Connecting Essay 2

Connecting Essay 2  

Jamie Davis Smith -

My Photography - 

This connecting essay I am linking a piece of Jamie Davis Smith's work with my own. Upon appearance the images above aren't all that similar but the actual message of the photo inspired me for my 'family night' shoot. The firs image shows a father playing with his daughter and both of them enjoying themselves messing around showing the happy bond between family. This is an important part of my everyday life therefore I wanted to recreate that atmosphere and so the second image was produced of some of my family round the table smiling, joking around with each other. Jamie Davis Smith's work definitely helped me direct the message of my work.  

Work Record 5 - Exercise

Work Record 5 - Exercise 

Image 1 

 Evaluation - The image above is one of my favorites from the 'Exercise' shoot. I really like the saturated colour of the image contrasted against the dark of Rebecca's top at the side. I feel like this photograph really links into the subject due to it showing the preparation my sister was doing before a workout, getting water and eating fruit in order to have energy and keep hydrated. When taking the image I wanted everything on the worktop to be in focus because it was all equally as important to the outcome, therefore I used F5 and had the items all close together to keep the focus shallow but blur the background slightly. As you can see the setting that I took the image in was quite bright as there was a lot of natural light coming in through the window, therefore I used ISO800 and a shutter speed of 1/400seconds to counteract this brightness. This worked really well as I managed to keep the exposure of the image level.

Editing - When editing this photo I wanted to make the colours more saturated as they looked slightly duller in the image compared to in real life. Therefore the first thing I done was use the he/saturation tool to brighten them. This made the colours of the watermelon stand out a lot more and gave the image a lot more life. The second effect I wanted to change was to darken the shadows of the photo for example around the bottom of the bottle and the plate, as these details were lost with the bright setting. By moving the bright end of the line on the curves tool it allowed me to regain some shadows and counteract the suns reflection off of some of the objects. 

Image 2 

Evaluation - This image is of my sister on the rowing machine, working out her arms. I really like the outcome of this image because the perspective of it is very interesting, I decided to take it from the perspective of the end of the machine. I think this was a good idea as it correctly shows the form that my sister has whilst doing this exercise. I decided to keep the focus very shallow on this photograph so that my sister was out of focus but you can still see the actions she is doing. I used F3.5 for this as the machine was directly in front of the camera. The setting of this photo was quite dark as it was taken in the hallway with no natural light only, the only light coming from the rooms around us. Therefore I used a high exposure of ISO6400 but a quick shutter speed of 1/100secs in order to catch the movement without any blur. 

Editing- When editing this photograph I wanted to try something a little bit different, therefore I decided to convert it to Black and White. To do this I used the Black and White tool in Photoshop which allows you to adjust how dark you want certain colours to be. By playing around with this I found a good balance in the black and white which gave a very deep effect to the photo. 

Progression - As this is my last preparatory shoot I feel that I have some really good ideas that I would like to elaborate on in my External Examination. This shoot being one of them, I really enjoyed shooting a very active, sporty activity therefore this is something I would like to try again but with somebody else in a different type of sport. I have also learnt form this shoot what my style is, I think my best images are ones I take from different perspectives, high or low angles and extreme close-ups. This is something I am going to use to the best of my ability in my final examination shoots. 

Work Record 4 - Rebecca's Art

Work Record - Rebecca's Art 

Image 1 

Evaluation - This is one of my top images from my 'Rebecca's Art' shoot. It is taken of a tin full of paintbrushes and painting knives which Rebecca uses in her artwork, these are some of the essentials used to create the pieces she does. I thought it was important to photograph these as they could be easily overlooked due to not being as eye-catching as the artwork itself however photographed from the perspective I have used and the camera settings I used, I think they have made an extremely interesting photograph. I decided to use F5.6 as I wanted a shallow depth of field in order to really focus on the detail of the tips of the brushes rather than the wooden table they were placed on. To get the right exposure and keep the deep wood background from being overexposed I used ISO 3200 but a slower shutter speed of 1/50secs to allow some light in the pick up the detail. I believe that the background of this image is very important because it sets off the colour in the paintbrushes due to it being neutral but dark. 

