Technique

Richard Learoyd uses the ancient dark box photography technique. His color photography is unique. When outputting, there is only a single positive phase, and there is no negative film and digital processing. Until 2003, he improved the entire system and enabled the photo paper to be successfully exposed in this room-sized camera. His project, whether it’s a model or a still life, was placed in another room next to the camera, which contained a bright light source, and a lens mounted on the bellows connected the two. When the light shines on the subject, the object is directly recorded by an Ilfochrome photo paper, and the resulting image is extremely realistic and mellow, although the depth of field becomes very shallow.

Here is a photo I found on Google about his BIG camera.

Style

Richard Learoyd seems interested in showing the red tone on human skin instead of the peachy tone, which is quite different from a lot of artists. His models appear the state of silence makes these portrait photos feel like figurative art. They seem to be musing, questioning, anger or grief, but it is difficult to give a categorical answer. The poses of the models and the unique grey tone of the ancient technique make his work rich in metaphor. His works also remind me of a Chinese artist, Jun Leng, he is best known for his hyperrealistic paintings and drawings. His works also have this gray tone and full of metaphor，even they are paintings but not photos.

“Tatiana in Red with Green Chair” (2010) unique camera obscura Ilfochrome photograph by Richard Learoyd 58″ x 48″

Katie Black Dress with Eyes, 2014
Camera obscura Ilfochrome photograph mounted to aluminum
60 1/2 × 60 × 3 in
153.7 × 152.4 × 7.6 cm

RICHARD LEAROYD TBD, 2019 camera obscura Ilfochrome photograph mounted to an aluminum image, paper and mount, 24 1/8x 27” x 2”

Jun Leng’s painting

My experience of studio portraits shotting

In the studio photography experience, as anbeginner， I noticed that most models always want to be more beautiful than themselves. Therefore, people modify their touches or dress up, and the ultimate goal is to get approval from others. However, no matter what. People, there are always one or two angles in front of the camera is preferable. I realized that I could use the method of transforming angles to correct the beautification. For example, a person with a pointed and narrow forehead can shoot at a high position, and the light levels of the main and auxiliary lights can be raised. Because the high position of the camera makes the perspective of the head change, the forehead portion closer to the lens is exaggerated and close to the normal level. In addition, the illumination of the high position light can make the forehead part appear brighter, and the bright part becomes larger in psychological feeling.

To achieve a photo like Richard Learoyd’s works, a photo seems with a lot of stories behind it, how to mobilize the mood of the model is a very important issue.

Of course, technical issues such as lighting, scenery, and angles are also places I need to learn. From the work of Richard Learoyd, the set does not seem to require too much decoration to achieve the rendering of the atmosphere. Soft lighting seems to make it easier to create softer emotions, and the choice of photographic equipment can directly affect the final effect of the work. Of course, this is not absolute. The most important thing is always the head behind the camera, not the external factor.