Final Shoot Evaluation

For my final shoot I was inspired by Lorena Cosba. As I explained in my shoot plan she photographed people showing different moods and emotions on their faces and had them printed on Polaroid type papers to present them. She then ripped parts of the top image out so that the bottom image was showing through. She picked two images that contrasted each other to go together. For example, one image may be of an older lady and the other would be of a younger women, the photos could be of the same person just of when they were younger to older and current. The Younger photo is in black and white meaning this theory is supported due to the photo being old and from the past where as the older woman photo is in colour as it is current. Another theory to add to this project is that the older woman, the current, present self is wanting to be young again, she is hiding behind the younger photo with part of her surest self peering and breaking through the rips in the photo. The feeling of not being good enough and wanting to be different occurs.

Remembering these pieces of information I was able to start my final shoot, I used Amber as my model and had her make different expressions that represented different moods and emotions, such as being sad, happy, angry or amused. I decided to mix it up a bit and have two parts towards this shoot, One part with a black background using lighting techniques and the other with a white background like Lorena Cosba originally used. For the first part I used a white background but due to the type of lighting and white boards used within the shoot, the outcome of the photos had a black background. I know it would had been easier to just use a black drop but I wanted to put some of my lighting skills that I have developed within this course to the test in this shoot. This part of the shoot was successful as the lighting turned out how I wanted it to, I want to change it up a bit and see how it would effect the pictures when having the model in front of a black background instead of white. As we have to present four final images I will have two of the mages using the black background and the other two images using the white background so they’re not all the same.

After examining each image I have then picked four pairs of pictures, these eight images contrast each other in their pairs so that when I rip the top image the bottom image will contrast through. I wrote them down and then paired them up with arrows matching them up.

I printed out the eight different photos in their pairs and cut them out in the style of a polaroid pictures with the white borders. I then used a pin on the top image to poke through where I wanted the rip to start. I then took tweezers to rip the image as the tears were small and dainty and I didn’t want massive constructive rips.I ripped away the eyes, mouth and a part of the body. I then started my second shoot to capture the two images combined together to create the final one.

 

Four final Images:

 

I am quite happy with the outcome of my four final images a they turned out as I expected. I was able to improve this shoot as I had practice from my experimental shoot when I was still choosing what to do. However If I was to change anything I would have a consistent background colour of white through out all of my images. When it came to the editing stage of the photos the black background was hard to edit and didn’t look at good as the white background images did. If I was to do this project again I would pick a different experimental shoot to use as my final. I think I would do the painting one inspired by Shin Kwangho, I enjoyed doing the experimental shoot for this as I was able to use acrylic paints and brushes to create something colourful to represent mood and emotions.

 

 

Final Shoot Plan

For my final shoot I would like re-do my first experimental shoot, this was inspired by Lorena Cosba. She photographed people showing different moods and emotions on their faces and had them printed on Polaroid type papers to present them. She then ripped parts of the top image out so that the bottom image was showing through. She picked two images that contrasted each other to go together. For example, one image may be of an older lady and the other would be of a younger women, the photos could be of the same person just of when they were younger to older and current. The Younger photo is in black and white meaning this theory is supported due to the photo being old and from the past where as the older woman photo is in colour as it is current. Another theory to add to this project is that the older woman, the current, present self is wanting to be young again, she is hiding behind the younger photo with part of her surest self peering and breaking through the rips in the photo. The feeling of not being good enough and wanting to be different occurs.

To do this I am going to do a shoot using a model and use the contrasting effect again like I did in my experimental shoot. Like before I am going to take photographs of Amber where she is showing different moods and emotions that contrast each other. For example a Happy expression will be placed on top of a sad expression to show she may look like she’s happy however on the inside she is hurting and upset but this isn’t visible. You will then be able to see the sad features when I print out the images and rip parts of the top image out so that you can see the bottom image. I really like this technique as it involves both photography and bit of creative art based work.

In order to achieve this shoot I will take photos of amber in the studio using soft box lighting against two white walls to make the background black, I will then use just the soft box lighting against a white background so I had two sets of photos to play around with. I will then get her to make different expressions so I can use them to contrast against each other.

