Personal Project - Image Bank

 In these images, we can see my personal project topic of beauty being explored in a number of different ways. This can be done through composition, colour, tone and form. Alternatively, what essentially makes a beauty image stand out is through personal aspects such as the clothing in which the person is wearing and also the makeup which they wear. In the following three images, beauty is explored through all of the previous components. However I feel like the use of selective colour is striking and draws the audiences attention to key points on the face. For example, in the first image selective colour is used through the bold red on the lips. All of the other colours in the image appear to be washed out, with the face appearing very pale and the white glow around it only making the model appear more ghostly. The colour also seems to have been washed out from the eyes, and a dark makeup has also been used to exaggerate this. Without the red lips, the viewer can not really see anything striking apart from the gold jewellery she wears on her hand. 

 

I also chose three images in which contrasted to the previous ones I had looked at. In the following images colour is not the most striking presence, however it is the use of black and white and the bold black makeup which stands out to me the most. Particularly in the first image, the pure white background makes the model appear to be much more bold. Her eyelids are lined with black eyeliner and the long black eyelashes draw the audiences attention to the centre of the face. This is also reinforced by the use of the hand, with the black jewellery and crisp black fingernails. I like the use of black and white in these images as they hold a powerful attraction in the image. This is one that I would look at and instantly be inclined to view as I feel it is so striking and also not similar to any I have seen previously. 

Mindmap

Illustrated Project Proposal

One of the main reasons I want to use beauty as my starting point is because I feel I could go in a lot of different directions with it. Many of my favourite photographers that I have studied, do so in the beauty and advertising industry where most of there images are used in campaigns. Beauty doesn’t just have to be about beautiful people, as everyones ideas of beauty is different. Therefore, I could take my personal project and go in so many different places. One topic I have always been keen on studying is beauty within nature, I could look at animals and other mammals and look at the beauty that makes up the world. I could also look at other peoples perception of beauty. Stripping people off of make up, and looking at beauty in a different context. I am going to start this topic by looking at what I feel is beauty, and I am going to take portraits of people. I am then going to take pictures of models, but I am going to ask them to dress and make themselves how they feel beautiful themselves. After this, I am going to take Beauty, and look at work that has influenced me. Already, I have found a photographer who studies beauty and applies it to all of his work. His name is David Benoliel. 

David Benoliel is a beauty photographer who currently lives in Miami, Florida. Benoliel focuses on capturing professional-quality photographs whilst also experimented with post-processing and photo manipulation. The two photographs above are taken from his online portfolio. I have chosen these two especially because of the strong features that boost. Colour and contrast are the two elements that are the strongest within the two photographs, by using a dramatic and vivid contrast of colour it makes the photograph interesting and beautiful. The use of make up and retouching has given the models flawless skin although the way that Benoleil has captured this is fascination. By using strong contrasts such as a midnight blue against the pale and highlighted face, it captures the viewers attention. In these photos, beauty has been portrayed by using female models to emphasise make-up and other commercial products.  Another aspect of the photograph that interested me was the angle that they were both captures. Each photograph is different, one being a longer and wider shot to capture the body and the other is a close-up focusing heavily on the woman's enhanced features. I could approach my topic of beauty by using female or male models to take portraits that have bold contrasts and use colour to emphaises and show the viewer something.

Minimum Depth of Field - Work Diary

When researching minimum depth of field, I found that you had to look at three different aspects to carry it out. These are maximum aperture, which shows the speed of the lens. Maximum Zoom, which means if you want to take the picture from further away than of a close up, you just step back and finally you have to be close to the subject. This is to ensure that you have them in subject as appose to the background being most in focus. When taking this image, I had to take several at different distances to see which one I preferred. It was harder than I expected to get the perfect background, so to enhance it, I changed the curves and levels to brighten it up. I also changed the colour levels to create a contrast and made Josh wear a black hoody so that he stood out from the background. In the future, I wish to take more images like this on different backgrounds and in different locations. I feel like this image went particularly well, as it enabled me to see how minimum depth of field works and how I can alter the settings on my camera to see a change in the result of the image that came out. In the future, I want to see how it will work on images such as those in my image bank, where they feature plants and animals. 

 

Image within Image - Work Diary

The first image I took for the Image within Image topic was one of my favourite pictures I have taken in photography. When we went out, I found a location in which I could photograph Josh with his frame, however it was not dull and stood out. I also wanted a contrast between him and the background, and therefore I changed the depth of field to blur it out slightly. I took the photographs both landscape and portrait, with the frame turning at the same time so that I could crop the image and place it in. The shoot was successful, as I love the final turn out. It was much harder cropping the image and making it fit in the frame, so I had to go back and take a new picture where the frame wasn't wonky, overall it was a simple concept which involved me placing each new picture inside the frame until the pixels were so small that I couldn't have seen the frame anymore. 

