Dear Examiner,
Though I tried many different ways of printing them, some of my final pieces are not how I would like them to look in terms of their colour. A true reflection of what they should look like can be found on my blog in the powerpoint of my best work.
Kind regards,
Kate-Anna Smith
Tuesday, 27 May 2014
Monday, 26 May 2014
Photo Shoot 9: Distorted
Plans for the shoot
Looking at my personal project I have found myself very inspired looking at photographs that distort the human body. With my project being 'representation of the human figure' I thought it would be interesting to distort the human figure and look at in a more unnatural state.
I have really enjoyed exploring and using the liquefy tool in this project and think I have become rather good a using it. With this, I thought this would be a great way to distort the body/ face.
I want to make this shoot fun, weird and interesting, therefore I am going to be ensuring that I photograph an array of different expressions and poses.
Shoot evaluation
I am pleasantly surprised with this shoot and I am really happy with the overall piece that I created. After editing a couple of the shots I thought it would look really good to present it a multiple imagery piece - this is what I created.
I had lot of fun with this shoot and happy with the result. I think I got really visually interesting shots that amusing for the viewer to look at. I enjoyed shooting this and I think this shoot has developed my style further more and highlighted another area of my maturing style in which I enjoy and can expand upon.
Looking at my personal project I have found myself very inspired looking at photographs that distort the human body. With my project being 'representation of the human figure' I thought it would be interesting to distort the human figure and look at in a more unnatural state.
I have really enjoyed exploring and using the liquefy tool in this project and think I have become rather good a using it. With this, I thought this would be a great way to distort the body/ face.
I want to make this shoot fun, weird and interesting, therefore I am going to be ensuring that I photograph an array of different expressions and poses.
Shoot evaluation
I am pleasantly surprised with this shoot and I am really happy with the overall piece that I created. After editing a couple of the shots I thought it would look really good to present it a multiple imagery piece - this is what I created.
Photo Shoot 8: Doll Face
Plans for the shoot
In today's shoot I am going to be looking at the shoot I did previously where I photographed a mannequin and gave it a human face. I wasn't really happy with how this shoot turned out and therefore I thought I'd try doing something similar to see if I like the effect more.
I found these dolls called 'Beanie Babies' I had from when I was a child and decided I would try to put my face on one of them. I though this would work better as I found the face looked "too much" and "too made-up" for the blank mannequin. This differs to the doll faces which actually have more human features and therefore this should blend in better.
I am planning on using a blank background to photograph the dolls on so they stand out well (also because they have so much colour on them, themselves).
I will again need to think about keeping the lighting and the focal length on the camera the same when shooting myself and the dolls so that nothing ends up looking distorted or out of place.
Shoot evaluation
I feel better how the shoot went today in comparison to the shoot with the mannequin the other day. I think everything has blended better and that the placement of the face has worked better too and doesn't look out of place so much.
Although I don't think this is one of my best pieces of work, this is a nice variation in my portfolio of work and I think it has opened my creative mind more to experiment more with my work.
In today's shoot I am going to be looking at the shoot I did previously where I photographed a mannequin and gave it a human face. I wasn't really happy with how this shoot turned out and therefore I thought I'd try doing something similar to see if I like the effect more.
I found these dolls called 'Beanie Babies' I had from when I was a child and decided I would try to put my face on one of them. I though this would work better as I found the face looked "too much" and "too made-up" for the blank mannequin. This differs to the doll faces which actually have more human features and therefore this should blend in better.
I am planning on using a blank background to photograph the dolls on so they stand out well (also because they have so much colour on them, themselves).
I will again need to think about keeping the lighting and the focal length on the camera the same when shooting myself and the dolls so that nothing ends up looking distorted or out of place.
Shoot evaluation
I feel better how the shoot went today in comparison to the shoot with the mannequin the other day. I think everything has blended better and that the placement of the face has worked better too and doesn't look out of place so much.
Although I don't think this is one of my best pieces of work, this is a nice variation in my portfolio of work and I think it has opened my creative mind more to experiment more with my work.
I am happier with how this shoot went today and I think experimenting with my style of work now will help me improve as a photographer and establish my style more.
Photo Shoot 7: Mannequin
Plans for the shoot
I am going to be doing something different in today's photo shoot after the last one planned really did not go well! After having a bad allergic reaction to some of the makeup that I was using I decided to try out something that didn't involve such an extensive look. I am planning on photographing myself as usual only looking more 'normal' and then I am going to photograph an art mannequin. Afterwards, I want to manipulate the photos in Photoshop and make it look as if my face is on the head of the mannequin.
I will want to use a dark background for this shoot like black so the mannequin stands out well against it.
I am going to need to keep things like the lighting and the focal length of the camera the same when shooting myself and mannequin so nothing ends up looking distorted out of place. This way the end photo will look as seamless as possible.
Shoot evaluation
I'm not really happy with how the shoot went today nor the final photo that I have ended up with. I definitely think that over the last two years I have developed a style within my photography work that I love to create and photograph - I found this shoot boring and hate the final photo. Nevertheless though I think doing a shoot like this has confirmed my maturing style and allowed me to try something new even if I wasn't happy with it.
I did however get a good chance to look at my Photoshop skills in this shoot and I am happy with how I was able to blend the face out evenly to make it look as flawless as possible in terms of editing it in place.
Overall, I am happy that I tried something new in photography today but I think I am better suited to the kind of work I was producing before where I was able to really 'create' everything in the photo in terms of the makeup and the photography. I think I may look at extending this shoot trying it out on a doll - I feel my facial features are more doll, especially when I emphasise everything with makeup. As this is a plain mannequin a more plain, less made up version of myself may have looked better.
Friday, 23 May 2014
Thursday, 22 May 2014
Wednesday, 7 May 2014
Photo Shoot 6: Muscles
Plans for the shoot
In today's shoot I am going to be representing the human figure through the the human body's 'insides' such as the muscles and tendons. This idea extended from the skeleton shoot that I did a few weeks ago and I thought the human figure could be represented 'inside-out'.
I am only planning on creating this look on part f my face and making the rest of my face very white and pale - a bit like a porcelain statue. I plan on using a black background.
Shoot Evaluation
I am fairly happy with how the shoot went today. Though I wasn't sure about how the look/idea was photographing at first I think the final effect is quite remarkable. I experimented a lot with different camera angles and poses in this shoot and I am happy I did this as the variety of different shots I got allowed to me experiment more when editing.
In today's shoot I am going to be representing the human figure through the the human body's 'insides' such as the muscles and tendons. This idea extended from the skeleton shoot that I did a few weeks ago and I thought the human figure could be represented 'inside-out'.
I am only planning on creating this look on part f my face and making the rest of my face very white and pale - a bit like a porcelain statue. I plan on using a black background.
Shoot Evaluation
I am fairly happy with how the shoot went today. Though I wasn't sure about how the look/idea was photographing at first I think the final effect is quite remarkable. I experimented a lot with different camera angles and poses in this shoot and I am happy I did this as the variety of different shots I got allowed to me experiment more when editing.
This is one the photos from the shoot. I think it looks very 'clinical' and really captures the attention of the viewer. I like the small colour pallet that has been used as it has made the section of the face really stand out.
