The Need for Creative Development

In many ways, constructed photography works in a similar way to film production, in that scenes are crafted, sets are built, and actors play a specific role to help tell a given story, as opposed to a more photojournalistic approach which aims to capture what lies before us in as truthful a way as possible.

2020: well that was a crazy year! As I look back over the last twelve months it has been a real whirlwind of emotions and at times a very difficult journey. To be transparent and brutally honest, professionally it has been somewhat of a disaster.

With so much of my commercial work based around the performing arts, this has sadly been one of the hardest hit areas in the UK and will be one of the last to recover as things begin to return. This frustratingly left me with a lot of time on my hands, and as always, a creative output has been one of my best ways of coping with these difficult times.

One of the most positive and rewarding things, however, to come out of this challenging period has been a sustained period of critical evaluation. Whilst this may have been forced upon me, it has been an opportunity to take time out to focus on the development of my craft as well as find space to produce a completely new body of personal work. In the absence of my usual commercial projects to keep me motivated, I instead had to seek that motivation from within, trying to capture my experiences and produce a project that I had always dreamed about making.

I was recently invited to give a guest lecture at my old university, in which I took a long hard look at my creative journey so far. The most important theme that emerged from the presentation and one that I passionately conveyed to the students was the need for continuing professional development as creatives and image makers.

Creative Development

My loving and ever-supportive partner Rosie specialises in Human Resources, and this is a concept that she constantly talks about, one that is particularly important and relevant for us as photographic artists. In such a highly competitive and sadly over-saturated marketplace, we need to continually develop our craft and further our creative knowledge, bringing us ever closer to the elusive images that we have in our imaginations and that we see in our mind’s eye!

For me, Creative Development currently involves working on a long term project that, for the first time in my career, has no professional agenda; it is simply a creative outlet to help in my fight against my ongoing struggles with mental health issues. Yet at the same time, it serves two extremely important key functions, for as well as a creative outlet it also provides space to develop new ideas, techniques and solutions that I have been planning for some time. Like a world-class jazz musician or similar performer, the more skilled we are as artists, the more creative and spontaneous we can be in our practice. This latest project became a testing ground for creative ideas, techniques and solutions, pushing me to tell more meaningful stories with my imagery.

Creative Development in Practice

I have always loved cinema and it continues to be one of my biggest influences alongside painting. In many ways, constructed photography works in a similar way to film production, in that scenes are crafted, sets are built, and actors play a specific role to help tell a given story, as opposed to a more photojournalistic approach which aims to capture what lies before us in as truthful a way as possible. I’ve always been inspired by the way that cinema can manipulate and craft light and colour in such a sensitive way, using these tools to construct drama and emotion in what is essentially a fictitious environment.

For many of the images in my ongoing Isolation Diary project, I wanted to employ a very similar creative approach, where if a scene couldn’t be captured with ambient light such as in an evening or night time environment, then the use of artificial lighting had to feel as authentic and honest as the emotions themselves. I want to use a couple of examples from my ongoing Isolation project to help illustrate how these ideas and techniques were applied to tackle two different technical challenges: crafting and shaping both natural and artificial light.

Crafting and Shaping Natural Light

 The aesthetic and mood behind my latest series was inspired by the natural cycle of daylight as it moves through our 3rd floor apartment, with feelings of loneliness and isolation best achieved using this as a guide. The work of the Danish artist Vilhelm Hammershøi has always been a major artistic influence, pursuing a similar end result in the beautiful paintings he made of his Copenhagen apartment at the turn of the 20th century.

Interior Strandgade30 (1901), Vilhelm Hammershøi.Photo: © Städel Museum, Frankfurt/ARTOTHEK)

Whilst the emphasis of my personal approach to this body of work has always been to achieve as natural a look as possible, sometimes the ambient light needs just a little helping hand! A great example of this can be seen in the image below, where the motivation behind this scene was the beautiful late afternoon light spilling through our bedroom window. 

