Final Images

Final Images 

Below you will find the best photographs that I have taken or edited in the preparatory shoot section. 

Computer Experiments

Computer Experiments 

Computer experiment 1 - 
Below are three images I have created in the style of John Stezaker. John was one of the first photographers that I researched as one of my initial ideas. Therefore this is my first attempt at his work. I done this to help me decide between whether to carry out his style or Abelardo Morell's.

 The above images were created using Photoshop. The images I have used for these experiments were previously edited within their own blog posts, shoot 1 and shoot 3 therefore I didn't have to take many steps when creating the images. The only thing I had to do was copy the pattern images as a new layer to the portray ones. To do this I used the select tool, copied them and then pasted them into the correct image. When in the multiple layer image I pressed on the pattern layer so that I could scale it. To do this I went to the 'transform' setting to select scale and move the photograph to where I wanted it. This is all I had to do for these edits and I think they turned out pretty well.  

Computer experiment 2 - 

The two images above were made from shoot 2 and shoot 4. These included landscape images from Kew Gardens and interior photographs from my house. I wanted to merge the two to create a camera obscura effect therefore testing what I was going to do throughout the rest of my work. I think they turned out well and gave me a clear indication as to the types of images I would be creating and how I could work with that further. 

Below are the screenshots from photoshop to show how I done this - 

The first step in this process was to rotate the image by 180 degrees as that is how the landscape would appear on a normal camera obscura. I then used the quick selection tool to outline the landscape in order to move it onto the interior image.  

Once I had moved the image over I decreased the opacity to make it look more realistic. As if this was a real projection on the landscape the interior would be seen through it. I changed the opacity down to about 30% which gave the effect above.  

I then used the dodging and burning tool to blend the landscape to the wall. This helped to make it look like a projection, making the overall appearance of the image much better. 

I then used the curves tool to improve the appearance of the interior as it is primarily white therefore by increasing the curve it increased the shadows in the duvet. 

I like the overall appearance of these two images as they gave the same appearance as the camera obscura does. This gives me a good indication to the way the rest of my project will appear and how I can experiment with it going forward. 

Shoot 3 - portraiture

Portraiture 

Plans for shoot - My plan for this shoot was to take some images of a person in order to use them with my images from the 'patterns from Kew Gardens' post. These images will be in the style of John Strezaker. 

Photographers research - John Stezaker 

The idea I will be carrying out below is one of my two initial ideas for the topic 'transformation'. In this instance, I will be experimenting with the work of John Stezaker, especially the work he titles 'masks'. After carrying this out I will be deciding between this idea and the camera obscura idea to see which one works better. 

John's style includes overlaying landscapes or flowers onto portraits which acts as a mask. I really like this idea and would like to try it myself. Below are some examples of Stezaker's work:

Contact Sheets 

Best Images 

AO2 - For this shoot I used a tripod in order to get an image with no blur. This was important because any kind of blur in a portraiture photograph will show up. I also tried to use the whitest background I could so that my images reflected that of John Stezaker, whereby there's no confusion in the background, its just white. I feel that this makes the viewer focus on the subject and the concept at hand as anything in the background would be irrelevant. 

As for camera settings I tried to stick to ISO 100 in order to keep the noise in my photos down. This worked well as the room I was taking the photographs in was bright and mostly white therefore I needed no more light. I kept the aperture at F5.6 the whole way through as it increased the amount of light going into the camera whilst really focusing on my subject. As you can see from the images above I had no issues with focusing, the F5.6 worked well at the distance I was. Lastly, I mainly stuck to shutter speed 1/8seconds as this seemed to give the correct exposure in this setting. This stayed quite stable throughout the shoot as I didn't move the camera at all. 

Editing 

Below I will show the editing process of one of the images I have done: 

The first step I took on this image was adjusting the exposure and highlights so that it was a little bit more exposed. I done this because the before image was slightly shadowy and therefore had some dark and blank areas. 