I edited a lot on this photo but very subtle, the eye for a start. I changed the colour balance to make it look red and this blended in better and matched the muscles more. I added a gaussian blur around the face and this subtly accentuated the makeup and the eyes. I changed the colour of the photo overall by changing the exposure levels - this made the skin whiter and added a higher contrast of colour in the red tones.
I love the blank expression on the models face, I think it makes the photos creepier and kind of scary too look at in a way.
The only part of this photo that I do not like it the way I extended the red makeup on to the neck - it didn't photograph as well as it looked in person. Nevertheless though I think the blur I used on the photo helped to distract from this more and ensured the focus was on the face itself.
Photo Shoot 5: Avatar
Plans for the shoot
In today's shoot I am going to be looking at the character Avatar from the film. I thought that this would be a good character too look at and create for my project as the 'Avatar' in the film was an entirely new race/species that was represented through the human body (therefore linking well with my project).
I am planning on using myself as a subject and creating the look of the Avatar myself using makeup. The focal point of this shoot is going to be the face and therefore my work will be portrait based. I also think this shoot will give me the opportunity to work on my editing and I plan on using tools such as the liquify tool and blurs.
Shoot Evaluation
I am extremely happy with how today's shoot went! Although I encountered some problems to begin with the shoot ran fairly smoothly. The first problem I encountered was my ears (or my Avatar ears) they ended up looking like blue elf ears in all the photos and they look odd/out of place, so I ended up scrapping them from the final look. The next problem was choosing a background that worked well and complement the blue on my face, which proved harder than thought as the white makeup on my face was photographing so bight. In the end I settled with an aqua background and turned my lighting down so that the white was photographing so harshly.
Here are some the final photos from the shoot:
I love this photo and I think it's one of the strongest I have ever done. I angled the camera down to ward the subject as this accentuates the eyes and highlights the angles on the face nicely. I used the 'bloat' option on the liquify tool to make my eyes appear bigger like that of an Avatar's, as well as altering the colouring of them using the colour balance option in Photoshop. I created a gaussian blur around the edge of the face to again accentuate the eyes and make them the focal point; I liked this effect and though subtle it really added to the overall effect. I love the contrast in colour in the photo and I preferred the tight cropping of the photo so it was around the face. The brown hair contrasts nicely over the aqua background and the tight cropping agains adds emphasis to the face. I like the expression - the eyes are connecting with the camera really well and it almost makes the rest of the face hard to read.
This second photo is one where I included more of the neck. Evidently, I increased the contrast seen in colour here in this photo and made everything brighter - this has made the photo stand out more. I also made the eyes illuminate more. I added the white pattern on the neck (as seen on the cheeks and nose) after in Photoshop as I think it bought the look together more. I then again added a subtle gaussian blur though to make sue there wasn't too much distraction from the face. I wouldn't normally edit my photos in this way as I think it looks too much, but on this occasion I think it worked.
I used a similar cropping in this photo and used the hair the 'background'. The brown of the hair worked well against the blue and I think it makes both the photos more striking than the aqua colour I had for the background. The angle of the camera here faced straight on toward the model and I think this worked with having the neck in the photo too.
Overall I am really happy with how the shoot went today. I would love to do another character based photo shoot like this again as it was so fun to create.
In today's shoot I am going to be looking at the character Avatar from the film. I thought that this would be a good character too look at and create for my project as the 'Avatar' in the film was an entirely new race/species that was represented through the human body (therefore linking well with my project).
I am planning on using myself as a subject and creating the look of the Avatar myself using makeup. The focal point of this shoot is going to be the face and therefore my work will be portrait based. I also think this shoot will give me the opportunity to work on my editing and I plan on using tools such as the liquify tool and blurs.
Shoot Evaluation
I am extremely happy with how today's shoot went! Although I encountered some problems to begin with the shoot ran fairly smoothly. The first problem I encountered was my ears (or my Avatar ears) they ended up looking like blue elf ears in all the photos and they look odd/out of place, so I ended up scrapping them from the final look. The next problem was choosing a background that worked well and complement the blue on my face, which proved harder than thought as the white makeup on my face was photographing so bight. In the end I settled with an aqua background and turned my lighting down so that the white was photographing so harshly.
Here are some the final photos from the shoot:
I love this photo and I think it's one of the strongest I have ever done. I angled the camera down to ward the subject as this accentuates the eyes and highlights the angles on the face nicely. I used the 'bloat' option on the liquify tool to make my eyes appear bigger like that of an Avatar's, as well as altering the colouring of them using the colour balance option in Photoshop. I created a gaussian blur around the edge of the face to again accentuate the eyes and make them the focal point; I liked this effect and though subtle it really added to the overall effect. I love the contrast in colour in the photo and I preferred the tight cropping of the photo so it was around the face. The brown hair contrasts nicely over the aqua background and the tight cropping agains adds emphasis to the face. I like the expression - the eyes are connecting with the camera really well and it almost makes the rest of the face hard to read.
This second photo is one where I included more of the neck. Evidently, I increased the contrast seen in colour here in this photo and made everything brighter - this has made the photo stand out more. I also made the eyes illuminate more. I added the white pattern on the neck (as seen on the cheeks and nose) after in Photoshop as I think it bought the look together more. I then again added a subtle gaussian blur though to make sue there wasn't too much distraction from the face. I wouldn't normally edit my photos in this way as I think it looks too much, but on this occasion I think it worked.
I used a similar cropping in this photo and used the hair the 'background'. The brown of the hair worked well against the blue and I think it makes both the photos more striking than the aqua colour I had for the background. The angle of the camera here faced straight on toward the model and I think this worked with having the neck in the photo too.
Overall I am really happy with how the shoot went today. I would love to do another character based photo shoot like this again as it was so fun to create.
Wednesday, 23 April 2014
Photo Shoot 4: Terminator (inspired)
Plans for the shoot:
In this photo I used the same effect for the eye. Regular lighting was used in the photo and I also added a gun as a prop to add to the more Terminator feel. I think this has worked well as the subject has angle it in such a way to hide half her face and only make the eyes visible - his in turn has really made them stand out and accentuated the focal point.
This photo is where I edited the eye differently to make it red. It's not as vibrant as the other two, but I like it a lot. For this way, I simply selected the eye area again, and changed the colour levels, pushing it more towards to get the colour to change.
Overall I am happy with this shoot and would like to do something like this again. I am enjoying these kind of shoots as they are fun to create and photograph.
I am going to be creating a look today that is inspired by Terminator. I'm not sure how this idea came about, but I wanted to look at representation of human figure through technology or something of the sort, and we rely on technology so much today. I couldn't think of anything to photograph that would be both visually interesting, fun and conform to the concept that I had, so instead I thought I'd just turn the human bionic/ into a robot and Terminator came off from it!
I am going to be looking at lighting today and how I can use it to my advantage. As the look is going to be quite dark, I think using the boom light like I did in my first skeleton shoot will give me a nice effect, as well as using regular lighting. I am going to use a black background as I think this will compliment the metallic makeup I am using to create the look.
I am going to be editing my eye in Photoshop in various different ways to create that glowing red effect after the shoot.