Alongside placing a video inside an image, I created an image in which we took the background and placed it in the frame. This gave the effect that Josh had a hole taken out of him and we could therefore see through the frame into the background. When I took the image, I held the camera on a tripod to ensure it didn't move at all when Josh stepped into the frame and I took another photograph. When I placed it into photoshop, it took less than a minute to edit it, however the results are just as effective. We can see the background perfectly through Josh. One problem I do have with the image is that it is not clear enough that the background is identical, this may be because there is not a prominent background or something that stands out. Therefore, in the future, I will choose a background where it is more noticeable than a few twigs on a tree. 

Progression

In the future, I wish to do this on other items instead of a frame. For example, I could take these image within images and place them inside computer screens and phone screens. I could also do it inside a TV. 

Sequencing - Work Diary

When taking these sequencing photographs, I had already done research as to what I could do with sequencing and what other people had done. I felt like a lot of photographers work was a lot more in depth, and they featured many action sequences in which people were playing sports or playing games with a high shutter speed. During this shoot, we went out in groups to the field and made our own sequencing photographs. The first I took was off Josh, instead of taking pictures of him moving, I decided to place him on a bench and take numerous photographs of him sat in different parts of the bench. This was more challenging than it seems and I had to take some photographs twice to ensure that I didn't overlap the photographs. When I went into photoshop, I then placed the images over each other one at a time on different layers, when I did so, I had to erase Josh in his new position and then watch as all five of him came together. It was much tougher than I thought, as I had to ensure I was so careful with what I had erased, if I accidentally went over the outline I would have had to redo that whole later all again, which is a problem that I had to do several times. Looking back at it, I feel as though it went well as I have placed five of Josh over each other and I have created a sequence that I am proud of. 

Following the first image, we then had to make sequences which we didn't overlap, but we placed in a multiple imagery style row. We all came up with our own ideas of what we wanted to do. In this shoot, I decided to take my three models and make them sit down after each other. The results of the images placed together shows them in a sequence, however I do not like it as much as the one above. I prefer sequences that are merged in one image as appose to being split up into there own separate ones, however I like it just as much all the same. 

Progression:

In the future, I wish to take action sequences which show a transition and movement from the start to the end of the image. An example is the following, which shows a man jumping from a rock and the different points of him leaping through the air onto the ground.

Multiple Imagery - Image Bank

In the following images, multiple imagery is shown with 9 images of different things. They can be done in two different ways. The first and the third images show females who are pulling different facial expressions, within the first, you see the camera has maintained its position the entire time and therefore it is the females facial expression we are focusing on; this means that we are never shown anything other than her mouth. The third image also shows a female blowing up bubble gum, however this is different to the first as we show much more of her face. The camera also takes different positions on each of the side, which is an effective way to show the transition between the gum being blown up. Alternatively, the second and fourth image take one object and show different parts of it. For example, the tree is shown through the 9 images in a number of different parts of the tree. The fourth picture also shows a clock, however we are shown a number of different parts of the clock and therefore multiple imagery allows us to see several images as appose to just one. 

These multiple imageries are different to the ones I have previously looked at which feature a square of 9 images. The first in this shows only 4, although in each one of these images, is a technique called double exposure in which the images are two combined so multiple imagery is much more present than would seem at a first glance. I like this effect and I think it is more effecting placing the four images together to show a range, rather than just one standing alone. The final image is also my favourite, as it is completely different to the rest of it. It shows on setting which has been taken at different times of day, and therefore you can see the cool colours of the sun rising and the warm colours of it going out. 

Multiple Flash - Image Bank

Multiple Flash is achieved by placing the camera on a long exposure and altering the flash so that it goes off several times at the press of the shutter once. This is done to achieve the following images below; due to it needing the flash, it is essential that the images are taken amongst a dark background and therefore shadows are often present. In the first image, it shows a picture of a female overlapping in the same position. Due to the intriguing way that the images are almost identical, it can be said that this image was photoshopped with the same image and then placed over one another at a lower opacity. 

In the next two images, you can see dancers who are doing different stances among a black background. You can see the dancer on the left of the image posing for the camera, and following it you can see her moving and the transition between her in the two sides of the image. In the image below that, the dancer is seen running, the transition is less than the previous one as we see the path in which the dancer followed and the blurring between each stance. Similarly, in the images below, we see someone chopping up and the way that the knife is shown in each flash before it hits the food. The transition style of these is most common in the final image where we see the deck of cards and the magician who is doing a card trick. The bold red and black colours make it stand out that he is doing a card trick, therefore it is not blurred enough so that it is not obvious. 

