Bettina von Zwehl is a German photographer who lives and works in London. She is known for her "subtle and unnerving" portrait photography. Many of her portraits are either of children in formal presentations and harsh lighting, or of adults in unflattering and odd positioning and lighting.
This photo presents the upper-half of a woman who appears to be sat at a blank white table; the background also being a plain white. Her clothing is minimalist, with only a plain white vest, revealing her arms and chest. The lighting of the photo makes her appear very pale as if she were sick, her body and facial expression suggests this photo is candid, as she appears unprepared for the photo and in her own thoughts. Zwehl has left a lot of negative space above and to the sides of the woman, this makes her appear smaller in comparison, it also presents a symbolism of loneliness and solitude, because it can suggest this woman has all this space and nothing to fill it with. Zwehl appears to have used a longer shutter speed to create a slight distortion of blur to the photo, this makes the atmosphere of the photo feel awkward, almost as if the viewer has intruded on this woman when she is by herself. Zwehl has used harsh studio lighting to wash out the pigment in the woman's skin and make everything appear sterile. She has most likely created this by using multiple softbox lights and reflectors to keep the light bouncing into the photo. The clothing on the woman reveals a lot of her skin and this seems to suggest a vulnerability to the woman, since skin can be symbolised as a very sensitive and personal thing, to present so much appears vulnerable. The woman's expression is dull and vacant, it appears as though she is so deep in thought that she is almost disconnected to her own body, and it is just left as a presentation of her.
This photo presents another woman dressed also in a plain white vest, while also surrounded by blank white. The woman is sat at a empty table and has her arms in front of her. Her expression is vacant and slightly blurred, suggesting Zwehl captured her in candid and also used a long shutter speed to capture some movement to create a distortion. The woman's body expression appears uncomfortable and forced, as if she is currently in an uncomfortable state of mine, leaving her feeling dissociated to her body and its positioning. Zwehl has left a lot of negative space around the woman, making her appear as if alone symbolically, or a possible symbolism of emptiness to this woman's life. Zwehl has used harsh studio lighting such as softboxes to wash out the colouring and life to the photo, making the setting appear clinical and strict. This woman's skin tone is darker compared to the other woman above, which lead to this photo appearing slightly warmer in atmosphere, but it is still rather harsh and distorted. Zwehl seems to want to create a harsh distortion in a subtle way so it leaves the viewer slightly unsettled and uncomfortable because they are not quite sure what is wrong with the photo and what is making the atmosphere appear perplexing. The woman's vacant expression appears to present some concentration, as if she is trying to find herself in this moment. Her hair is tucked behind her ears and shoulders, leaving a feeble presentation of her shoulders which appear delicate and make her seem vulnerable.
This photo presents a woman sat at a empty white table, in front of a blank white background; she is also clothed in a plain white vest. This woman's pale complexion combined with the harsh lighting washes out the colour within the photo and leaves her almost appearing ill. The only prominent colour left is the rose red of her lips, which contrast well with her pale skin; the colour intensity in this one area makes her look further ill and also is a strong punctum to the photo. Compared to the two women before, this woman's hair is tied back, so her neck and facial structure is better revealed. This conveys fragility on the woman, because so much of her authentic self is being presented, her skin and feminine structure is being presented raw, and this creates a vulnerability for her. The woman's expression appears to have more meaning compared to the other women before, you can see her mouth is slightly parted and her eyes appear focused onto something; this woman appears to be thinking more heavily. Her body expression conveys more intention than the other women's, her shoulders appear relaxed and her arms are rested onto the table rather than slightly hovered over it. Zwehl's use of shutter speed and harsh lighting has still made the atmosphere perplexing, it seems as though these settings to a photo makes something seem unreal and synthetic, the wash out of colour and slight blur suggests imperfection and it leaves the photo slightly unsettling.
This photo presents a woman sat, in front of a white background, at an empty white table, with her arms rested on top of it. She is dressed in a plain white vest and her hair appears to be put back. This woman appears smaller compared to the other women, this could be due to her having a lot more negative space surrounding her, her size makes her appear more frail. Because of the woman's complexion, the atmosphere is slightly warmer than if she was paler. Nonetheless, Zwehl's light settings create a harsh and strict atmosphere, the lighting almost feels as though a leader to this woman, it restricts and controls how she must present. The method of a candid photo in this context must create an interesting effect, because Zwehl is using intense studio lighting, taking a photo candidly may create a state of shock to the women, thus creating a distorted photo due to the possible movement of shock. This woman appears more relaxed in her situation, this is conveyed in her relaxed body expression and the ease on the woman's jaw; this may be due to her being lost in thought, since her eyes hold a distance in them that suggests she is focused on something in her mind.
Overall...
I feel Zwehl's work is extremely interesting, the subtle distortion she creates through artificial light and camera settings is exceedingly effective in creating an unsettling photo that can confuse a viewer, because it is so subtle that it it very difficult to pinpoint what is actually wrong with the photo. I feel Zwehl in this portfolio 'Alina' wanted to create something in tribute to women and their raw presentation. The use of washing out almost all possible colour and stripping these women to vests that reveal majority of their skin leaves them as their authentic, raw selves, with nothing to distract that. Zwehl's use of artificial light in portraiture is very impacting and interesting.
Zwehl, B (2004), "Alina", [http://www.bettinavonzwehl.com/alina.html#], (accessed:11/02/2020)
After Recreation...
After research into Zwehl's work, I discovered her techniques to create her photos involved intense studio lighting and slower shutter speeds to create a subtle blur to form a distorted appearance. With this information, I felt capable in recreating her work within a studio setting. I took multiple photos using slightly different shutter speeds to experiment with the subtle blur in the photos, I also used various studio lights such as softboxes and dishes to create the intense light in the photo. I found the slower shutter speeds weren't as effective in creating the subtle blur, but more created a distorted blur that also darkened the photo. Therefore, shutter speeds slightly higher such as 1/80 were more effective since they kept the intense light and also allowed only minimal blur to the photo. In my photos (right) I was unable to perfectly recreated the composition in Zwehl's photos (left), mainly I was unable to feature a table to sit at like the models in Zwehl's work. What I was able to recreate was the composition to body positioning, mainly the models looking down in a vacant manner.
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