I am going to be looking at lighting today and how I can use it to my advantage. As the look is going to be quite dark, I think using the boom light like I did in my first skeleton shoot will give me a nice effect, as well as using regular lighting. I am going to use a black background as I think this will compliment the metallic makeup I am using to create the look.
I am going to be editing my eye in Photoshop in various different ways to create that glowing red effect after the shoot.
Shoot Evaluation:
Today's shoot went well. I was happy with how the look turned out and think it photographed nicely. The boom light worked out well too, creating the shadowy, dark effect that I wanted. I ended up by editing the eye in two different ways too, both were trial and error but I quite like how they both look. Here are some of my best shots from today:
Today's shoot went well. I was happy with how the look turned out and think it photographed nicely. The boom light worked out well too, creating the shadowy, dark effect that I wanted. I ended up by editing the eye in two different ways too, both were trial and error but I quite like how they both look. Here are some of my best shots from today:
This is one of the photos where I used the boom lighting. I like the shadowy effect and this has made the makeup and eye in particular really stand out. The expression is strong and this has added a powerful feel to the photo. To create the eye effect here I selected the eye area, filled it in red and the faded the colour, blending it in and adding a strong white accent in the middle.
This photo is where I edited the eye differently to make it red. It's not as vibrant as the other two, but I like it a lot. For this way, I simply selected the eye area again, and changed the colour levels, pushing it more towards to get the colour to change.
Overall I am happy with this shoot and would like to do something like this again. I am enjoying these kind of shoots as they are fun to create and photograph.
Photo Shoot 3: Pop Art
Plans for the shoot:
Today's photo shoot is going to be pop art inspired. I thought of this idea as human representation could be through a painting, drawing or cartoon etc. and then though I could create a makeup look that makes a human themselves, look like a cartoon. I will be using myself as a subject in this shoot.
Colour will be a key thing for me to pay attention to in this shoot. Cartoons in a pop art style use minimal colours and usually stick to bring, primary colours. The makeup look itself is going to include red, so I think the aqua blue background will be a nice contrasting background that will conform to colour style of the cartoon. The whole idea of this shoot is going to be to make my face look '2D' and to create the illusion of a cartoon.
Shoot Evaluation:
I am EXTREMELY happy with how today went! The photos turned out fantastically and I think I achieved what I was going for. Although I found this difficult to create to begging with, I the end result has been well worth it. Some problems I encountered was trying to get the pose right and this has to correspond with the makeup - I created the look so it would appear as 2D as possible and therefore I had to angle my face to compliment this. Once I had worked these angles out though everything ran smoothly (except for my wig moving around a few times).
Here is my favourite shot from toady:
I am happy with the pose and expression of the subject and think it imitates perfectly that of a pop art cartoon. Everything in the photo as created using makeup, however, I wasn't happy with the hair so I played around with different effects in Photoshop till I go this. I created this effect using a filter, then erasing and fading it out where I didn't want it. The cropping of the photo of centre, something I am fond of, and the sterile aqua background really made the subject stand out as the hair and makeup colours contrast well.
This is another photo very similar to the first.
Here is an example of what the photos looked like with out the editing. I am happy with this too, although I definitely think adding the filter so the hair matched the makeup enhanced the photo and made it 'complete'. This shoot has again lead me to want to try out more subtle editing tools in Photoshop - so far experimenting with them has worked out well for me
Today's photo shoot is going to be pop art inspired. I thought of this idea as human representation could be through a painting, drawing or cartoon etc. and then though I could create a makeup look that makes a human themselves, look like a cartoon. I will be using myself as a subject in this shoot.
Colour will be a key thing for me to pay attention to in this shoot. Cartoons in a pop art style use minimal colours and usually stick to bring, primary colours. The makeup look itself is going to include red, so I think the aqua blue background will be a nice contrasting background that will conform to colour style of the cartoon. The whole idea of this shoot is going to be to make my face look '2D' and to create the illusion of a cartoon.
Shoot Evaluation:
I am EXTREMELY happy with how today went! The photos turned out fantastically and I think I achieved what I was going for. Although I found this difficult to create to begging with, I the end result has been well worth it. Some problems I encountered was trying to get the pose right and this has to correspond with the makeup - I created the look so it would appear as 2D as possible and therefore I had to angle my face to compliment this. Once I had worked these angles out though everything ran smoothly (except for my wig moving around a few times).
Here is my favourite shot from toady:
I am happy with the pose and expression of the subject and think it imitates perfectly that of a pop art cartoon. Everything in the photo as created using makeup, however, I wasn't happy with the hair so I played around with different effects in Photoshop till I go this. I created this effect using a filter, then erasing and fading it out where I didn't want it. The cropping of the photo of centre, something I am fond of, and the sterile aqua background really made the subject stand out as the hair and makeup colours contrast well.This is another photo very similar to the first.
Here is an example of what the photos looked like with out the editing. I am happy with this too, although I definitely think adding the filter so the hair matched the makeup enhanced the photo and made it 'complete'. This shoot has again lead me to want to try out more subtle editing tools in Photoshop - so far experimenting with them has worked out well for me
Photo Shoot 2: Broken Doll
Plans for the shoot:
In today's class I am going to be conducting a shoot where the concept is focusing around a broken doll. I have chosen to look a doll in this shoot as I thought it would be a good representation of a child's human figure, or even imitate that of adults who strive for superficial perfection, like that of a doll.
The 'broken' idea behind is purely because I think it will make the shoot look more visually interesting. Nevertheless it could hold a deeper meaning reflecting that of a individuals state of mind.
I am planning on using the aqua colour background as I think it will compliment the colours I am going to use in the makeup best. I want to get a variety of different shots in the shoot e.g. close-up portraiture, full body etc. and work on my editing skills to enhance the look I am going to create.
Shoot Evaluation:
I am really happy with how the shoot went today. I think I got some interesting photos and everything seemed to run smoothly. Looking at my editing more has definitely benefited my this time and I am pleased with the result that I have gotten - the 'liquify' tool is something I particularly like. Here are tow of my favourite shots from today.
I love this first shot! I think it looks visually interesting and has a eerie kind of feel about it. For this photo I angled the camera very high so it would in turn a make me look small (it would also accentuate my eyes too which helped with the doll effect). I tried out lots of different poses, trying to make my body look stiff and awkward like a doll - I was happy with this pose, I think the stances of the subject resembles that of a doll. I then went on in Photoshop to distort the body and make it look like a creepy doll. I used the liquify tool mostly to pinch in my waist and slim and shape my legs into awkward proportion. I made my nose and mouth smaller using the same effect, then enlarged my eyes, head and feet using the 'bloat' feature. I am extremely happy with the effect. The cropping of this photo is something else I like - it's not central and I think the aqua background has worked excellently with the look.
This second photo is my favourite from today. I wanted to look at some close up portraiture shots and this worked amazingly for me and the effect I wanted to create. I cropped this photo down so the hair was farming it and there was no other visible background showing - this allowed the facial features to really stand out. I desaturated the photo and then change the exposure levels to get the colours to look this way. After this, I turned my attention to the facial features. I didn't want to manipulate the photo a lot as I was happy with how the makeup looked, but I accentuated the eyes slightly by using the bloat tool in Photoshop again to make my pupil look bigger. I also pinched in my nose slightly too. I think this photo is quite haunting and drawing to look at. OI am extremely happy with the end result.
