Inspired by Irving Penn

Chelsey Wilson, His Ruin (2008)

Irving Penn’s photograph of cigarette butts on the ground showed another take on what smoking does other than cause cancer and coat lungs with soot, so I collected and arranged items that would lead and/or result in a destructive relationship. I wanted the photo to be intense and slightly confusing but every item tells a part of the story yet everyone may see a different story.

Inspired by Horst P. Horst

Chelsey Wilson, Vanity (2008)

The photograph was inspired by Horst P. Horst, a master of light. What I was inspired by the most was the detail and focus of the eyes and of the hands in his work. I wanted emotion to show through in my work more then anything and I think the detail of the hands and eyes accomplish this successfully.

Inspired by Richard Avedon

Chelsey Wilson, Katie (2008)

I tried to master Richard Avedon’s photo of a girl with beautiful long hair floating in the air. My goal was to get all or most of Katie’s hair up off her shoulders using several fans and my studio partner, Katie Derus, who had to literally throw the model’s hair up for half of the shoot. I wanted it to appear soft and weightless, effortlessly defying gravity–I think that was captured in this photo.

Shadows

Chelsey Wilson, Peace in the Shadows (2008)

This light is achieved with a barn door on a strobe light in the studio. It created a nice shadow effect. I thought hand signals and shadows would add a lot.

Low Key Light

Chelsey Wilson, One More (2008)

This is low key light in studio. I only used one light on the right of Katie and turned the power down to a lower setting. The light is still pretty strong but I liked the contrast and how her faced looks with the shadows. This is another one of Katie’s moods…she wanted this shoot to be over…just one more

Medium Key Light

Chelsey Wilson, Hidden (2008)

This photo is a demonstration of medium key light in the studio. I used two of the studio lights, one with an umbrella, to get an even amount of light on her face. To make a softer light then the high key light photo, I turned down the power and pulled the lights further away from Katie. I like that she’s peering into medium light.

High Key Light

Chelsey Wilson, Frustration (2008)

To get this high key light I used three lights, one to light the back of the canvas and the other two in front of her. I wanted to capture katie and her frustration with me taking her picture…and having a busy week…So, I guess you could say I captured her mood and let her get it out!