techniques and processes 2b – light 1

what have i done?

Today i have done my second photo shoot, this time portraying my ‘light/good’ side.

I decided to use a white background to help portray the light, using a soft box for the background and a honeycomb light to light myself.

Using capture one software I could see which expressions was working and what wasn’t.

What have i got from it?

I now have more confidence in doing self portraits in the studio, especially using capture one, I feel very confident using the software for this purpose now.

I have a better understanding on how to take self portraits more effectively.

Whats next?

Next is to look at all my images, and see which look good, see if any could be possible for finals.

Next is also to continue with more photo shoots.

Task for Kevin Hiscoe

What have i done?

Today I did a photo shoot for Kevin Hiscoe, as the shoot which we were meant to be assisting with him got cancelled.

The shoot which was perviously planned was to have a Fukllerton-Battern style, having the 1000 mile stare.

We arranged shoots, which looked rather out of place practising the 100o mile stare.

What have i got from it?

I have understood that to make a fashion style shot, the model or person involved does not have to make contact with the camera.

I also have gained more experience in working with others, as we had to problem solve together to use only the objects available in the room.

Whats next?

Next is to apply all i have learnt and use this in all my continuing photo shoots.

techniques and processes 2b – dark 1

what have i done?

Today i had my first shoot in the studio for my self portraits, i decided to keep the background dark to keep with my theme of ‘bad/dark’.

I used a snoot light just above myself to help create a eerie and mysterious atmosphere.

what have i got from it ?

From doing this shoot i realised i was slightly short on time, I have come to the conclusion with this is because I feel i didn’t give myself enough time to prepare beforehand. So from this i have realised i will need to give myself a bit more preparation time.

At the beginning i found it quite difficult to position myself correctly, but once i was shooting for about 10 minutes or so, i managed to figure it out.

whats next?

Next i will give myself more preparation time before photo shoots to make sure they run effectively and are not rushed.

I am also going to be planning more shoots to be done in the studio, continuing from which is stated in my brief.

techniques and processes 2 b – underpainting

What have i done?

Today we had a tutorial and discussion on how to under paint in photoshop.

We got an image of a person, use the brush tool selected soft light, lowered the opacity down slightly, then selected the colour of the skin from where we would like to under paint, and then we slowly painted over the section, for example to get rid of tired eyes.

 

What have i got from it?

I understand another way to use the brush tool effectively, I know understand the term under painting and what it is used for.

I have an understanding of some of the different paint modes that can be used, and what some of them are used for.

Whats next?

Next I may look at some of the other different paint modes and experiment with them and see what effects they give.

I may look at using the under paint tool in some of my work, but i feel in most of my personal work it wont be needed.

techniques and processes 2b- cleaning a white background photoshop

what have i done?

Today we looked at how to clean a white background up in photoshop. We first had a class tutorial on how to do so and discussed any issues and anything we needed to go over again, after the group discussion we then got an image up on our own computers and tried the tasks ourselves.

I made sure to get rid of any visible black marks using the patch and cloning tools, to then see if there was any more black marks, I adjusted the levels which i could then see any remaining  black marks which i could then remove.

 

what have i got from it?

From this task i have understood how to correctly remove black marks, and i also have the knowledge on a few techniques on how to do this for different types of images. I understand how to use the different techniques in relation to shadows and so on.

This task have given me a better understanding on some photoshop skills, and given me some knowledge on other uses which these tools have which i didn’t know of before.

 

whats next?

Next i believe i will continue to use these techniques which i have learnt to clean up any white background which are present within my work, to help keep them clean and professional.

 

techniques and processes 2b – brief

Two sides.

 

 

Throughout this project I am going to be exploring the saying ‘there is two sides to every coin’ and I will be exploring it via self-portraiture. I will be portraying the “light/good” and the “dark/bad” sides of my own personality, via expression, clothing and props relating to that side.

 

To further my knowledge on self-portraiture I will be researching photographers who have done self portraits such as Mariell Amelie and Christina Otero, I will also be looking at editorial portraiture, photo montage as this is a technique I would to experiment with and explore. Not only will I be looking at photographers who have done this techniques but I will also be looking at artists such as David Hockey.

