Connecting Essay 5

My Photograph

This is one of the photographs I captured when I was in Rome this October. I went on this trip with the intention of photographing some images that portrayed the stunning ancient architecture of Rome. These types of photographs would look appropriate if in a magazine or a holiday brochure, advertising some locations in Rome and the type of beautiful scenery someone else could experience. I composed this photograph above well, by having the left side of the frame filled with a Rome dome (a very popular building found anywhere you go in Rome) and then had the trees fill the rest of the frame. I like this composition because the different heights of the buildings and trees work well together as a contrast. The mixture of colours in this piece are also effective elements. The beige Dome, the burnt orange tone to the buildings in the distance and the dark green trees all appear as vintage colours, which emphasise the history evident in the architecture. The light tinge of blue in the sky adds to the warmth of the image, instead of the whole sky appearing white and making the picture feel cold. There is a lot of pattern featured in the buildings which makes the city look extremely artistic, which is an element of the photograph which may influence a creative person interested in travelling to fly to Rome.

Online Photograph

This is an internet photograph of Rome, which has captured some beautiful attractions of this ancient city. The image has been captured from a high point of the city, with the camera angling down on the below surroundings and features in the distance. The building in the top left hand side of the frame is the Altare della Patria, with the two chariots on each podium clearly defined against the light orange sky. Although they are a very small feature of the picture, their silhouette outline is evident through being against a flat skyline. This is an effective use of colour and contrast. In the bottom segment of the composition, there are more defined buildings with their evident colour, tone, shape and pattern all complimenting each other. The colours are once again subtle and appear vintage, with the yellow and burnt orange and browns. This landscape of this particular area of Rome has captured some beautiful tourist destinations and overall stunning view. The tone of the piece is gentle as the sun is setting, which casts a warm layer over the photograph.

The Connection

When comparing the two of these images together, there are many connections evident in both pieces. My photograph has focused more on just one Dome and the lucky appearance of another building, whereas the internet photograph has focused on a large quantity of Rome's architecture. This enables more of the beauty to be apparent, however both photographs are successful for what they are portraying. In my photographs, the shape of the buildings and the trees have a clearer definition because they are against a plain sky. The internet photograph has employed this aswell, allowing the shape of the landscape and particularly the chariots to stand out. The detail in the domes are clear in both photographs, as there are two that are a main focal point of the internet image on the right side of the frame, and one that is a focal point on the left hand side of my image. Both photographs have an effective composition, and illustrate how the frame has been put to good use.

Contact Sheet - Shoot 6

Connecting Essay 4

My Photograph

This is a photograph I captured from a birds eye point of view, angled down towards the ingredients and smoothie sitting on a wooden table. I situated the ingredients and measuring utensils around the right side of the frame and added a sprinkle of cinnamon to finish it off. To the left of the frame is the smoothie itself, which is the outcome of all these ingredients mixed together. I composed this piece so that it would be a clear recipe of a healthy drink, rather than just listing ingredients for something for somebody else to create - it looks far more creative and interesting as a photograph with text. I added the text in the empty space of the frame at the top left rather than overlapping with the subjects in the image as this avoids any interruption to the composition. I'd managed to apply the text to this picture through a website called befunky.com where I selected the type writer tool, and as I typed the words a faint white highlight would form with the text. When taking the photograph, I used natural daytime lighting for this piece as I had no lights to use at home, however the subjects could possibly look brighter and more emphasised if I'd used some lights or reflectors for this photograph.

