Photographer Research 5: Bagrad Badalian

About This Photographer: 

Bagrad is a conceptual and portraiture photographer from Brussels. There isn't a lot of other information about Bagrad to be found. He created a photography book titled, "Matter Beyond" where he showcases his stunning work and exploration of the human body with intense colours, bright lighting and intriguing textures. What is most important about his work is that he mostly uses black models, which creates for a stunning contrast when he applies the vivd body paint. I also really like his exploration of editing, experimenting with various movements and blurs.

Why Have I Picked This Photographer:

I also see a nice contrast in the ideas of surrealism and reality in his work which I would love to learnt to replicate in my own work. I have also picked this photographer because of the obscurity of his editing techniques and I have personally never seen anything like this before, ever. I love how he has picked up on the use of strong lighting which is a technique I have seen in many different photographers I have researched recently, and I think it beautifully enhances the quality of the picture, which again is something I would love to learn to use in my work. 


Evaluation:

This image is of a black model painted with vibrant paints across his face and chest. I don't know how the affect has been achieved, but it looks like some Photoshop work has been done to make it look like the paint has been illuminated. I think a blurring or repetition/overlay technique has also been used to repeat the same image on top of each other  to give off that blurry texture, which contrasts really nicely with the smoothness of the model's skin. Because of the illumination within the paint - no matter how the technique has been achieved - I really like how it contrasts with the dark shadows cast across the model's skin, which makes it appear that the model isn't even there, and that it's just the paint.

I think that this is a really effective technique and it is something I could definitely apply in my own work as I believe it has only been done with use of an overlay technique, and then some of the colour layer has been erased to give off the impression that it is slowly developing up the model's back. The extreme contrast between colour and black and white looks really effective and helps the image to stand out dramatically. I love the textures within this image, and how the minimal lighting has given an almost wet-look to the model's skin, creating another contrast between the natural texture of the model's black skin and the dryness of what appears to be powder paint.

I like the main contrast of light and dark in this image, and how it creates a moody and serious tone. The image itself is very haunting because of the pose of the model, and especially because of the dark shadow cast across one half of her face, illuminating just the one eye. Then, with the glittery overlay effect, it gives a more uplifting spirit to the image which creates a really interesting contrast, and comes across as quite creative. Although the image is particularly different in comparison to the photographer's other work because of the use of the brighter lighting, it stands out really effectively and the overall composition creates quite a haunting effect.

This image stood out the most for me from the photographer's website purely because of the strong use just the single bronze colour. Even though it is just the one bronze colour throughout the entire image, various different textured effects are created from the one single element which creates a really eye-catching contrast. Along the skin, a beautiful smooth texture is created which almost resembles chocolate, whilst the scattered material creates a rough, yet sparkly and entrancing technique. I don't know how the technique has been done, but it looks like the photographer has experimented with the liquify tool on Photoshop as it has given him freedom to create a variety of different shapes at his own will. I also like how the same technique has allowed him to create a 'frame' around the edges, giving the image more of a fine art look about it, which makes the image stand out all the more.






Influence:
I am yet to be strongly influenced by this photographer, but I definitely feel I could apply some of his techniques in my own work to focus on the topic of contrasts. I particularly like the second image as it shows me how I could turn simple contrasts between colour and black and white imagery into something really creative with the use of the overlay technique I have already learnt.

Summary:
I conclusion, I see Bagrad as a really interesting photographer to research as his style of working is something completely different to anything I have ever seen before. His strong use of paint and glitter has definitely inspired me to think of some new ideas for my own work, and I find it all particularly entrancing which is why I like it so much, and I want to be able to be able to create the same effect for audiences with my own work.

Photographer Research 4: Rachael Koscica

About This Photographer:

Rachael Koscica was born and raised in Arizona, America, and found an interest for photography when her father gave her a camera for Christmas one year. She followed by learning about B&W developing and darkroom printing in years at college. She combines her degree in Fine Art Design with her photography, creating mostly conceptual pieces and even working for clients such as Vogue.

Why Have I Picked This Photographer?