For Technical purposes I will be researching into fibre based paper, as I will be experimenting with this in the black and white darkroom, other techniques I will be looking into are the uses of the capture one software, and photo shop editing techniques such as background clear-out, and photo montage.

 

I will be experimenting with capture one software for the majority of my project, so it is likely my final images will be digital. Most of my work will be shot in the studio, using lighting attachments such as the snoot, beauty dish and soft box.

 

My work is aimed for publication use and possibly exhibition, publications such as Aesthetica and Frieze because these magazines are mostly based around art and culture, and I believe this project has an artistic feel to it. My work could appeal to many ages, it believe it will have an appeal to people who are already keen on arts, culture and photography in general, but I also believe it could target people who are interested in the representations of personality and individuality.

techniques and processes 2b – Medium Format Film

what have i done?

Today we looked at using medium format film, I used the Mamiya 645.

We looked at how to load our 120 film into the camera, and how to use the camera, looking at the different ways of focusing, changing aperture, shutter speed and so on.

I used the medium format camera in the studio to do portraits.

what have i got from it?

From this task today I have a understanding of how to use the Mamiya 645 camera, I have knowledge on how to focus it (where the focus ring is), I also understand that changing the aperture and shutter speed is slightly different to using digital. I know the ISO should stay the same to the selected film which is in camera.

whats next?

Next is to get my images processed, look at them, and start to print within the black and white darkroom.

I may also have a look at some other medium format cameras available and see how they differ to the camera i used.

Capture one

what have i done?

Today we have looked at using capture one software, we looked at using it in the studio, being the photographer and also the digital assistant. Being the digital assistant we looked at the images quality, including focus, white balance, histogram, We was also in charge of selecting the correct ICC profile.

We also used it on location, using problem solving skills to create a studio type location. To do this we used white cards as background, and flash guns for lighting.

what have i got from it?

I have understood what the capture one program is used for, and i now have a basic understanding of how to use it not only as a photographer, but as a digital assistant too.

I believe i have also developed my problem solving skills as part of a team, creating a studio like set up on location, getting the best possible image from the facilities we had.

whats next?

Next is to continue learning about the capture one software, i will start to use this is some of my own projects to gain a better knowledge on how the program works.

I will also take the problem solving skills and imply these into any situations that may need a quick solve.

chromatic aberration

what have i done?

Today we looked at the guidelines for uploading work to alamy, one of the guidelines was to not have chromatic aberration present . Once we discovered chromatic aberration in a image of our own, we then looked into how to get remove it from the image.

To remove the chromatic aberration from our images, we went into photoshop created a new layer, on that layer then went onto the gaussian blur filter, putting it on a 15 radius, selecting ok. After this on the same layer change it from normal to colour, and the chromatic aberration should have been removed.

what have i got from it ?

I have now gained knowledge on the guidelines on quality control for alamy, looking into chromatic aberration, i have a working understanding on what it is: chromatic aberration is a type of distortion in where the lens fails to focus all colours to the same convergence point , I also have an understanding on how to spot chromatic aberration within my own images and also have a knowledge on how to remove it via photoshop.

whats next?

Next i will be continually making sure my images are up to alamy’s quality control standard, looking at my images 100% to see if things such as chromatic aberration is present, and if so i now know how to remove it, so if present i will remove the fault before either printing or uploading to web.

studio practice 2b – jess

What have i done?

Continuing from the first initial idea shoot, i went on and photographed the development.

I chose a natural background, which was rather isolated so the concentration could focus on the person present.

What have i got from this?

I believe using the more natural background has worked well, it helps to focus on the person and their appearance.

I understand that I could also shoot a person within their related background, but i could use a shallow depth of field to loose focus off the background art.

Whats next?

Next is to develop on. I will be contacting more people to photograph, so i can continue to photograph people who have undergone issues surrounding their appearance.

I may also go back to the relating background and use a shallow depth of field to just focus on the person.