test shots - black and white - towards final project - studio

black and white studio images  

human form / erotic studio images 

test shots / first shoot 

These images are from my first shoot for my final idea where I will be exploring the human form but all linking this idea to semi erotic imagery. in these shots i wanted to to photographing close up images of selected parts of the body but also slightly wider angle shots to see which i preferred and how i could use these in my final idea. 

i have chosen to do these in a studio with a black back ground because as well as using them as full images , im also going to experiment with using image manipulation for example cutting out and morphing / warping body parts to make an almost abstract image showing the human form in a different way to the human eye sees it . i would like to experiment with this because as well as pushing the idea of the erotic and also natural side of the human body i want to show this in a way that the on looking subject will have to work and focus on select points in a way that they have to piece the body together in there own head. 

my main reason for this idea is because I want to show the the naked and natural human body inst just a tool with an erotic media focus but can also been seen as art and show in more way than a portrait in high key in a new paper or magazine. 

i used 2 studio lights for this but also experimented with one light depending on the shots. whilst doing this i used split lighting / side lighting / one light focused on the front of the model / one light focused on the back of the model / one light on medium with soft box and the other on low with no soft box . 

i found that the lighting set up that worked best was to use a light on high with the soft box to the back of the model and a low light to the side. i also found the using on light to the back or side of the subject worked really well . i liked these because the subject was well lit and showed detail but still gave some shadowing coming in from the black background that almost moulded into the the subject which i really liked and thought blended well. 

i have also picked black and white for these because i want to focus and the shapes , tones and lines of the subject rather than the colour which i see as distracting and would lead away from the main focus of the form of the body . 

when editing these i used camera raw and the images where already converted to black and white in camera. when editing these lowered the shadows and black to give a darker outline around the subject and to also bring the shadow over the body more because i really liked the effect of it almost wrapping its self around the body changing its shape . i also lowered the light on some images as the paler skin parts became brighter than other for example this mostly happened on the stomach as this was a paler area of skin. 

overall i really like how these have turned out epically the lighting and the and the way that it lights up the subject but still produces shadowing around the edges of the image. the thing i think is best about these is how the dark back ground and shadowing link together to make the body shape stand out as the black moulds around , this will be use full for me when trying my next step of cutting out the body to experimenting with my abstract image . when doing these again i will try more close up shots so that i can use these to practice my image manipulation . i will also experiment more with different lighting set ups and positioning my models.  

Seamus Murphy - insulations - let England shake

let England shake  

link to video :   http://www.seamusmurphy.com/Films/12-Short-Films-for-PJ-Harvey/1

This short video by Seamus Murphy  shows what i think represents a broken and shaken britan 

i think this is shown in a great way in which the mood is set by the old man sat in his home environment reading what seems to be a poem or script that sets a deep sad feeling , the effect is also added to by the man tone of voice which is low and deep almost like he is getting deeper into the sense of darker as he reads on. The camera shot for this has his head and shoulders only  , but what i epically like about this is how the image is composed because with the strong use of depth in the background this to me is already showing the photographers take to this piece.  

as the music begins in this (accentual a music video) , it uses a establishing shot showing a broken deserted theme park / fun fair. this i think represents the broken country we live in and the emptiness and broken feeling of the people that have been lost or left behind. . i also think that this could be showing The change between the innocents of being a child to then becoming an adult in what we now see as a broken world , as the shield of a fun filled life as a child is taken awayand your almost sent to fight the war that is life. the scene that i think shows this the most is the punch and Judy scene which starts with close ups of the dolls that represent a fun child hood experience of laughter but the faces have a scarier more broken feeling to them , this is when i think you can see the representation between the loose of child hood and becoming an adult. as this scene goes on it goes to some long shots and more close ups as the typical punch and Judy show id preformed but with a more sinter feel with the faces of the dolls becoming more warped. 

The scene that i think shows the feel of a broken deserted place and stands out the most to me is the caracel horses which uses a range of wide and close up shots to film the horses spinning round empty along with this it also uses tilted shots to get the bright spinning lights of the ride . these to me make me feel like the blurred and content spinning represents the out of control wurl wind of a life that we life in and that may have dragged us to this deservedness 

Through out watching this  i love the way you can see the photographers composition for example the depth of field and way in which people are angles in images to make them site in line almost with the backgrounds. i also think you can see this with the use of shadowing in the scene of the theme park . i love the way that this almost looks like the still image but has been interpreted into a film piece and show the moving shadow of on looking objects. 

overall i really like the way that this film has been put together and how with the competition of  each scene almost seems to be a collection of well composted images. i also like the simplicity to this with no after effects and what seems to be a piece with minimal editing giving a feel of a realistic documentary or street photography piece. this i think works well with the broken dark feel to the film. 

i think that a piece like this could link into my work when experimenting with the human form . i think that this may be a good secondary way to show my work with music added to a short film showing the human form not just in still images but in scenes representing each individual person and there own unique body. 