Overall I think today's shoot went really well. I like the photos and am glad I have started to be more adventurous with editing my photos, as I think in this instance it has really enhanced the photos and made them better. I will definitely be using the liquify tool in my work in the future as this is something I really liked. The idea and concept of this piece was fun to create and I would love to do something like it again.
In today's class I am going to be conducting a shoot where the concept is focusing around a broken doll. I have chosen to look a doll in this shoot as I thought it would be a good representation of a child's human figure, or even imitate that of adults who strive for superficial perfection, like that of a doll.
The 'broken' idea behind is purely because I think it will make the shoot look more visually interesting. Nevertheless it could hold a deeper meaning reflecting that of a individuals state of mind.
I am planning on using the aqua colour background as I think it will compliment the colours I am going to use in the makeup best. I want to get a variety of different shots in the shoot e.g. close-up portraiture, full body etc. and work on my editing skills to enhance the look I am going to create.
Shoot Evaluation:
I am really happy with how the shoot went today. I think I got some interesting photos and everything seemed to run smoothly. Looking at my editing more has definitely benefited my this time and I am pleased with the result that I have gotten - the 'liquify' tool is something I particularly like. Here are tow of my favourite shots from today.
I love this first shot! I think it looks visually interesting and has a eerie kind of feel about it. For this photo I angled the camera very high so it would in turn a make me look small (it would also accentuate my eyes too which helped with the doll effect). I tried out lots of different poses, trying to make my body look stiff and awkward like a doll - I was happy with this pose, I think the stances of the subject resembles that of a doll. I then went on in Photoshop to distort the body and make it look like a creepy doll. I used the liquify tool mostly to pinch in my waist and slim and shape my legs into awkward proportion. I made my nose and mouth smaller using the same effect, then enlarged my eyes, head and feet using the 'bloat' feature. I am extremely happy with the effect. The cropping of this photo is something else I like - it's not central and I think the aqua background has worked excellently with the look.
This second photo is my favourite from today. I wanted to look at some close up portraiture shots and this worked amazingly for me and the effect I wanted to create. I cropped this photo down so the hair was farming it and there was no other visible background showing - this allowed the facial features to really stand out. I desaturated the photo and then change the exposure levels to get the colours to look this way. After this, I turned my attention to the facial features. I didn't want to manipulate the photo a lot as I was happy with how the makeup looked, but I accentuated the eyes slightly by using the bloat tool in Photoshop again to make my pupil look bigger. I also pinched in my nose slightly too. I think this photo is quite haunting and drawing to look at. OI am extremely happy with the end result.
Overall I think today's shoot went really well. I like the photos and am glad I have started to be more adventurous with editing my photos, as I think in this instance it has really enhanced the photos and made them better. I will definitely be using the liquify tool in my work in the future as this is something I really liked. The idea and concept of this piece was fun to create and I would love to do something like it again.
Personal Shoot 12: Ring Flash
Plans for the shoot:
In today's class I am going to using the ring flash. Given I am looking at makeup/beauty photography for this project I think it is important that I experiment using this as it is used a lot in close up beauty shots.
I am planning on using myself for this shoot again and just doing a daily makeup look that is more simple and refreshing than some of my other photos and seeing how it works with the ring flash. I am going to be using the white background as it will provide and clean, sterile environment that provides no distracts from the subject.
I think facial expression would be a good thing to experiment here with seeing as everything else in the shot is going to be kept quite simple.
Shoot Evaluation:
I am relatively happy with how this shoot went, although I this is a shoot where I would have preferred to work with a model. Using myself as a subject in this shoot was more difficult for me as I didn't feel as confident trying to get lots of different expressions.
Other than this though I am liked the effect of the ring flash and think I got some good shots with it. Here is my favourite shot from today:
I like this photo as it was taken when I wasn't expecting it to be, and therefore the pose and expression are more and natural. I love how the ring flash has made everything in the photo look more flawless e.g. the skin. The sterile background has worked well here too and imitates that of what you would see in published beauty shots etc.
Here is another photo from today, though I am not as happy with it:
Although I like how the ring flash has been used in this photo, I am not fond of the expression of the subject. Again, I think this could have been avoided should I have used a model as I wasn't comfortable myself tying to get lots of expressions.
After today, I would definitely consider using the ring flash again in another shoot where I felt it fitting to do so as I like the effect it gives. I wasn't happy with my photos overall today though and think raw beauty shots are something I would avoid in the future, or at least where using myself as a subject is concerned anyway.
In today's class I am going to using the ring flash. Given I am looking at makeup/beauty photography for this project I think it is important that I experiment using this as it is used a lot in close up beauty shots.
I am planning on using myself for this shoot again and just doing a daily makeup look that is more simple and refreshing than some of my other photos and seeing how it works with the ring flash. I am going to be using the white background as it will provide and clean, sterile environment that provides no distracts from the subject.
I think facial expression would be a good thing to experiment here with seeing as everything else in the shot is going to be kept quite simple.
Shoot Evaluation:
I am relatively happy with how this shoot went, although I this is a shoot where I would have preferred to work with a model. Using myself as a subject in this shoot was more difficult for me as I didn't feel as confident trying to get lots of different expressions.
Other than this though I am liked the effect of the ring flash and think I got some good shots with it. Here is my favourite shot from today:
I like this photo as it was taken when I wasn't expecting it to be, and therefore the pose and expression are more and natural. I love how the ring flash has made everything in the photo look more flawless e.g. the skin. The sterile background has worked well here too and imitates that of what you would see in published beauty shots etc.
Here is another photo from today, though I am not as happy with it:
Although I like how the ring flash has been used in this photo, I am not fond of the expression of the subject. Again, I think this could have been avoided should I have used a model as I wasn't comfortable myself tying to get lots of expressions.
After today, I would definitely consider using the ring flash again in another shoot where I felt it fitting to do so as I like the effect it gives. I wasn't happy with my photos overall today though and think raw beauty shots are something I would avoid in the future, or at least where using myself as a subject is concerned anyway.
Friday, 11 April 2014
Monday, 31 March 2014
Exam Plan
For my unit 4 fifteen hour exam I am going to be conducting four photo shoots. The exam topic that I have picked is 'Representation of the Human Figure', and for my exam I have given more thought into how I can accurately represent this in different ways. I have chosen to do this by looking at 3 main categories that I have identified within this topic; culture, animal and death. I will be using myself as a subject in all of my shoots and all shoots will be taking place in the studio.
Looking at culture I am going to be conducting two different shoots with a similar idea, one in which I am looking at the Chinese culture and creating a Geisha girl, and another where I look at Native American and create a girl from a tribe.
With the animal theme I have decided to create a fawn/doe/deer inspired look and photograph it as if it were hanging on the wall on a plaque.
My final idea of death is going to be looking at a zombie/ dead girl inspired look, making it a darker shoot in comparison to the rest.
Looking at culture I am going to be conducting two different shoots with a similar idea, one in which I am looking at the Chinese culture and creating a Geisha girl, and another where I look at Native American and create a girl from a tribe.
With the animal theme I have decided to create a fawn/doe/deer inspired look and photograph it as if it were hanging on the wall on a plaque.
