PHT 233
Commercial Photography Class
Week 8, Topic 8, Final Exam Part 1: Option 2: Portrait Recreation Assignment
For this assignment, I chose this Life Magazine cover image from October 16th, 1944, of actress Lauren Bacall which is known to be her most famous pose.

This photo was shot by LIFE staff photographer Philippe Halsman. Halsman prided himself in capturing the beauty of ladies, but he stated that he was attempting to capture something deeper with this image of Becall – that of a feminine subject with a decidedly masculine character showing through.
This photo was taken in connection with her featured role in the 1944 film To Have and Have Not, starring Becall opposite the infamous Humphery Bogart. This photo and the film catapulted Becall into stardom and cemented her place in the world of Hollywood. This photo was well received by the public and is still found in many places on the internet while many other Life covers have faded into history.
The camera used for this studio shoot was most likely a KODACHROME Duplicating Film, 5265 (16mm). Halsman may have also utilized his special innovative twin-lens reflex camera lens. His innovations allowed for viewing the subject through a viewfinder while pressing the shutter button. This innovation is still seen in most cameras today.
I chose this artwork because I love old movies and I was struck by how beautiful she was, but how she put her acting career on hold to raise her children. She married Bogart in 1945. They had two children together in 1949 and 1952. Then Bogart died from cancer in 1957.


This is my recreation of this famous photo. I am the model. First, I selected a blouse that had a collar and satiny material. Next, I arranged my hair in a similar hairstyle. Third, I set up my backlight to shine towards my face from the left. To add to the detail I added an earring to mimic the size and style of hers. Lastly, I shot this image in black and white, high resolution, with the flash off.
After I took several photos I chose this one as the strongest representation. I imported this image into Photoshop to darken my lips, remove facial blemishes, darken my eyebrows, and bring out the earring. I also added the lettering and red and black borders to give it the 1940s feel. Then I took it to Lightroom and adjusted contrast and exposure.
I think this is a successful recreation of an iconic Hollywood moment. I thought it was neat that I took it on the same day this issue of LIFE came out in 1944. One thing I learned is that modeling is harder than looking through the camera lens. My younger sister, my usual model, took time to help me capture the look on Becall’s face. She also helped with styling my hair. I also have poor eyesight and usually wear glasses. I took them off for this shoot and I soon realized how hard it is when you cannot see very clearly. Being my own model is not my favorite thing, but I learned a lot about the entire photoshoot process from a different perspective. A final thought is perhaps images that I have created through this class will serve as a catalyst to launch my graphic arts career as it did for Lauren Bacall’s acting career 80 years ago.
Research and Findings:
Week 7, Topic 7, Assessment 1: What’s New in Photoshop
Photoshop is the premiere software for transforming good pictures into great ones while also allowing entirely new compositions to be brought to life. Keeping pace with the ever-changing world of software upgrades, Photoshop has done an admirable job of adding new and exciting updates.
For 2024, here are some of my favorite Photoshop upgrades.
- Generative Fill Tool: It is now quickly accessible from the taskbar. Instead of hunting through dropdown menus, Generative Fill is right at our fingertips. I find that I use it a lot more than I did before and it is awesome for generating backgrounds.
- Generative Fill Expand with Crop Tool: This is another great way to generate a background with the crop tool. This shortcut saves the time and frustration of looking through menus to find it. This tool also makes creating backgrounds a snap.
- Pinned Bar Position: Instead of the taskbar popping up at random, the pins allow the user to pin it to one spot that is out of the way.
- Selection Brush: This tool allows a quick way to paint a selection.
- Contextual Taskbar: This taskbar allows the user to flip an image and change the shape properties quickly.
I have used several of these new upgrades and have found them all to be useful and assist in speeding up my photo editing tasks.
Week 6, Topic 6, Assessment 1: Night Photography
Video of Shoot and Edit Night Photography

Before

After
Week 5, Topic 5, Assessment 1: Combine Images in Creative Ways
Video of Combining Images