Image manipulation - Irene

Image manipulation using Photoshop 

 

 

 

I have been experimenting with image manipulation using Photoshop and  trying out different tools and technique to produce manipulated images , that although they look surreal and not what the natural eye would see still blend together to make one image instead of several small one (e.g. collage) . 

 

The main tools that used to create my image was the pen tool I used this so that I could practice cutting images out because this I think is one of the most useful tool when doing this kind of work. when picking the images to use for this I was looking for them to have lighting that would blend well together because I didn't want them to all clash with other with light coming in from different angles. I used several blending modes and changed levels and opacity on images to get help blend the light from each image into each and how the light was hitting the images and creating shadows etc.

I think this working quiet well but when doing this again I would like to use more of my own images because then I can control the light rather than using stock images or poor quality images from search engines. I also think this would produce a better quality image.

I also used the warp tool on the tall building to stretch them out and look like the getting taller and taller stretching towards the sky which then made my subject look even bigger.

When planning and creating this image I didn't have a set plan or an idea I just wanted to base I surreal type image around the image I had of my nephew , this image was brightly lit from the front using a flash so this then blended in well with the bright lights flashing from the lighting back ground that then blends to look light its bighting the whole image.  

 

overall I think that the individual images in this blend well together get make one image and this was a good practice at basic photo manipulation .  next time I will practice more of the basic skills but also look into the more advanced side of photo manipulation. this is something I think I would like to use in my final piece because I think this would link well with the surreal abstract images that I want to produce using the human form.  I will research this future in later posts.

 

 

 



sam taylor wood - still life

Sam Taylor wood - still life   

Sam taylor wood is an English film maker photographer and visual artist.  Through out her work she uses a this mix to create pieces that are extremely powerful . She uses a lot of dark emotion in her pieces for example the still life rotting fruit and the still images of her strung from a ceiling in her house. 

This piece in particular is said to give the sense of hanging between heaven and earth .

I think her mix still and moving insulations is something I would like to look into more when showing my work mainly because of the way she frames for pieces like painting which gives the mix of  new media and old style painting which i find eye catching.

This video shows the work of sam taylor wood I think this has an amazing in site on to how  she creates her work and also the many different reasons that she shows her work in the way she does.
The way in which this is filmed is quiet eye catching as well with the mix of shots . The scenes that show her work use wide shots and close up shots along with panning. which I think works really well because you can explore the detail in the work.
The in the scenes where Sam or other people are talking a head and shoulders shot is used which I think puts clear focus on the subject.

video:

This video is an example of a stop motion video , this uses a collection of images put together in video editing software makes a piece that then looks like a video. to do this takes can take hundreds of images even thousands. to make even a short video.  this piece i think would have taken weeks to do and thousands of images. this is because each individual stage of the fruit  decaying would of had to be photographs top link together , i think this may have been done every half an our each day because of the detailed small changes. 

I really like the way this piece has been put together and the way that the images is composed like an old style still life image. I think that using stop motion to project this work , draws you in especially with this piece. i normally find still life a bit boring because they all look like old paintings but when they are shown like this it makes you looked at the detail in the images and the change in light more closely as you watch the images switch in sequence.  

The narrative in this image i think shows growing older and the on going decay of life . as the fresh new born child begins its life like the fresh new fruit that then as it grows older breaks down and  begin to rot , decay and wither away like as people get older  and slowly  begin to decay like the fruit . heading for the end of life.

This music video by sam taylor wood :
There is only one shot this through out which is head and shoulders , With the subject positioned in the centre. In this video i think you can see that a photographer has composed this because of the positioning of the shot and the slight depth.
I really like the way the music links with the beginning scene as the singing begins and the spring open . This I think catches your attention straight away and makes you want to watch more,
I  also think that this is a powerful video because of the eye connection between the subject and the camera . This i think makes you look into the mind of the subject and wonder why he has lack of emotion . Which I then think makes you imagine your own narrative to the piece. 

poster making for german sheperd rescue

poster making for the German Shepard rescue 

I have been hired by the uk German shepherd rescue to design and make there poster and flyers for online and print purposes . I m going to link this in with the advanced photographic teqnique module . by using the Photoshop teqniques and tutorials that I experiment with into practice.  I will also be using this as part of the professional side because this is a client and I will also be producing my own images of the dogs for them to use in my posters. This I think is good experience in working in the photography and mix media industry for a client. 