I have picked Rachel to study more in-depth as I loved the way her surreal photography often takes on the theme of reality and dreams, which is an interesting contrast I too would like to explore in my personal work. She also works a lot with underwater photography, something I have always had a strong love and interest in, and something I would love to conduct myself if it was much simpler for me to conduct on a regular basis, but I love some of the colour contrasts hinted in this selection of her portfolio. In her surrealism portfolio, not only does she play with the contrast of reality and dreams, but she also often explores the theme of life and death, but also the animal and human worlds too.

Evaluation:

The contrast that I see most in this photo is the use of light and dark. I have not focussed on light and darkness in great depth so far in my own personal work and I believe that, looking at this particular image, it could look really effective. I like how the use of a bright light source brings a strong contrast for this image, and allows the model to almost 'glow'. The effect is actually quite disorientating in this image as it appears that the model's head is completely separate from the rest of her body. The darkness of the image gives off the impression of a scary, mysterious tone, which is added to by the blurred, unidentified object in the very back of the composition, but then the idea is further contrasted by the use of a feminine, attractive model, wearing a swimming cap decorated with feminine flowers. I think this initial idea of light and dark also allows for a key focal point for the eye, as the model's head stands out really strongly against the 'glow' of her body beneath her..

This image has a really strong message of life and death and is somewhat haunting. The basic is that the model is supposedly alive, and she is holding on to 'someone' that is dead. You could arguably say that they are both deeply in love, hence why the girl is still holding on to the 'person' despite the fact that he or she is dead. The framing I find is also particularly important as the couple only make up a small amount of the image; they are surrounded by a dark, yet pretty background, which again signifies another contrast. Despite the dark colours which might suggest a dark, horror tone, there are also pretty yellow flowers which contrasts the idea of good and happiness. Emotions play a really important part in this image which is special because it allows for different audiences to perceive it differently, which is definitely something I could play into my own personal work.

I chose this image for research into 'contrasts' because I love the strong contrast in the colours. Whilst enhancing the curves and levels in some images can look silly and over-worked, I like the overall brightness of this image and it is quite captivating. Her skin is quite pale, which makes for a brilliant contrasting 'background' against the bright colours she is wearing. The use of yellow and red colours in her clothing and makeup contrasts beautifully with the deep sea-blue of the water around her. This image could also be 'read' in a completely different manner, it is all about perception. Some audiences may suggest that the model is completely underwater to suggest that she may drown, which would have a complete contrast of moods and emotions, as she facially looks really happy, but the paleness of her skin could also suggest that she is cold and dead.

This is my favourite image of all four of them, simply because I think it is stunning. I love her strong use of lighting in this image and how it shows form of the model and the tree. The model is wearing all black, which brings about the natural contrast of lightness and darkness, but other people may read it as good and evil. With this particular image, I am inspired to do a shoot based on good and evil, where I perhaps have a 'good' angel and a 'bad' angel, signified with the use of bright lights and pale colours for the former, and dark tones and passionate reds for the latter. The use of the lighting behind the model is also really effective because it gives off a nice glow around the edges of the model's frame, and also illuminates the colour of her red hair, which also contrasts well with the black in her clothing and the whiteness of the lights.

Influence:
I find a lot of Rachel'w work influential, and I definitely feel I will be able to apply some of the themes and techniques she has used in her work into my own. I think that her work is really captivating, and no single one of her photographs is boring to look at. The use of colour and lighting in her work is really strong and influential as I find a range of contrasts in the emotions and feelings she portrays. I definitely feel inspired and I want to now look at using light effectively in my personal work to make stronger use of the emotions that I can evoke from viewers. She has also definitely influenced some of my work so far, including my 'pumpkin' shoot where my main focus was the use of fairy lights in creating special effects for my photographs. I will definitely expand on this idea in the future after researching Rachel's work in more depth.

Summary:
Overall, I find Rachel is one of my favourite photographers I have ever researched over my entire time in A-Level Photography. Her work is really inspiring and beautiful to look at, and you can really see her past experience in Art and Design come through in some of the sets and costumes she uses in her work. I feel I can definitely learn from Rachel about the use of visual contrasts in my work, as well as the connotations of emotional contrasts as well.

