Shoot Two - Work Diary

The aim of this shoot was to show how different rain (a natural liquid) appears when on man-made objects (chairs/tables/walls...) in comparison to nature, such as flowers. I wanted to do this shoot as I think that rain, and flowers go naturally together, as flowers cannot survive without rain, it's a life source to them; whereas chairs and tables which are man-made are not necessarily made to be in the rain- I wanted to explore how the objects themselves varied in their appearance when in rain. Overall, I enjoyed shooting these images as I liked being out in a different environment to which I'm used to, I would usually avoid going out in the rain, but not in this shoot. I edited some of my images on photoshop, by lowering their curves, in order to make them slightly darker to really highlight the rain drops on the leaves/ glass. 

Best image from my shoot:

This image is the most effective photograph of the day, the angle in which I took the mage fits well, as it appears that the leaves are hanging down, moreover the frame of the photograph is good as the leaves sit directly in the middle of the image (rule of thirds.) I shot this image on ISO 2500, and F stop of 4.8 and a shutter speed of 1/60, I believe I chose the perfect camera settings as I am extremely pleased with the outcome of the image. The rain drops on this image appear natural, like they are meant to be there, this was one aim of my shoot as I wanted to show how two natural objects (rain and plants) are meant to go together, due to plants needing water to survive. 

Worst Image from my shoot:

This image was one of my least favourite of the shoot, this is due to the blurred leaf which sits directly in the centre of the image, if this leaf was not blurred then I believe this would be a strong image, as the water droplets appear almost like shining diamonds, which may suggest that they are comfortable on the leaf, like it's meant to be; however, the blurred leaf ruins this. I shot this image on the following came settings: ISO 1100, F stop of 5, and a shutter speed of 1/60, I should have stood further away to take my image, as then the lea would not have been blurred, or I could have used a macro lens which would have allowed me to get even closer to the plants. 

Progression: 

If I was to reshoot my images again, or complete a similar shoot to this one, the I would use a macro lens in order to get even closer to the plants/objects I'm photographing. Due to this I may even be able to create more abstract images as you will not be able to see the full object, but only parts of it, this would be ideal as it would help me deceive the viewer.

(This progression is explored to an extent in my shoot numbers 4 and 8.)

Shoot Two - Straight Images

I shot these leaves portrait as I wanted to capture the angle which they sat on the branch, dangling downwards; due to this angle the raindrop's movement can then be captured as they run down off of the leaves. A narrow depth of field is explored though my low aperture of 4.8, which means that the leaf is in focus with the background being out of focus, this therefore allows the viewer to only focus on the main aspect of this image- the leaf.

ISO- 2500

F - 4.8

Shutter Speed- 1/60 

A narrow depth of field is used within m image here, due to the low shutter speed of 4.5, which allowed me to focus on the arm of the chair only, blurring the ground. The raindrops within this image are crisp and clear, a connotation of bubble wrap may be brought to the forefront of the viewers mind, as the bubbles surround the arm of the chair, almost as though they're protecting this.

ISO- 1100

F - 4.5

Shutter Speed- 1/60 

This image has a christmassy tone to it due to the reds and greens within the image, these colours are often associated with christmas. The rain on the leaves of this plant is glistening, symbolising worth and importance, as jewellery often glistens (diamond, silver...) I photographed this image using an angle which meant I was in-line with the plant, therefore I could see the plant on its own level, instead of making assumptions about it from my own level, up high. 

ISO- 1600

F - 4.5

Shutter Speed- 1/60 

The raindrops on this table create a connotation of a leopard print pattern due to the way they have fallen on the table, this links to my theme of nature as the killing of animals for their fur is a huge issue within today's society, therefore by the rain landing on the table in this fashion this may show how the rain is trying to communicate its disgust for this trend. The raindrops also appear black due to the table being black, this colour is associated often with negative connotations, like death and decay. 

ISO- 1250

F - 4.5

Shutter Speed- 1/60 

The leaf in this image is filled with raindrops, the narrow depth of field allows me to control the viewers attention to the leaf, and not any detailing in the background, my low aperture setting allows me to do this. The raindrops help the plant live, in comparison to many man-made objects with rain on them, this is often a hinderance to. 

ISO- 400

F - 5.6

Shutter Speed- 1/60 

The raindrops appear different on wood, than they do on a metal table; on the table they appear more shiny in comparison to the wood surface which almost absorbs the raindrops, making them appear more dull. I chose to frame this image at a slight angle in order to capture the raindrops from a side-view. 