Editing - To edit this image I really wanted to make the colours stand out, even more, to give the photograph a striking effect. To do this I used curves in order to control the dark areas of the image to make it more striking. This really helped me to make the colours of the handles of the paintbrushes stand out even in the dark pot. The second thing I did was correcting the slight red tint in the edited image. To do this I used the colour Balance tool and moved it slightly more towards Cyan, this corrected the image and made the colours look the way they did in real life. 

Image 2 

Evaluation - The image above is one of my favourites from the shoot, it comes under the collection titled 'Rebecca's Work'. This image is of my little sister, Rebecca, doing some of her artwork in her sketch book. I really like this image because from this perspective it makes the image a lot more interesting than it would from a front on angle. When taking this photo I wanted to pay a lot of attention to detail, therefore, I included the blanket under my sister's work as it shows different textures. Where it is folded and crumpled shows shadows and the fluffy part adds more depth to the photo. I really like the colours of this photo with the harsh contrast between the black and white sketch and the baby blue of the blanket. I used a very shallow focus for this photo but made sure that the top of my sister's head was slightly out of focus as the sketch was the main subject of the photo, this required F5.6. To get the natural light effect from the window on the left I used an exposure of 1/250secs and ISO3200. 

Editing - During the process of editing this image I wanted to firstly saturate the image more. My reasoning behind this was because the image is very high contrast so to further accentuate this saturating the photo made the blue blanket stand out amazingly against the black and white sketch. I noticed that using the saturation tool gave the paper and bed cover a bright white effect which I wanted to take away as this wasn't how it appeared in real life. Therefore, I used the curves tool to bring the 'bright' parts of the photograph down to narrow the contrast gap bringing the image back to the way I wanted it to be. 

Image 3  

Evaluation - Lastly I wanted to include this image in my final pieces of shoot 4. I think this photograph is very different to the others as it offers a fresh perspective due to it being an extreme close-up of my sister's hand. I think this photo is very important in showing the details of 'Rebecca's Art' as being an artist means having a steady hand that you have complete control over. This photo really shows that steadiness and artist body language that my sister possess'. I decided to have a shallow depth of field for this photograph due to the main subject of the image being my sister's hand and the paintbrush, therefore I used F6.3. As you can see the colours of the image are quite dull which I think is very different and makes the photo seem calm and silent. I used only natural lighting for the image, a shutter speed of 1/500secs and ISO3200 to get just enough light so the photo was only slightly underexposed. I think this worked really well as it lit up mainly one-half of the image and most of the light was on my sister's hand. 

Editing - I did not do anything too extensive to this image as the way I used my camera setting gave me the effect I wanted. However, I used the saturation tool to give more colour to Rebecca's hand which at first looked quite washed out. I then used the 'lightness' bar and moved that to the darker side by -22, this helped take away the brightness of the paper where the light had reflected which made to photograph come together even more. 

Progression - This has been my favourite shoot so far as I love the outcome of it and have produced many great images from this shoot. I definitely took my 'progression' tips from shoot 3 into account in this one as I managed to do more close-up shots to show the details of everyday activities that are commonly overlooked. For my next shoot, I want to continue in this style of different perspectives, exposure and focuses because it makes my image stand out against the rest. 

Work Record 3 - Dog Walking

Work Record - Dog Walking 

Image 1 

Evaluation - I really like how this image came out in terms of the perspective of it. It is very interesting as there is a distinctive foreground and background giving the image a lot of depth. This is known as the rule of thirds as the photograph can be split into three different parts, one being my sister, the second my dog and the third the actual background. I used F10 as the focus of this image to ensure that the foreground was in sharp focus but the rest was slightly out, I did this to give the image a main subject as there is quite a lot of blank space in the grass area. The day I took this on was slightly cloudy so I used and exposure of ISO/1600 and a shutter speed of 1/4000secs. This ensured that I had a good exposure that was just bright enough to show the details and make the image look cheerful. 