Work Record - Personal Shoot 6

Autumnal Colours + B&W:

Plans for the shoot:
I don't have any major plans for this shoot, I am just going to take it by chance and see what happens. As I was walking to college today I noticed all the really nice contrasts in the colours of the leaves on the trees, and also how the leaves were changing from green to brown where they were dying, so this is what I am going to focus my shoot on today. I am also going to experiment with the black and white filter after I have downloaded to play with the contrast here.


Shoot Evaluation:
The whole shoot itself was actually really successful and the results were exactly as how I wanted them to come out. The autumnal colours were really effective in the separate images as they were ideal for applying strong levels and curves too, whilst most of them also looked really effective as a black and white image also. I experimented also with the HDR technique I may have mentioned in my research and my project proposal, which worked particularly well with the forestry scenes.

This image is definitely one of my favourites since my initial start on Unit 3 back in September. The image on it's own was nice, but I used a combination of the levels, curves and brightness/contrast options to really enhance the individual colours of the leaves and make them all contrast each other against the grass. What I like about this image also is that it is a perfect representation of the topic of this particular shoot 'autumnal colours' and this would also work as a 'fine art' piece as I find it really beautiful and eye-catching.

This image was initially of two different trees overlapping, the tree on the left had yellow leaves and the tree on the right had green leaves, and together the colours looked really pretty blending together in the middle. However, the colours were more like complimentary colours, which is why I decided to apply a black and white filter to this image in particular, and by then using levels and curves, the tone of the image stands out a lot more than what they used to, and shows a really strong contrast.

Work Diary - Video

What is it? As an alternative to shooting still images, we used the cameras to create a short movie.

Plans for the shoot:

I don't have any major plans for this shoot as I don't really know what to expect. My only plans are to find a suitable location and use my peers as models to make a mini-film based on the horror genre. I am then going to use iMovie to edit the video so that it complies to the genre. 

Shoot Evaluation:

I found this particular 'shoot' rather interesting as it was the first time I had used the FujiFilm cameras for shooting film, but I found actually conducting it quite fun and a real learning-curve for when I started film in my A2 Media class. We wanted to utilise the buildings around us and all created our own Horror films. I chose to use a black and white filter while editing because it added to the tone of the genre, whilst I used conventions of inter-titles to tell the story and scary music to also set the mood. Whilst it took quite a long time to get the shots right, I found that the actual product came together quite well after I had started editing it on the computer, and this is the result I achieved:

Using camerawork skills to film a sequence of events and using iMovie to add suitable music and effects.

I am really pleased with the outcome of this film; I feel like all of the additional elements work really well and help to set the tone and genre of the video, but I feel like if I was to improve this final product, I would take out some of the inter-titles as they made the video too long and boring. 

Work Record - Personal Shoot 5

Happy Halloween!

Plans for the Shoot:

Today I am doing another personal shoot exploring the very festive theme of Halloween. I have brought in a carved pumpkin, some sweets and fairy lights. I am going to use the dark blue background as this will contrast nicely with the orange of my pumpkin, and will give a 'dark starry night feel' to my shoot along with the fairy lights.My main aim of this shoot, is, using the fairy lights and the sweets, I want to evoke a very sweet innocent emotion, but to contrast it with the scary connotation surrounding pumpkins and Halloween.

Along with the dark blue background I am also going to experiment with the Boom to strengthen the use of lighting in my work, but this may not necessarily work with the fairy lights, so for now I am just going to experiment.After I have finished the shoot I am going to download and edit the images, before continuing with a few outstanding work diaries I have left to do for progress check.

Shoot Evaluation:

Despite my initial thoughts on this shoot, the results came out like nothing how I was expecting, due to the problems I experienced through shooting. Firstly, there was a struggle with setting the camera properly because I was using fairy lights in the pumpkin, which was having an effect on the flash, and the brightness of the preview images on the camera. In the end, I had to set the aperture to 16 and a 1 second shutter speed, which meant that I had to use the stand for the camera as the results would have blurred because of this slow speed. This limited me quite a bit as I wasn't able to frequently change my angle and height, as I wanted to experiment a lot with some more extreme close-ups of the details on the pumpkin. I also initially wanted to create a very autumnal feel to the shoot, but the table and white cloth I was using didn't look very special in the images, meaning I had to use an all black cover over the table, which overall made the images darker. Although this created a new contrast of light and dark, it took away my initial contrast idea between the orange colour of the pumpkin and the navy background. Nevertheless, I have some images which I feel I will be able to work with, and I am also going to create an animation. This is definitely giving me something to work with in the future and to create an all new shoot.