Location Portraiture - Image Bank

Location Portraiture is when you take photographs of people outside, instead of in a studio. This is commonly done in many fashion advertisers, as well as other campaigns to enhance portraits and make them stand out from others as they feature a range of different locations. The use of black and white in many of these images is used to enhance the formal elements of tone and create a more subtle approach, showing highlights in them. Alternatively, the use of colour makes them stand out and makes them more interesting. Many of these colours are bold, such as bright pinks and yellows. In the first image, we see a girl kissing an insect, the use of black and white enhances the effect it gives off and shows the elegance in her face. The use of minimum depth of field is shown in the background to bring the focus to her. Alternatively, in the second image, a ballet is shown with a bright pink tutu on which contrasts against the dark grey background in which she is presented. Many of the locations show females against natural landscapes such as meadows and fields. Whereas in other contexts, such as the man leaning in the city and the girl playing the guitar, the backgrounds are much more artificial, with the city being used in many of them. 

Close Up - Image Bank

In this image bank of Close Ups, they focus on a range of different parts of objects to exaggerate them and make them clearer for the viewer to see. The first two images use water droplets to close up on. The first image shows a piece of fruit, and a range of different droplets of water which are crisp and clear for the viewer. They're close up of the fruit and there is also close ups of the water droplets which are on them. The second image focuses mainly on the formal element of texture, as we can see the different lines on the leaf through the use of the formal element. However, the close up is also used to show the water droplets which is much larger than in the other image. In the background of both of the images, we can see the use of minimum depth of field which blurs out the other objects, which is a common factor in the close up images that I have studied. 

The other images in this image banks are close ups, perhaps taken with a Macro lens. The first is of a highly close up image, in which we see the inner core of a piece of fruit. The greatest level of details are present in this image, as we are shown all the different parts of the kiwi and make them appear much larger than they would be. In the second image, the sunflower is composition so that it is not central in the image, this allows us to get as close as we can to the sunflower without it losing focus and going blurry. The formal elements are much stronger through the contrasting yellow petals on the flower and the much darker centre of the image. You can also see each of the buds inside the centre, which are in depth and more present in the image. The third and fourth images are not as close up, however they are in comparison to the size of the object. For example, the cats face is a close up as the cats a much larger object in contrast to the other images in this bank. 

Minimum Depth of Field - Image Bank

Minimum Depth of Field is the amount of distance between the nearest and the farthest objects that appear in sharp focus of an image. This is done by making the objects stand out in the image, as the rest is usually blurred out. I found that those who take these images, usually take them of natural objects, such as plants or animals. The first collective group of images I found all followed similar patterns, they are both flowers and leaves and are significantly further from the background. They all use the formal elements of colour in their images, as the bold pastel colours stand out from the dark green backgrounds. The first image, shows a number of flowers which are all in different amounts of focus. The second image differs from this as although we can see the range of flowers that are in the background, only one of them is in focus. Therefore, the depth in between the flowers is much greater as we lose focus the further they go back. In the final of the three images, there is leaves instead of flowers and we also see more shadows than on the other images. 

In these images, the photographers use minimum depth of field to show off different animals in their habitat. The first image shows a fish in an aquarium, I like the use of colours in this image as there is so many in the background that brighten up the rest of the image. I also like the depth in the fish itself, where the face is the most focal part of the image and the rest of the body is blurred out, however you can still see the pattern on the fish. The second image shows a lady bird, and the reflection of it on the water, however it is much smaller and the composition is laid out so that it is less greater in the frame than the other images I have looked at. The final image is much the opposite of the second, in which the snake is mostly all in focus, and there is not a lot of the background shown in the image. 

Wide Angle - Image Bank

Wide Angle photography is pursued via the camera settings and the types of lenses used. You can still achieve wide angle images without using a specific wide angled lens, as this can be altered on the camera settings. The following images stood out to me when I was researching Wide Angle photography, one of the main reasons was the way the camera was positioned at a low angle and was looking up at particular objects, to give the appearance that they all meet at the centre. The way these photographers have achieved this is through using a Fish Eye lens, these can be bought as add ons that stick onto cameras, and give the effect of a fish bowl. I love these images, particularly with the ones that use the trees. The first image shows the formal elements of depth as we see the different tree trunks heading towards the middle of the photo, it is as if someone has taken one image and edited it to make it circular, which is an effect that can be made on Photoshop through tutorials found online. Another way you can use Wide Angle in this affect is through buildings, in which you have the building, but the rest of the objects in the photograph are directing towards the building. 

In contrast to the images above, the following images use wide angle lenses which give off the feeling that everything below is significant in response to the outer parts of the image. A wide angle lens is a term to describe one with a short focal length. In the first image, we are looking up at the traffic lights, however the proportions are hard to judge as they are much smaller in comparison to the buildings in the background. They can be compared to the other smaller traffic lights which are behind it. In the final image from this image bank, there is a landscape used which bring make the image appear natural. I love the use of the formal element colour, as there are a lot of pastel colours in it, and I also love the use of the sun on the horizon. It creates a warm feeling among the audience.