ISO- 3600

F - 5.6

Shutter Speed- 1/60 

Shoot One - Work Diary

In this shoot my aim was to help display how tranquil, and calm nature is; moreover I wanted to show how different nature is, whilst many buildings are the same. I photographed all of my images whilst on holiday in Gran Canaria, this is a beautiful country, which has vast amounts of nature which varies from the nature here in the UK. I enjoyed shooting all of my images as I photographed them in a different environment to which I'm used to, therefore I had to adapt my camera settings to this, as the sun was a lot more powerful in Gran Canaria, than it is in the UK. I believe my shoot matched my aim, as you can easily see how different nature varies between countries, also it's evident how nature is always changing and adapting, whereas buildings always look the same. Nature is versatile, whilst buildings are hard to change once they're erected. 

Best image from this shoot:

This image is my best from my shoot, the spikes on the cactus create patterns of shadows on the trunk of the plant, which certifies how sharp and dangerous they are as it's evident how pointy they are. These spikes in the image may be suggesting that nature needs to be protected, as it's under threat, the vast number of spikes all round the plant suggest threats come from all directions. Additionally, this image shows how different nature is in Gran Canaria in comparison to English nature, as we do not have cactuses in England a our environment doesn't suit them, this is another reason why I believe it's my best from my shoot. In addition, the green and yellows work well together as they are analogous colours, this allows the plant to stand out from the darker background, and they highlight the darker tone spikes also. 

Worst image from this shoot:

This image is my worst photograph of this shoot, it's slightly over-exposed, due to my camera settings I shot this image on an ISO of 200, and F stop of 10 and a shutter speed of 1/400, I could have made my F stop higher in order to allow less light into the lens, I also could have made the shutter speed quicker in order to allow the light less time to enter the lens. I don't believe this image says anything profound about nature, and my reasonings behind my topic, the plant doesn't look particularly special, and the viewer would not be able to easily deduce that this image was photographed in another country to England, unlike my best image of the day. 

Progression:

This shoot worked well, however if I was to reshoot it I would ensure that I photographed some images of buildings also in order to directly show the contrast between how nature varies, yet buildings all appear similar. I could use some of these images in my shoot in which I will explore the technique of multiple exposure, I would do this by shooting my friends, whilst laying the images on plants over the top in order to create out comes similar to my techniques post on multiple exposure.

Shoot One - Straight Images

This photograph shows how pattern can exist in nature, as the spikes and yellow lines on the cactus work in an orderly fashion. I chose to get close to the cactus as I wanted to capture the sheer size of the spikes which exist on the cactus. A narrow depth of field was used by me due to my low aperture setting (9), which caused me to only focus on the cactus and not the background. 

ISO- 200

F - 9

Shutter Speed- 1/320 

This image is aesthetically pleasing, as the pale pink tones combine with the also pale green tones effectively; the contrast between the soft pink flowers ad the harsh spiky plant below them may be symbolic of nature and humans, as nature is harmless, whereas humans can be and are destructive. 

ISO- 200

F - 8

Shutter Speed- 1/250 

The bright pinks and greens in this image are effective in creating a positive mood within in the viewer, as they are eye-catching and appealing to the eye. I shot this image from a low angle looking up at the plants, therefore this angle implies that nature is superior to us all, though showing how the plants are above us. 

ISO- 200

F - 8

Shutter Speed- 1/250 

The white-yellow flowers within this photograph stand out from the brighter colours in the background, as they're pure; their pure colouring suggests innocence, likewise to a white dove which is symbolic of peace and innocence. I chose to shoot these white flowers to suggest that nature comes with no harm (shown through the flowers white colouring) and that we should cherish this.

ISO- 200

F - 10

Shutter Speed- 1/400 

This photograph is a harsher image of nature, the spikes that are on the plants may suggest that the plants feel the need to protect themselves agains humans like us, therefore this is why the spikes are in place in order to allow them to defend themselves effectively. I shot this image by getting down low, and level with the plant as I wanted to capture their linear growth upwards, as this suggests strength to be able to grow up against gravity. 

ISO- 200

F - 8

Shutter Speed- 1/250 

Low Key Beauty - Work Diary

In today's lesson we explored low key beauty lighting, using coloured gels over the back/clip studio lights in order to gain colour within our images, the colours we used were blue, and orange. I enjoyed shooting with colour as we have never used gels in lesson previously, in today's shoot the lighting settings of each studio light was F 11 for the back/clip lights, F 8.8 for the key light, also known as the beauty dish, and an F stop of 8.5 for the fill light.
I had previously explore low key lighting at AS, therefore I had some understanding of the technique already, however I felt in today's lesson I built upon this technique. 
The equipment I used in today's shoot is as follows: a key light, a beauty dish, a diffusion shock, honeycomb, back/clip lights, a tripod, a camera, a light meter and a subject to shoot.
All of my images were shot on the same camera settings as we used the light meter in order to help us set our camera settings, the camera settings for all of my images was ISO 200, an F stop of 8, and a shutter speed of 1/125. 

Below is a lighting diagram of the studio set up I used on this shoot, combining with an actual photograph of the studio set up also:

Best image of today's shoot:

This image is my best of the day, as I have captured the most colour within this photo. I like how my subject is standing as I believe this effectively captures the blue colouring from the gel on her back, contrastingly the red colouring on her front. The contrast of the two colours is something which I explored in my image bank, I like how the two colours contrast insinuating warm, and cold temperatures. Moreover, the shadowing on the individual's collar bone, arms, and neck highlights to the low key lighting technique, I believe the shadows are in good proportion to the coloured areas in this image. I photographed this image on the camera settings of ISO 200, an f stop of 8 and a shutter speed of 1/125, I used the light meter to help me decide on my camera settings, I believe these camera settings were perfect as I am happy with the out come of my images, I slightly edited some of my images on photoshop, adjusting the curves slightly in order to perfect the contrast of the shadows, and coloured areas. 

Worst image of today's shoot:

I believe this is my worst photograph of the day as I don't believe there'e enough lighting in this image, although you can see the colours it's too dark overall. I used the same camera settings as the image above (ISO 200, and f stop of 8, and a shutter speed of 1/125) therefore I do not know why this image is darker than my others, however I believe this may be due to the subject in this image having darker hair, and wearing a black hoodie, which made it harder for the individual to stand out from the black background. In addition, the individual's hair smothers her face, meaning you cannot see much of her face- I should have informed my subject to push her hair off her face more. 

Progression:

I will not use this technique on my shoot as I'm of using on nature, not people. I would not be able to use this techniques on flowers, as it wouldn't demonstrate my aims for my nature project. 

If I was to reshoot this shoot again I would ensure I instructed my subjects correctly, considering exactly how I wanted the outcome of my images to be; despite this overall I'm pleased with my shoot as a whole. 

Low Key Beauty - Straight Images

In today's shoot the lighting settings of each studio light was F 11 for the back/clip lights, F 8.8 for the key light, also known as the beauty dish, and an F stop of 8.5 for the fill light. 

ISO- 200

F - 8

Shutter speed- 1/125

 ISO- 200

F - 8

Shutter speed- 1/125

ISO- 200

F - 8

Shutter speed- 1/125

ISO- 200

F - 8

Shutter speed- 1/125

ISO- 200

F - 8

Shutter speed- 1/125

ISO- 200

F - 8

Shutter speed- 1/125

Low Key Beauty - Image Bank

The above image has hints of various colours, including blues, pinks and yellow. The low key lighting is evident in this image as you can only see the females face, and not her hair. The fact that one part of the individuals face is blue, and the other is yellow may imply this female is experiencing conflict due to the various colouring on her face. The black background helps execute the low key lighting effect, as it doesn't reflect as much colour as a white background would. 

Shadowing is evident on the females face, and legs which shows how this image is a low key lighting demonstration. This image uses a pink background which differs from the other images here, as pink is a brighter colour. I believe this pink background does make the image slightly lighter than the other images as it reflects more light, however I admire this and I wish to try different coloured backgrounds in my shoot if the college have the facilities. 

This image has hints of three different colours (pinks, blues and yellows.) The definition and contour of the females face is highly evident due to the low key lighting. The woman's expression on her face is menacing, and blank with no emotion, I believe this works well with the dark background, as it gives off a mysterious atmosphere to the viewer. I would like to attempt to use three different coloured gels in my shoot, if my college obtain these facilities. 

In this image the woman is green, whereas the background is a deep red; I admire how there's a sharp difference in where the colours are situated, as the green lighting is only on the woman, with the red lighting only being on the background- i would like to try and recreate something similar in my shoot. Shadows, and contouring is evident in this image on the woman's arms, and face which demonstrates the low key lighting effect. 

A blue colouring is used on the majority of this image (the female), with a slight red evidently on the woman's back. The two red and blue colours work effectively together, as they're almost opposites, like warm and cold. Moreover, the face paint on the female is intriguing as it makes the viewer question why she has this upon her face. Additionally, the female is hugging herself, almost comforting herself, suggesting she may be emotional. 

The red and green colouring of the gels in this image is different to the majority of the images above; this various colouring is all over the female, not just on separate sides of the individual, this may suggest confusion in the females mind as there's no organisation. Additionally, the heavy eye liner adds the the effect of the overall image, as it makes the image appear slightly gothic, corresponding with the clothing the individual is wearing; I would like to use make up in my shoot if I have these resources available.