and that I thought I would be able to capture at home or in Harlow. I was inspired by Cunningham's photography and carefully selected these images. From my research of Imogen Cunningham and the images I selected for my image bank, I was able to interpret them into my own work.

Selected images

Contact sheet

Best images

I have selected the following images that I think represent 'tone' the best. I also selected these images because they look most like the style of Imogen Cunningham's work:

Images that need improvement 

With this image, I was inspired by Cunningham's image of a group of the same flowers all together (4th from research section). however, the image didn't quite turn out right as the focus was completely out, making the flowers look rather blurry. Also, the background doesn't look right as it is just unnecessary colours. To improve this, I would have to retake the photo and adjust the focus so that the camera focuses on all of the flowers. I would also use a more plain background such as a wall. I should have taken the picture from a higher angle tilting the camera down, so that it would resemble Cunningham's image even more. 

My intentions for this were to capture the flowers from their side, without showing any/much of the stem. I did this, but the image came out rather badly. The focus shifted from 2 of the flowers to only one of them, making the flower in the front blurry. For the background, I used a piece of paper so that none of the other flowers in the vase would be show in the background. However, the image shows a crease in the paper, which makes it look uneven. If I were to retake this image, I would adjust the focus to both of the flowers and also replace the piece of paper to a piece without a crease. I should also consider using a tripod, which might help with getting the focus right if it's in the right position. 

AO3 Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions, reflecting critically on work and progress

With reference to my 'best images':

For the first image, I tried to capture the flowers with a clean background. I exceeded this intention by placing a plain piece of paper behind the flowers I was photographing and focusing the camera on the flowers. I was inspired by Imogen Cunningham to take this picture because of the different images she has taken of flowers. Her photographs represent 'tone' using a variety of flowers in different pictures, so I tried to do the same thing. The image I took shows 4 of the same flower, all being shown in different position, with one showing the flower in full. I took the image from a frontal view and at a direct angle. The under part of the flowers presents a shadow as the direction of light is coming from above. This would be marked as zone 0. It is hard to determine the zones before the image is edited to black and white, but it looks as though the centre of the flower could be highlight, zone 10, if not, then zone 9. I didn't need to use the zoom lens for this image. 

The second image was inspired by Cunningham, specifically the third image down in the research section. I intended to capture a simple flower on its own, just as Cunningham had done. As I have done previously, I placed a piece of paper behind the flower to use as a plain background. The light source was coming from above and in front of the flowers. The lighting captured a shadow on the paper, but no highlight on the flower. When Photoshopping this image, I will make the flower light to get some high zone numbers in the picture. I will do this by reducing the amount of red in the picture. I will also increase the amount of green to darken the stem to give low zone numbers. I photographed this flower from a frontal view and at a direct angle to resemble Cunningham's image. I didn't have use for the zoom tool here as I was able to get up close to the flower. 

For the third image, I took a similar approach to the first image by capturing many of the same flower. The lighting came from directly above the flowers, creating the flowers to form a shadow on the background paper. I took the image from a frontal view at a slightly raised and tilted down angle. This captured the flowers and their stems, with the flowers dominating the picture. The flowers are yellow and look rather light. The stems look a lot darker, so there are possible tones of zone 0 and 10 when edited black and white. To get zone 10, I will have to increase the amount of yellow in the image and dcrease the amount of green for zone 0. 

For the fourth image, I didn't create a plain background, as not all of Cunningham's images have this. Some of Cunningham's images have other plants/flowers and other things in the background, but the main focus is on the flower. I inspired from the second image in the research section that is of a single flower without regards of the background. To do this, I focused the camera on the flower I was capturing, making the background less focused. The lighting for this image came from the left above the flowers, but there isn't much shadow here. There is part of the flower in the centre that has shadow due to the lighting, but there is no highlight displayed in the flower, only in the background. I captured the image from a frontal view, tilting the camera slightly downwards. 

With the fifth image, I used the zoom lens to get a close up picture of the flower. I intended to capture the flower at one side of the photograph as I was taking inspiration from an image I found under 'tone photography' and placed in 'image bank' (4th down in image bank section). I captured the image by placing a piece of paper behind the flower and angling the camera slightly upwards from a low side view. The source of lighting came from above and in front of the flower, giving very little highlight on the flower. The flower has a very dark centre which will be identified as zone 0, but no zone 10. 