The first set of posters that I have been asked to produce are the Christmas poster for Christmas markets these I had a dead line of a week to produce 4 and was the hardest because I don't have a wide range of knowledge and I do struggle with Photoshop  so im learning as I go along along with having basic skills to begin with. as I make these poster I aim to increase my knowledge and by doing this get this to a professional stander and I will evaluate this along the way.

 This is the first poster I produced I used photoshop to cut out all the individual items on this and I do like the final out come but when I look at the later  posters I have now produced I can see the flaws in this . for example I think things need to be lined and straighten  up and also I think it is slightly cluttered. whilst doing this though I have improved my cutting out skills on Photoshop which I struggled with.

 These next 2 poster I mad around the same time and due to lack of back ground because I haven't been able to find images that aren't pixelated i also think that this background really works with the Christmas theme.
these i think have turned out a lot better especially with the lining up words etc. i also think my cutting out has improved which makes the images blend into the poster more. i also think that this poster looks more professional than the first and flows better. 




my next step will be to do more tutorial on tools for Photoshop and poster making so i can improve my skills to a more professional stranded and then link the teqniques in with my photographic work.



bill violas's Martyrs altarpiece

bill violas martyrs altarpiece :  resource used http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2014/may/21/bill-viola-matryr-video-installation-st-pauls

im looking at this collection in compare sent with not only the video side to this project but also the professional project to look at different ways in which to exhibition work.
this project is done by using video insulation . This I think is a really expressive way to show work and gives a deeper feeling I think because you feel like you can connect more with the moving image in a way in which almost leads you into the screen . 
This I think works really well with this project drawing you into the emotion of these already deep images.
I also really like this work and the creative way in which he has managed to show the individual elements and also link this with suffering and redemption of religious martyrdom . I feel that this is shown in not only a powerful way with out pushing the religious side of the images in a way that would inflict for or against people religious beliefs. 

I love the way these  images are constructed with the lighting for each image drawing you into the emotion of each individual one. for example the image in which the man is buried the lighting on the has darker shadows but still gives enough light to focus on the main point of focus the man. 
I especially like the image on the man hanging by his legs with wrists bound. this I think push's the feeling of a religious image more than the others with it to me looking like a sacrifice , almost like Jesus on the cross and other religious images you see printed on large pains in church.

overall I really love the power in this study and I think the way in which it is shown using video insulation which I think would attract more ppl to see this because its something different which people in today world are looking for .  I think that I would like to use something along these line to show my own work but  I would also like to use sound to draw people attention into my work more.

advanced digital photography panoramic experiment 1

panoramic experiment 1

black and white montage market square Nottingham

 This is my first attempt a creating a panaramic. i did this by taking images at the same level and of the same scene but then moving the camera along in a straight line so that each time there is about 30 % of the image person in the frame to overlap so that when i then put these together in Photoshop they then connected together with no white line or gaps.  This i think turned out quite well for my first try and most of the images linked well together . i feel that i managed  to leave enough space to over lap the images so they connected well .but when moving the camera to the side i have change the levels slightly so it has made the image on a slight slope and also made it difficult to connect the images evenly.  when  try this again i will work on keep the levels the same to create a straight even image. but over all im really pleased with my first .  i have decided to have this in black and white because i love the shapes and tones that black and white images create and i will be be sing a lot of this over this project as it is my preferred style.

 the single black and white images below show the original images that i took and then checked to black and white in camera raw before importing into Photoshop and put together a as a panoramic image.

editing process

• open a3 photoshop file landscape  
• resize to long panoramic by x height by 6 
• open another a3 blank document turn landscape use this to re size the images.