Medium Format Camera

A medium format camera is a film based camera that enables you to take photos that you can later develop by putting it through the processes. In today’s lesson were given the chance to have a go ourselves to use a medium format camera. In order to set the camera up so that we could use it, we had to load in the film provided, this was an Ilford HP5 plus 400 black and white film. This particular film only had 10 shots so this meant that we had to use them 10 shots wisely and think about what we were shooting.

Once we had loaded the film correctly it was time to set off outside and take our desired pictures. Between this process and taking the photos we had to make sure the film was not exposed to any light. Moving on to the shoot itself we had to make sure that the silver metal slide was taken out in order to take a photo. We then had to wind over the front arm so that the film inside rotated round to the next part of the shooting film. From there we had to cock down the side arm and then our camera was ready to shoot. Before taking the photo we had to use the light metre in order to know what settings to shoot in. The light metre enabled us to know what aperture and shutter speed to have our camera set in. To read the light we were to aim our camera at our chosen object/area, hold the light metre in front of the camera and click the side button. On the light metre is should read the correct aperture and shutter speed that we should then set on our camera. Once this was set we had to focus our camera lens and press the shutter button so it took our desired photo. We then repeated all of these steps in order to take the next photo. As each photo was taken in a different place, the light metre was required each time as the amount of light allowed into lens would have changed.

After we had taken our 10 photos on the film, in small groups we went into the processor room where we unloaded our film in pitch black darkness. This was so that we didn’t mess up our pictures on the film by exposing them to light. We had to load our film onto the white cogs so that they were ready to be put into the black pots ready for processing. Once the film was correctly reeled onto the cogs they were to be put into the black pots with the lids on top straight away before turning the switch on and revealing them to light. From here we were to start the chemical process, to do so it required to mix 25ml of developer with water and left in the black pot for 9 minutes. For the first minute we had to continuously agitate the developer so that it covered every inch of the film. This develops the picture allowing us to view the image. We then poured this back out for the next step. The next step was for us to pour in the stop, this chemical was left in there for 1 full minute with constant agitating. The stop processes stops the developing process, no more developing of the photo will happen from this step onwards. We poured the stop out ready for the next step. The next step was to pour in the fix, this was left in the black pot for 10 minutes, with agitating ever minute for 20 seconds. After these 3 steps were completed we took out the cogs with the film on and layer them flat in water. The water step is essential as it will wipe off any chemical left on the film. The film on the cog must be left in the water for 30 minutes before taking it off. Once these 30 minutes are over and you have taken the film off of the cog you must hang the film on the clips provided in the airing cupboard to dry. A clip is placed at the bottom of the film as well as the top so that they film drys straight and doesn’t curl up.

As a part of our self project we have been asked to produce images of each letter in our name using the medium format camera, to do so I have gone in and around the college ground to find existing letters and objects that look like the letters to make up my name. In the end we had two sets of our name we then developed the film roll and presented it in ways that represented us. The first way I presented my name was using the existing letters coming out of my earphones, on the computer screen I showed what `i was listening to, a song that I enjoy that represents me. The second way I chose to represent me was to use the letters that were made out of objects as footsteps behind me. Here are the results below:

 

 

 

 

Fill Flash

Fill Flash is a technique used by photographers to achieve brighten photographs particularly taken outside on sunny days in deep shadowed areas. When the background is lit it is easier to capture fill flash images as the flash will light up the foreground subject also.

Here are some examples of photographs that have used fill flash, As you can see both the fore and background are lit due to the usage of fill flash. All the photographs are located outside which is convenient due to the sun light lighting up the background

Contact Sheets:

I decided to take photos of the same object and area using a different shutter speed setting on the fill flash so that I could see the difference when comparing photos. I can see that when using 1/4 shutter speed the flash makes the photo more white washed than it would using a 1/125. Each fraction is a less usage of flash used within the photo, making it less washed out.