Editing - To edit this image I just wanted to make some of the details more defined and give it a brighter and more saturated feel. To do this I first used the saturation tool to make the grass and trees more vibrant which made the image pop. I only moved the bar up to +10 as this gave it a natural saturation so it wasn't obvious that it has been edited and made unrealistic. To make the details of the image stand out I used the curves tool which allowed me to darken the shadows especially among the grass making it less of a blank space and appear interesting adding further depth. 

Image 2 

 Evaluation - I decided that this image should be in my two best because I really like the closeness of it and the amount of detail that it shows. This image is very up close and personal with the dog, him looking straight into the camera, tongue hanging out makes him look very vulnerable but loving at the same time. This is where you really get to see the close bond someone can have with their dog as he appears to have hs own personality and thoughts just from the expression shown on his face. When taking the image I wanted all of the focus to be on  Cody, therefore I used F5.6 to make him in focus but the background of the house blurry. This again gives the viewer a much closer feel to him seeing, even more, detail on his face and in his expression. As you can see from the shadows of the photograph the sun was directed straight ahead of Cody so I used ISO800 and a shutter speed of 1/4000secs to counteract the brightness ensuring that it wasn't overexposed.

Editing - I wanted to change this image to black and white because I thought it would give it a nice effect that looks very clean and classic. To convert it to black and white I used the Black and White tool which allowed me to decide which colours I want to be darker or lighter than others. By doing this I made the details of his fur a lot darker than they originally were which counteracted the brightness of the image. Also when I darkened the blue it made the shadows stand out more adding further depth to the image. 

Progression - Overall I do not think that this was my best photoshoot, however, I still think it produced some good images as shown above. I believe that some of the images on my contact sheet are very similar and there weren't enough images that focused on small details to give breaks between the action which is one of my aims. Therefore in the next photoshoot, I am going to make sure that there are these images that help tell the story and represent something within the everyday activity. 

Work Record 2 - Dog Duties

Work Record - Dog Duties 

 Image 1 

Evaluation - This photograph above from my second shoot which concentrated on 'Dog Duties' is one of my favourite ones that I took. The image correctly displayed what I wanted it to which is the putting on of Cody's harness but it also shows the bond between my sister and my dog. When putting on his harness it is always a struggle as he gets so overwhelmed and axcited that he bounces around the living room. However, when my sister tells him to sit that is exactly what he does, without messing around he'll allow her to put it on him. The camera settings I used for the image have  a lot to do with why I love the outcome so much. The focus of the photo makes it appear very professional and highlight that most important part. I achieved this effect of the background being out of focus by using F5.6, this allowed me to hav e ashallow depth of field but still allow sharp focus of my dig but also my sister who is slightly behind him. I also think that the exposure of the photo is perfect, everything is very well lit by the natural lighting but isn't overexposed, I done this by using a shutter speed of 1/80secs and an ISO 800. This allowed the natural lighting of the photograph to shine through by making the photo appear how you would see it with your own eyes. 

  

Editing - When it came to editing I wanted to keep it looking natural by not adjusting the lighting too much as it was available light I used in the first place. Therefore to just adjust the effect slightly I moved the lower part of the line on curves just below where it was, this made the shadows around my sisters face and the objects in the background stand out a lot more. I like the look this gave the image as it made it more defined and look more finished but still natural. The next aim of mine was to level out the red tint in the photograph, as you can see from the top image there is a slight red tint from the light which was made more evident when adjusting the image on curves. Therefore I used to colour balance tool whereby I moved the top bar which is the red to cyan glance more towards cyan, taking away the redness. 