The first image is my favourite from the entire shoot, because the editing was really effective - I had to use strong curves to darken the edges around the pumpkin to allow the centre to 'glow' more. I think whilst my initial 'contrast' for this was to be horror and fantasy, or good and bad, through the use of the 'scary' pumpkin and the fairy lights, there is also a much more vivi contrast of light and dark.

The second image I was looking forward to seeing because I preferred the composition as it showed more detail compared to the first image for example. However, when I experimented with the levels and curves, the colour of the pumpkin became too strong and there was no distinct contrast between the 'glow' and the actual pumpkin, which I didn't like. I think to improve this I might experiment with a black and white filter to give it a spookier effect. 

Work Diary - Slow Sync

What is it? This technique combines a slower than normal shutter speed combined with a flash during the exposure.

    Shoot Evaluation:

I personally found this technique one of the more difficult ones to shoot as it's hard to get the balance right between the lighting, exposure, shutter speed etc, otherwise you just end up with a result that looks like 'blurring'.We particularly found a problem with the lighting coming from the red head, so we had to apply a filter to change the colour slightly to give a better blur. Other than this initial hiccup, the shoot was actually quite enjoyable, but because we had a big group, we individually had less time to shoot it and I feel if i had have had longer I could have produced some even better results, as not all of them came out as well as I wanted them to. 

I really like the motion in this photo, as it looks like my model, Alice, is performing a dance move, as all she moved was her arm, and tried to keep the rest of her body as still as possible. I think this image worked well because Alice was wearing a white t-shirt, which reflected more of the light and gave it a brighter 'glow' making the sharper part of the image stand out a lot more than the rest of the image.







I like this image too because of the 'creation' made by my model, Emma, moving certain parts of her body when I released the shutter. It has meant that the motion captured her moving her head, but her body kept still, making it appear as if she had two heads, and actually also shows contrast quite well as her two 'different heads' show different emotions which looks really effective.



How can I apply this to my personal project?
Like the last annotated image above, I think this would be a useful technique to use to show a change or contrast in emotions. As for this technique it only needs to be a very slight movement to create the effect, I could get my models to move by changing facial expressions to show a contrast in one single picture.

Technique Page - Slow Sync

The initial set-up for this particular technique is very-much the same as the set-up for 'blurring':

Step 1: Place the polystyrene board to block the light from the red-head light hitting the black backdrop.
Step 2: Set up the studio light for a normal flash.
Step 3: Set up the flash sync to 'rear curtain'.
Step 4: Set the exposure mode for a continuous light source.
Step 5: Set the aperture like normal.
Step 6: The model or object then needs to be placed so that they are under the filtered-through lights in front of the camera. When the model or object initially begins to move, release the shutter and you will get the 'slow sync' result.

Image Bank - Slow Sync

 

 

Slow Sync is a technique very similar to the technique of blurring, except, rather than the entire image being blurred, a section is kept completely sharp. This technique can look effective because the contrast between the sharp section and the blurred section makes the image appear almost 3D, as the sharp part of the image stands out really vividly. 

The use of colour is really important in this technique as it really helps the image to stand out, and with the blurring section of the image, they can create interesting shapes and patterns, and these are what help a photographer to draw in the attention of the viewers. Colour looks particularly effective in the firs photo here, where I would imagine the photographer has duplicated the image, changed one to black and white and then blended the two together, which I think looks really effective as it gives off a realistic 'magic' tone, which suits the topic of the actual photo itself too. 

My other favourite photo here is the middle right image of the lettered dice. The use of this technique makes really interesting patterns, and with this image in particular it shows the pattern of what has happened in the past - even if it was just a few seconds beforehand. I think this is how it makes the 3D effect as it allows the last frame in the shot to stand out a lot more than the very first. The idea of movement is also interesting as this is what creates the diverse patterns in the blurring - the faster the movement, the more the image blurs and vice versa.