Experimental Shoot 4 Evaluation & Contact Sheets

For this shoot I wanted to recreate Rob Pruitt’s work by combining three different images into one, all of which represent that one person within the photos. I had used two models in my shoot so that I could have two different final outcomes to play around with. I had taken photos of my models holding different objects that symbolise me at different heights and part of their body, ranging from head shots, stomach shots and hip shots. By this I mean the object was either held at this height for presentation or the object was in use, For example when taking photos of the mobile phone I had my model Maja in action on her phone as if she was using it as I took a photograph. The shots of Maja have all been action shots with the objects in use where as Ambers shots were all posed, this wasn’t planned as these were just the photos I liked together, however I do like the way it has turned out.

To make this final outcome I uploaded the three chosen images of the same model into photoshop and cropped them to the desirable size. I had each image in a different layer so it was easy to come back to if anything needed to be edited and changed. Once I had lined up each part of the images to make a new image I set each image to black and white as I thought that this would make the colour wash I was about to do sand out more and be stronger. I then coloured each section suitable to the mood or emotion that it was representing. For example, Blue is the colour of most social media websites, this colour being quite social therefore I used it for the phone section on mamas photo. After I had flattened then image so that it was all joined together and cropped it again so that each edge was straight to clear up the lining up of the pictures from earlier on.

Edit 1; DSC_0141, DSC_0150, DSC_0166

Edit 2; DSC_0230, DSC_204, DSC_214

Experimental Shoot Plan 4

For my fourth and final experimental shoot before I pick the project I want to do for my final I am going to recreate a self project in the style of Rob Pruitt.

This is another project that involves a number of different images put together on photoshop however this time it only need about three photos. Each photo section requires an object to go along with an associating colour. This may represent mood and emotion also.

For this I will be using my Canon 1200D camera to shoot the images in the studio. Preferably using a white background I will get my model to hold or wear various objects to represent them and what makes them happy or sad. For example the model could hold their phone and then in photoshop I will colour it in a colour that represent happiness and possession.

The overall photo that Rob Pruitt has created as three different sections so I will go along with what he has done also.

Once I have the best three images to go together I will upload them into photoshop and have a play around to see what works best. The colours of the images in Pruitts photos look quite strong and block coloured so I will attempt to do the same.

I’m hoping for my final outcome to come out like this:

Experimental Shoot 3 Evaluation & Contact Sheets

For my third shoot I have been inspired by Shin Kwangho, this artist/ photographer has used mixed media, photography and painting. I had taken photos of my model focusing on the outlined silhouette of her. Once i had picked out the image i felt was most effective due to the silhouette I printed it out to fill a full a4 sheet of paper. I had purchased an artist poet book, acrylic paints and artist brushes. I tried two different techniques to see what worked better for me. The first technique was drawing the outline of the model on the paper with a black charcoal pencil and then fill in the face with the coloured acrylic paints. the second technique was to paint the outline of the model using black acrylic paint and then fill in the rest of the face with the coloured acrylic paints. When comparing the two art pieces i saw that the paint black acrylic outline stood out the most and looked better against the acrylic coloured paint. The charcoal pencil to me didn’t look dark enough next to the acrylic coloured paint, therefore if I was to use this for my final piece I would use the black acrylic paint for the outline. I also thought using the black acrylic paint was most effective as the brushes were quite scratchy so created more detail when painting the hair and it made it out to look like stray hairs.
I had taken photos of the drying process however I waited for the paintings to fully dry before taking photos of the final outcome. At first I thought I wanted to do this for my final project however now I am doing more experimental shoots, I have changed my mind and as of now I’m thinking of doing the first shoot as my final. I still have one more experimental shoot to do until i make my final decision.

As I have the advantage of using photoshop I decided to mix it up a little bt and incorporate these skills onto this painting as to me, the painting photo that I picked wasn’t perfect and could use some editing. I started out first with using the clone tool to get rid of the paper marks on the painted face as paper had got stuck to the painting whilst drying resulting in the painting getting slightly ruined. I used the clone tool to get rid of these parts and use the existing colour that surrounded the mark to cover it up. I then cropped the image and rotated it a little bit. After that I used the close tool again to get rid of any edges I didn’t want in the final picture and any unwanted paint marks. I used auto contrast and colour, then used hue and saturation to really bring out the colour so the colour was the thing you focused on the most.

