Tone

Definition & Theory

•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. The parts of the object on which the light is strongest are called highlights and the darker areas are called shadows. There will a range of tones in between the highlights and shadows.

•Without tone Form does not exist, tone is therefore an important aspect in the visualisation of 3D objects.

Ansel Adams created a zone system, this shows the basic principle of the zone system. Zone 0 is pitch black, giving no detail in an image. Zone 10 is pure white, also containing no detail. Zone 5 is mid grey. When using a light meter, either external or in-camera the meter will always expose for Zone 5, whether this will give you the best image or not.

•In the absence of colour our ability to create a narrative (story) in an image is restricted.

•This is viewed as an advantage to practitioners of Black and white photography

•Particular attention is given to ensure a wide range of tones are used.

This is evident in the work of Pictorialist photographers such as Edward Weston and Ansel Adams

Theory Example 

These examples show to me that tone is found in every object, especially in landscapes, people and nature. It shows to me that there are many different ways to approach tone, but specifically close shots. It is evident that the image has to have different depths of original colour for it to translate into many different tones when converted into a black and white image.

Artist Research
The photographer I have chosen to research is Imogen Cunningham (1883 - 1976), she was an American Photography recognised for her nudes, industrial landscapes and botanical photography. Cunningham was a member of the Group f/64, known for its dedication to sharp-focus .

The above images represent the tone photography taken by Imogen Cunningham, these show some of the botanical work that she did. She used a very high aperture on all these photos to achieve sharp definition, the images connote to me the purity and delicacy of flowers and illustrate the variation of shades that can be created within the crevasses. Imogen Cunningham said "my interest in photography has something to do with the aesthetic, and that there should be a little beauty in everything." This is shown in these images above with her use of negative space and light angles, especially the last image of the amaryllis flower,where the direction of light creates shadows, illustrating positive moods versus negative moods, this also helps to highlight the significance of something so small and simple.

          I am inspired by this to create portrait tone photography of flowers, using light and high aperture settings to define the details of my images.

Image bank

The following images were added as part of my visual research.

The above collection of photographs by other photographers, represent images that I can re-create to illustrate tone. They represent a variety of different approaches to tone, using individuals, objects and nature. I may also take a sepia approach to a one of my photographs after this research.

 AO:1.  You must ensure that several of the visual ideas/inspirations within the image bank are pursued.

My Selected Photos

Images that require improvement

The image of the coke bottle needs to be improved because of how blurry it is. I aimed to capture the image at a much finer aperture. However, the image was taken outside at night using a torch to create light from a specific angle, unfortunately, for my camera to capture and focus on the light (as the surrounding light was very poor), my camera took the shot at very low shutter speed, thus creating a blur. To improve this, instead of taking it handheld I will use a tri-pod to ensure stability, if I am having to use a low shutter speed.

As for the photo taken below, I feel as if it does not capture enough tone. I aimed to take a photo that showed more of a shadow, yet the angle at which the photo was taken at failed to illustrate this. I can improve this by re-taking the image in a dark room, in order to highlight the candle inside creating different tones through the windows of the object, and a more visible shadow.

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

I used a Canon EOS 1300D for my images and all of my photos were taken at an aperture of f/5.6 and ISO of 200. However, the image of the sunflower was taken at an aperture of f/6.3, I did this to increase the sharpness of my image in relation to Cunningham. The shutter speed of the image below was at 1/30 and the camera was balanced on the surface of the light table. The image is in focus, yet the angle it is at reverts my focus from just the chess pieces to tones in the background.

If I were to re-shoot this image I would maybe increase the aperture and zoom the image, to change my focus to just the king and queen chess pieces.

To improve my images I used Photoshop and changed the photo filter to black and white, then I experimented with changing the intensity of the different colours that were present in the picture, to create a variations of tone.

I also made one of my images sepia toned by doing as I did above then adding a sepia photo filter, inspired by my research from other photographers.

These screen grabs show how I reached my final pictures.

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

I feel like I have created a strong set of images that illustrate different tones, in accordance to ansel adams zone system. I produced my final images by altering the intensity of colour when added a black and white photo filter on photoshop. I sucessfully experimented with tone to produce images with different connotations. 

Although it was not my original intention I managed to re-create the connotations I get from Imogen Cunningham's Amaryllis flower image in my shoot.

AO3: Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions, reflecting critically on work and progress. - in reference to my best images

My idea for illustrating tone was to capture six different and specific colours of flowers, so when editing them in Photoshop there are many different possible tones that could be created using the black and white photo filter tool. I took some at night and some during the day to naturally manipulate negative space like Imogen Cunningham.  I was then inspired by my research of other photographers to change one of my photos to a sepia tone.

My first photo of the flower was taken at night to naturally manipulate the negative space like Imogen Cunningham,creating a darker tone in the background which emphasises the lighter tone of the flower. This meant when I transferred the image into Photoshop, I could make the lines on the petals that followed out from the centre of the bud start at a zone 4 and gradually fade out into zone 7, along the edges of the petals. The emphasis on these fine lines illustrate to me the delicacy and smoothness of a flower. 

My photograph of the sunflower was taken at a aperture of f/6.3, I did this to create a very sharp and defined image, where you can see a lot of detail. I was inspired to do this because of the group Imogen Cunningham was part of (f/64) as she was very interested in sharp-focus photography. When editing in Photoshop due to the sharp-focus I was able to highlight the stigmas of the flower making them Zone 10.

I took the third picture at night, as the original colours were all very dark including reds and very dark greens and a negative space background. These colours created a negative mood; when putting the image to Photoshop and adding a black and white filter, I lowered the red tones to keep up this mood and it created a greyish tone on the flower between zone 4 and 5. I was then inspired by my research of other photographers to make the image sepia toned, this was to illustrate what I feel the image presents, which is lack of enthusiasm.

This is my favourite image, this is because although it seems very simplistic at first glance, to me it portrays an element of conflict. I feel this because within the image there is a zone 1 shadow cast across the right hand side and tone of this shadow compared to the flower tones of 7,8 and 9, create a large opposition. This is inspired by a photograph by Imogen Cunningham which envisages two Amaryllis flowers back to back with each other, with different tones due to the angle of light.

The last photograph was edited in Photoshop based around 3 main tones (1,5 &10). The contrast in tone of the pattern inside the petal, to the colour outside, - keeping in mind the shape of the flower- , creates a hollow feel, this connotes to me the deep feelings flowers can represent, like when being given as a gift from a loved one. On the other hand, it can represent the emptiness people feel when they, for example lay flowers on a grave stone. I took this image as a close up to capture its aesthetic and was inspired by Imogen Cunningham's quote "there should be a little beauty in everything."

AO1: Develop ideas through sustained and focused investigations informed by contextual and other sources, demonstrating analytical and critical understanding.

My research into Imogen Cunningham really inspired me to try and naturally manipulate light to capture tone and experiment with the angles of light to create shadows. It was her botanical work and portraiture that made me choose to focus my study of tone on flowers shot portrait. This was very helpful because in my town there is a range of plains with many types and different coloured flowers.My research of other artists was helpful, and inspired some of my images of people in my contact sheet, giving me the idea of approaching one of my images with a sepia tone. I also found my research into the theory was important as it showed me that the subjects in the photo need a range of colours/shades beforehand to be effective when changed to black and white.