The next thing I did was use curves, I only made slight adjustments as I wanted some of the detail to be brought back from when I overexposed the image. 

Lastly I wanted to de-saturate the image slightly as I felt that the yellow jumper could overpower the other image I insert when it comes to the experimentation. 

This is a different image that I edited however I wanted to show how I converted it into black and white. I used the black and white tool to adjust the different colours in the image as I thought getting the yellow on the jumper was very important in the overall appearance of the photo. 

AO3 & AO4 - If I was to shoot this again I would try to find a background that was entirely white therefore there wouldn't be any lines in it. However, in this instance I didn't have access to a studio so had to find a white wall in my home to use that had good lighting. This shoot is going to be used going forward to explore the work of John Stezaker. I will be using these images in conjunction with shoot shoot 1 in order to make these images. 

Experimentation 

Below are the images I have created using this shoot and shoot 1. They are in the style of John Stezaker, overlaying landscapes or patterns onto portraits. There will be further explanation on how I achieved this in the 'computer experiments post'. 

Shoot 7 - Clouds

Clouds 

Plans for the shoot - My plan for shoot 7 was to test out how a camera obscura would work in my parent's bedroom. It is different to rooms I have done before as it has two windows (one at each end) therefore controlling the light would be more tricky. In this shoot, I also planned to test out using mirrors to reflect where the light and consequently the landscape would go in the room. 

Photographers research - In this shoot, I was influenced by both Marja Pirila and Ethan Jackon. Marja's work is reflected in mine through using a subject and showing close-ups of the landscape. Ethan's style comes from having the landscape reflect in different places such as the ceiling, this is what I tried in this shoot. 

Marja Pirila                                                                                                             Ethan Jackson 

AO1 - My shoot reflects the work above as in the shoot I worked with the clouds mainly as opposed to the main landscape. I tried to make the clouds go onto my subject similar to the Marja Pirila image showing how the person is at one with their surrounding. The second photograph shows Ethan Jackson's work of having clouds on the ceiling, I tried to use the clouds in my work and direct them to different areas of the room. 

Contact Sheets 

Best Images 

AO2 - In this shoot I used a tripod as I needed a steady base in order to carry out the long shutter speed times that I needed. By using a tripod it allowed me to exposure the camera obscura room for a decent amount of time, helping me achieve the images above. However, using a tripod did have some restrictions, especially when trying to shoot the ceiling as the camera couldn't angle that way very effectively. This caused me to shorten one of the legs and hold the tripod as still as I could in order to eliminate blur. 

As for camera setting, they have been kept near enough the same throughout most of my shoots with the shutter speed being the only thing that majorly varies. In this shoot, I had an ISO 100 throughout so that my images were crisp and had no noise. I also kept the camera on F22, the largest aperture on my camera as this gave  me a wide depth of field that I needed to shoot the room. Lastly there was the shutter speed, in this shoot the shutter speed was a lot shorter than the others I have done. This is due to the effectiveness of the dark room element, the room I was working with has two windows, one at either end which made it harder to cover all of the light. Therefore the room was slightly lighter than previous times. However, this wasn't an issue as I used shutter speeds varying between 5 - 20 secs depending on the angle and light coming in at that exact moment. 

Editing 

The images above are both edited in similar ways. The main aspects of the photographs I had to focus on were the saturation and the exposure. Below is a before and after of one of the images and how I achieved the change: 

This is the original image and as you can see the exposure is slightly off, giving my subject as strange shadow around the bottom of her chin. 

The first step in Photoshop was to use the NEF exclusive stage. In this I mainly focus on increasing the whites and highlights and decreasing the blacks and shadows. This helped lighten the image, bring out detail in the clouds. 

Secondly, I used the exposure tool when opened into main Photoshop. This further increased the highlights helping to further reduce the shadows around my subject. 