Unfortunately the existing sunlight was simply too strong on its own, so I placed a roll of diffusion material over the bedroom window to help control the exposure, softening the shadows and preserving the delicate details in the highlights. I used a roll of LEE Filters 3/8 White Diffusion, with the edges carefully hidden behind the curtains, allowing me to retain the integrity of the scene and achieve a controlled and balanced exposure without excessive levels of contrast. The images and diagram below help show how this was technique was realised.

Motivated Lighting

Returning to the world of cinema for a brief moment, the concept of Motivated Lighting is a common, everyday technique when lighting for moving image. This concept involves utilising the existing light fixtures in any given scene, often called Practicals, as a guide to adding any artificial lighting in as realistic and sensitive a way as possible. This allows us to capture images that would normally be outside of the limited dynamic range that our cameras can cope with. For example, a warm tungsten desk lamp in the corner of a room provides the look of how a given scene will be lit, and any other additional lighting or flash will be used in such a way as to appear as if they were coming from this very same desk lamp source.

For one of the latest images in this series I wanted to capture an image that was lit by candlelight, recreating an intimate scene in which my partner Rosie and I were taking a bath together, one of the simple domestic pleasures we both shared during lockdown. The first problem, however, was that basic candle light was simply not strong enough to illuminate the whole scene and achieve a usable exposure. I knew that I would need some additional fill lighting to help boost the details in the shadows, yet that this must retain the integrity and drama of the dramatic candle-lit illumination.

After much testing, I ended up with a lighting design based around an old 300w ARRI Junior tungsten fresnel, situated just out of the frame to the right of the image. The fixture was aimed  up to the ceiling to bounce light back into the shot, helping to raise the overall exposure and provide valuable detail in the shadows around the edges of the bath and floor tiles. A sheet of ½ CTO (Colour Temperature Orange) gel was added to balance the Kelvin values of the tungsten lighting to the warmer (lower Kelvin) colour of the existing candle lights, and some LEE Full White Diffusion was also used to soften the shadows and lower the intensity of the lamp fixture.

Lastly, some black card was used to flag the light, controlling the sideways spill and preventing it from bouncing around all over the walls. The end result was that the artificial lighting was then perfectly matched in colour, shape and intensity to the existing candlelight in the image, helping to lift the shadows whilst preserving the overall integrity, quality and direction of light.

Moving Forward

The practice of Motivated Lighting is just one area of my own ongoing personal development and is a strong example of where a sound knowledge of craft, technique and equipment will one day allow me to create more dynamic and imaginative images. The goal here is not to be limited by natural light, but instead to be able to craft and shape it to construct emotive and powerful scenes no matter how challenging the lighting conditions may be.

I hope these two short examples can give you some ideas for your own work, and as always please feel free to contact me for any more information or technical questions! I’m always happy to share and learn, as we never learn by getting it right first time! Lastly, my very best wishes for the new year ahead!

Gavin Smart

Gavin Smart is an award-winning freelance photographer. He has a rich and diverse creative background which began with his rigorous musical training, studying the tuba at London’s prestigious Guildhall School of Music. While he no longer plays music professionally, this period of his life gave Gavin the colourful life experiences which continue to shape his photographic process. His cinematically-inspired images feature theatrical light, emotive colour and constructed photography, drawing a strong influence from painting, film and literature. His work marries the production of advertising for some of the UK’s top arts institutions, theatres and design agencies alongside carefully considered personal projects. Using imaginative storytelling to produce creative and thought-provoking imagery, his photography has since become a vital means of personal expression and an aid in making sense of an ever-evolving world.