The sixth image portrays the same flower used in 'best images' (fourth image) but with a different background, source of light, angle and perspective. I used the white piece of paper for the background, as i have done with most of my images. The source of lighting came from directly above the flower rather than above and in front, like the other image of this flower. I photographed the flower at a low angle, tilting the camera upwards slightly to capture the underneath part of the flower along with the flower's petals. I also took the image from a frontal perspective. Due to the lighting, there is quite a big shadow on the flower, darkening a big section of the flower, which will be good for seeking low zones. There is a small bit of highlight presented on the flower, but only on the tips of the petals, which might not show too well once Photoshopped. 

AO2 Explore and select appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques and processes, reviewing and refining ideas as work develops

I used a Fujifilm Fineopix 5200 to capture all of the images on my contact sheet for shape. For the majority of the photographs I took, I used a piece of paper to create a plain background for the lighting to capture any shadows. Other images, I left the natural background the same, which worked well for some, but not the best for others. I used pieces of paper because I didn't have access to a studio, but the images were small enough to capture upon the paper and created the same look as some of Cunningham's work. I also didn't have a use for a tripod, which might have helped to improve the images I produced. To take the pictures, I placed the vase of flower on a surface which was at the right level for me to take pictures by standing, so for most of my images, I stood. However, for the images I wanted to take from a low angle, I would crouch slightly to get this perspective. I also moved the camera around when taking the images to experiment with the different angles for capturing the flowers. I moved the vase around on the surface to capture the flowers in different light sources. I did this to try to get shadow and highlight for my photographs. I didn't have much use for the zoom lens as I was able to get close-up to the items, but there were a few that I found it better to use the zoom lens. 

I used Photoshop to edit the 6 images from 'best images' to make them black and white. I did this because I was taking inspiration from Cunningham's images, which were all black and white.  I took screen prints of how I edited one of the images:

First of all, I opened the image up on Photoshop. 

The next thing I did was select 'black and white' from the adjustment panel. This automatically changed the image to black and white, giving it fixed colour levels, which can be changed. 

I changed the levels of each colour by dragging the bars to increase/decrease the colours. I experimented with the levels of colour until I found the tones I liked best. I wanted to make the natural dark parts of picture even darker and the natural light parts even lighter. I did this by decreasing the amount of green in the picture and increasing the amount of yellow and magenta. 

The last thing I did was use 'curve' from the adjustment panel. I did this darken and lighten part of the image. I experimented with this by moving two points on the line by dragging them around until I thought the image  looked at its best. I moved one point just below the line and one point above the line. By doing this, a new, curved line was produced. This Photoshopping helped me to edit my images to look in a similar style of Imogen Cunningham's photography. I edited all of the images from 'best images' in a similar way so that they would all be black and white. 

AO1 Develop ideas through sustained and focused investigations informed by contextual and other resources, demonstrating analytic and critical understanding

I found that the research of photographer Imogen wasn't very helpful to my work on 'tone'. The research I found about her upbringing and events in her life was not helpful at all for myself to produce images of 'tone', but I did find various images by Cunningham that helped. I was able to take inspiration from Cunningham's photographs (in research section) as it was useful to have a visualisation of what style of images I should be taking when going out and capturing 'tone'. I took these images and interpreted it into my own work. I intend to create images that looked similar to Cunningham's work and I would say that I achieved this. The research about Cunningham's life was interesting to know, but not helpful for my photography work.

AO4 Present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions, and where appropriate, make connections between visual and other elements

I think that I have successfully produced a strong series of images inspired by my research of tone. I used the images that I found for 'research' and 'image bank' to help me visualise the kind of images I need to be taking. After researching and finding these images, I figured that I would easily be able to take my photographs at home if I had the right items, which I did. Else, I would have gone around Harlow College Campus to find flowers to capture. However, it is best to take these pictures indoors as I can control the lighting for tone. I intended to capture a variety of flowers from different angles and perspectives. After producing my images, I edited them using Photoshop so that they would all be in black and white. I did this because I was inspiring from photographer Imogen Cunningham    who had only black and white images.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

I edited my best images from my contact sheet in Photoshop to black and white so that they would look like they are in the style of Cunningham's work: