Work Diary - Shoot 10

Evaluation

For shoot 10, I was only able to capture one photograph, as it was something I'd intended to piece together rather than experiment with in the studio. I already had the idea below in mind, and I'd taken each photograph at a different time, so I wasn't able to develop any more photographs to do with Batiste. However, I will be capturing more images with this beauty product in my exam in unit 4. 

I like the way that I have formed the composition of this piece, by taking two separate photographs - one of the Batiste bottle and one of Danielle - and merging them together in Photoshop by using the select and free transform tool. I selected the bottle with my hand holding it and dragged it onto the picture of Danielle, adjusting its size with the scale and rotate tool and having it sit at the left side of the frame to fill the empty space. I made Danielle puff her hair up either side of her head to emphasise the volume this dry shampoo gives you, and the motion you need to make when rubbing it into your scalp. I used the brightness and curves tool in Photoshop to enhance the brightness of this picture, providing the connotation of freshness, which connects with the flower designs around the bottle's packaging. 

Work Diary - Shoot 8

Evaluation

For shoot 8, I wanted to explore photographing Innocent smoothies. I bought three bottles of this brand, all of different flavours, as I was going to be experimenting with bottles on their own and the bottles grouped together. I took many photographs during this session, where I used a tripod for the majority in order to capture still images instead of ones that ran the risk of having the subject blurred. There is a depth of field in a few of the photographs as well, as I experimented with composition. For this, I placed bottles in front and behind, along with ingredients of the bottles in front and behind. This allowed me to decide what worked best in the picture and what should have been the focal point. I didn't use just one background in this shoot as I have used a white background a lot in previous shoots, so wanted to switch it up this time by using a wooden table top and a black backdrop. I felt that the mixtures of colours worked exceptionally well as the black allowed the smoothies to stand out with their pops of colour. I feel I have employed this formal element effectively in this shoot as I have photographed bright products, which would stand out to an audience effectively. Below are two examples of photographs I shot from this session that I was pleased with.

For this picture of the grouped bottles, having the green as the foreground subject worked the best as this colour has the connotation of healthy eating, which is exactly what this brand sells. Therefore, having this one as the focal point of the frame meant that this way of eating is advertised, whereas if the pink or orange smoothies were in the foreground it could suggest to the audience it is just a tasty juice/smoothie instead of one with health benefits. I was overall pleased with the outcome here, as the backdrop and table top work well together, both being colours that compliment each other rather than ones that clash. These colours allow the smoothies to pop out from the frame and have their outline highlighted by the dark backdrop, making this a successful piece of advertising. Shape, colour and line are formal elements that stand out in this picture, all contributing to its appealing appearance.

This is a photograph that I took against a white backdrop. I used an infinity curve for this picture as I wanted the background of the subject to flow with the table cover of the subject. The white colour compliments the white label on the Innocent smoothie which gives this photograph a fresh feel. The smoothie itself is a fresh healthy drink along with the fruit in the pot next to it, which emphasises that fresh feel. In Photoshop, I selected the pot of fruit and bottle and inversed the selection, in order for it to select the background. I then increased the brightness so I was able to brighten the appearance of the photograph, which brings out the positive colours instead of allowing them to have a dim tinge to them. My intentions with this photograph was to advertise the fruits in these smoothies. This one includes strawberries and bananas, so I cut up these fruits and put them in a bowl next to the bottle of the product itself. Online, I then found a picture of an arrow which I simply added into the frame in order to advertise exactly the message I was trying to portray. If young children who see this advertisement struggle with their reading, then all they would have to do to know what fruits are in this smoothie is look at the pot next to bottle. I believe this is an effective method of advertising as it is child friendly. 

Progression

In order to progress from this shoot, I will be developing the theme of drinks. For a future shoot, I intend on capturing photographs of a hot chocolate with wafers and whipped cream featured in the composition, advertising additives that can be used with this hot beverage. I will also hopefully photograph a simple glass of milk with a stack of cookies by it's side, as this is a tasty snack to indulge in when you're peckish. Through this, I could advertise Cadbury's hot chocolate and Maryland cookies, perhaps adding the brand's logos to the frame of each image in my next shoot, as I haven't experimented with logos yet. 

Work Diary - Shoot 7

Evaluation

During today's shoot I wanted to look more at recipe photography and the layout you can create with certain ingredients. It went well, as I experimented with a variety of compositions in order to produce the most successful outcome. I took landscape photographs of the ingredients, portraits, and pictures from a birds eye view. My most successful outcome was definitely the birds eye view image, as this is how the majority of recipe photographs are captured. I also used the opacity edit in Photoshop during the editing process because I wanted the glass of orange juice to have a background related to the ingredients, which is lemon and limes. I placed the picture of the orange juice over the picture of the lemons and limes and decreased the opacity of the top layer. I also experimented with text during this shoot too, using the ingredients and the flavour of the smoothie as titles and information in part of the compositions. 

In this photograph, I wanted to use a wooden table with a white wall in the background because I felt that the appearance of wood would create the illusion of a chopping board, conforming to the food and drink theme. I sliced up a banana and stacked a few small piles of them to the left of the glass, followed by half an orange with segments of it cut to create an odd pattern. In front of the glass is cinnamon, which has been poured into a puddle and then dragged out to create yet another pattern. I wanted to make this photograph appear artistic whilst also informative. By presenting the ingredients that go into the smoothie being advertised it reduces the need for there to be any words below the image, just a photograph displaying the ingredients you need to make a tasty drink. It’s a creative way to create recipes, which I wanted to attempt. On the website BeFunky.com I added a banner at the top of the image and then inserted some text to act as the title of this drink – An “orange and banana smoothie”. I feel that this added banner is the finishing touch to this piece of advertising photography. I used a tripod for this picture as I wanted the framing to be angled correctly, and I used natural daylight which I enhanced on Photoshop by altering the levels and curves. I also reduced the level of saturation that this photo displayed as it was too bright; by making the colours more neutral means that the image is less harsh and more inviting. 

When capturing this photograph, I also used natural lighting from the sun coming through my windows. I also used a tripod, allowing me to correctly frame the image without needing to crop it during the editing process. I framed it so that the top half of the orange juice in a mason jar was visible, with a striped straw and lemon perched on the rim. These have the connotations of summer, as they are all sunny colours. Colour and pattern are two very effective formal elements in this photograph, along with shape, which are effective when overlaid with a landscape of lemon and limes. I overlapped two photographs together on Photoshop and reduced the opacity of the lemon and limes, allowing them to blend into the background and overall image. This technique of mixing two photographs together is something that I am happy to have experimented with, as I feel that it works extremely well. The lemon and limes compliment the fresh orange juice that’s been captured as it makes the drink in the image more appealing rather than having it be against just a simplistic white background. 

Progression

In order to progress from this shoot, I will most certainly be experimenting further with the image overlapping technique in my computer experiments. This was fun but also successful so it would be appropriate to develop it further. After experimenting with text over my photographs as well, I feel that it would be necessary to develop this idea some more in upcoming shoots as advertisements in magazines all featured some sort of text to inform the audience of what it is that’s being presented to them. 

Work Diary - Shoot 6

Evaluation and Technique

During today's 6th shoot which I done at home, I have captured a variety of food and products to advertise. I wanted to explore more of my creative side through the technique surrealism, where I employed this into the photo of my Popcorn Momiji Doll. I also wanted to experiment more with perfume bottles as this was successful in my second shoot. I found that in this shoot I was extremely inspired by a mixture of different things, such as coming up with extra ideas for upcoming shoots through relating products to food e.g. my Momiji Doll and popcorn. I now want to link products/food related to my Momiji Dolls in more shoots such as my music Momiji Dolls. On Photoshop, in order to create the below photograph on the left, I had to experiment with different layers, effects and the quick selection tool. This refreshed my memory on some Photoshop tools which I will now be progressing onto my next shoot. 

I was extremely pleased with these two photographs from today's shoot. Momiji Dolls are a brand of collectable, hand-painted dolls inspired by Asian style and contemporary illustration. They each have a small space in their base to hide a secret message on a blank piece of folded card, making a fun and special gift for anybody. They are a unique collectable item which I wanted to capture, by employing what they represent into the picture; this one being popcorn. On the left, I took a photograph of the doll with it's tub, and then a few separate photographs of popcorn on its own. In Photoshop, I used the quick selection tool to outline the shape of each piece, and then dragged it onto the picture of the Momiji Doll. I repeated this process until I was happy with the amount of popcorn in the frame. I wanted to create the illusion of the popcorn exploding over the composition, and although it doesn't look like much of a powerful explosion, I was still pleased with the outcome. After creating my first surreal piece in this unit, I will most certainly be experiment more with this technique. On the right, I wanted to compose a complete picture from a different angle, which makes the doll appear around the same size as the tub she came from. I situated the popcorn around her figure to complete the appearance of the picture.

Drifting more away from the food topic, advertising is simply also about visually portraying products to an audience in order to increase the likeliness of them being sold to customers. In this picture, I have two emoji pillows in which I have presented on a chair, grouped together on the right side of the frame. This picture allows a customer to make out the size of the pillows by having them sat on a chair in the frame. I like the white background acting as a contrast to the pillows because this allows them to stand out and keeps the feel of the picture fresh. Emoji pillows are a humorous present to give to a friend or even to buy for yourself, and they are also of good value. I left the left side of the frame with space because I was intending to add text here to make the piece look more like an advertisement in a magazine or online as a web pop-up perhaps. I would inform the customers on where to buy these pillows and how much they cost. 

Progression

As part of my progression from this shoot, I will be exploring the technique surrealism even further in order to create appealing and imaginative pieces. I will perhaps experiment with different colour backgrounds instead of just a white one as I want to shoot Innocent smoothies next week and feel that a pink background would match a berry smoothie more effectively than a white background, same with an orange background matching an orange smoothie. I will do more with the surreal technique when I shoot some sweets and confectionery products.

Work Diary - Shoot 5

Evaluation

When I went on a trip to Rome this year I photographed some stunning places and well known areas in this historical city. I shot some very interesting pieces and employed the formal element depth into the majority of the images I captured. This formal element is extremely effective in location photography as I learnt last year. You are able to get a feel for a place when it is being taken from the end of a road or a location further in the distance. Buildings/trees/objects surrounding the subject can be captured in the frame when you photograph depth, which is why I explore this formal element so much when I take pictures on my travels. Linking it to my advertising unit, I am able to use these types of images from my shoot and link them with the types found in holiday brochures or websites advertising the wonders of Rome. My photographs would work perfectly in magazines if someone were to review their trip to Rome and include pictures like the ones I have taken. You can advertise countries and cities to visit to death through the media, however you will never get a true feeling of a location until you visit it yourself. This is what I feel advertising photography should do if it involves a travel destination; entice people to want to visit a certain place themselves through the use of very appealing photography. This shoot was a very successful and engaging one for me that I enjoyed immensely.

Here is a photograph of the Vatican, part of the Vatican city, which is a walled enclave within the city of Rome. I wanted to capture this stunning piece of architecture from a distance in order for the beautifully lit building to be surrounded by the bright street lights at either side of the road leading to and from the Vatican. The street lights paired with the lights of the lit Vatican compliment each other extremely well as a larger majority of the frame is lit up, allowing there to be more detail and interesting features in the photograph. I shot a picture of this during the daytime but also during the night to compare the two compositions. I preferred this one during the evening because I felt that the dark sky contrasts effectively with the yellow tinted lights. If this was shot during the daytime, the Vatican would blend in as part of the structure with the buildings either side of the frame. By capturing it at night allows this unique building to stand out on its own through the use of the lights that let its structure glow. Using depth in this piece meant that I could portray an interesting perspective of looking at this building head on. It is directly in the centre of the frame, allowing of the focus to centre around the subject rather than having the viewers eyes wander. 

The majority of the pictures that I took in Rome have all been shot with the layout landscape, as this encapsulates a whole setting of a certain location rather than portrait which only really captures half. If I was to portrait this piece, there would be no silhouette of a trees leaves emerging from the left side of the frame creating a very interesting border. This is a very important part to the structure of this image in my opinion because it conveys just how far I am from the Vatican in the distance. The leaves are extremely close to my camera, nearly the size of the Vatican's when grouped together which conveys just how far away that I am. Furthermore, allowing the whole bridge to be included in the composition has allowed my photograph to capture a large amount of setting in one frame. The neutral day time colours of a cloudy but warm day in Rome has been encapsulated in this piece as the tones are gentle blues, whites and greens. This combination works very well together as the tone of the piece is consistent throughout, instead of having the segment of the leaves to the left of my frame bright orange and red. This wouldn't compliment the rest of the composition, instead it would be a very unnecessary contrast. 

Progression

Progressing this shoot isn't something that I am able to do as I am no longer in Rome, however I have also shot some holiday photos that I took in Spain this summer which I will be including in my 6th shoot next week. I wanted to explore other advertising photography in this unit, so decided that uploading some travel shoots of mine at this stage of my project would be helpful and show my versatile approach to the topic advertising. I want to develop this shoot by employing some of my pictures into the 'image within an image' technique. This will be something I do when I choose to come back and produce some developments to my shoots, as I feel it would be even more effective if someone was holding a frame and looking down on the image with a smile on their face, advertising the emotion they felt when they visited this historical city. 

Work Diary - Shoot 3

Evaluation

In today's shoot I wanted to begin exploring the food theme that I will be developing the most thoroughly in this advertising unit. I decided to just photograph sweets today, experimenting with presenting them and altering the composition. I captured these photographs at home, so there was no studio set up or specific lighting that I used, just a single spot light and my camera. I was extremely pleased with how they came out after I'd tweaked them slightly in Photoshop, and have acquired a lot of inspiration from photographing simple brands like Skittles. I took pictures where the sweets filled the frame, which I will be doing more of in an upcoming shoot enabling me to creating a bright and colourful multiple imagery piece. I also took pictures of the packet's contents (for example, Skittles) scattered around the frame with the packet on shot. I presented the sweets in glasses and boxes to add that extra appeal. I had fun starting off slowly with this topic and not going straight into editing images together, as I wanted to just simply photograph sweet treats first - and it has provided me with a good base for my next couple of upcoming shoots. 

I wanted to begin with photographing a packet of sweets that involved a mixture of colours, as this formal element is the most effective in advertising. Rather than just capturing a simplistic picture, I wanted to be creative with the pattern of the sweets so that it would make the overall composition more appealing. Pattern and shape are two formal elements that are evident in the top half of the frame, as I lined up particular coloured sweets to create an even and attractive pattern with the confectionary being advertised. I have taken this picture from an angle so that depth is evident in the frame, resulting in the Skittles packet being in focus whilst the contents of the packet is blurred. I like the effect with the skittles furthest away being the most out of focus as this makes it appear as though the pattern of Skittles is never-ending in the distance way beyond the frame. The overall piece in my opinion is effective because the brand is being conveyed to the audience along with the amount of sweets you get inside on packet, and more. It's a very inviting image that would sell to me quite easily if I was craving a sweet treat. I want to experiment with different packets of Skittles with the different coloured sweets and perhaps mash it up into a multiple imagery piece. 

These two photographs above are ones that I was also happy with from this shoot, that I feel have the potential to be played around with a little more. I want to edit the two of these images into magazine style. By this I mean I want to add text to the images and maybe even the logo of the brand. In the Skittles photograph I could easily add a quote about tasting the rainbow in multicoloured letters to compliment the colour of the sweets. In the Kinder image I could just simply add the logo 'Kinder' into the top half of the frame. All these types of additives to the compositions would finish off the advertising photography, as this involves text as well as images. My reasons for choosing these two pictures as ones that I could add text to is because I have taken the photographs and purposely left quite a large amount of white background in order to leave room for the text. The images just don't look quite finished with, but they will be once I alter them. 

Progression

In order to progress this shoot, I will be adding text to some of the frames like I mentioned above and also adding some surreal photoshop effects to the pictures, or new upcoming pictures, to make the images more appealing and wacky. An example of this would be me photographing a packet of skittles with them bursting out the top of the packet - created through photoshop of course.

Work Diary - Shoot 4

Evaluation

In today's shoot I wanted to practise with the composition and studio set up that I'd use when I come to photographing portraiture photography with a variation of fruits. For this shoot I have drawn a light diagram to convey how I set the studio up and what worked the best. I experimented with gels, however the colour yellow didn't compliment the picture by matching with the yellow lemon, instead it just ruined the image as I preferred Danielle's blonde hair at it's natural colour to avoid having there be other focal points in the frame; I just wanted the lemon to be the main subject of the picture. Overall I used three lights in this shoot to create the bright appearance that advertising photography often has. I will be using this set up again when I capture more portraiture photography as it was very successful. By shining a light on the white backdrop, it changed the appearance of its colour in the frame. With just a soft box to light the front of Danielle, only a minimal amount of light managed to reach the backdrop, meaning it appeared grey in the image. Therefore using the spotlight enhanced the white tone of the sheet, allowing it to become visible in my photographs. I used a snoot on the spotlight in order for it to shine on the back of my subjects hair from the right, rather than spread across the whole of my models hair. My intention for this shoot was to capture the reactions that people express after they've tasted a lemon. Here I am advertising something with a lemon flavour, which I will now be able to develop by adding a photograph of lemonade to the images perhaps.

This image is one of my favourites from the shoot today for an assortment of reasons. Firstly, I was happy to use no gels in this shoot because the texture and delicate appearance of Danielle's light blonde hair looked more appealing than it did with the bright yellow beam shining over the right side of her. The gel made the photograph look extremely fake and over the top. I composed Danielle's body to be in the middle of the frame, with her arms practically identical either side. The framing looks neat and tidy, and the lemon is in the centre of the image acting as the main focal point. It's bright yellow colour reaches out to the audiences eye, and as this is the action taking place in the frame, it conveys that what I am advertising most certainly has something to do with this tangy fruit. I thought that the black jumper Danielle wore contrasted effectively with the white background, as both colours appear as blocks. There are no tones in her jumper and no tones in the white backdrop. Sometimes a missing formal element can be a positive thing. I also like the fact that I could now develop this image into a magazine advertisement by perhaps having a bottle of Schweppes lemonade in the bottom middle of the frame with a wacky slogan.

This is my overall favourite photograph from today. Immediately I am attracted to this image because of Megan's sharp and accurate reaction to the taste of the lemon. In comparison to Danielle, Megan has gone all out with eating this lemon. Her reaction is a lot stronger because she has bit into the fruit whereas Danielle simply tried out the flavour with a small lick first. Megan's arms are also identical either side and she is situated, again, in the centre of the frame. As a result of this, the composition is successful.The orange tones in her hair and the highly saturated yellow of the lemon alongside the royal blue of her top are all colours that compliment each other. They contrast with one another but also match extremely well. It is the colours in this piece that I admire so much, as they have the connotation of fun and they are also loud. The taste of the lemon is most certainly a loud flavour because it hits your taste buds, and if I was to look at this piece in a metaphorical way I would suggest that the fun colours are a  representation of the fun adventure your taste buds undergo when they come face to face with a lemon.

Progression

In order to progress from this shoot, I will be developing these photographs. I will mainly work on those that I took of Danielle, because a bottle of lemonade/lemon flavoured drink would fit the best in the middle of her arms at the bottom of the composition. The bottle would also stand out against the black colours of her top. I will also be progressing this idea into a further shoot, where I will have the colours of the fruit match the colours of the models top, hair accessory, nail varnish and eye shadow. I want to perhaps take more photographs like this (above) of different people with the same fruit, or the same person with different fruits. I will create a multiple imagery with these pictures as it would illustrate the different reactions people have towards certain fruits. I could also have somebody messing around with the fruit in the frame and put these into a multiple imagery as well, because they would be fun to shoot and present. 

Work Diary - Shoot 2

Evaluation

I decided to capture my first product shoot this lesson, basing it around perfume bottles (ghost, 1D Our Moment and body shop's vanilla mist). The reason that I chose these bottles to photograph is because the colours are related in a sense that they all have a clear see-through packaging, and the beige colours mix successfully with the pinks. The Ghost perfume and Our Moment mix the best with their pink tones, however I feel that all three of them with each other are just as effective because the colours are subtle and blend effectively. For this shoot, I built it. My set-up consisted of a table with two lights either side of it. One of the lights was a beam with a snoot facing down on the table. The other one was a soft box looking up at the table. I began with only one light switched on, which wasn't doing very much for the composition's lighting as it was filled with too many shadows. I then turned two lights on, however there was still a shadow at the back of the paper. I then made the infinity curve of the paper that I used less evident so that the whole image conveyed there being no interruption in the white backdrop. I had to experiment with the strength of the lights as it made one of my images bright white, so I ended up having the camera settings set to iso 200, 1/125 F11. I also used a flash, which enabled me to shoot clean and bright photographs, emphasising the femininity and glamorous appeal of the subjects in my pictures. During this session, after using gels in the previous shoot, I employed this technique into my shoot this time to experiment with colours. I used a pink gel which set a feminine mood in the frame, I used a yellow gel which added to the appearance of warm lighting, and I also used a dark blue gel which added a crystal clear and fresh appearance. I enjoyed experimenting with these gels, however feel that I could just explore with an assortment of colours on Photoshop by using the colour balance edit. Gels are fun to experiment with, however not always necessary. 

These two were the first couple of pictures that I took after developing the shoot, by building the lights and the set. I experimented with composition here, as I wanted the smaller bottle located in the foreground of the frame in order to attempt having the Ghost perfume bottle in the background appear smaller than it realistically is. In the photographs, it looks as though the Our Moment perfume bottle is pretty big, when in reality it is a lot smaller than the Ghost bottle. I aimed for the lights to create a shadow coming from the bottles to the front of the frame because I feel that this adds extra drama to the image, as it outlines the bottles' shape a lot more than it would if it was a clean white image. I was also exploring the formal element form as well, which resulted in these photographs being two successful outcomes. My reasons for pairing these two images together is because I have used a different gel in front of the light each time and I wanted to compare the two. In the left image I used a pink gel, and in the right image I used a yellow gel. These gels set different moods, which is a technique I find extremely interesting. In my opinion, the pink gel photograph is a lot more effective, because the colour compliments the already existing pink in the front subject and background subject. Additionally, the colour adds to the femininity in the composition, which relates to the product as they are both aimed at women. With the yellow gel, it made the bottles appear quite mucky and less pristine, therefore a less effective photograph.

This is another photograph from this shoot that I captured, and was extremely delighted with.  I wanted to take a photograph where all of my perfume bottles were in the same frame, because I intended on creating an advertisement displaying a mixture of present ideas for those who like a combination of scents. These would be the perfect gift for someone at Christmas, and as the season is approaching I felt it would be appropriate to relate some of my shoots to this upcoming holiday. The lighting on this photograph was glistening less, as the ones above were glistening from a light beam, however it wasn't as effective in this shoot. Despite this, I still feel that the clean white background is just as effective, as this is more magazine based. The background contains no shadows and there is no evident light source, which is the approach I was going for in the first place. Having a lack of shadows emphasises the bright and happy appearance of sweet scented perfumes. I reduced the saturation of the image in Photoshop as I didn't want the beige and pink of the bottles packaging to be too vibrant, because I was aiming for a soft appearance in this piece. I left a large white side of the background in the right hand side of the frame so that I was able to add a strap line to the piece, advertising the perfumes more verbally rather than just visually. I am happy with this first attempt at an actual advertisement, and will most certainly be developing this technique in the future.

Progression

After this successful shoot, I am extremely inspired by gel lights (even more so than I was after shoot 1)  and also extra excited for my project. I want to explore more perfume styled advertisements if I get the chance, however I mainly now just want to dig into my food based project. I will be using the same set up that I used today for the majority of my future shoots because this has proved to be a success. If I was to develop shooting perfume bottles, I would like to create more of an atmospheric set up of perhaps an outdoors background. For example, below a fresh scented fragrance is being complimented by a fresh field of green grass.

Work diary - Shoot 1

Evaluation

Experimenting with gels on lights in this shoot was tons of fun. Not only did I get to learn a new technique and put it into practise, but I was also able to discover yet another method of photography that has influenced me for my personal project. We had a set up of 4 lights. One light, coming from the top, was placed in front of the model beaming down onto them. There was then a second light (soft box) directly underneath the first light, shining up towards the model. Then we had two light beams with cones on and a filter behind the model, coming in from each side of the frame. It was these two lights that I'd then place gels over. We experimented with a variety of colours such as green, red and blue, however I wanted to capture images with the purple and yellow gels because these are both bright and vibrant. We also experimented with the lights that we'd use and the intensity of their beam, varying the strength of the lights and also turning some off to discover whether shadow pictures worked better than the bright ones. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to experiment with a different background colour such as white, but this could be something I may develop in a future shoot. I had a great time exploring the gel technique in this session and I have been incredibly inspired as a result.

This photograph of Connie is one of my favourites from the shoot. It is one of the first that I took where the yellow lighting from the left side wasn't beaming into the frame as effectively as it was later on in the shoot (I adjusted the level of the light). The reason that I find this one to be one of my favourites is because it captures Connie's mysterious facial expression in a dark light. Having the yellow there would make the image brighter, but her facial expression isn't a positive one. I feel as though I used the gels effectively in this image as the dark purple colour shining on just one side of her hair compliments her empty pose into the camera. Her eyes are also glistening in this image which adds an extra shine to the overall piece which I find quite fascinating. I really like the whole glitz, glam and shiny touch that the gel lights give to these pictures because it really enhances the frame of Connie's hair by lighting it from behind, rather than having her hair blend into the dark backdrop and not stand out in the lens. I could have perhaps added a light in front of her face to reduce the shadows, but other than that I am happy with this photograph.

This is the second photograph of mine that I captured this lesson that I was really happy with. I framed it so that the portrait consisted of no more than Connie's upper half and her face. In this image I got her to smile, because there were two lights beaming on the back of her hair from the left and right, and I wanted the bright mixture of colours to correspond with her facial expression. The light has created emphasis on Connie's hair and made all of her stand out in the frame. I think by having her leaning towards the side of the frame conveys her body language as being relaxed instead of her standing upright and forced staring into the frame straight on. By having her posture slanted creates a more calm and composed tone in the image, also making her smile appear more natural rather than it being just a forced pose. Overall, I enjoyed using these lights during this shoot because they can really bring life to a dull portrait. 

Progression

In order to excel my skills with gels and lights, I am looking to perhaps take some more pictures similar to the ones above with my own ideas. I have already planned to take photographs of a model holding sliced lemons over her eyes with yellow nails and yellow lipstick and a yellow hair accessory for example, and so on with other coloured fruits. Therefore, I am now inspired to take these exact same photos, but use red gels for a strawberry shoot and green gels for a kiwi shoot for example. I feel as though this will be a super effective technique that can enhance my images by a mile. I am also interested in experimenting with gels when I take pictures of food. An idea I have is me composing a shot of a green water bottle with a glass in front of it, filled with the contents of the bottle, whilst green gels shine in on the frame. I am also thinking of doing this with blue gels and a blue bottle, or just a cocktail glass filled with blue liquid and a slice of lemon with blue and yellow gels shining down on the frame. I think that this has the potential to work in my upcoming photography sessions, therefore I will most certainly be testing these ideas out eventually.

Work diary - High key lighting

Evaluation and Technique

Today I learnt another photography technique in the studio, exploring high key lighting. To the left is the set up that we used. In order to create an extremely bright white background, we used two 12" parabolic dish lights either side of the backdrop, set towards the background in order for the light to bounce off the paper. We used two large soft box lights at the end corners of the paper, with the camera in the middle. My subject (Connie) stood on the paper, in the middle of the lights, and I took the photo from in-between the lights as shown to the side. This allowed for all of the light to be situated on Connie's face/body, creating a high key lighting photograph. I had a couple of successful outcomes from this shoot that I was really pleased with because bright photographs are my favourite kind in this subject and is now definitely something that I will be developing in my own personal project.

This landscape style photograph is my favourite out of the whole shoot. The reason that I find this one to be the most successful is because high key lighting has been used effectively in the background, Connie's hair, her face and her clothes. There are slight dark parts in the bottom of the frame, however not so much so that it spoils the overall piece. The subjects hair is glowing under the bright light, along with her crystal blue eyes that have had their shine emphasised through the use of the lights. This style of photography is a very flattering technique used to take attractive and beautiful photographs, as it adds colour and sheen to a portrait that could have looked dim and vague. The use of a white background is something that I definitely prefer using in photography in comparison to a black background because I like bright images; ones that convey happiness and positivity. Black backgrounds sometimes allow for a certain item to stand out against it, however with most products I find that if they are shot on light backgrounds they immediately look more inviting to the viewer instead of appearing quite harsh and daunting on a dark backdrop. 

This portrait version of Connie is another example of high key lighting being used productively. The whole frame is filled with light, apart from dark tones in the hair and a slight dim corner in the top right. The tones in the hair are effective unlike the dark corner, however I don't think it ruins the beauty of the piece; instead it just leaves room for improvement in the following shoots that I use high key lighting. Because there is a larger frame here, there isn't anything that emerges from the picture to the viewer unlike the picture above. This is something that means the image lacks that special shine. It is evident that composition is necessary in photography as the above image is more of an effective outcome of high key lighting because Connie's eyes and hair stand out a lot more than this portrait picture. 

Progression

I will definitely be using high key lighting in my project when I explore my advertising topic because I have created an image bank looking at food being captured with high key lighting, and after photographing pictures with it in this session I know that it is an effective technique that could be extremely useful in advertising. I will make sure that the frames are clean and the composition is filled with bright lighting naturally and edited with curves and levels. 

Work Diary - Blurring

Evaluation and Technique

When I was on holiday this Summer, I was on the beach at night, and I decided to capture some photographs that would look appealing and convey the technique blurring. I had fun doing this because it didn't feel like I was pressured to complete a shoot; instead I was just experimenting with attractive images on the beach, completing a task in the process. I managed to capture a variety of blurred images through exploring a mixture of styles. For the first few I applied a slow shutter speed to my camera settings, centred my camera facing out towards the lit towns across the bay and pressed the shutter. I then let go and panned my camera across the landscape whilst moving it up and down in the process. For the other photograph I simply put my camera into manual focus and blurred the subject, allowing for a circle/bubble formation to form across a dark black frame. I really enjoyed this shoot because I like how the blurred technique can work with some images. I feel that this shoot was beneficial because I have been inspired to apply a blurred background in the distance of my subject when I take photos of food products and packaging. I also think that it would look extremely successful to move the camera just slightly across a brightly lit beer bottle for example. as this would drag green motions across the frame that I feel has the potential to look like an extremely engaging piece of advertising photography.    

This first image is my favourite out of the shoot, even though I didn't manage to capture a large mixture of images. The reason that I like this photograph is because it is extremely abstract. It isn't clear to the audience at all, what it is, how it was shot and where It's been taken. All the audience can see is a mixture of lights against a black backdrop. I like this approach because I feel that it leaves a sense of mystery and would allow the viewer to just admire the combination of light streaks rather than comparing it to the day time version of the photograph; as I took this image at night outside. I like the one bold squiggle of yellow light that starts from the left side of the picture and creates two hills at the top of the frame as this stands out a lot more in the foreground whilst the thinner lines are overlapping in the distance. I feel as though the formal elements colour, lines and pattern have been used effectively in this image, and even though this image isn't relevant to my project and doesn't really look like anything at all, it has inspired me to be creative with colours and go a bit crazy in one of my shoots, just to experiment with the technique blurring and how effective it could be in my project.

This is the second image of my shoot, which I thought was just as successful as the first one, however less creative and less eye catching. There is no surreal or abstract approach in this picture that has been applied to the photograph, which doesn't allow it to stand out at all. However, I really like the bubbles that appear in an image from having an out of focus camera capture lights. I feel that this technique is an interesting one because it captures a variety of shapes in a line that consist of mixed colours. There is white, orange, red, green, teal, blue and purple filled in these bubbles which could be edited to look like the colours of the rainbow. This photograph would be interested to apply a computer experiment too, and the intense dark background allows the colours to bounce off of it in a much more successful way than if the black was patchy and grey. The contrast is evident and I feel like I got the composition just right. I would develop this type of photograph in my future work by having a subject stand out against the blurred bubbles, perhaps during daylight as this would be a more flattering image.

Progression

I have many ideas for progressing the technique blurring in my work, that I will most certainly be experimenting with, just to see how successful the outcome would be. I want to get beer bottles or any form of coloured glass bottle and slow the shutter speed of my camera in order to drag the bottle across the frame, creating a moving motion effect with lines and faded blurs. I may also be developing the blurred light technique in the daylight in order to create flattering and feminine white bubbles in the background of a plate of cookies for example. I could actually photograph a plate of Special K snacks in front of a blurred feminine background as this would correspond with the feminine approach, as Special K are light snacks that women eat when they are watching their diet. The few images below are what inspire me when it comes to mixing my advertising project with the blurring technique. The photographer behind these two photographs is Timothy Hogan who specialises in advertising photography, which would make him the perfect inspiration for this technique. 

Work diary - Multiple exposure

Evaluation and Technique

This session, exploring multiple exposure, has been one of my most enjoyed lessons because I have been able to learn and develop skills in a technique that I think will benefit my project immensely. This technique is an extremely unique way of photographing a person and a place they've been, a food they've worn, a make up product they like etc. Any type of photograph could be used to fill the shape and details of someones face which is why I find this photography technique to be the most interesting out of all the ones I have learnt. I would take a photograph of someone, and then something else with part of the sky in it. I would then add these both to Photoshop, and start editing the portrait first. I'd colour the background of the subject white, and then drag the location photograph over the first and select "lighten" which will enable the location image to blend in with the background of the portrait image. This allows for part of the location image to be visible amongst particular areas of the face. I'd then just experiment with scale and position over the face until I found an effective composition, maybe play with the curves and levels a bit more as well until I was happy. Below are two of my outcomes that I thought were the most successful ones from the shoot.

This one was my most favourite piece from the shoot for many reasons. I found it to be the most appealing style because it looks as though the leaves are part of Joshes face, and they are slowly falling from their branches. This could connote Joshes emotions as unhappy, which would also compliment his dim and lifeless facial expression. Many elements explain something in this image which is something that I find to be what mass a successful image. If a certain segment of a photograph can explain another segment of the photography, literally or metaphorically, then it is an important and effective picture. By making the sky in the tree picture white, and editing the background of Josh white as well meant that I was able to blend both photos effortlessly together without a certain colour of one pieces background interrupting. To improve this image I would have perhaps filled more of Joshes body with the tree so that it wasn't just his face in the frame, as it looks slightly compact and less spacious as it could appear with development.

This is the second photograph that I created that I thought was again, successful.  I took a depth picture in Brighton looking down a long wide street to a ferris wheel situated at the end of the road. I thought that this image effectively blended with my portrait of Darby as the colours in both of these pictures hold many similarities. Firstly, Darby has dark hair and dark eyebrows, which matches the dark windows and paint on the Brighton houses. Secondly, her face is a glowing beige which matches the light yellow house colours. Lastly, her top is a mixture of black and white which matches the dark cars with light reflections on them. The ferris wheel is then featured as an extra dimension to the sky. Having this in the frame means that there is less wasted space, as Darby's head is tilted to the left, which means there would be just white in the right side of the frame. Overall, this multiple exposure piece was an interesting one to create, as it took me a while to perfect the scale, however I was extremely pleased with the outcome and will most certainly be developing this idea in my future project. 

Progression

In order to excel my skills in multiple exposure, I want to use relevant photographs to replace the shape/outline/features of my models faces. I want to attempt some photographs using food and sweets and maybe drinks to see if this is successful when put into a multiple exposure piece; as this connects with my advertising theme. I also want to try filling the whole of someone's face whilst letting the second image on top fill the outline - I have put an example below of what I mean by this. I have many pictures that I have taken on my trip to Rome that I'd like to include for this technique and will most certainly be making sure that I create some successful multiple exposure pieces for my project.

Work diary - Slow sync

Evaluation and Technique

During today's session I learnt how to take slow sync style photography. The class used a dark setting with a black backdrop behind the subject we were shooting, with two soft box lights shining onto the model. In order to capture motion blur in the photographs that I took,  I used the slow sync flash function found on the camera that tells the camera to shoot with a long shutter speed as well as firing the flash. This means I was able to get a relatively sharp shot of my main subjects in every image as well as get some ambient light from the background and foreground. I was able to alter the length of the shutter speed if I wanted a more effective motion blur in my photograph, but most of the time I used a 2 second shutter speed because there wasn't much action that I was shooting in the frame. I quite liked this photography technique, however don't think that I'll be using it and developing it into my personal project because I prefer the multiple flash technique. 

This is the first photograph that I took when experimenting with this new technique. I simply asked Connie to move to the left side of the frame whilst I had the shutter speed on two seconds. All I got from this setting was a faint duplicate of her next to her sharp, defined and clearer body shape. The faint duplicate has no light on her whatsoever; it blends in with the dark background and is filled with shadow. This contrasts with Connie's left body, the defined version. Here, there is more light situated on her because this is where the light is beaming. It has been  positioned to shine down on her in this part of the studio which means that everything about her is more visible. By using slow sync, the audience are able to see the past and present in one image. Movement can be captured and seen more clearly that just shaking a camera as I used to do before in order to shoot the formal element movement. This technique is an upgrade from that, and by far the most successful type of technique.

This is a picture that I took much later on in the shoot when I thought of a more interesting thing to capture for this technique. Because you have to shoot some form of movement in order to create slow sync photography, I thought of dancing. This led to me asking Connie and Frankie to perform a twirl. I was extremely pleased with what I produced from this shot because you can evidentaly see the movement of Connie's body as one of her is holding Frankie's hand whilst the other is spinning around. There are equal amounts of light on both of Connie's bodies in this frame, and likewise with Frankie's, as they are both dressed in light colours which allows the light to bounce off of them more effectively than if they were dressed in dark attire. The composition of this piece has been constructed well, except for a tiny part of the frame which I could have chopped off of the top perhaps.

Progression

If I was to progress this technique in my project I would like to look at photographing dancers; the female in a bright red dress with a glowing shine, and then the male in a suit, with illuminated light on them in order for them to stand out even more so against a black backdrop. This is something that I would like to do, however I'm not too sure it's something that I would do. Slow sync photography isn't really a technique I can see myself using in advertising because there's only so much you can do with people moving in a frame, and I'm most likely not going to be using many people in my pictures as a lot of my work will be based around places and products. 

Work Diary - Multiple flash

Evaluation and Technique

Exploring this technique in the studio resulted in an enjoyable session for me today. I had never created any kind of multiple flash picture before, so learning the technique was interesting. You had to have the camera set to bulb, and measure the aperture with the light metre (you measure it by flashing the light in front of the light metre). We had the soft box set to F11 which resulted in a very high exposure piece of photography. Before taking any type of photograph, the lights have to be off in order for their to be one light directed on someone in the frame of the picture.When taking the picture, I would keep my finger on the shutter button whilst flashing the light each time my model performed a pose I wanted in my photograph, then I would release my finger from the shutter button and a photograph would be formed. I found that using a snoot had a much more successful effect on my pieces because there was more shadows and a larger variety of tones and form, which are formal elements that were immediately noticeable in a positive way. I was pleased with my first attempts at this technique, displaying my two favourites below.

Here is a successful example of the technique multiple flash that I captured in today's lesson.  I was extremely happy with this photograph for a mixture of reasons. Firstly, I liked that I managed to capture Connie spinning around in the frame. It is clear what she was trying to do, rather than have it be just a mess of movement. You can see her back in the left side, then her front, then a more clearer view of the front and then her back again. I composed the frame so that there would be no wasted space, and the proportions would be even e.g. there is about the same proportion of her back on each side of the frame. This displays a more even approach to the picture. There is no fade in the black  backdrop, it is bold jet black which means that the photograph looks more professional and finished. The black background also means that Connie's frame is more evident, because if the black backdrop was faded then it would blend in with her green checkered shirt. 