More Stories

The Waitress, the Tarantula, the Body in the Bathtub and Why I Had To Buy My Girlfriend a New Pentax

The Waitress, the Tarantula, the Body in the Bathtub and Why I Had To Buy My Girlfriend a New Pentax

I’ve got a lot of 35mm negatives, which have suffered quite a bit of damage over the years. My ex had a penchant for purchasing houses that were prone to basement flooding.
Interview with Steve Geer; Published in our print edition #08

Interview with Steve Geer; Published in our print edition #08

I think it has a distinctive design. I really like the cover. The full-page portraits of the featured photographers are unusual and, I think, effective. At the end of the day, what really counts is the content – the work that the magazine presents. In general, I find the content inspiring.
Black & White Photography ; Matthew James Smith

Black & White Photography ; Matthew James Smith

I use photography as a way for me to communicate on a deep level.This has taken me years to understand and I am still learning.This communication is hard for me to put in words.
https://www.dodho.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/bannerpr.jpg

We invite you to participate in the first edition of the Portrait Photography Awards. Our call is open to any artistic interpretation of portrait photography.

https://www.dodho.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/BAnImage.jpg

ImageRights provides intelligent image search and copyright enforcement services to photo agencies and professional photographers worldwide.

https://www.dodho.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/mono2022.jpg

The best 100 images along with the winning images published in the yearly book “Monochromatic – Best Photographers of 2022”

Call For Entries #24 | After 23 editions and more than 100 published photographers, our print edition has proven to be a simply effective promotional channel.

Self taught photographer; Graciela Vilagudin

Self taught photographer; Graciela Vilagudin

I consider myself as aself taught photographer. I have a backgroundworking on TV series and films in Galicia. I also completed an Audiovisual Degree in Vigo (Spain) in 2001.
Gate by Erlend Mikael Saeverud

Gate by Erlend Mikael Saeverud

Sæverud use inspiration from science fiction, surrealism, and film noir to create a world where the city streets are illuminated by the celestial glow of quasars while ominous black holes become passages to parallel worlds.
Interview with Henry Fernando; Published in our print edition #11

Interview with Henry Fernando; Published in our print edition #11

There is definitely a fine line that now separates documentary photography and fine art photography. I want to tell stories through my pictures and I like to create images that we can respond to, something that speaks to us. 
Reverberations by Kazunori Nagashima

Reverberations by Kazunori Nagashima

Yokosuka, Japan, the setting of this work, has a base of the US Navy, it is a city where the remains of the ruins of World War II in part.
Unconscious Reality by Kaushik Dolui

Unconscious Reality by Kaushik Dolui

Sometimes we want to destroy the real space through our imaginative mind. Tried to replace the concrete form of the image to combination of light and shadows and our physical body becomes transparent against light or shadow.
Displaced by Nektarios Markogiannis

Displaced by Nektarios Markogiannis

Home and Away, is personal project documenting the lives of the displaced in South Sudan. The Sudan, after an almost half a century long civil war, was finally divided into two countries.
Vimercati Hats by Jeroen Nieuwhuis

Vimercati Hats by Jeroen Nieuwhuis

After World War II, the whole industry changed. The city of Monza has a rich history of producing this wearable art by hand, but unfortunately, they are the only ones left. The modernization that happened in the '50s led to a decrease in production and by the 70s most of the factories shut down.
Portraits by Gerasimos Platanas

Portraits by Gerasimos Platanas

These works can especially focus on texture and its inherent emotional qualities, the way a visual pattern can intrigue, repulse, stimulate. But interestingly, in this series, you will find a shift in focus from that sharp clarity to a greater ambiguity
Molokans by Marina Balakina

Molokans by Marina Balakina

Molokans are Russian Christians who do not recognise any intermediary communication with God. Molokan history began in 18th Century with the rejection of icons, churches, hierarchies, within the Church and the numerous sacraments.
Gigapolis by Markus Kaesler

Gigapolis by Markus Kaesler

Attracted by the dynamic pulsation of the cities, people float like magic into the big metropolic areas all around the globe.
Loneliness(es) by Antoine Buttafoghi