Image 2 

Evaluation - The image above is one of my favourites from the shoot as it portrays the everyday life of my dog in quite an interesting way. I took this image oft dog drinking his water in he garden on a very sunny day so the lighting that is used is all natural, none of it contributed by me. One of my favourite aspect of this photo is the perspective it has which is from right over the top of my dogs head showing his drinking from a birds-eye view. The photograph was taken on the patin and you can see around my dog is little patches of wet where he had run through the puddle formed by the hose and ran round the tiles leaving small paw prints. The lighting has definitely helped make this image the interesting photo it is, I wanted to keep the brightness that the sunny day had brought but not make my photograph overexposed, to od this is use d airy fast shutter speed of 1/1000seconds which let in next to no light but compensated it with ISO 800 to get the focus and exposure I wanted. This has worked really well as in the photo we can see the shadow at the top of the photo very harsh due to the brightness of the light but also a slight reflection off of the drinking bowls in the photo. 

Editing - When I was editing this image I wanted to convert it to black and white to really add emphasis to the contrasting areas of the photograph. Therefore on Phtooshop I ued the Black and White tool to convert the image. This tool was useful in helping me to really make the contrast between light and dark pop rather that it just being greyscale. As is evident from the image above, I focused most of the dark areas on the former green and red parts, this made the detail on the patio stand out and the wet areas a lot darker. I really like the stark effect this has made on the image by making it appear very purposefully contrasted. 

Progression - Overall, i think this shoot went really well as I am very happy with the way most of the images turned out. They all correctly portray what i wanted them too which was the everyday life of caring for  a dog. The images show the fun and the practical side of this all in different ways and from interesting perspectives. It shows a side to my dog that is very sweet but also the side where he is hyper and excited. In my next shoot I am going to continue in this style of using different angles, natural light and focusing some images on objects as this has worked really well for me. However I am going to concentrate on eliminating any movement I get in my images as there still are a few that are blurry as a result of it. 

Work Record 1 - Family Night

Work Record - Family Night 

Image 1 

Evaluation - I really like the outcome of this image as it has an interesting composition and the lighting of it makes it appear dark purposefully, not underexposed. To get this effect I used shutter speed 1/60sec, F5 and ISO 800. These camera settings allowed me to get a good amount of light in the photo without making it over exposed. I wanted to achieve this dark effect as the title of these photos was 'Family Night' and needed to be taken when we were all together. The F Stop 5 ensured that I got the foreground in focus but the background like the clock slightly out of focus which made the image have depth. I also really like the light just above my sisters which is coming from the lamp, where the room is dark and I didn't use the flash the light turned slightly orange and looked very soft adding to the relaxed atmosphere.

Editing - When editing this image I decided to turn down the brightness just slightly because I liked the atmosphere that the image had when it was a little bit darker. I then wanted to define the colours of the light a little bit more and make the shadows of the image stand out therefore I used curves to achieve this by turning down the lower part of the line which then made the lines of the photo much more prominent. 

Image 2 

Evaluation - The result of this image is very interesting as I think it has an original perspective and the way the people in it are laid out in a line adds a lot of depth. The line from the front of the image acts as a leading line that guides your eyes right through the centre of the photo. The camera settings used for this photo were shutter speed 1/60secs, F5 and ISO 800. By using this F Stop it allowed me to make sure the focus of the image was only on my Nan and the further into the image you go the more out of focus it is. Overall, this made for a very interesting image that I think is one of the best from my first shoot. 

Editing - To edit this image I wanted to convert it to Black and White as I thought this would enhance the shadows of the photo. I also thought that it would make the focus of the image more prominent as the front which is my Nan I tried to lighten using the bars on Black and White. To do this I moved the yellow and the Cyan up slightly as this brightened the light parts of her hair and clothing giving her a slight glow compared to the rest of the image. 

Progression - This being my first shoot, it isn't the best I can achieve. This shoot was a way of me finding out where I want to go with the project, what works and what doesn't so much. I think from reviewing what I have produced here I have come to the conclusion of what I need to add to further shoots and what effects I like. In future shoots, I am going to try focus on the objects included in the scenes as this will enhance the story behind the shoots and break up some of the more complicated images. I have also found from this shoot that I really like the Black and White effect that I might try to introduce in later editing.