Online Photograph

This is a photograph from online which is a visual recipe, portraying the ingredients and the outcome of the ingredients mixed together. There are multiple dishes in this piece and multiple ingredients, even if you don't need all of what's in the frame. The white wooden boards create a vintage feel to this piece, along with the floral printed tea towel. These textures and patterns add an artistic feel to the photograph, which could be emphasised by the point of this picture, as cooking is an art. The tea towel also contributes to the homely feel of the photograph, which is an effective prop in the piece as cooking is a home comfort. There is one cooking pot of this Apple and Pear Cous Cous in the top left hand side of the frame, and then some portions of it put into two bowls in the top and bottom right hand side of the frame. In the left middles is two pots of dried fruits and some seeds that can be added to the dish for a diverse consistency of flavours/textures in the mouth. These have also then been sprinkled around the pots, which looks appealing rather than messy. The combination of colours in this image work well together, as they are subtle tones of brown, beige and cream with pops of colour such as the red and green of the fruits and seeds. 

The Connection

There are many connections shared between my photograph and the online photograph. Firstly, both images are visual recipes, rather than photographing an outcome from different angles and putting the recipe on a website or blog, we have both added the recipe to the composition of the picture. This is a more creative idea that works well in my opinion. Both photographs have a gentle tone of colours as they are subtle instead of highly saturated. The colour of the background that we both used is similar, and also the most appropriate colour for advertising healthy food and drink. White is too plain and black is too harsh. The ingredients in both photographs are spread out across the frame in order to fill it to its best potential. There are more in the internet image, as there is less of a zoom on the composition. I zoomed in a lot in my photograph as there were less ingredients I needed to portray in the frame in comparison to the online picture. The colour of the background allows the subjects in the photographs to contrast and stand out, whilst being colours that still compliment one another. There are more subjects in the online photograph, which is somewhere that I could have improved on by adding more glasses of the orange and banana smoothie in the frame. I could have also used more fruits - cut them up and kept some whole - to advertise how to make more of the smoothie instead of just 200ml.

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. 

Straight Images - Shoot 7

Contact sheets - Shoot 7

Connecting Essay 3

My Photograph

This is my photograph of a group of cupcakes that I captured. I employed the formal element pattern into this piece by placing the cupcakes in line from the back to the front of the frame rather than having them sprawled around in random positions. I mixed up the four flavours of these cupcakes to create a diverse appearance as I didn't want there to be two cakes of the same flavour next to each other. Mixing them up allows the colours to blend more effectively with each other and compliment one another. I could have used a more interesting background in order to make this piece look more complete and feel like a homely photograph that cupcakes should portray, as baking is a home comfort activity. The white backdrop however allows the confectionery to stand out with it's bold and bright colours. I used cakes that had tasty looking icing and snazzy cupcake cases because they are supposed to look appealing to the audience and entice them to purchase the product.

Online Photograph

This is an internet photograph of cupcakes that look cute and fluffy and most certainly sickly. The colours have been used well in this piece; pink and baby blue to spread a soft mood over the photograph. There are 5 cupcakes, all with fancy icing on top and an iced rose to make this confectionery appear flattering. They have been placed on a stylish dish with curved dents in the rim to match the floral shape of the icing. There is an intense blur over the background of this photograph and the back two cakes, which shows hints of pink and teal somewhere in the background, matching the colours in the foreground. I like this sense of connection because it makes the piece a lot more stronger as it's clearly been constructed with thought. The cakes look extremely tasty and inviting and if I was part of the target audience I would definitely want to buy these treats, from how they have been beautifully presented in the composition. 

The Connection

The connection between these two photographs is evident in what the subject is; cakes. Both photographs are advertising a cluster of treats, mine of different flavours and the online one of the same flavour. There is minimum depth of field in the online photograph as the very front cake is in focus whilst the two next to it and the two in the distance gradually become extra blurry the further the cakes go back. This is an effective element in the picture as it creates an even stronger blur on the background, allowing just a tinge of the teal and pink in the distance to be apparent. The cakes stand out with their bright pink icing, like the cakes in my photograph with some white icing and some pink cases. There is more of a mixture with colours in my photograph as not all of the cake toppings or cases are the same colour. Both images consist of cakes with fancy icing and toppings, emphasising their yummy taste, instead of being just plain cupcakes with one layer of messy icing for example.