Photographer Research 3: Danielle Tunstall

About This Photographer:

Danielle Tunstall is a graphic designer and horror photographer from the UK. During her first initial years in photography, she had more of a soft spot for landscape photography, but realised she preferred to photograph people with blank backgrounds instead over time. She says she likes using a plain background because it allows the viewers to focus all their attention on the subject, and that less is more and in that case you shouldn't have any unnecessary information in photographs. She has a real passion for gore but doesn't aim to shock the viewers, she simply likes to comment on everyday life and the human species through her work. "My work is purely fiction based on reality." She likes to incorporate the graphic-design part of her life with her photography work, making good use of her excellent and eye-catching Photoshop skills.

Why Have I Picked This Photographer?

I have chosen to explore Danielle's work in particular for my topic of 'contrasts' because I like how she takes something ordinarily seen as quite innocent, but puts a horrific and evil 'twist' on it - therefore showing a contrast similar to good and evil. Also, because of the connotations with the horror genre, Danielle includes an array of really vivid colours, which often highly contrast each other, such as reds, white and black. Another interesting contrast that Danielle often explores, like stated in the 'about this photographer' section above, is that of reality and fiction.

Evaluation:

This image is all about contrasting something which is born natural, pure and innocent, with something very evil and scary, the devil. Although clearly enhanced with Photoshop, I really like the effect produced here, because the intense contrast between the darkness of the eyes and the paleness of the skin is really eye-catching, and could almost pass for something 'fine art' related, because aside from the devil element, it's a really pretty and beautiful image of a baby. Danielle has used a really strong, but effective source of lighting here, as it has really helped to enhance the softness surrounding the baby's face and clothing, giving the child more of an 'innocent glow' which also helps to contrast the mood surrounding this image.

The model in this image is dressed as a Geisha. A Geisha is "a female Japanese hostess trained to entertain men with conversation, dance, and song." Geisha Typically, Geishas are associated with beauty, hence the strong use of makeup and the colour pink to represent femininity, and what Danielle has done is take that and contrasted it completely with the gory idea of death, horror and blood. I like Danielle's use of lighting and colour here, as this is key to creating the 'ghost-like' effect which makes the Geisha all the more horrific and disturbing. Geisha's traditionally wear white face paint to cover all impurities and to hide identity, but Danielle has really enhanced that idea in this piece as it acts as it if it hiding the true identity of the model - a killer. The paleness of the skin and the background is also essential in allowing the red blood to stand out and draw attention from the viewer.

I like the contrasting theme of reality and fiction in this photo, and also the use of stereotyping. This image really reminds me of the story in American Psycho, where the central character, Patrick Bateman appears to be the usual businessman working in New York City, but in reality, he goes home to murder prostitutes. Danielle has cleverly used stereotyping to create her model as the typical 'businessman' which the smart suit, shirt and tie, and facial, he looks like a normal guy you would walk past on the street. This photo is particularly good in the sense that you can't tell how she has created the bloodied, severed arm, so if she has done it with Photoshop, she has done a really nice job as the blood pouring from the man's mouth flows correctly and the use of lighting really helps to show that this image is essentially real. I think that Danielle has applied some sort of sepia filter to the image to give the photo that gloomy, dark effect, but this has been taken away from the arm as the brightness of the skin and the red blood really stand out and catch the viewers' attention.

In the world of the media, females are usually represented to show beauty, purity and sexuality, but this theme has been contrasted with the traditional idea of the Mexican Day of The Dead. where people where makeup very similar to this to festivals. From the use of three main colours; red, white and black, it is clear that the overall mood and tone of this photo is about death, horror and morbidity as these are connotations of funerals, blood, and illness. Looking closely at this image, I think this is a very basic repetition technique of one single image and flipping it over so that the two images mirror eachother, further enhancing the tone as there are now two women. The curves and levels have clearly been enhanced really strongly, which can often make an image look really poor and over-the-top, but because Danielle has only used those three key colours, I think the effect is really eye-catching and makes for a great contrast of beauty/innocence and death.