•  insert image into resizing document  
• edit / transform to scale  
• drag to resized a3 panoramic file place 

1. repeat this 
2. then drag him so that it is in line with the first 
3. repeat this until all images are in line  
4. crop any white left on image 
5. merge all layers 
6. edit level to give the tones in the image the look you want.  

then save image  that is the process that i used to get my final image. 



advanced digital photography video ( irene)

video using dslr cameras these unlike other video cameras these give a much higher spec because of the larger sensor . This is done by using the video camera setting on the dial at the top of most dslr cameras. when using this it is best to use a tripod so that the level of the shot stays even and also so there is no camera shake giving a clear piece.

when editing this there are a variety of different editing software's but I will be using adobe premiere this is because I have used this before and I feel that this ill give the  best over all look to the video with its high spec and professional out take. I also think that this offers the best range of editing tools that on a basic level are easiest to learn to then progress to a higher level of editing.     

 

 these to videos show the beginners guide and basic editing teqniques in premiere pro these I think are the  most helpful videos that I have found and will help me to practice this when begging to edit film.

this is one the things that I find the hardest but I will use tutorials like this to learn the teqniques over the project to produce a well composed and edited film.

I will be adding to this post as I look at more tutorials and begin to practice this.

advanced digital photography image manipulation (irene)

This is an editing teqnique that can be achieved using many different applications (software) for example phone apps for amuterus to photoshop and light room for professionals.
orginally this was done for printed images by using ink , paint and double exposure this was all done on the negatives or prints before the age of digital . I think that this is an amazing way of editing and it would be great to learn the process. but this did make the ideas and final out come of images more limited on like with today digital age and consent expanding software that now give you almost endless range if editing .
when looking at the earlier images though I found a world war 1 battle image that has used the teqnique of double exposure I think that this is a great image and it has made me what to experiment with printing as well as digital to compare the differences in the final out comes .
This has now lead  to todays digital of manipulating images in Photoshop and other digital software. these images show an idea some times simple but other times out of this world and surreal that is based around the photographs idea that cannot be create in everyday life (e,g the real world). this I think is one of the teqniques that gives you the space to use your imagination to its fullest. 

this YouTube video shows a simple step by step

 guide to image manipulation . this isn't one of my favourites out of all the teqniques but this video does show an easy  beginners method.
I will use this to experiment with in my own work. 










these are all examples of images using the manipulation teqnique I have picked this because I really like the surreal feeling that they give with a feeling of something that would be used in a game with the first two image. where as the other look like they have more of an artist twist to them with more of a real life mixed fantasy feel.
I would like to experiment with images like these with my own work which I will put in a later post.

  

 

advanced digital photography multiple exposure (irene)

In camera : one way of creating images  is by using multiple exposure in camera .  This is done by using a built.in camera setting that allows you to take ro images and it then process them so they are lated over each other which then create one new image . I think that even though this is a quick way of producing these images that if you want to create a good quality high spec image then using out of camera software will give you a better overall image.

out of camera : This can be done either with a printing process or digitally . 
starting first with multiple exposure in prin ting . this is done by using negatives and over laying the negatives on an enlarger before printing onto photo paper in the darkroom . I think this teqnique is good but it has a lot more limited out come , where as in digital software and options and effects are endless .

out of camera digital double exposure : this teqnique is done using computer software for example photoshop which I  will be using to practice this teqnique . photoshop is my software if choice because I feel that the high spec of the software and range of tools for cresting this exceeds all others and will give a well produced professional image. 

 

this is a Photoshop tutorial that I found on YouTube showing a basic way in which to create the multiple exposure teqnique. this video I think is really help full and shows the teqnique in a clear way which is easy to under stand . along with looking for other more complex tutorials I will use this to experiment with this teqnique.

 these images are all example of digital double exposure I have found whilst researching that I have the black and white images more eye catching and I plan to use black and white in my work whilst following this teqnique . this is because I love the way the bright white back ground lights the whole images and sets of the line and shapes of the dark tones that create the mages.  I especially like the images that show tons , building and roads on people . this is because I love the match of a mixing the living organism of a human with the scape that we have built . this gives a feeling of the idea of today society that originally came from the mind of the human race almost sinking back into our minds.