My final idea of death is going to be looking at a zombie/ dead girl inspired look, making it a darker shoot in comparison to the rest.
Friday, 21 March 2014
Photo Shoot 1: Skeleton
Plans for the shoot:
In today's class I am going to be conducting my first photo shoot for my unit 4 project. I have chosen to look at 'Representation of the Human Figure' a thought a great way to start the project would be too look a the human body in a literal sense and photographing a skeleton. As I love using makeup in photo shoots though I have decided to create the skeleton on the body itself using makeup.
During the shoot I am planning on using the boom light to light my subject from above and create a more dark and shadowy look. I want to create and eerie feel in my photos I feel this kind of lighting will help my achieve this. I am also going to experiment with my subject lit using more regular lighting and see the difference in effect this gives. I think the black background is going to work best for in this shoot as I want everything to be dark, so only really the skeleton features have be seen clearly - therefore I am also going to ensure that my subject is wearing all black too.
The focus of this shoot is really going to be lighting and how I can use it to my advantage and create different effects in my photos.
Shoot Evaluation:
I am really happy with how today's shoot went. I am pleased with the feel all the photos have and the way the lighting definitely had an impact on this. The makeup look I created, though slightly difficult to do, photographed really beautifully and I think this overall made the shoot better as opposed to if I used a literal skeleton - it gave it an edge it otherwise wouldn't have had.
These first two photos from the shoot are when I used the boom light. I really liked the effect this gave in the end, even though I had a struggle getting it right in the first place. For example, at one point it was too dark and I had to reposition the subject and where she stood in correspondence with the light, and then I had a problem with getting flare. To eliminate this I clipped card around the the edge of the light so it was only in contact with my subject and not hitting the lens on the camera.
After this the shoot ran really smoothly. I was able to get a variety of shots, including these ones. I really like the way the subject is looking away from the camera but is still connecting with the viewer really well - I think this is due to the strong makeup look and the way I have really accentuated in the light and putting it against a dark sterile background.
After this the shoot ran really smoothly. I was able to get a variety of shots, including these ones. I really like the way the subject is looking away from the camera but is still connecting with the viewer really well - I think this is due to the strong makeup look and the way I have really accentuated in the light and putting it against a dark sterile background.
This next photo is from when I changed the lighting to using regular modelling lights set out in an ordinary fashion. This photo has given a different overall feel - I don't think that it's as dark and eerie as the other photos. It's softer, but this compensated for with the connection the subject has with the camera and the eye contact they are making with the viewer.
This shoot has really made me think about my lighting more in future shoots and how I can use in different ways to get different effects - it can completely transform the overall vibe a photo has. I am also really happy that I have continued to carry on using makeup in this project (carried over from my unit 3 personal project) as this has given such a nice effect and always photographs really beautifully. This is something I am going to continue in all future shoot.
This shoot has really made me think about my lighting more in future shoots and how I can use in different ways to get different effects - it can completely transform the overall vibe a photo has. I am also really happy that I have continued to carry on using makeup in this project (carried over from my unit 3 personal project) as this has given such a nice effect and always photographs really beautifully. This is something I am going to continue in all future shoot.
Thursday, 20 March 2014
Friday, 31 January 2014
Personal Shoot 11: Silver (FINE ART EXTENDED)
Plans for the shoot:
In today's shoot I am going to be doing a look that consists of me spray-pinting myself silver. I am going to also be focusing this shoot as an extension to my fine art shoot as I wasn't happy with the photos that I took and found it frustrating as I know I could achieve something better. When I think of fine art and at existing photographers, I always see the human body, there I think this shoot will be ideal for this.
I really want to be able to capture the metallic, shiny look of the paint on the body and contrast this using a matte black background. I want to experiment with a variety of different poses and use the hands in particular as I think covered in the metallic paint I will be able to really capture the details, angles and features on the body.
Shoot Evaluation:
I am really pleased with the outcome of today's shoot and the photos that I produced, although I did encounter a few minor problems. One being the paint that I used started to irritate my skin and this meant that had to work really quickly when I was in the studio - to help with this I ended up directing someone else with the camera to ensure that I got through the shoot as quickly as possible. I also found that the lighting was too harsh to I had to dim this down - other the metallic effect was photographing too white.
I like the pose in this first photo - the light has caught the angles on the face beautifully here. I like how the silver has also allowed the bone structure to be seen as well. The hair looks very textured (again being accentuated by the silver paint) and this has added a nice contrast against the smooth, sheer look of the skin.
This is my favourite photo from the shoot - it looks so weird and alien-like. I edited the eyes here using the liquify tool to bloat them slightly and make them bigger - this helped to create that surreal, alien look the photo has.
These next two photos are similar but I really like them. The hands have photographed beautifully and you can really see all the lines and details on them and the contrast between different textures. Both the photos look kind of mysterious as the model is hiding her face with her hands. I love the off centre composition of the photo on the left and how central (and quite tightly cropped to the body) the photo on the right is.
I think all of these photos have really channelled the fine art side of the shoot that I was trying to get at and I really like the effect that I have achieved with these photos.
In today's shoot I am going to be doing a look that consists of me spray-pinting myself silver. I am going to also be focusing this shoot as an extension to my fine art shoot as I wasn't happy with the photos that I took and found it frustrating as I know I could achieve something better. When I think of fine art and at existing photographers, I always see the human body, there I think this shoot will be ideal for this.
I really want to be able to capture the metallic, shiny look of the paint on the body and contrast this using a matte black background. I want to experiment with a variety of different poses and use the hands in particular as I think covered in the metallic paint I will be able to really capture the details, angles and features on the body.
Shoot Evaluation:
I am really pleased with the outcome of today's shoot and the photos that I produced, although I did encounter a few minor problems. One being the paint that I used started to irritate my skin and this meant that had to work really quickly when I was in the studio - to help with this I ended up directing someone else with the camera to ensure that I got through the shoot as quickly as possible. I also found that the lighting was too harsh to I had to dim this down - other the metallic effect was photographing too white.
I like the pose in this first photo - the light has caught the angles on the face beautifully here. I like how the silver has also allowed the bone structure to be seen as well. The hair looks very textured (again being accentuated by the silver paint) and this has added a nice contrast against the smooth, sheer look of the skin.
This is my favourite photo from the shoot - it looks so weird and alien-like. I edited the eyes here using the liquify tool to bloat them slightly and make them bigger - this helped to create that surreal, alien look the photo has.
These next two photos are similar but I really like them. The hands have photographed beautifully and you can really see all the lines and details on them and the contrast between different textures. Both the photos look kind of mysterious as the model is hiding her face with her hands. I love the off centre composition of the photo on the left and how central (and quite tightly cropped to the body) the photo on the right is.
I think all of these photos have really channelled the fine art side of the shoot that I was trying to get at and I really like the effect that I have achieved with these photos.
Wednesday, 29 January 2014
Friday, 24 January 2014
Personal Shoot 10: Bird Inspiration
Plans for the shoot:
In today's class I am going to be conducting a shoot where the makeup look is inspired by a bird. I am going to be using lots of feathers and gems to create a really chic, contemporary look. I want the look to be quite dark with bright vibrant hues in it that stand out. This look is going to be quite surreal, and therefore I this this provides another shoot with the opportunity for looking at different poses and angles.
I'm not sure what background I am going to use, although I think the white background will work best, potentially the grey as well. I want the lightening to be nice and bright as this will really allow he brighter colours to stand out.
Shoot Evaluation:
I am really happy with how the shoot went today and the photos that I have ended up with. The look photographed beautifully and the colours I chose all complimented each other well and helped to balance all elements in the photos.
Initially I was unsure of what background I was going to use, so I tried out the off-white background and the grey background, but wasn't happy with either. I then wasn't sure of what colour background would look good with this look, but then trying out the pure white background and left it unlit and loved the result! - I wanted to use a light coloured background so the colours in look stood out well and this one worked the best.
Using myself as a subject again, I tried hard to be able to get a variety of different shots that saw different angles and poses, and I think I achieved this well in some photos. Here are some of my favourite photos from the shoot:
This first photo is my favourite from all of them. I really like the pose and expression and think that this photo channels perfectly the chic, almost editorial look I wanted to achieve. The subject connected well with the camera and this has allowed the viewer to be more drawn into the photo. The light also caught the glitter on the nails in this photo as well as the gems on the makeup and this added a nice element.
This next photo caught my attention when editing as the pose is so different. It's arguably weird and awkward looking, but I think that this element has added a refreshing twist in the photos and has made it really contemporary looking. The feathers used in the makeup all stood really well during the shoot, despite trying out different angles and poses like this.
This third photo is different to some of the others that I have. I took it from a photo that was taken portrait and cropped in down to this. I like the way you can really see the makeup up close here - the skin looks flawless and has photographed beautifully, also allow other embellishments on the face (such as the diamonds) to stand out with the light hitting them and highlighting the different textures. I think this photo has a slightly moodier feel about it, and the way the camera is angled slightly downward at the model has opened her eyes and made them connect really well with the camera.
I found through-out this project that I like using this angle when doing closer portrait shots.
I like the emotion and captivating feel this final photo has; I think it's quite drawing to look at and it pulls the viewer in. The expressions is mysterious and I like the pose and how the model is looking over her shoulder. I was happy with the composition of all the photos like this and think it works well with the look.
This was a fun look to create and shoot and I am so happy with results. I really enjoy shooting these more surreal, intriguing looks as I think they all photograph so beautifully and they look so different to other beauty and makeup looks in photography I have seen before.
In today's class I am going to be conducting a shoot where the makeup look is inspired by a bird. I am going to be using lots of feathers and gems to create a really chic, contemporary look. I want the look to be quite dark with bright vibrant hues in it that stand out. This look is going to be quite surreal, and therefore I this this provides another shoot with the opportunity for looking at different poses and angles.
I'm not sure what background I am going to use, although I think the white background will work best, potentially the grey as well. I want the lightening to be nice and bright as this will really allow he brighter colours to stand out.
Shoot Evaluation:
I am really happy with how the shoot went today and the photos that I have ended up with. The look photographed beautifully and the colours I chose all complimented each other well and helped to balance all elements in the photos.
Initially I was unsure of what background I was going to use, so I tried out the off-white background and the grey background, but wasn't happy with either. I then wasn't sure of what colour background would look good with this look, but then trying out the pure white background and left it unlit and loved the result! - I wanted to use a light coloured background so the colours in look stood out well and this one worked the best.
Using myself as a subject again, I tried hard to be able to get a variety of different shots that saw different angles and poses, and I think I achieved this well in some photos. Here are some of my favourite photos from the shoot:
This first photo is my favourite from all of them. I really like the pose and expression and think that this photo channels perfectly the chic, almost editorial look I wanted to achieve. The subject connected well with the camera and this has allowed the viewer to be more drawn into the photo. The light also caught the glitter on the nails in this photo as well as the gems on the makeup and this added a nice element.
This next photo caught my attention when editing as the pose is so different. It's arguably weird and awkward looking, but I think that this element has added a refreshing twist in the photos and has made it really contemporary looking. The feathers used in the makeup all stood really well during the shoot, despite trying out different angles and poses like this.
This third photo is different to some of the others that I have. I took it from a photo that was taken portrait and cropped in down to this. I like the way you can really see the makeup up close here - the skin looks flawless and has photographed beautifully, also allow other embellishments on the face (such as the diamonds) to stand out with the light hitting them and highlighting the different textures. I think this photo has a slightly moodier feel about it, and the way the camera is angled slightly downward at the model has opened her eyes and made them connect really well with the camera.
I found through-out this project that I like using this angle when doing closer portrait shots.
I like the emotion and captivating feel this final photo has; I think it's quite drawing to look at and it pulls the viewer in. The expressions is mysterious and I like the pose and how the model is looking over her shoulder. I was happy with the composition of all the photos like this and think it works well with the look.
This was a fun look to create and shoot and I am so happy with results. I really enjoy shooting these more surreal, intriguing looks as I think they all photograph so beautifully and they look so different to other beauty and makeup looks in photography I have seen before.
Using the feathers were a good idea and I like how in these photos you can see the texture of them and how well they stood up against the face.
Wednesday, 22 January 2014
Personal Shoot 8: Fun!
Plans for the shoot:
I am wanting to do a much more colour fun shoot today, incorporating a few different ideas into one shoot. I want to have fun, bright blue eye makeup with matching diamantes and pale baby pink lips that later will be added to with pink diamantes. I am going to be using balloons and ribbons in my shoot, and a combination of differently composed shots, both full body and close ups.
I am going to use the white background in this shoot as I have found in previous shoots this one is best for when trying to get colours to stand out. I want the feel of this shoot to be fun and 'loud', with lots of colour and things going on. I have ideas for what I am going to do but as I am going to have a lot of props with me (something that I don't usually have) I envision this will be a shoot where I will want to experiment and improvise on the spot.
Shoot Evaluation:
Today's shoot was so fun! I really enjoyed working with props for a change and because of the nature of this shoot it was really enjoyable to do. Though I did encounter a few minor problems during the shoot (e.g. my idea I had with the ribbon did not work) I was able to work around these and end up with some really good shots.
This is my favourite photo from today's shoot. I think this is something really different that I can add to my portfolio and the nature of the shot is something that I have not personally looked at before.
I love the energy and the lively spirit that this photo has - this has made it fun for the reader to look at. The expression of the model works well with the pose and this has helped to create the fun, energetic vibe that I wanted.
I particularly loved the composition of this shot and the cropping - I paid a lot of attention as I was using props and I wanted them too look good in the photo too, hence making sure they were always facing forward with the ribbon hidden (which proved harder to be than first thought)!
This was one of the first times that I had used the white background, and though I wanted the background nice and pale so I could get all the colour to stand out, I found when I lit the background to make it pure white it was too sharp and crisp for my liking - I much prefer it with this warmer tone left in it.
This shoot has definitely made me want to work more with props ad it as highlighted another side of photography work that I have not explored yet. I enjoyed this shoot as it was fun and even though some elements of it didn't work out I think I got some good shots.
I am wanting to do a much more colour fun shoot today, incorporating a few different ideas into one shoot. I want to have fun, bright blue eye makeup with matching diamantes and pale baby pink lips that later will be added to with pink diamantes. I am going to be using balloons and ribbons in my shoot, and a combination of differently composed shots, both full body and close ups.
I am going to use the white background in this shoot as I have found in previous shoots this one is best for when trying to get colours to stand out. I want the feel of this shoot to be fun and 'loud', with lots of colour and things going on. I have ideas for what I am going to do but as I am going to have a lot of props with me (something that I don't usually have) I envision this will be a shoot where I will want to experiment and improvise on the spot.
Shoot Evaluation:
Today's shoot was so fun! I really enjoyed working with props for a change and because of the nature of this shoot it was really enjoyable to do. Though I did encounter a few minor problems during the shoot (e.g. my idea I had with the ribbon did not work) I was able to work around these and end up with some really good shots.
This is my favourite photo from today's shoot. I think this is something really different that I can add to my portfolio and the nature of the shot is something that I have not personally looked at before.
I love the energy and the lively spirit that this photo has - this has made it fun for the reader to look at. The expression of the model works well with the pose and this has helped to create the fun, energetic vibe that I wanted.
I particularly loved the composition of this shot and the cropping - I paid a lot of attention as I was using props and I wanted them too look good in the photo too, hence making sure they were always facing forward with the ribbon hidden (which proved harder to be than first thought)!
This was one of the first times that I had used the white background, and though I wanted the background nice and pale so I could get all the colour to stand out, I found when I lit the background to make it pure white it was too sharp and crisp for my liking - I much prefer it with this warmer tone left in it.
This shoot has definitely made me want to work more with props ad it as highlighted another side of photography work that I have not explored yet. I enjoyed this shoot as it was fun and even though some elements of it didn't work out I think I got some good shots.
Monday, 20 January 2014
What am I doing today?
In today's class I am going to be completing my image bank with all my annotations. If I have time afterwards I will also be working on finishing my essay off.
Thursday, 16 January 2014
Work Diary - Slow Sync
Shoot Evaluation
In this second photo I was getting my model to jump up and down to capture the movement in a different way. I like how here you can see where the model is and was making the photo look like it has capture movement in slow motion. There is a lot of movement present in this shot, something that I think has made the photo visually more interesting and dynamic.
By chance my model was wearing a bright orange t-shirt and this has stood out and contrasted beautifully against the dark black ground.
How could I use this technique in my own project:
In today's class I looked at the technique 'slow sync'. This technique is very similar to the blurring technique that I looked at - the studio needed to be set up the same, only this time there was a few changes to the settings on the camera and the fact I needed to add a flash.
I found some of the changes I had to make complicated at first, but once I had grasped the idea and what I needed to do it became simple and the shoot ran smoothly.
Here are some of the photos from today that I like:
In this first photo I asked my subject to wave a scarf around and slowly move from side to side. You subtly see the movement of the subject and I like the effect that this has given. Nevertheless, you cannot see the movement of the scarf as much (it was possible being moved to quickly) and you kind of lose the effect. I think I should of directed my model more on how to wave the scarf around and I would have gotten more the effect that I wanted to achieve.
In this second photo I was getting my model to jump up and down to capture the movement in a different way. I like how here you can see where the model is and was making the photo look like it has capture movement in slow motion. There is a lot of movement present in this shot, something that I think has made the photo visually more interesting and dynamic.
By chance my model was wearing a bright orange t-shirt and this has stood out and contrasted beautifully against the dark black ground.
I liked this final photo as the movement seen in here is more subtle and this shows me the wide ranges of effects I can achieve using slow sync.
I like here how you can see the subject's face clearly, unlike some of the others. This is important as it provides a focal point in the photo.
How could I use this technique in my own project:
I have enjoyed woking with the slow sync technique today, similarly as I did with the blurring technique. I think again this shot work work well with an abstract look, or even a weird surreal look, however I don't think it would work well with all makeup photography as if the photo is blurred or out of focus you would struggle to see the look.
Something else that puts me off using this technique in my project is that I feel you can lose the focal point in the photo with all the movement going on. This is something that I don't like as I like to have a clear subject and focal point in my photography, especially as usually in my project I am focusing on photographing the face.
Technique Page - Slow Sync
What is it?: Slow sync is a technique where you change the shutter speed but keep the aperture the same as the flash to capture movement in a photo.
1. You firstly need to ensure that you have your camera set up correctly. You must ensure that you have the camera set on a long shutter speed (this allows the movement to be captured in the shot) as well as making sure that your camera is set to the 'white balance' option(not the usual 'flash' option).
2. Now, you need to make sure that the studio is set up correctly with a black background, making sure that it is protected from the light - you can do this using a polystyrene board. You must also set up a continuos light source using the red light.
3. Add a flash from the same position as red head.
4. You now need to ensure that camera gets set on 'rare curtain sync'.
5. Take a light reading to make sure that the exposure is balanced.
6. Add the add flash at same aperture.
7. You are now ready to take photos!
1. You firstly need to ensure that you have your camera set up correctly. You must ensure that you have the camera set on a long shutter speed (this allows the movement to be captured in the shot) as well as making sure that your camera is set to the 'white balance' option(not the usual 'flash' option).
2. Now, you need to make sure that the studio is set up correctly with a black background, making sure that it is protected from the light - you can do this using a polystyrene board. You must also set up a continuos light source using the red light.
3. Add a flash from the same position as red head.
4. You now need to ensure that camera gets set on 'rare curtain sync'.
5. Take a light reading to make sure that the exposure is balanced.
6. Add the add flash at same aperture.
7. You are now ready to take photos!
Image Bank - Slow Sync
Slow sync is an effect where you have a normal aperture, but change the shutter speed while the flash is on during exposure - you end up with the effect seen in some of the images above. This technique is really good for capturing action in shots, like with the fifth photo that I found. It has made the photo really interesting to look at as you can see the different movements that are being made in the shot. I really like how the movement looks like it has almost been 'broken down' so you can see every individual thing - this has made it visually more dynamic. This is similar with the sixth photo that I found only here light has been used to show the movement - I think this has added a nice element to the photo and gives it a clear focal point in amongst the blurred image.
The forth shot that I found has been taken using slow sync so you can see the change in expression on the person's face. This has been done oppositely on the second photo where you can see the subject in focus and the background shows the movement.
The first photo that I found is particularly interesting has it's slow sync with a shot taken in a point of view angle. Here in the shot you can see the model in focus, yet his surroundings where he is spinning are not in focus. I think this has made the shot visually dynamic and the expression on the models's face compliments perfectly and works well with the movement seen in the slow sync.
Finally, the third photo that I found I thought was very pretty and delicate, with the movement being seen in the dress as it flows around the model. The background for this shot contrasts nicely with the dress and the model, and as mention before the lights have worked well with the slow sync (though more in focus here, it has really made the movement in the foreground standout).
Work Diary - Video
Plans for the shoot:
I'm not really sure what I am expecting to get out of today's shoot - it feels weird going out to shoot a video when I am used to taking photos all the time. I m thinking of doing something simple that is not too complex, and am mainly looking at this session as being something where I can learn and gain a better insight of what the cameras can do.
Shoot Evaluation:
I definitely don't like video! I hated shooting the video in today's class and struggle to see the link in photography and video. I felt my work was messy and I struggled to capture one whole moving picture that told a story as opposed to try to get it out in one photo. Directing models was something else I did with the shoot though and I a glad I gained more experience in this.
I used a programme called iMovie on the Macs to edit this video and this is something else that I didn't like either. Though it does enable you too add filters to your work and add music, I fail to see how this can then be presented a piece of photography work - a photo should be a still, silent, non-moving image that tells a story on it's own and doesn't need anything else.
Overall, I am not all that happy with my work and definitely won't be incorporating video anywhere else in my photography work.
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I'm not really sure what I am expecting to get out of today's shoot - it feels weird going out to shoot a video when I am used to taking photos all the time. I m thinking of doing something simple that is not too complex, and am mainly looking at this session as being something where I can learn and gain a better insight of what the cameras can do.
Shoot Evaluation:
I definitely don't like video! I hated shooting the video in today's class and struggle to see the link in photography and video. I felt my work was messy and I struggled to capture one whole moving picture that told a story as opposed to try to get it out in one photo. Directing models was something else I did with the shoot though and I a glad I gained more experience in this.
I used a programme called iMovie on the Macs to edit this video and this is something else that I didn't like either. Though it does enable you too add filters to your work and add music, I fail to see how this can then be presented a piece of photography work - a photo should be a still, silent, non-moving image that tells a story on it's own and doesn't need anything else.
Overall, I am not all that happy with my work and definitely won't be incorporating video anywhere else in my photography work.
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/paU6oGauMHE?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
What am I doing today?
In today's class I am going to be looking at completing some more of my outstanding unit 3 work.
I am going to be focusing on finishing off my 2 outstanding computer experiments as well as finish off some of the techniques that I have yet to complete.
The arrangement of my blog and things that are on it are also something that I want to finish off today as this has helped to make everything more organised (I still have some things to move across from my AS blog).
Personal project work diaries is another I could look at completing today too as I have one outstanding.
I am going to be focusing on finishing off my 2 outstanding computer experiments as well as finish off some of the techniques that I have yet to complete.
The arrangement of my blog and things that are on it are also something that I want to finish off today as this has helped to make everything more organised (I still have some things to move across from my AS blog).
Personal project work diaries is another I could look at completing today too as I have one outstanding.
Tuesday, 14 January 2014
Monday, 13 January 2014
Friday, 10 January 2014
Personal Shoot 9: 50s Inspired/ Classic Beauty Look
Plans for the shoot:
In today's class I want to look at shooting a look that is more 'classic', something that is kind of iconic of the 50s with a red lip and simple eyeliner. I have gotten the inspiration for this shoot from the 60s shoot that I did as it went so well and I am really happy with the photos from that shoot. I was also happy with the 8th shoot that I did where I looked at gaining different types of shots in terms of composition and pose and this is something else that I want to bring to this shoot as well.
I want to use the white background for this shoot as I a going to be wearing all black and have red lips and nails, therefore I want the colour to stand out. I also want to experiment with different poses again and focus on the cropping and composition of my shots to make them more visually interesting.
Shoot Evaluation:
I am happy with how todays shoot went overall; here are some of my favourite photos:
This is my favourite photo from the whole shoot. I love the pose! - it is different and I think compliments the look perfectly. There is a sweeter, innocent side in amongst a more playful, flirty side in this photo as this is brought across to the viewer. The model is making eye contact with the camera and this has helped to get these emotions across too. The only real colour in the shot is red, and this makes the lips and nails stand out (something I wanted to achieve).
I like the simplicity of this shot and how there is nothing too complicated in it - this has meant all the focus is on the subject.
This second shot is something different from my usual style of work as I think here the outfit could be taken in to consideration too as well as the makeup, looking at more a fashion/beauty shot. The pose here is simple and this has compliment the look and everything else in the photo which is also very simple e.g. sterile background. The model here looks stronger and that sense of innocents that is seen in the previous photo is lost.
Something I am not so happy about with this photo is the expression. As mentioned before in some of my other shoots, I use myself ad s a model and sometimes I find that this can have its drawbacks. I feel here I perhaps focusing too much on my body language and less on my face and the expression has become quite stiff. This is something I would need to practice myself to avoid in future shoots.
Finally, this third photo that I like is one of the more close up shoots that I did. I particularly like the composition of this shot and the way looks like it was captured 'in the moment'. There is no obvious pose about the model and she is not making eye contact with the camera. I like the expression - it looks kind of moody and mysterious. This kind of shot is something I haven't really looked yet but I am happy with the results as it looks like it was taken with out the model knowing, making it more raw and natural.
I am happy with today's shoot and I think I have gained lots of new skills that I can bring with me to future shoots, both personally in terms of using myself as a subject and in terms of the photography itself. I a glad I focused this shoot around looking at the composition of my shots and the poses as Ii think I have done well in succeeding to get some visually interesting photos.
In today's class I want to look at shooting a look that is more 'classic', something that is kind of iconic of the 50s with a red lip and simple eyeliner. I have gotten the inspiration for this shoot from the 60s shoot that I did as it went so well and I am really happy with the photos from that shoot. I was also happy with the 8th shoot that I did where I looked at gaining different types of shots in terms of composition and pose and this is something else that I want to bring to this shoot as well.
I want to use the white background for this shoot as I a going to be wearing all black and have red lips and nails, therefore I want the colour to stand out. I also want to experiment with different poses again and focus on the cropping and composition of my shots to make them more visually interesting.
Shoot Evaluation:
I am happy with how todays shoot went overall; here are some of my favourite photos:
This is my favourite photo from the whole shoot. I love the pose! - it is different and I think compliments the look perfectly. There is a sweeter, innocent side in amongst a more playful, flirty side in this photo as this is brought across to the viewer. The model is making eye contact with the camera and this has helped to get these emotions across too. The only real colour in the shot is red, and this makes the lips and nails stand out (something I wanted to achieve).
I like the simplicity of this shot and how there is nothing too complicated in it - this has meant all the focus is on the subject.
This second shot is something different from my usual style of work as I think here the outfit could be taken in to consideration too as well as the makeup, looking at more a fashion/beauty shot. The pose here is simple and this has compliment the look and everything else in the photo which is also very simple e.g. sterile background. The model here looks stronger and that sense of innocents that is seen in the previous photo is lost.
Something I am not so happy about with this photo is the expression. As mentioned before in some of my other shoots, I use myself ad s a model and sometimes I find that this can have its drawbacks. I feel here I perhaps focusing too much on my body language and less on my face and the expression has become quite stiff. This is something I would need to practice myself to avoid in future shoots.
Finally, this third photo that I like is one of the more close up shoots that I did. I particularly like the composition of this shot and the way looks like it was captured 'in the moment'. There is no obvious pose about the model and she is not making eye contact with the camera. I like the expression - it looks kind of moody and mysterious. This kind of shot is something I haven't really looked yet but I am happy with the results as it looks like it was taken with out the model knowing, making it more raw and natural.
I am happy with today's shoot and I think I have gained lots of new skills that I can bring with me to future shoots, both personally in terms of using myself as a subject and in terms of the photography itself. I a glad I focused this shoot around looking at the composition of my shots and the poses as Ii think I have done well in succeeding to get some visually interesting photos.
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