Influence:
I find Danielle's work inspirational because she started off as a graphic designer, which is exactly how I came on to study photography, and I like that we both heavily use Photoshop often to really enhance or work and put a personal touch on the topic. I think Danielle has influenced me most because she has explored a range of contrasts which aren't as obvious as others, they involve some heavy thinking about the emotions and mentality of the human race and what we all go through as a society. Looking at Danielle's portfolio has opened up my eyes to look at people a lot differently than I used to, and by doing this, I can find a much wider range of contrasts than what I initially thought about.

Summary:
Overall, Danielle explores the contrast between life and death on a daily basis, and I think I can learn a lot from looking at her work. Rather than worrying about the visuality of an image, I also really need to think of the message behind the contrast and try and show this through my work as much as possible rather than just making an image look nice. 

Ideas for the Future:

• Scary-faced pumpkin with 'sweet stuff' running through the middle e.g. fairy lights, melted chocoalte, sweets etc.
• Someone 'innocent' wearing the pumpkin on their head / pumpkin head with human features photoshopped on it
• An empty face with pumpkin features photoshopped on top. 

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Looking into the contrasts in colour using the Indian Holi festival as my inspiration.

Needed:
Model
Baggy white t-shirt
Coloured powder paints
Brick wall background

I may then reverse the effect using a black t-shirt and white powder such as talcum powder to further show more contrasts.

Progress Check w/c 21st Oct

Contacts personal-  one

Straight prints - From your shoots at least TWENTY FOUR

Work diaries - one personal project

Work Diary - Fine Art

What is it? "The production of images to fulfill the creative vision of a photographer. ... Synonymous with art photography" or  "A picture that is produced for sale or display rather than one that is produced in response to a commercial commission"

Shoot Evaluation;
I was actually one of the very last people in the class to complete this technique due to filling up my previous lessons with personal project work, and after hearing what people had to say about this technique, I thought ti was going to be quite difficult. However, when I went outside to shoot fine art, I found it surprisingly easier than what I thought it was going to be, and I found using the macro option on the camera useful as it made basic shots of flowers and other plants look much more professional. I definitely feel my work on flowers and plants today is quite strong, especially after I had changed the levels and curves on them all, but, I feel like I didn't shoot the technique in a broad enough manner, as I didn't expand beyond nature, but that is because I feel that coming up to winter everything outside is starting to become quite bleak and not what I would deem appropriate for 'fine art'. I also feel that to accurately challenge this technique, I would need to plan for a studio shoot, rather than just finding something outside to photograph, which is why my images mostly focus on the normal 'fine art'.

Although quite simple, I personally really like this photo because of the warm, eye-catching colours which signify the start of the autumn season. I think this image represents fine art really well because it looks so eye-catching because of the vivid colours and the strong shapes which completely fill the frame. What's interesting is that the colours actually initially resembled traffic lights, where the red changes to orange, and then to green as they progress into the center of the leaf. This image could have worked even better if I had have perhaps applied a warming, autumnal photo filter to the image to suit this season a bit more.

This is my favourite image from the entire shoot, especially after I had edited it. As a fine art piece, I can really imagine this photo blown up onto a canvas for the use in a bedroom or even theme living room as it is really eye-catching and really brighten up a room with the strength of the purple tones. I used high curves and levels to give a slight 'posterised' effect and then changed the hue slightly to enhance the purple colour which was already present in the image. This image would make a really interesting focal point in any room because of how the flower fills the majority of the frame, but is positioned slightly the the right rather than dead-center, which look like a much more natural photo.

How could I apply this to my personal project?
I found that one of the key elements of this technique was finding an effective combination of the formal elements especially colour, shape, pattern and texture, and I think I have, and will continue to, apply this knowledge to my personal project, especially as I may chose to look at colour contrast as one of my topics for this project. For example, I may chose to photograph some brightly coloured flowers, looking specifically at the different colour contrast within them, but at the same time it would also make a very pretty 'fine art' image.

Image Bank - Fine Art

Fine art photography is produced for sale or displayed rather than one that is produced in response to a commercial commission. In basic words it is a photo that looks visually attractive, it's worthy of being framed etc. Most fine art photography will take the form of landscapes or portraiture work. It might also include still-life photography, food photography and wildlife photography, for example. Fine art photography may also look to challenge the idea of what is deemed as 'pretty' or visually attractive. 