 

advanced digital photography image composting (irene)

advanced photographic photography moving pictures (irene)

These are still photographs with small elements of movement in them. this is done by using video as the back ground with images over / around this.
This I think is a great teqnique because in today's ever changing media industry the combination gives a new exciting looking image that really catches your eye. This I think would work well in adverts to get the viewer looking closely at the image. 

whilst researching this I have found it difficult to find examples of this but I have found a basic Photoshop tutorial that shows how to make an image move and I think that this could be adapted to match the images that have been  shown in class where only parts of the image are moving . for example cutting the area that you want to move out and putting that after being layered on to the still back ground.

along with this tutorial I can only seem to video tutorials on creating gifs .

advanced digital photography parallax (irene)

This photography uses still images to create a moving animation.
I have watched the video the creators project. (add link ) . this had made me want to look into this further as I find the teqnique extremely interesting. 
The teqnique shows how you can take a range of images and cut , layer etc to turn these Into a moving image giving a 2.5d effect .
to create teqnique  you have to use a multiple range of tools in Photoshop. the overall uses multiple cut out images and layers to create an effect of a moving image almost Look  a slow motion video .
the teqnique is uses widely in adverts and short videos in the commercial media industry for example the wwf video. I think this is a great example with a clear well composed video made up of clear images of an extremely high spec. 

 

I have found it difficult to get images for parallax I think this is because these are all already put together as short videos . below is the video for wwf that shows an amazing video using this teqnique .

https://vimeo.com/50672419

  

This video  below is a tutorial showing step by step how to create a parallax using Photoshop and premier . this I think is a really good video and is easy to follow  I will use this to experiment using my own images.

advanced digital photography : image stacking (irene)

image stacking 

Focus stacking is a technique that extends a photos depth of field. This technique is best for macro and close up photography. This is a great technique because even the highest f - stop can be insufficient to getting everything in focus. but with using this technique this gives an extremely clear point of focus with a wide depth of field , with out loosing  an of the detail in the image. 

The technique is done by photographing the same image with evenly spaced focusing distance (f stop) for each image and making sure that the depth of field for each image then overlaps the one before.  When creating these images the amount of photographs taken depends on the image its self as you have to calculate the amount need for everyone. the final step after getting the images is to use Photoshop or an alternative editing software to then import and stack the images to make one new file.  

 These are examples that i found of colour stacking these have been used in time laps photography to give the effect to the sky that seems to almost drag you back into the image. i also think that these images almost look painted with the sky looking like brush strokes have been added to give lines that follow into the deep backdrop of the bright coloured high contrast sky.
this like other images have looked at give the same colour defention and detail has hdr photography , which i think makes the image stad out even more.

 these next images are print screens i have found of images being edited in Photoshop. i have chosen to add these to my work , because they show a clear view of the stages that you need to go though to produce these images in editing software.  as i begin to work on this technique i   will add my own print screen of images i will produce .  this is another technique that iam looking forward to try out epically with the top images of the time laps sky because i really love the effect and colour in the images.

advanced digital photography (irene) panoramic

panoramic images show the view of the world the we see from our own eye , unlike hdr images where the colour in the images represents the view you get from your eye , this teqnique represents the wide angle image showing a full scale long view of the entire scene . unlike normal 35mm images that crop the images to a smaller scale image size.

In today photographic era this isn't seen to be as complicated a teqnique as in previous years because with on going technology and phone apps this process is open to every one. but this I still think should be seen past the armature low spec app at looked at in a professional manor as the dslr images give a much clearer high detailed image , that can be printed to an size and used for multiple purposes including large scale billboards . 
This is made up of a series of images overlapped that can be stitched together in digital software for example Photoshop which I feel give the tools and graphic to create a high spec well put together image.  

When photographing this the best way is to use a tripod to set up and keep the framing level and well composed for each image . This is extremely important in this teqnique because if the images aren't  level then when stitching them together lines will appear in between and wont give the full effect of one large image instead of a collection of smaller ones. 
like in many other digital editing processes it is best to use raw images for the size and quality and a manual camera setting so you have full control over the image to make the exposure the same each time. 

 These are some examples of panoramic photography that really caught my eye i really like the coloured reflection on the water in the  city images and how the light in the reflection seems to bounce up and light the images.

 the colouring in this i think also links to that of hdr with the bright bold high contrast detail . when i experiment with my own idea i think i could link this to taking images of busy moving round to stick with the bright coloured lights but with adding my own style .
This next image below realy caught my eye as well because it almost looks 3d like it would be used in a graphic piece for some kind of game .

 

The last two images where my favoured and are something i really want to try this is because i love the tone and shapes in all black and white photography and to to see it in an image of this size with the detail and wide angle of the image makes me really want to try this and put it in my own work . when putting htis into my own work i would like to use busy streets full of people to experiment with all the shapes and tones and also a range of different setting and different types of day to see how that changes the narrative and composition of my image.
i will add links to this blog as i experiment with this process