Work Record Shoot 2

Research Influence 

The second shoot entailed a variety of similar photos relating to the previous, except I was going for much more of an abstract feel with some of the photos in contrast to the first shoot. I will be focusing on a mixed style between mainly Thomas Leth-Olsen but also on minor areas of Binet, where I capture the macro element of many curves in the photo. Furthermore, my intentions are to find very abstract and subliminal curves which make the mind think, rather than taking a simple circle or cylindrical shape.

Contact Sheet

Straight Images 

AO1 

The photos I've taken for the second shoot are a solid improvement on the first shoot, it both includes a lot more curves and it has much more detail than the previous. The composition of the photos shows the urban district of town, where I took a multitude of photos which would work for the shoot, as well as the brief. To relate to the brief, I tried finding curved signs and any smoothed shapes, much like the bedding. Speaking of, that photo signifies the political issue of homelessness. In modern-day Britain, there are thousands of people without a home on the streets. Taking a photo like this is almost like the equivalent of political photography, showing the weak points of society. The composition of the photo is essentially one part dark one part light.

The two sign photos are supposed to be high contrast, and mostly B/W. In this shoot, I will be attempting to see how to select saturation plays out for the shoots. The experiments in previous shoots show that select saturation makes the focal point of the photo much more or much less specific, depending on the placing. Moreover, it could rejig how the composition of the photo looks. It may become much more vibrant by colouring a specific area. 

The third photo entails a tree root cover by the side of a pavement in the town. it was particularly interesting because of the way that it is in a quarter of an image, which is aesthetically interesting to the eye, and almost focuses the eye on the centre of the image. However, it is not entirely in the centre though, so that might be edited in the final image.

AO2 

While I only made one image, I thought it was a nice idea to try some surrealist editing. Although it only took a minute, I decided to try it out to see if the idea was any good. Although it looks a bit unrealistic, I believe this gives me an idea for other photos I could take, where I get a direct birds-eye photo of something similar and play around with different areas of the photo. 

AO3 

The progress made so far has been positive, the photos and edits so far follow the brief successfully.  For the final pieces, I will be using select saturation as previously stated. Using select saturation will make the final images more interesting for the individual who is viewing the photo.

To begin with select saturation, I first began by going through Camera RAW, editing the photos as I saw fit. In this instance, I wanted higher contrast and moderate exposure, while keeping some of the lights quite low. Ironically, to get select saturation, it is important that the saturation or vibrance isn't edited in RAW, as it will not be undo-able in Photoshop, preventing the removal of a B/W layer, or an area of it.


After completing this I added a B/W layer. Selecting my black brush, I essentially erased the areas I wanted with colour. Doing this is essentially allows you to paint colour into the photo where it wasn't previously. After brushing over, I usually edit the vibrance and saturation as it didn't previously match what the preferred style shows. Furthermore, in some of my photos, I have messed around with both select saturation and the hue, to get a surrealist effect. To do this is simple; just go into adjustments and click "Hue and Saturation". Using hue would allow me to, say, change green grass into purple grass. I might not necessarily want to do that, but I can if I want to.

Finally, I go through the burning and dodging for a second time. Adding two curves layers with opposite settings, I invert them both (CTRL+I) and then use the white brush at multiple different opacities to add highlights or shadows to the photo, to bring more of the parts out more.

AO4 

So far the work has been very successful and much has been completed through the unit. I've learned a lot using the select saturation. After the first shoot, I took into consideration how I might edit my photos; using different techniques, how I might want the photo to feel, etc. For example, instead of going for plain B/W, I've decided to explore the saturation I've been talking about.

Final Pieces

Evaluation

In conclusion, this has been a very successful shoot, much more than the previous. I managed to get more focused photos along with better settings, as this is after I managed to get the hang of using the Nikon. Furthermore, the photos each have a glow or feel to them which is unique. They all signify a message in their own way, of politics, hope or danger. However, I could most likely improve upon the burning and dodging I use, as well as how I need to further improve how many curves are in the photos. The signpost photo only has curves in the words and sides of the sign, and the bedding is barely even curved. I need to focus more on the brief and get a more critical view.