Shoot Twelve - Work Diary

In this shoot I wanted to explore other abstract areas of organic objects, and not just how I could make them into cave-like environments; therefore in this shoot I focused on the texture that the outside of a cabbage obtains. The lines which the leaves branch off of on the cabbage appear as though they're veins, consequently I believed this would work well with my theme of exploring nature as this shows nature is the machine powering us, like how veins carry blood around our bodies. 

The objects I used in order to conduct my shoot are as follows: a cabbage to photograph, a reflector dish to project light onto the front of the object, a camera to photograph the images, a tripod to keep my camera still, a table to place the object on, a light reflector to reflect light back onto the object, a black back drop to enhance the low key lighting, a light meter to record the lighting settings I would need on my camera, a reflector dish to attach to the light, and lastly a knife to cut open the object itself.

Below is a lighting diagram of how my shoot was set out:

I believe my shoot was successful as the texture on the outside of the cabbage was enhanced in my shoot, through my use of low key lighting to work the shadowing well within the image. When I edited my images in photoshop I lowered the curves to enhance the shadowing within the images further, whilst also converting the images into black and white as I believe this strengthens the mysterious, and hellish feel that the images emit.

My best image of this shoot:

This image appears as though the veins on the cabbage are roots from a huge tree, however the viewer cannot see any trees, therefore this symbolises that this environment is bare and malnourished. The negative space above the cabbage appears as though it's casting shadows onto the textured and ambiguous object below; due to there being no vegetation within the image this links to the issue of pollution and deforestation. This hellish environment appears to be parched as there's no liquid on the surface of the cabbage- subsequently, this again creates a link in the audience's mind about the environment being malnourished as it's common knowledge that trees need water to grow and thrive. The circular shape of the cabbage also represents the circular shape of the world, which shows how the whole world is represented by this one cabbage. I shot this image with the following camera settings: ISO 200, F 29, and a shutter speed of 1/125. I chose to turn the cabbage upside down in this photograph in order to emphasise the veins, running from the bottom of the cabbage. When editing my image I lowered the curves to emphasise the shadowing whilst also converting my image into black and white, in order to further emphasis the texture. 

My worst image of this shoot:

This is my worst image of my shoot due to the fact that it doesn't really represent anything significant as the overall image looks like a leaf, whereas I wanted it to look like a parched environment struggling to survive. I chose to convert the image into black and white in order to highlight the texture from the veins on the cabbage more, meanwhile lowering the curves to also aid this. If I was to reshoot this image I possibly would photograph the cabbage from a side angle in order to capture the bumps from the veins sticking out of the cabbage. I photographed this image on the camera settings ISO 200, F 29, and a shutter speed of 1/125.

Experimentation:

I believed that I should experiment with gels over my reflector in order to find what I believed would look best within my overall shoot. 

Below is a lighting diagram of how I set up my shoot with the gels:

ISO - 200

F - 29

Shutter Speed - 1/125
I believe this image is interesting as the blue lighting emphasises the veins on the cabbage due to the light focusing on them. However, this technique didn't quite match the aims of my shoot which was to explore the struggle in environments.

Studio Equipment:

Snoot- a tube object which fits over a light in order to allow the photographer to control the direction of the light more precisely.

Reflector dish- a reflective surface which fits over a studio light, and is used to project light onto the object.

Tripod-  a stand which holds a camera on top, in order to keep the camera still to prevent any blur that may be caused. 

Light reflector- a reflective surface, which allows light to be reflected back onto the object in question, this can also be used to diffuse natural light. 

Gel- a coloured gel is a transparent coloured material which fits over a studio light, in order to project the light as the chosen colour.