I particularly think that colours are an important part of fine art photography - either they're bright and eye-catching, or they are quite dull to produce a very gloomy, specific mood. With the top two images, I think that the use of colour is really important - they are warm, rich tones which really help to catch the attention of any viewer, and would definitely, for example, brighten up any room if it were framed and hung up for everyone to look at. The use of the sun/light in the first picture also looks really effective as it helps to show form - the light creates shadows along the clouds really nicely and would make the photo really stand out if it was framed in a room.

I think that the bottom left photo looks really effective as fine art because it kind of challenges the concept with the use of dark gloomy colours and tones, and also the concept of the pose. Due to the tones in the photo, the pose looks as if the model is drowning, which ordinarily wouldn't be a 'pretty' subject to photograph and frame, but actually it works, because the lighting and the form makes the model look like a 'perfect' image.

Work Record - Personal Shoot 4

A Balanced Diet:

Plans for the Shoot:
My plan for this shoot is also based on an example tutorial I read through where an orange segment was morphed inside of an apple. However, because I am shooting contrasts, I don't see anything that I could relate this particular tutorial with my personal project, so I am going to instead take an orange, and morph a Terry's Chocolate Orange into the inside to show the contrast between healthy and unhealthy eating. To do this, I will photograph the two objects individually, in very much the exact same spot for both of them to morph the two together afterwards on Photoshop.

Shots needed:
Whole orange
Whole choc orange
Whole orange and choc orange next to each other
Orange with segment cut out at different angles
Choc orange with segments removed at different angles
Segment of orange on own
Segment of choc orange on own.

Photoshop Tutorials:
http://snapguide.com/guides/make-an-apple-with-an-orange-inside-w-photoshop/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZYEjjlyci0

Shoot Evaluation:
This shoot was really interesting for me as I was able to use the Boom in the studio for the first time this year. I really enjoyed using this technique as it gave my photos that professional quality finish as the light was completely focused on my subjects of the oranges and the chocolate. The shoot itself was quite successful - I shot all my needed images from different angles to ensure I had more than enough images to work with when it came to editing them. A problem I did encounter was that the orange segments weren't the right way round when I cut into it, and I didn't bring any extra oranges to experiment with. I also found that tje chocolate orange must have been knocked around a bit in the bag, as it completely broke into segments when I opened it, which wasn't helpful as I wanted to photograph it whole first. I did however find from doing this shoot, that I came up with various other ideas for future shoots.

This was my first attempt at the tutorial I was following to put an orange inside of an apple. I initially struggled with the positioning of the two objects and it was also quite hard getting the shadows and lighting right on the final image to make it look realistic, but I think I have done a fair job. I decided to use a soft eraser around the edges of the orange because it softens the view for the audience and makes the product look more realistic. I could have improved the image if I had perhaps manipulated the object onto a proper background such as a table setting, or if I had used a better angle on the orange to make manipulating the chocolate orange easier.

I actually think this image of the orange looks more realistic than the Photo-shopped one, yet it was actually just a mater of a lucky angle when I shot the image. I took a half chocolate orange and placed a quarter of a real orange on top. After photographing the object from above, which was done with the help of the boom lighting, it actually appeared as if the fruit-chocolate hybrid was a realistic object. I increased the curves in this photo because I wanted to really enhance the colours to show the contrast between the vivid orange and the dark chocolate. I also wanted to repeat the image because I wanted to give off the impression that this particular image was shot at from different angles - but it wasn't - to trick the viewer into believing that it s a real object.

Work Record - Personal Shoot 3

Hot And Cold

Plan for the Shoot:
My plan for this shoot is completely based around a tutorial I found exploring the idea of 'melting' a human body. In the example, a model is sitting holding an ice cream - the ice cream is solid, but the model has been made to appear as if she is melting. For my shoot, I am going to use the studio and ask someone to hold a few cubes of ice. Hopefully, the ice won't melt too quickly and what I'll see is the ice solid in someone's hand. Then using Photoshop and a collection of different brushes, I am going to draw the hands downwards to make it appear as if the hands are melting, without touching the ice. Thus, I will be contrasting the idea or both hot and cold, and solid and liquid, but with a twist....

Evaluation:
I really enjoyed this shoot as it was my first personal project shoot in the studio this year, and I love how the quality of a studio shoot is so much stronger in comparison to a normal camera. I did worry about this shoot because I didn't think my ice was going to freeze in time to start the shoot, but today I have learnt that you can freeze water in around 2 hours. I also thought that the ice was going to melt dramatically under the studio lights, but they actually retained their shape and structure for the time I needed to shoot them from various angles. The straight shots themselves look really effective - I thought that because of the pale background and the skin tone of my models' hands, they'd start to look very see-through, but they actually retained a cool, frosted look about them.

This first image was actually my first attempt at the 'melting' effect and if I am honest I think it looks really good. Although I know that I am going to do a few more to hopefully improve the quality of this technique even more, I am still impressed at my first attempt and it gives off the kind of look I was initially looking for. Although it wasn't planned, I think what works really well is the colour of my model's nail varnish - the blue colour makes the image look particualrly cooler but it still contrasts with the hot idea of the melting hands. I am not so sure if the angle works that well, as the lighting doesn't really compliment the ice all that well from this angle and doesn't make it stand out as much as it does in other images. I also think using more ice would have looked more effective and would have emphasized the contrast all the more.

This second image was a complete experiment, as I used a selection of brushes to try and give off the idea that the ice was actually on fire - which is an idea that would ordinarily be impossible as the ice would melt too quickly.I do like this effect as it does look somewhat realistic, but would have looked much more realistic if I had photographed the ice separately on a table on its own, where I could have used more realistic flame-brushes. I also used a black brush to colour in the background to allow the eye to focus more on the hands and the ice. The solid black colour also makes the image as a whole look cooler, in contrast to the 'hot' flames.

Work Record - Personal Shoot 2

Industry and Nature

Plans for the shoot:
Because my original plans for today's shoot fell through because I couldn't get hold of the props that I needed, I didn't want to waste my opportunity to shoot, so I thought of the idea of contrasting the industry and nature, as, over time the nature around us has been gradually taken over from by the industry being built up. I have no 'real plan' to say, for this shoot, so I have decided to take a camera out to town with me to shoot images of natural elements, and also industrial products. I am going to shoot them individually, then use overlaying techniques and multiple imagery to contrast them in my final prints.

Shoot Evaluation:
The shoot was going quite successfully until my camera ran out of battery, and I didn't have the time to get new batteries, so if I want to shoot more, I know to potentially re-shoot this another time. I also felt like I was limited to the number of 'nature' objects I could shoot, as, because of the time of the year, most of the bigger, prettier flowers are starting to die off, so all I was really left with was leaves, grass, trees etc. I also think for the 'industry' section of this shoot, I probably could have done with going to a location such as a building site, to be able to photograph more 'objects' as such, rather than just buildings. I think I could definitely develop this idea to maybe a studio shoot, where I have two people - one as a 'character' based on mother nature for example, and a character representing a typical modern society - technology, expensive clothes etc.

Unlike with most planned shoots where I will normally achieve some good-quality straight prints, I wasn't happy with anything that I shot today and I think that's because I didn't plan the shoot properly, and I also didn't get the chance to shoot enough. These two photos are both what I used for my print techniques and computer experiments, because I wanted to be able to blend two different images - one of the 'industry' and one of 'nature' into one image, which wouldn't be achieved in straight prints.

The top image is of a window blind, and then I layered an image of some flowers over the top and erased sections of it to show a pattern. I thought this looked quite effective as it gave off the impression that that is what you can see through the blinds. I also used a gradient affect to dark the colours at one side slightly more, for no other reason but for effect. Although I am pleased with the appearance with this image, I don't think it particularly reflects my theme of contrasts all that well

The second image I created using the multiple imagery technique I have learnt this year. Using a grid, I positioned all of the individual images accordingly so that they aligned with each other properly. I placed them in an order that saw the images alternating between nature and industry, and I actually think it looks quite effective even though it is not technically a straight print.