Connecting Essay 2

My Photograph

This is one of the photographs that I captured in Shoot 3 where I focused more of my work on the topic food and looked at sweet products in order to experiment with colour, as this is my favourite formal element. In my opinion, it is also the most important in advertising work because colour is something that draws a person into a certain image. I composed this piece so that the bottom half of the frame would be the Skittles packaging and the top half of the frame would be the contents of the packet. I lined them up in a pattern, another formal element, because this makes the piece appear more constructed instead of just carelessly thrown together. I lined them up in the order of their tone. For example, green matches best with yellow, which matches best with orange, which matches best with pink and so on. The skittles that are in further distance have a larger blur smudged over them in comparison to the ones situated in the middle of the frame which I find effective because it makes the focal point of the piece more evident. People's attention will mainly fall onto the word "Skittles" because it is the largest element of the photograph - a good technique used in advertising as the consumer needs to know what it is they're looking at. 

Online Photograph

This is an online photograph of The Jelly Bean Factory tub with its contents sprawled out in the top half of the frame. All of the focus is on the label of the packaging in order for this element to stand out in the frame. The combination of colours in this picture is appealing and engrosses the audience. A light has been used to shine down on the label to illuminate this section, allowing it to stand out even further. The square composition is effective in this piece because it means that only the main things needing to be advertised are conveyed; the jelly beans and the packaging. You technically don't need to see anymore of the sweets in the top half of the frame nor the bottom of the tub in the bottom half of the frame. Only the relevant elements have been captured, making it an effective outcome of the topic advertising.

The Connection

When looking at the both of these photographs, there are many similarities that stand out. Both photographs have been captured from a low angle looking across the packaging to the subject situated in the distance. Both photographs contain the packaging along with the product, with bold branding acting as the focal point in the bottom of the frame. More of the frame in my piece has however been used which makes the piece appear more complete in my opinion. I prefer the composition of my piece, having all of the frame filled with a subject, however I do like the exposed white table top underneath the Jelly Beans in the Internet photograph because this is a bright contrast. There is more evident light in the Jelly Bean photograph which makes the piece more attractive, along with the lack of bright colours. The skittles in my photograph are extremely saturated so it can be quite difficult to keep your eyes on it, despite the fact bright colours attract you to a piece in the first place.