Unit9:Photography techniques- task 11-Evaluation

How did you decide what area to do your exhibition on?

For this unit we studied photography techniques, this was to then build knowledge on different styles of photography and photographers to finally create our own photography exhibition. During the early stages of the project we had to firstly get inspiration we used lots of different sources to find out more about photography witch we were unsure about before, we used websites including:

http://www.magnumphotos.com/ http://life.time.com/ http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/

These websites were very useful when trying to find inspiration as it gave clear variety of all different types of photography: Portrait, landscape etc. This gave us a wide range of inspiration, WE THEN GAVE THESE TOPICS A GO!

We then went out of the class with a partner and we were given a camera. We were asked to take a variety of images including Abstract, Portrait, Macro and Architectural. We went out around the school and took masses of photos of all these different genres. This gave us an understanding of how tricky it may be or how to take a successful shot. When we came back to the class we uploaded all of our images and then had a good look at them and uploaded them to out blogs.

After uploading all of my images I look at them in detail to see what they came out like. We then used these photos to create a portfolio meaning we would upload each genre we preferably took our best/ favourite images from each section and then wrote about them in a PowerPoint.

We then had a final decision to indicate what we are going to do for our exhibition. After a long hard look at all of our images we decides what to do, mine was portrait. I picked this because this was the section that really interested me and I would love to do my own interpretations of other people work. I also knew this would be simple and I would not have trouble taking my images as there would always be somebody I could take a shoot on.

Where did I get inspiration from?

There are many source and things I used to gain inspiration for my exhibition. Most of this came from websites and photographers most of the websites I used I have said above in the opening paragraph. Whilst using the websites I came across some really talented and amazing photographers, they really caught my eye and this made me want to my own interpretation off. Here are a few of the artist that caught my eye:

Lee Jeffries:

I am really font of lee Jefferies as I believe his images are very meaningful and show lots. I wanted to do interpretations of this as I think that is an amazing technique and he has inspired me greatly through my project.

What equipment did I use to create my project?

During the project we used a variety of different equipment to insure we could capture the best shots possible. We used cameras including Canon 600D these are amazing cameras that are a big help to taking some amazing photos, they are also very simple to use and take great photos once you have got the hang of them. One amazing quality they have is the setting on the camera include lots of genres including: Portrait, Close up’s, Sport and many more. This make the aperture and shutter speed suitable for these sections making your photos crisp and exposed to precise. There are also other setting you can adjust on the menu this included colour setting like monochrome and sepia. Other accessories like grids to create lift side third images and more good quality techniques to insure great images. We also used tripods to make sure the images weren’t blurred.

Did I edit any of my photos if so how?

Before After

This is one of the images I edited fully as I believe that once it was edited it would be one of my best images. This I s a step by step of how I created this image:

1. Firstly I opened the images in Photoshop and unlocked the layer.

2. I then went to image and then pressed ‘auto colour’

3. I then went on image-adjustments-HDR toning.

4. I then used the control panel to adjust the setting to create an affect that I liked.

5. I then pressed okay and saw that the images were complete. I then went back to see if there were any other adjustment I could make to improve my images and if so I went back on this setting and did so.

Have I learnt any new skills or tools?

Yes, during this project I have learnt new thing that I have never come across before. One of the newest things I discovered to do was HDR toning this was a technique to adjust different factors of the images for example you could change the Exposure, Detail, Gamma, Shadows and more. This is a very complex technique however once you have used it more than once and got the hang of it it’s a piece of cake. I also only just figured out how to use auto colour this is very simple as all it takes is a click of a button this improves your picture colour and makes it a better quality.

1. Auto colour- Firstly you just unlock the layer and then go to image then auto colour.

2. HDR Toning- Firstly you go to image then adjustments and finally down to HDR toning, I then adjusted the setting to make the photos how I intended it to be.

IMAGE POSITIVES NEGATIVES

Am I pleased with this image/10

1. Very detailed and good quality images.2. Successful macro images like I was planning to get.3. I like the way I have focused the images on the plant and have kept the background blurred. This was due to me using a shallow depth of field.

The one main negative with this image is that I could have taken more time and effort to edit this image. I believe that this could have made this images better as I could of added extra effects to make this image a better quality.

6 /10

I have created a left side third images I believe this makes people see different messages through the image. I have edited this image making some of it in monochrome (black and white) and some I left in colour this is also called colour splash.

The negative about this photo is that the background didn’t really match the message I was trying to portray I was trying to show a mysterious atmosphere however this wasn’t shown.

7 /10

This was my favourite image because I took my time to edit and make it look at a good standard. I used HDR toning this allowed me to adjust the detail, gamma, exposure. I think this images came out at a good quality.

The only thing that I believe is negative about this image was the exposure but I still think it is a brilliant image as this didn’t effect it much.

8/10

The positives of this image are that where I have used colour splash the colour really pierces through creating a mixed atmosphere of sad and happy. I like the way I have used the strips as I think the colour stand out more for the viewers to see.

However I believe that when you look at it I think it’s quite hard to conceive because the colours are bright. 5/10

I think this image has been taken and shows real detail. I think the contrast of colours work well as the lighter colours in the hair link well with the brick wall background.

However I wanted to create a more mysterious atmosphere to portray that you can’t judge a book by its cover. 6/10

I also really like this image because I have used the HDR toning to create the mysterious atmosphere. I have used this tool to make the detail strong and the shadow also strong.

However I do believe this image is a bit to dark as it was slightly under exposed however I do believe it help with the message and atmosphere I was attempting to create through my images.

7.5/10

I think that all my images went as they were planned to. I used drawings as a guide to make sure I take all the images I was hoping to do. I also wanted to create interpretations of other photographers like Lee Jeffries and I think that I have done this through the course of the project. However some did not go to plan because I based my project on just ‘Portrait’ however I added in macro as well. I done this because I believe that you need to look closer at a person to see the real them, this is why I added macro because macro focuses on looking at things a lot closer and in better detail. I believe this links them together as if you look at a person closer you see the real them. This mean some images weren’t as planned however I believe this was a good idea because I think it links them together perfectly. I also done this because I think that using more than genre shows I have a capable understanding of more than one photography section. I think that I have improved as a photographer massively because I now have a wider knowledge of different types of photography and

have even given them a go. I think this now shows that I have a clear understanding off all however a better understand in certain ones like Portrait and Macro.

If I was going to do this project again I would make sure that I took more time in planning I think this because if you have an organised easy to understand plan it makes the project also easier to do because you have a clear plan and you have less chance of having any problems. I would also give a different genre a go because this would widen my range of knowledge in photography.