Next, I used the curves tool but changed the setting to 'blue'. This was to ensure that I was only editing the blue tones in the image, which only happens to be the clouds from the landscape. By using this tool it transformed my overall image, improving the saturation and the 'dreamy' effect of the photograph. 

This is the final result and I think it has turned out really well. I like the feeling of the image and the way the subject and landscape are both of equal importance, it has a good balance to it. This end photo has also had the 'dodge' tool used around the subjects face and neck to further bring them out of the shadow. 

This image has been re-edited as I felt that it was still too dark. To do this I used the exposure tool to further brighten the photo and then the burning tool to keep the detail in the clouds. I then used saturation to bring the bright blue of the sky back to the image, I feel that this worked better than the previous final edit. 

AO3 & AO4 - As this is one of my last shoots in the preparatory section I feel it is one of my better ones. Despite not producing many best images from it I think the ones I have chosen are powerful and meaningful with good technique. This shoot has further helped me decide where I will be shooting in my exam as I now know which rooms work best with my camera obscura concept I feel that I have refined my technique in this shoot and am therefore ready to produce some of my final pieces. 

Evaluation

Evaluation 

For my component 2 and exam I am producing work based on the title of 'transformation'. The main idea behind my transformation work is Camera Obscura as used by Abelardo Morell in the exam brief, however at the beginning of my project I explored the work of John Stezaker as can be seen in 'Shoot 3'. After exploring these two ideas at the beginning I though the camera obscura work went better and was more creative, allowing me to experiment in many different ways.

Work in the style of John Stezaker. 

Work in the style of Abelardo Morell. 

     During my preparatory shoots as shown on this blog I have explored different rooms of my house to achieve this effect and found the ones that work best. The best ones being the brightest rooms usually on the top floor of my house, these rooms are the ones I will be taking forward in order to shoot my final images for the exam. As evident from my blog posts, I have started to improve the technique making my images more crisp and the landscape more vibrant. This has all been through refining my technique, identifying the problem and finding a solution. I have found that using a smaller hole as the lens makes for a sharper image, improving the overall appearance of the photograph. Another aspect I have discovered is using 'time' as my shutter speed setting on my camera as this allowed me to exceed the numbered maximum of 30seconds. I am now using a shutter speed of around 2-3minutes depending on the room, this has made my images better exposed as I am allowing more light into the camera. By doing all of this, I have provided myself with the best basis for the exam, I am much clearer now on what I am doing with the camera obscura and what works best. 

     For my shoots I have been using a tripod as I have been using shutter speeds higher than one minute. This is very important as without a tripod my images would all be blurry due to it being impossible to keep still for that amount of time. This has also been helpful when trying my multiple-expsure images as the longer the photograph takes the bette the outcome. I have also discovered that using an aperture of F22 works the best, giving me a wide depth of field and ensuring that the whole image is in focus as opposed to having a shallow depth of field. By having everything in focus it allows the viewer to feel like they are in that environment which is the aim of my work, to give an idea of the life of the subject within the image. As for my ISO I have allowed that to change accordingly, it depends on where I am shooting and how bright it is as to determine the light sensitivity needed however I do try to keep it as low as possible.

Multiple-exposure image. 

I think that the work I have produced is creative and original. I have enjoyed exploring this rare technique that we don't see often in the photography world as I have learnt something new. Camera obscura has allowed me to experiment with different ideas I have, whilst incorporating working with a subject and getting the landscape outside right, all of which has improved my skill as a photographer. The work I have produced so far has gone well and my work records show how I have refined my work as the shoots progress. This will be further refined going in the exam as I am familiar with the technique and how I should approach it.

My proposal for my exam is to show the environment in and around my house by using three different rooms and showing the events that take place in them. These rooms will all be turnt into camera obscura's to show the exterior as well as the interior of the subjects lives. I have decided to do this to show the importance of a persons living environment and how it has an effect on who they are and the way we perceive them.