Here is my final piece for experimental shoot 3:

 

 

Contact Sheets:

Silhouette Outline shoot:

Painting Shoot:

Experimental Shoot Plan 3

For this shoot I am going to be recreating Shin KwangHo’s Self project images. This is an art based project, I felt as if I needed to have a go at this type so I could see if it is what I wanted to do for my final project as my previous experimental shoots were all to do with online editing software and techniques and no drawing or painting.

To create these images I am going to take photos of my model in the studio using a white background and harsh lighting. I am using a white background with harsh lighting so that the outline of my model is easy to define, especially when I am using this pet of the image to draw, it will make it easier for me. Once I have picked the best image that I can use for my outline I will print it out for A4 size and sketch the outline of the model on artist paper using a charcoal pencil for extra black lines that stand out against white paper.

I will then paint inside of the charcoal lines using various different colours of acrylic paints to represent moods and emotions. I will just be doing random brush strokes of paint in on the face area, I am not painting with detail as that is not what Shin KwangHo has done, His painting look neat yet messy at the same time.

I will this photograph the final painting in the studio suing harsh light again so that it will pick up each detail and texture of the paint. I will also shoot the painting against a white background however I will probably crop the image on photoshop so it is only the painting itself showing for he final outcome.

I hope for my outcome to come out something like this:

Experimental Shoot 2 Evaluation & Contact Sheets

To achieve this shoot it required me to take photos of my models in the studio using my 1200D dslr canon camera, a white drop down background and soft box lighting. I had the model stand in front of the white background with the soft box lighting facing towards them in order to light up the photo well. I had the model look in different directions so that when it came to editing later I could use them. I have spoken about the original photo that inspired me for this shoot in the experimental plan 2 post. That photo has multiple images layered in different colours to create an illusion. When I use this technique in photoshop I will associate each photo with a mood and colour so that the final outcome has more meaning and more to think about. The final out come of the shoots itself went well as I was able to achieve the photos that I wanted originally when planning the shoot in my head. However, I feel it would help if the models I had to take photos of were more camera friendly and would let me take photos of them with different expressions upon their faces, so I would have more selection to choose from when coming to edit them. This means I would have more photos to choose from and play around with in photoshop.

Once I had Picked out my final seven images I uploaded them into photoshop on the same project page as different layers. I put them on different layers so it was easy to edit each image when needed as it would only select one layer at a time. I like the finished shot as it is very colourful due to each picture representing a mood/emotion, this makes the final image stand out to the viewer also. It was quite an easy task once I picked out my final images. It took a little playing around with but once I got each image into the right position all I had to do was change the colour balance of each of them and remove the backgrounds so that that other images behind that layer were visible. I think having the same model in the one image multiple times creates illusion and makes the viewer intrigued as to why it has been presented like that.

Experimental Shoot Plan 2

For the second shoot I am going to recreate a self image inspired by Lisa Levereidge. This will take about six or seven photos in total in order to create the final outcome.

I am going to take at least six individual photos of my model, each with different facial expressions and looking in different directions. I will then pick out the best images showing each mood and emotion and put them into photoshop. There i will layer and blend them into one image.

When taking the photos in this shoot, I will make sure to take more photos than I did in my first shoot so that I have more of a variety of photos to choose from to make my final image the best it can possibly be. I also hope for my model to be more adventurous when it comes to making different facial expressions so that you can definately tell the difference between each one. This will also make the final image more interesting to look at and make the viewer question why she feels these certain emotions.

In order to achieve these photos I will be heading to the studio with my model and shooting in front of a white background with soft box lighting. I have chosen a white background so that when I go on photoshop to edit, the colour wash filter of each photo will show up clearly and won’t look too dark. I have also chose to use soft box lighting so that the lighting on my model isn’t too harsh as i want the edges to be soft and gentle. I will be using my Canon 1200D camera to shoot these images and then use photoshop afterwards to edit them.

I imagine my outcome to come out somewhere along the lines of this: