Low key lighting - Work diary

Evaluation
I found this shoot interesting and largely successful due to fact that I enjoy the effect which can be created from the partial lighting and directed shadows with this effect.  I particularly enjoyed editing the images as I was able to use duotone effects in order to create a differently coloured effect with the same tonal contrast as a black and white image, I also enjoyed creating the tonal contrast by editing the images to a black and white state.

Favourite image

1/125, F16, ISO 200

This is my favourite image from this shoot as I enjoyed the way in which the purple duotone effect on the image created an interesting tonal range as well as adding a surreal effect to the subjects appearance and skin tone.  I also feel that the fact that parts of the subjects face cannot be seen as a result of the 3/4 pose and heavy shadows as a result of the low-key lighting which adds a sense of mystery to the image.

Least favourite image

1/125, F16, ISO 200

This is my least favourite image due to the fact that I feel that the tonal range in this image is too low and that the image does not have a large sense of contrast.  The lack of contrast in the image makes it appear somewhat dull.

Progression
If I were to revisit this topic I would consider experimenting with a wider range of duo tone colours as well as creating black and white images with a stronger sense of contrast.

Aspirations 
Below are a selection of images using low-key lighting which is find interesting and would aspire to recreate if I returned to this topic.

Landscape- Work diary

Evaluation
This series took part over two separate shoots one of which took place in Harlow and another of which took place in London and was inspired by Luxemburg.  I feel that the conditions of the Harlow shoot were undesirable as the extremely windy conditions meant that it was hard to focus the camera however I have come to enjoy the grain effect.

Favourite image

1/50, F/5.0, ISO 2000

This is my favourite image due to the composition of the image in which the London Eye appears to peek around the side of the building.  I also like the way that the iconography of the London eye means that the images location is immediately recognisable.  I also find the lighting interesting as this creates an eye-catching pop of colour in an otherwise dull image.

Least favourite image

1/50, F/5.0, ISO 2000

This is my least favourite image as I feel that it conveys landscape in the least interesting way.  I also feel that the lack of lighting in the image makes it overly dark and obscures the landscape which is being photographed.

Progression 
If I were to repeat these shoots I would bring a tripod to the shoot which took place in London and I would make sure that I am not shooting outside on a windy day as this produces unsatisfying images.

Composite images- Work diary

Evaluation 
I did not enjoy the unit of composite images I do not particularly enjoy this area of photography and would rather explore it in my own time to create fun images for comedy opposed to more seriously edited pieces to be examined.

Favourite image

This is my favourite image as I enjoy the simplicity of it.  The image is formed of two parts, the sky which is made from the backing of a picture which I took of Nelson's column and a picture of a fellow student sitting in a toy plan from the colour unit of the project.

Least favourite image

Whilst I do not particularly dislike this image I feel that the chicken is poorly blended into the road meaning that the two image elements to do fit together well.  To improve this I could have used the burn tool to create a shadow around the base of the chicken.

Progression
If I were to revisit this topic I would explore the more comical side of the genre opposed to the more serious side as this is the area which i enjoy.

Documentary- Work diary

Evaluation
These images were all shot in Florida whilst I was on holiday which lead to an intriguing set of images from a varied location.  I found that the bright lighting from the sun provided a good level of lighting which was more effective than the cloudy skies and rain in England.

Favourite image

1/50, F/5.0, ISO 200

This dismay favourite image due to the way it's vibrant coloration which carries connotations of happiness, excitement and holidays.  I also feel that this image is an interesting comparison to Martin Parr's project "Last Resort".

Least favourite image 

1/125, F/5.0, ISO 200

This is my least favourite image as I don't feel that it is a valuable image in my documentary series.  I also find the image's colouration dull and uninteresting.

Progression
If I were to repeat this shoot I would consider bringing a tripod as I struggled to capture the movement of the lights in a number of my nighttime images.

Movement- Work diary

Evaluation

The objective of the assignment was to capture movement locations off campus.  This shoot went relatively well however due to the yet weather some of the images suffered due to distortion on the lens due to rain.

I opted to have a separate shoot in order to better focus on the movement of traffic, I feel that this was a successful as it enabled me to better focus on a specific area of movement.

Progression

I think that the shoot went well due to the fact that I got a varied selection of shots however if I were to repeat the shoot I would bring glowsticks to recreate the movement of light shots as we had to use phone torches and could only achieve one colour of lighting.  I would repeat the shoot to prevents getting water droplets on the camera lens as they distort the image.

Favourite image

0.5, f/11, ISO 80

This is my favourite image due to the way that the movement is present in the left third of the image and the main colour in the image is present in the right third of the image. I do not like the distortion created by the rain on the lens.

Least favourite image

1.0, f/11, ISO 80

This is my least favourite due to the fact that the entire image is blurred opposed to the subject being all that it blurred.

Aspirations
Christopher Martin's style is interesting to me as I enjoy his varied style.

Portraiture- Work diary

Evaluation

The objective of the assignment was to focus on the medium of portraiture by using inspiration from a variety of other artists.  This shoot went well as I achieved a variety of different shots whilst using a number of different subjects.

Favourite image

 1/125, f/8, ISO 200

This is my favourite image because of the way that the sharpness around the subjects eye creates a great deal of detail.  I also like the way that the reducing saturation of this image has given the image a cold appearance which makes the subject appear powerful.

Least favourite image

1/25, f/4.0, ISO 400

This is my least favourite due to the fact that the image is not focused very well which means that it is difficult to sharpen.

Progression

Overall I think the shoot went well as the majority of the shots were focused despite the wind due to the use of a tripod. The sunny weather also helped to achieve successful images.  In the future I would like to explore more locations as Harlow Town centre is at times limited in settings when attempting to achieve a variety of differently composed shots.

Aspirations

Antonin Kratochvil's work touches on an intriguing aspect of portrait photography that incorporates candid shots.

Joiners- Work diary

Evaluation

The objective of the assignment was to recreate joiner photography in the style of Hockney.  This series took place over two shoots one of which was studio based and focused on portraiture and one of which was landscape based.  The first shoot was successful due to the fact that it in the studio.  The second shoot was less successful as it was raining at the time this the camera un-focused and blurred the lens.  I feel that both shoots however and I was able to create a selection of interesting photo joiners.  I feel that the portrait joiners were the most interesting for me to create due to the fact that their non-uniform appearance made it possible for me to manipulate the images by adding props mid shoot or playing with the images perspective by altering the size of body parts.  These possibilities allowed me to create somewhat surreal and sinister images.

Favourite image

1/125, f/8, ISO 200

This is my favourite image because of the way that the depth of the image is shown enlargement of the subjects hand.  I like the way that the image appears to be disjointed and fragmented around the face particularly which creates an appealing join between the mask and the face.

Least favourite image

1/8, f/3.6, ISO 80

This is my least favourite due to the fact that the tree branches fit together poorly and there were not enough pictures taken to layer the the images in a aesthetically appealing way.

Progression

Overall I think the shoot went well as the majority of the shots were focused despite the heavy rain however if I were to redo the shoot I would aim to do it on a sunnier day.  I would also like to explore the use of a wider range of subjects and props.

Aspirations
I would like my work in the area of joiner photography to be mimic Hockney's work as I feel that his style is one of the most intriguing styles of joiner photography.

Depth- Work Diary

Evaluation

The objective of the assignment was to capture the formal element of depth through photography.  This was a more difficult element to capture due to the fact that it was a relatively windy day when I was taking part in the shoot meaning that it was hard to focus the camera for an extended period of time on the subject to achieve a shallow depth of field.  

Favourite image

1/10, f/5.0, ISO 80

This is my favourite image because of the way that the depth is represented by the shallow depth of field  which is made more prominent the colour select on the frayed corner of the poster.

Least favourite image

1/250, f/5.0, ISO 1600

This is my least favourite due to the fact that no elements of the image are in focus and the shot is poorly composed.

Progression

Overall I think the shoot went well as the majority of the shots were focused despite the wind due to the use of a tripod. The sunny weather also helped to achieve successful images.  In the future I would like to explore more locations as Harlow Town centre is at times limited in settings when attempting to achieve a variety of differently composed shots.

Aspirations
I feel that Nicholas Raymond's use of depth of field in these natural images adds an intriguing aspect to his photography.

Reflection of light- Work diary

Evaluation

The objective of the assignment was to capture the element of reflection of light around the college campus and in the studio. This was a harder element to capture as there have to be specific conditions for reflection to be successfully captured.

Favourite image

1/180, f/3.5, ISO 80

This is my favourite image due to the way that the bright colouration of the monkey pin badge contrasts distinctly with the dark black and white tones of the rest of the image.

Least favourite image

1/6, f/3.7, ISO 80

I do not  like this image due to the fact that as I did not use a tri-pod which meant that my image was blurry.  I am also unhappy with the colouration of the image as I feel that the blue and gold tones are not aseptically pleasing when combined.

Progression

When carrying out this shoot the weather was not desirable this meant that lighting for my reflected images were not always reflective.  I did not have to use very much zoom in this shoot either which means that all of my images are clear with no blurred edges.  There is nothing I would change about this shoot other than the location.

Form- Work diary

Evaluation

The objective of the assignment was to capture the element of form using photography in Harlow Town center and on the college campus. This was a relatively easy element to capture due to the fact that form can be represented in a variety of different formats. There was also an overlap between the formal element form and the formal element shape.

Favourite images

1/320, f/3.4, ISO 100

This is my favourite image because of the way that contorted around the gate.  I think that this showcases the human form well.  I have manipulated the image by decreasing the saturation of the image and increasing the brightness and contrast of the image.

Least favourite image

                                                          1/150, f/3.1, ISO 200

This is my least favourite image because I don't believe that it shows form successfully. 

Progression

When carrying out this shoot there was good lighting so the shoot was successful.  I did not have to use very much zoom in this shoot either which means that all of my images are clear with no blurred edges.  There is nothing I would change about this shoot other than the location.

Aspirations
Tim Booth's use of form to demonstrate personal characteristics interests me as his use of the form of a hand and minimal props allows for the subject to be known without their face being seen.

Reflection- Work diary

Evaluation

The objective of the assignment was to capture the elemement of reflection using photography in Harlow town centre and the college campus. This was a more difficult element to capture as reflection requires specific setting to be successfully captured.  Many of my reflection images contain the other formal elements.

Favourite image

1/430, f3.9, ISO 80

This was my favourite image because of how the reflection of the building can be seen in the hand mirror.  I manipulated the image by increasing the contrast and brightness of the image.

Least favourite image

1/90, f3.1, ISO 200

This is my least favourite image for this formal element as it does not display reflection well at this stage.  The image was inspired by Francesca Woodman but under the conditions provided I could no successfully achieve the desired effect.

Progression

The weather on the day of the soot was not desirable as it was not sunny meaning it was not bright enough for successful reflection from windows and it was not raining meaning there were no puddles to photograph.  In the feature I would plan my shoot to take place on a more appropriate day.

Aspiration
I am intrigued by the surreal effect which is created through the use of reflection in bubbles by Richard Heeks.

Shape studio- Work diary

Evaluation

The objective of the assignment was to capture the elemement of shape using photography in the studio. This was a relatively easy element to capture due to the fact that shape can be represented in a variety of different formats.  There was also an overlap between the formal element shape and the formal element form as form is a 3D shape.

Favourite image

1/45, f/3.6, ISO 400

This was my favourite image for shape because of the lighting used to create the shape of the cameras shadow.  I have manipulated the image by adding a black white filter and increasing the images contrast to create a more defined shape of the cameras shadow.

Least favourite image

1/20, f/5.6, ISO 200

This is my least favourite image because the camera was not in focus when the shot was taken and it was poorly lit and it was also shot at the wrong camera angle.

Progression

The lighting for this shoot was successful however unfortunately the camera was out of focus in many of the shots as I attempted to use manual focus.  If I were to refer the shoot I would bring a tri-pod and use auto focus on the camera.

Shape- Work diary

Evaluation

The objective of the assignment was to capture the formal element of shape through photography.  This was an easy element to capture due to the fact that all objects are made of shapes.  There was also an overlap between the formal element shape and the formal element form due to the fact that form can be classed as 3D shape.

Progression

I think that this shoot went well as the weather was suitable for the shoot.  If I were to do the shoot again I may bring a tri-pod to keep the shot more steady.

Favourite image

1/390, F5, ISO 80

I like this image because of the way that the human form represents shape.  It also appeals to me because of the way which the image has been edited with colour select to centre the eye on the subject.

Least favourite image

1/450, f3.6, ISO 200

This is my least favourite image in the formal element of shape as I don't believe that it represents shape effectively. It is an image that would have been more suited to the formal element of line.

Aspirations

I find the below images taken by Phillip Klinger to be intriguing and would like to produce work in a similar style to his in the future.

Tone studio work - Work diary

Evaluation

The objective of this assignment was to experiment with lighting and object staging in the studio.  I particularly enjoyed this shoot as it meant that we could further develop the images which we had taken using photoshop to emphasise the lighting levels used.

My favourite image

1/160, f/5.6, ISO 200

This is my favourite image because of the way that the shadows and difference in coloration combine to create an appealing variation in tone.  This image also appeals to me as it fits into the category of  as it is not what you would class a a normal or standard portrait image.  I also like the way that the effects used (reduced saturation and decreased brightness as well as an increased contrast) combine to emphasise the tonal elements of the image.

My least favourite image

1/60, f/5.6, ISO 200

This is my least favourite image from the shoot due to the fact that I find the lighting used creates a shaky clumsy finish to the image.  This image would have been better if the subject was the shadows cast by the human form and not the human form itself.

Progression

For this assignment I encountered very few problems as the shoot took place in the studio meaning that all aspects of the photo were controlled such as back ground, lighting and subject.