This week we learnt all about the importance of safety in the studio as well as how to set it up for a simple portrait photoshoot. We learnt about different equipment and what they were used for, as we did this we took photos of each other and learnt how to automatically send images to the computer.
Week 2
This week we learnt about Shutter Speed, Aperture, and ISO. These different settings affect the way that the camera captures light and can result in different effects.
Aperture: The opening in the lens that allows light to enter the camera and onto the sensor or film.
Shutter Speed: The speed at which the shutter of the camera closes.
ISO: The sensitivity of the camera’s sensor.
As you increase the aperture the background of the image will become more blurry, as you increase the shutter speed the camera will close slower and capture more light which will capture movement from certain objects, and as you increase ISO the camera will become more sensitive to light but it will be more noisy.
These settings can be adjusted for creative preference but in general, you want ISO to be low so that you don’t have grain and you can play around with the aperture and shutter depending on what you are trying to capture. In the case you want a sharp image you will also want a somewhat fast aperture.
Project – Brainstorming
I would like to experiment with images similar to these at the top, I like the style of lighting and the way the first used double exposure to create such a dramatic image.
The idea for the series is to create some sort of narrative, I want the images to provoke strong emotions in the viewer and these images where the model looks insane to achieve that. On the other hand, I also enjoy the more simple images where the head moves and you can see the effects of the slow shutter speed.
I have also researched double exposure and how to do that on a camera similar to mine. The video also explained more information about how double exposure works and what are some of the rules, for example, you can’t change the ISO once you take the first image which makes certain images in different lighting conditions slightly more difficult to capture.
Week 3
Fast to Slow Shutter Speed
Large to Small Aperature
50mm-24mm
Research 2-3 different photographers, animators, filmmakers or cinematographers whose practice you admire and document this on your Wix Site.
Week 4
THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN PLANNING YOUR PHOTO STORY
What is your story about?
Who is in your story? Do you need to involve other people?
What research is needed? Is your story about a subject you are familiar with?
What equipment will you need?
Where & when are you going to shoot your narrative?
upload your work on your website
The rule of thirds is a very common composition, not only for its simplicity but because it is very useful when bringing the viewer’s attention towards a certain object. This is done by placing the object in one of the intersections between the 4 lines. Additionally, the horizontal lines are often where you place the horizon.
Other popular compositions are the golden ratio, the golden triangles, and the golden spiral. These are very effective at the time of creating interesting and dramatic compositions and are often combined with one another to create more complex images. In general, you place the main object in the photo along the lines of the compositions or on the intersections between two lines.
Week 5
A “Photo-story” or “Photo-essay” is a combination of images carefully selected and displayed to convey a more meaningful story/narrative to the viewer. This is often paired with captions to help the viewer understand the imagery or connections between them.
This example of a photo story shows a very surreal and narrative-like message that often surprises the viewer in an unexpected way through the next frame. They also have some text under the images to bring context as to what is going on and what is the purpose of the image.
Week 6
This week we went into the dark room, learning how to develop images and learning the guidelines and safety precautions that are taken at the time of being in the room. We followed rules such as the phones had to be off so that the light wouldn’t damage the images and we also experimented with inverting the exposure of an image.
Week 7
This week we continued to practice with being inside the studio and learning how to set everything up all the way from capture one to the backdrop and the lighting setups. We used various lighting sources to create dynamic and interesting lighting to make the portraits more interesting.
Week 8
Here are the steps you should follow at the time of creating a sequence of images.
STEP 1 / CHOOSE YOUR SUBJECT (OBJECT/PERSON)
Think about composition, lighting, colour and even texture to create a variety of pictures of a single subject.
STEP 2 / CREATE A STORYBOARD
It is important to think about a plan before taking the images in order to know what you want to get out of the session beforehand. It is good to have a guide to not waste time but be aware that you are still free to make changes and be creative once taking the images.
STEP 3 / TAKE 5 to 10 PHOTOS
Changing things like the light, composition, reflections, texture, camera settings, and even the “Shot Types” can completely change the way you view the subject and can help explain the message or story throughout the set of images.
STEP 4 / ADD OTHER ELEMENTS
Adding other elements that don’t take away from the subject can help influence the images and the story that’s being told.
STEP 5 / ORGANISE YOUR IMAGES AND COLOUR GRADING
Use Lightroom, Capture One Pro or Adobe Bridge to select your best images -making selects
Use Lightroom, C1 Pro, or Photoshop to process your images -exposure correction, colour grading, cropping, sharpening
Sequence your work –build the story
Pan Right
Tilt-Up
Dolly In
Dolly Out
Tracking Shot
Here you can see some examples of different camera movements that are very common in the industry and their corresponding names written below the videos. Additionally, above the videos, there is a diagram that shows some more movements with their names as well.
Portraits
In this combination of images, I wanted to express very strong emotions not only in the person being photographed but also wanted to have the viewer empathise and feel a similar thing. I wanted to use long exposure to create some light painting and also invoke movement in the image.
The emotion I chose and the one that tells the narrative is similar to one of the artists I saw above where they make the person being photographed look like they are losing their mind. I wanted to do something similar and show the progression of the mental state of the model.
I also made use of a mirror to create the illusion that the model is normal in the right but to the left, his reflection is going insane. The light is there to add balance and further movement to the image but was also used to impulse the narrative where in some instances it looks as if it is controlling the insanity within the model and not letting it get too far out of control.
Sequence
This sequence shows the interaction between humans and the world, and the change between the loud city and the city park. The first image shows the rapid movement of cars as they try to rush to their homes after work which at that time is most people in the city. Following this you see the cars stopping and the people getting out to see the sunset on the park bridge, then you can see people connecting and enjoying the sunset as they walk through the park showing the interaction of people with the park and how that influences their emotions.
Then you can see the image of a man and how he interacts with the animals in the park by giving them food and relaxing near them. Afterwards, you can see the squirrel and its curiosity showing the interaction between animals and the park itself before going back to the interaction between animals and humans after a person gives the squirrel a peanut. Following this, there is an image of the plants that inhabit the park and the park lake which has an extreme amount of different species living in it from swans to small birds and ducks. The second to last image shows again the interaction between a man and a dog going on their daily walk through the park, seeing the dog’s curiosity and how it is pulling on the leash to get further. In the final image, you can see another dog that has been left off the leash and has decided to explore the huge log.
Stop Motion Animation
For this stop-motion, I wanted to show the process of creating art and telling a story. Showing the behind the scenes and the work that goes behind creating an image as most people don’t see the preparation and the clean-up that takes place as well as setting up all of the lights carefully to help tell the story and setting up the backdrop choosing a colour for the background making sure everything is safe. I also wanted to show how often it isn’t just one person who helped in the making of the image and that often there are more people who took part in the project so I wanted to make that clear by having me and Joel help clean up the studio.
The rule of thirds is a very common composition, not only for its simplicity but because it is very useful when bringing the viewer’s attention towards a certain object. This is done by placing the object in one of the intersections between the 4 lines. Additionally, the horizontal lines are often where you place the horizon.