Loneliness(es) by Antoine Buttafoghi

By necessity, choice or bad luck ... loneliness can take many forms. Whether it comes from punishment or, on the contrary, from a reward, it can go along with freedom, but does not hate disarray!
I’m not my body – A story about euthanasia by Michel Petillo

I’m not my body – A story about euthanasia by Michel Petillo

It sets out to document that euthanasia, contrary to suicide, is not triggered by a severe depressive state. It is a conscious decision and a deeply human journey where the dichotomy of right and wrong must make way for compassion and hope.
Pichaya Viwatrujirapong photography

Pichaya Viwatrujirapong photography

Graduated from University of California, Berkeley with a degree in Chemical Engineering in 2008, Pichaya Viwatrujirapong started working in oil and gas industry where he met his fellow amateur photographers and developed his interest in photography.
Watchdog by Sophie Gamand

Watchdog by Sophie Gamand

Watchdogs are dogs used to protect a person or property against threats. The use of guarding dogs originates over thousands of years ago.
Mother archetype; Saving fire for darker days by Maria Oliveira

Mother archetype; Saving fire for darker days by Maria Oliveira

The project focusses on the mother archetype. Starting with the closest references, the work explores certain gestures, postures and movements with reference to a time and place
Documentary photography; Baro Maa by Joydeep Mukherjee

Documentary photography; Baro Maa by Joydeep Mukherjee

I am old and grey. I am alone inside these four walls and I can only talk to my loneliness. My loneliness is killing me inside.I am almost imperceptible to those people, who are happy in their busy own world. Sometimes, I feel like a critter, for whom these humans had a stiff-arm.

Featured Stories

Self-Untitled by Samantha Geballe

Self-Untitled by Samantha Geballe

Self-Untitled is an on-going self-portrait series that aims at establishing connection through vulnerability, and combating the shame that separates us from one another. Shame can be understood as the fear of disconnection.
Climbing Cholitas by Todd Antony

Climbing Cholitas by Todd Antony

I´m originally from New Zealand but have been living and working as a photographer in London for the last 15 years. Growing up in NZ, the outdoors is pretty much part of your DNA. It`s coded in there somewhere directly after Rugby.
Anja Matko ; String of life and other works

Anja Matko ; String of life and other works

Inspiration for this series she got from her own life and situations that was in at that moment. This series is about life, searching for the right path in your life, the obstacles you have to overcome to reach your goal.
The Orthogenesis of Soul by Sandipan Mukherjee

The Orthogenesis of Soul by Sandipan Mukherjee

We are all aware about the theory of biologically evaluation for Jean Baptist Lamarck. The theory tells about the evaluation of human how the structure of APE has got transferred to the today’s human being.
Black World by Erberto Zani

Black World by Erberto Zani

It is a dark world that millions of people are forced to work in, made of mines, dust and fear. Characterized by oppression, violence and trampled human rights; where the presence of enormous deposits of minerals transform into a curse for the people through the illegality caused by games of power and corrupt economies.
A Story of Faith by Siddhartha Banerjee

A Story of Faith by Siddhartha Banerjee

Faith makes a man move mountains. It is seldom reasons and mostly faith that makes a man cross barriers , struggle hard, sacrifice his well-being. The world has had a lot of stories of faith , stories where men did what reason would never allow them to do.
Street’s people; Hanoi by Riccardo Magherini

Street’s people; Hanoi by Riccardo Magherini

Hanoi series was selected and published in our print edition 19. All the images of the series are quite portraits of street’s people, surrounded by their environment.
Portraits; Expression by Binh-Dang

Portraits; Expression by Binh-Dang

Portraits taken under the surface of water are unique moments that are different from traditional portraits.
Japanese Aquariums by George Nobechi

Japanese Aquariums by George Nobechi

Japanese Aquariums is a journey into some of my oldest, most treasured childhood memories. Whenever I visited my grandparents in the small, northern Japanese city of Otaru, my grandfather, a high school teacher and an enormous influence in my life, would take me to the aquarium.
Lov’yer by Marta Kochanek

Lov’yer by Marta Kochanek

The world witnesses love between people of all nationalities and races. This planet gives room to those attracted to people of the same, opposite and both genders. It is how this world is constructed. It is how it always was.
Dreamland; Tale of the blue pear by Nikolina Petolas

Dreamland; Tale of the blue pear by Nikolina Petolas

Tale of the blue pear; Nikolina Petolas’s project was selected and published in our print edition 16. The series present a search for our own essence, which is embodied in the shape of a pear, in different color and sizes, which can be found in the majority of her artworks.
Kamila Karpinska ; Lifestyle photography

Kamila Karpinska ; Lifestyle photography

A photographer born and living in Poland. She specializes in lifestyle photography. and takes pictures of people in situations where they feel fine.
In the bath by Zuzu Valla

In the bath by Zuzu Valla

The series ''In the Bath'' came into my mind one day when l was walking home from town, feeling weary of life and the weather.
O-Young Kwon ; Documentary photographer

O-Young Kwon ; Documentary photographer

I met O-Young Kwon in Germany when he came back to Berlin, where he was born and grew up. He looks at his friends’ photos of their mutual residency in South Korea, home country of his parents.
Faces – Small worlds by Mofeed Abu Shalwa

Faces – Small worlds by Mofeed Abu Shalwa

A group of faces of some flying insects , part of my second project, Hovercraft flies, dragonflies, bees and wasps I photographed with focus stacking technology. It took me a few months to create and photograph this project until it was completed in the following year, to study the presence and search for these creatures.
Thuis by Susanne Middelberg

Thuis by Susanne Middelberg

“Thuis” is the Dutch translation for “Home”. “Thuis" for me stands literally for “home", but also for the feeling of being at home in my life and in my body.

Trending Stories

Monologue about Chernobyl by Raúl Moreno

Monologue about Chernobyl by Raúl Moreno

A few kilometers from Chernobyl, there is a radioactive atmosphere that can not be seen but can intuit it. Food contaminated by Cesium 137 and Strontium, these inhabitants consume daily making radioactive isotopes are deposited in their bodies gradually.
Street Photography by Christine L. Mace

Street Photography by Christine L. Mace

My artwork explores candid moments and unfiltered interactions humanizing the subject, place or space.  I capture different cultures and walks of life to document the other and uncover the common thread that ties us together.
Ladakh; Culture and Landscape by Aga Szydlik

Ladakh; Culture and Landscape by Aga Szydlik

Ladakh, heaven on earth, known by many names reflecting both the natural beauty and close relationship with Tibet, Ladakh is called the "Land of High Passes," in the Tibetan and Ladakhi language, the "Great Tibet" in Medieval Islamic literature, or as "Little Tibet" in trans-Himalayan states in Kashmir. 
City As Pillow by Bill Livingston

City As Pillow by Bill Livingston

They’re not necessarily homeless. They may be tourists waiting for their ridiculously expensive hotel rooms to be ready. They may be native New Yorkers who’ve pulled all-nighters at work or school.
The Anonymous Artists by Raju Peddada

The Anonymous Artists by Raju Peddada

By what mechanism do I see beauty in decay or distress? Why does a defaced-distressed message incite me? And, how can defacement delineate the mundane mess, from aesthetic magic? The answers may reside in the cognitive theory, which, for the most part, is concerned with the development of an individual's thought process
Interview with Jennifer Murray, executive director of Filter Photo

Interview with Jennifer Murray, executive director of Filter Photo

Filter Photo Festival is a multi-day celebration of photography that takes place every autumn in Chicago. Festival programming includes workshops, lectures, artist talks, exhibitions, and more.  We concurrently run workshops during the four days of the Festival.
Wildest dreams; Wasteland by Vanessa Paxton

Wildest dreams; Wasteland by Vanessa Paxton

Seven years ago. That’s how long ago I created these images. I can hardly believe it’s been so long. I was in a very dark place when I created this series.
I had left my home early in the morning by Lilit Matevosyan

I had left my home early in the morning by Lilit Matevosyan

For several years my study has been the history of my family: from generations that lived in the XIX century to our time. By making this project, I began to realize how a small story of one family, could be the history of millions of others.
Symphony by Matthieu Colnat

Symphony by Matthieu Colnat

How to photograph music? That was the first question I asked myself before I started to work on this series. I never was so much of a dance enthousiast but I have always been intrigued and attracted by classic dancers.
Abstract images; Photomicrography by Mike Dingley

Abstract images; Photomicrography by Mike Dingley

For many years I have taken photographs of family, friends, holidays etc. as many of us do and this was the norm whilst I was raising a family and working at a full time job.
Working Shadows by Amaury Wenger

Working Shadows by Amaury Wenger

My goal was then to meet them, get to know them and give these hard-working bodies the importance they deserve, both in action during their work, or as ephemeral model under the lights of the improvised studio. 
Ice Formations by Ryota Kajita

Ice Formations by Ryota Kajita

This series, Ice Formations, captured ice patterns appearing on ponds, lakes and river in the beginning of winter around Fairbanks, Alaska.

Other Stories

stay in touch
Join our mailing list and we'll keep you up to date with all the latest stories, opportunities, calls and more.
We use Sendinblue as our marketing platform. By Clicking below to submit this form, you acknowledge that the information you provided will be transferred to Sendinblue for processing in accordance with their terms of use
We’d love to
Thank you for subscribing!
Submission
Dodho Magazine accepts submissions from emerging and professional photographers from around the world.
Their projects can be published among the best photographers and be viewed by the best professionals in the industry and thousands of photography enthusiasts. Dodho magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any submitted project. Due to the large number of presentations received daily and the need to treat them with the greatest respect and the time necessary for a correct interpretation our average response time is around 5/10 business days in the case of being accepted.
- Between 10/30 images of your best images, in case your project contains a greater number of images which are part of the same indivisible body of work will also be accepted. You must send the images in jpg format to 1200px and 72dpi and quality 9. (No borders or watermarks)
- A short biography along with your photograph. (It must be written in the third person)
- Title and full text of the project with a minimum length of 300 words. (Texts with lesser number of words will not be accepted)
This is the information you need to start preparing your project for its presentation
To send it, you must compress the folder in .ZIP format and use our Wetransfer channel specially dedicated to the reception of works. Links or projects in PDF format will not be accepted. All presentations are carefully reviewed based on their content and final quality of the project or portfolio. If your work is selected for publication in the online version, it will be communicated to you via email and subsequently it will be published.
Contact
How can we help? Got an idea or something you'd like share? Please use the adjacent form, or contact contact@dodho.com
Thank You. We will contact you as soon as possible.
Submission
Dodho Magazine accepts submissions from emerging and professional photographers from around the world.
Their projects can be published among the best photographers and be viewed by the best professionals in the industry and thousands of photography enthusiasts. Dodho magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any submitted project. Due to the large number of presentations received daily and the need to treat them with the greatest respect and the time necessary for a correct interpretation our average response time is around 5/10 business days in the case of being accepted. This is the information you need to start preparing your project for its presentation.
To send it, you must compress the folder in .ZIP format and use our Wetransfer channel specially dedicated to the reception of works. Links or projects in PDF format will not be accepted. All presentations are carefully reviewed based on their content and final quality of the project or portfolio. If your work is selected for publication in the online version, it will be communicated to you via email and subsequently it will be published.
Get in Touch
How can we help? Got an idea or something you'd like share? Please use the adjacent form, or contact contact@dodho.com
Thank You. We will contact you as soon as possible.