Here is a not so successful overall photograph. I was really pleased with the subject of this shoot. I succeeded in photographing the movement of Connie flipping her hair in a circle motion around the frame, however the faded black background to the bottom right hand side of the frame spoils the overall composition. It would have looked a lot more successful and effective if she was in the centre surrounded by black, instead of having the left side black and he right side dusky. I feel that this takes the focus away from her in the middle, and it isn't as clear and sharp as I'd hoped it would be. I'm also not a fan of the blue tone that's spread over the whole picture. It doesn't look natural and is something that I struggled to edit in Photoshop without getting rid of all the colour. There also isn't many connotations that I can pull out from this piece as I was simply just testing out the technique, so the photograph doesn't have that much of an impact which is why I'm not impressed by it at all. 

Progression

This technique isn't something that I feel I could capture effectively in any upcoming shoots of mine. I enjoyed testing it out and being creative with the ideas, however the outcomes that I have are not of that good quality, and as my work won't be featuring many people, it would be an irrelevant technique to try and develop. As my work will be focused around food, mainly, and other advertising attributes, I don't really want to create images of movement as there will most likely be no focal point for the viewer in the frame, and the point of my advertising project is to create images that will shout at the audience, grab their attention and glue their gaze to the piece, not have a quick glance at a frame of moving people. I would probably be able to take a photograph of two dancers in bright costumes in order to advertise a dancing competition or talent TV show, but other than that this technique doesn't have that much potential to be developed in my project. 

Work diary - Minimum depth of field

Evaluation and Technique

In today's shoot I learnt a new setting on the camera that I was able to use in order to capture the best type of portraiture photography. I had to put the aperture to F5.6 on the camera which is the maximum of which my Canon would adjust to. This allowed for the camera to create a distinct blur in the background of the subject. I also had to zoom into Connie's upper half whilst standing close to her in order to focus the lense on her features. I tried this out a few times during this session by placing Connie in different positions of the frame, for example I tried taking a picture where she was on the left, however felt that having her in the middle would add to the focus of her being the main point of this picture. After trying out a variety of frame positions I was happy with the result below. It created a successful minimum depth of field which was the aim of the lesson. I am very interested in using this tecnhique when I take portraiture photography in order to capture advertising; which is my project.

As a trial shot, I was pleased with how this image came out. I could have improved it in many ways to make it more effective, which would be to have perhaps cropped out the bin in the bottom right hand corner and also to have waited for George and Josh in the background to have moved away from the frame. These readjustments would have allowed for the overal photograph to look more clean and precise. I was thrilled with the effect this camera setting gave the image. Giving the background a natural blur and making Connie look really crisp and defined meant that this picture would only need a few light adjustments in photoshop, nothing else. I also liked the green, brown and dark pink colours from the trees and building in the distance because I felt that this was a pretty attractive backdrop to use for this style of photography, and it didn't blend with Connie's figure; she still stands out against the variety of colours. 

Progression:

I reckon that I will most certainly be developing this technique because I have created a piece of photography that I feel was produced successfully enough for me to try it out with other pictures. I intend on taking portrait style photographs in this project, so using this camera setting would allow for me to capture the most effective style of portraiture photography. I will use the setting when I take pictures of my subject holding up different coloured fruits whilst wearing the same coloured accessories. Having a natural blur in the background of this style of work would add to the finishing look, which is why I feel it is an excellent way to take pictures of some of my ideas. 

Work diary - Wide angle and Close up

Evaluation and Technique

Today was an interesting photography session, because I had to use the camera in a way I'd never done before for the wide angle shoot. I had to go extremely close to the subject that I wanted to capture in order for the lens to curve slightly around the subject, for example, I used Paul's face, as this would be a clear example of how distorted his face would look in comparison to a normal picture. I wasn't too happy with any of my wide angle photography in this shoot because I have used a specific wide angle lens before, and I wasn't getting the same effect without this lens; therefore knowing what I could get from this tool meant that I was pretty disappointed with what I actually managed to capture as a result. On the other hand, I was more pleased with the close up photography that I captured. I mainly looked at flowers because I felt that these are always the most interesting to shoot when looking for detail and colour, pattern and texture in close up photography as these formal elements become the most evident the closer you get to something. 

This was my wide angle photography attempt which I found to be the only successful wide angle picture out of the whole shoot. The reason that this was the most successful is because Paul's face is completely distorted in comparison to what he would look like in real life. The lens has focused on his nose, and then curved around the rest of his face. This creates perspective and depth which makes this picture look extremely fascinating. It's also quite a humorous technique when photographing people because it's abnormal to regular portrait photography. I don't think I would use this technique through just the camera settings again in the future, only with my actual wide angle lens which would give me this same effect on everything I took a picture of, not just a human face. 

This was my close up photography attempt which I actually feel could have been a lot more effective I was given more time to do a shoot on this topic. I have never really enjoyed being set a task to photograph something on the college premises because I find my options to be extremely limited, however I made do with what I could find and decided to focus on flowers for close ups as these have the most detail on them which can be conveyed beautifully through a close up picture. I liked that I was able to capture the different colours and tones in this flower, as these are two formal elements which are clearly evident. I also like the dark leafy background as the flowers surroundings because a contrast is apparent between the bright colours of the flower and dark colours of the plants in the background.

Progression:

I will be progressing both of these techniques in my future work because I have many current ideas that I feel could be captured through applying a wide angle or a close up in order to make them more effective. I will be capturing close up photography when I take pictures of sweets and any type of food that I want to fill the frame. I'll go close up to liquorice allsorts, skittles, starbursts and maoam pinballs for example. Then I will develop these to create surreal close up photography. For the wide angle technique, I will use my actual wide angle lens and take photographs of sweets in hands for example of a landscape picture of two eyes, one with a lemon being held over it perhaps. This will allow me to capture the detail of the fruit along with the detail of the eye, as well as having they eyes looking 3D like they do in real life. I will experiment with these ideas before I shoot them officially just to see how effective they come out.