Week 5, Topic 5, Assignment 1: Creating a Composite

Before

After
Explanation: The three pictures used for the composite are a sunset, a jumping pony, and fireworks. It was challenging to merge three different photos while making them appear natural. The assignment made me consider things from a new perspective.
Week 4, Topic 4, Assignment 1: Album Cover Design

Explanation: The album cover was a fun challenge. I used puzzle pieces, flowers out of my garden, a cross necklace, sheet music, a hardwood top for the background, and raindrops. The puzzle pieces are three in one, the flowers two in one, the wood top two in one, and the cross is one. I made the logo and the group is fictional. I designed a logo for the fictional music group. And I added the bar code to the back. This week’s assignment has made me look at what elements it takes to make an album cover.
Week 3, Topic 3, Assessment 1: Food Photography
Video of Food Photography Editing

Sunchips Front Side Angle

Sunchips Close-Up View Angle

Chocolate Chip Cookies High Angle Side Right

Chocolate Chip Cookies Low Angle Side Left

Chocolate Chip Cookies Side Angle Left

Chocolate Chip Cookies Overhead Angle

Grill Side Angle Right

Ritz Crackers Overhead Angle

Ritz Crackers Front Side Angle

Appel Juice Front Angle Backdrop

Apple Juice Front Angle Side Right in Front of Door
Topic 3, Assignment 1: Food Photography Editing

Before

After
Explanation: Food photography is challenging. Food does not move like people or pets, but it does melt, wilt, burn, smoke, turn to mush, or dry out. The grill shots inspired me when I saw my dinner BBQ-ing. I learned that quick shots are important. I found it best to do the staging before I put the ice in the glass, the chip in the dip, or the cheese on the Ritz. This fun assignment challenged me to look at food in new ways.
Week 2, Topic 2, Assessment 1: Product Photography
Video of Photography Editing
Finished Photos of Products Featured in the Above Video

American Indian China Doll

Scissors for Sewing

Christmas Cookie Tins
Week 2, Topic 2, Assignment 1: Product Photography
Before Photo

After Photo

Product Scenario and Process: The “client” for this exercise is Better Homes & Gardens. The products are sets of drinking glasses. The target audience is readers of Home & Garden Magazine or websites that promote their products. I would expect to see this photo in social media ads, magazine advertisements, or even a billboard. I used a backdrop light with a filter positioned on the left of the photo setup to cast light from left to right. I also adjusted the light setting to a more yellow tone to match the fall theme I created in my setup. The props that I used were two new boxes of glasses that were stored in our pantry, silk flowers and leaves from Dollar Tree, a brown/gold ribbon from my sewing supplies, a tablecloth with an autumn theme, and Kool-Aid Lemonade mixed in a Tupperware container. I also added ice cubes of various sizes to the classes. The last few minutes of my Week 2 Assessment Video above covered how I created the scenario for the backdrop and I included candid photos of my home studio and the multitude of props I rounded up to choose from as I set up the series of product photos I shot for week 2 of this course.
Week 1, Topic 1, Assignment 1: Portrait Editing
Video of Portrait Editing
Before Photo

After Photo

Philosophy of Editing/Retouching Statement: My philosophy of editing/retouching a photo is a strong desire to retain the original image and only enhance it with tools, such as Photoshop, to capture the true feeling of the subject. For this photo, I felt it was ethical and honest to replace my older brother’s smirk with a nice smile in a previous shot. He was tired of me positioning everyone and gave such a sour look. So, replacing his facial expression with one from another photo in the sequence I was shooting gave a nice picture to our parents. I wanted to show all of us enjoying our vacation to Yellowstone National Park, which we were. I also felt it was fine to use background from other shots to broaden the photo and create landscape and portrait shots so my mom could frame it any way she chose. I used AI features to generate the additional background that I needed which was acceptable to me since it was not changing the photo’s integrity.