Final Portfolio

Final Portfolio 

Shoot 2 - Work Diary

SHOOT 2 WORK DIARY 

IMAGE 1 

EVALUATION - This photo from shoot 2 is of my sister sitting with her legs hanging over the stream at the edge of the bridge. I like how this photo turned out because the perspective and composition are both very well planned and executed. To take the image I stood over the top of my sisters head in order to get her ponytail in the photo, the rail that was above her and a decent amount of the stream in front of her. The lighting of this photo is very good as it isn't over or under exposed instead all of the colours are prominent and well saturated. The photo accurately reflects my aim for shoot 2 which was to show the fun sides of our walk through the use of my sister. The image shows the exploratory side of her and how things can be seen differently through a youthful mind.    

EDITING - To edit the photo I wanted to bring some more colour into it to show how well the lighting had lit all of the image. Therefore I used the saturation tool to increase the saturation up to +25, this really brought out the green tones in the stream and the blonde in my sisters hair. The next thing I used was curves but only slightly, I didn't move the curve around too much. I mainly increased the light parts so that the top of my sisters hair was highlighted and looked more blonde to counteract the yellow tint the saturation give it.  

DEVELOPMENT - There isn't anything I want to change about this photo as I think the composition and lighting are really good. The photo is very unique but not complicated which is very striking therefore I wouldn't add anything to it. 

IMAGE 2 

EVALUATION - The idea behind this photo was to show the messy and not perfect side to the walk, therefore when crossing a muddy patch I took photos of my sisters wellie boots getting stuck in the mud. I like how this turned out as the image has a lot of depth due to the thick texture of the mud which really draws you in and gives the photo quality. I wanted to display what my sister was like through this photo, she is the youngest in the family so always decides to go through the most messy and troublesome route, showing her childish side. I think showing this through documenting her actions is a good way to prove her personality.  

EDITING - When editing this photo I didn't want to make it saturated as this would've given an unrealistic colour to the mud which we associate being quite dull. Therefore I stuck to adjusting the curve of the image which enabled me to lighten certain parts of the image like the buckle on her shoes and the parts where the light hits the mud. This increased the depth of the mud as it made the shadows of it more prominent.  

DEVELOPMENT - If I was to take this photo again I would try to take it in brighter light as I think this would enhance the colours without looking unrealistic. 

IMAGE 3 

EVALUATION - This is the last image from shoot 2 in my work diary, this image is one of my favourites from the whole shoot. I really like this image as it has a comical side to it which made us smile and giggle in the moment. One of our family traditions on our walks is to take a flask of tea to keep us warm in the winter, when my sister was drinking from the flask the steam from the tea fogged up her glasses so we couldn't see her eyes. Again this shows a childish side to my sister whereby these little moments make her laugh not feel embarrassed. This is very important in documentary as the image has a story behind it and is a captured moment that reflects the identity of a person. 

EDITING - When editing the image I didn't want to change it too much as I felt that it was bright and saturated in the first place. However I did want to even out the redness on my sisters skin from the cold. To do this I used the colour balance tool and moved the top bar down the cyan which decreased the pink tone. However this gave the blonde in her hair a slight green tint as blue was added therefore I used the brightness and contrast tool to brighten and lighten the tint and the contrast to bring back the different shades of the background.  

DEVELOPMENT - I don't want to change anything about this image as it was an in the moment capture. I wouldn't be able to recreate this photo if I tried, it reflects the nature of documentary photography which is all about the decisive moment when taking a photo.  

IMAGE THAT REQUIRES IMPROVEMENT 

This image is the one that requires the most improvement as it doesn't really reflect documentary photography as well as the other photos. There isn't a story behind the photo and it doesn't have much meaning. Therefore it's not a very interesting photograph that you can say much about. I also think that the photo is slightly under exposed as it looks quite dark therefore the colours aren't very saturated or prominent.    

Composite Images Definition Post

COMPOSITE IMAGE DEFINITION

Compositing is the combining of visual elements from separate sources into single images, often to create the illusion that all those elements are parts of the same scene. 

I think that composite image making is wrong as it gives people false information especially in terms of magazine covers. When images are combined it shows a different story to what the original one was which then spreads a rumour throughout the media. If it was on an advertisement and the image was false then the company would be deceiving you and therefore would loose peoples trust as they don't tell the truth about their products. 



This is my example of a composite image, it is an image of ducks on the River Thames. The idea of this composite is to show how images can be combined for creative purposes and to make an interesting image.  

Composite Work Diary

COMPOSITE WORK DIARY 

The theme I chose for my composite images was 'Fairies'. I decided to do this because I based my work around George Logan's concept of bringing his childhood to life in the form of wild animals in his village. I liked this idea so decided to bring to life fairies which I loved as a child. 

The first image is of my sister in a forest with wings on her back. I really like how this photo turned out as its very vibrant and fun which reflects the idea of a childhood coming to life. I decided to place my sister near the bottom on the screen so that she looks like she has landed in the forest therefore her wings are facing downward to further indicate this. To make the image I took a picture of my sister and selected it to place it onto a forest background. When she was placed where i wanted her to be I selected some angel wings, positioned and sized them so that the looked like they belonged on her. I think this combination of placements and sizes makes the photo look quite realistic which I really like. 

This is my second composite image playing on the idea of fairies brought to life. This image is of my sister sitting on a flower with the same wings on her back. I like this photo as it makes her appear small like a fairy due to the size of the flower compared to her body. When taking the image I asked my sister to smile to show a softness to her expression which appears friendly and caring, like you would expect a fairy to be. This soft smile brings happiness to the photo and makes it look like something from a children's book. To make this composite photo I done it the same way as the image above but this time with a flower instead of the forest background, when I had my sister placed on the flower and sized well I added in the wings. I then decided to change the photo to black and white to make all of the colours tie together and look more blended. 

Shoot 2 - Straight Images

SHOOT 2 STRAIGHT IMAGES 

Whilst doing shoot 2 I took my little sister with me, Rebecca. Her being with me brought some fun and trouble to the walk as she was always exploring and getting into messy situations. In this image she has climbed down the small bridge into the muddy stream, whilst I stood on the bridge and took the picture from above her head. This photograph shows a childish and mischievous side to something as normal as a walk.   

I decided that throughout the walk I would focus majority of my photographs on my sister so that the shoot included some fun and happy images. In this photo she is ready to grab the dog to make him jump, this shows the relationship between her and the puppy. As they are the youngest in the family they both seem to mess around with each other and get into the most rouble which I think is shown perfectly through this photo. 

The location where we walk our dog is called 'Weald Common' and is written on a stone near the entrance of one of the fields. I thought this would be a good image to document as it gives the viewer an idea of the location. The image includes many brambles in front of the sign which I tried to keep out of focus so that the stone was the main subject of the photograph. I think this worked well as the sign is clear even through the bush.  

This is one of my favourite images that I took in shoot 2. My favourite thing about this photo is the perspective of it, I stood over my sister whilst she sat with her feet dangled over the edge of the bridge. The angle of the photograph makes the stream look like its quite far down which could add an element of danger to the photo. This again shows the childish and fearless side of my younger sister, although shortly after the photo was captured she decided to climb down into the stream. Therefore this image is the calm before the storm.  

Lastly in my top 5 images is this one. When taking the dog out for a walk we usually take a flask of tea so that we can keep warm. As my little sister was drinking the tea the steam fogged her glasses up. I thought this was a good photo as it has a slightly comical side to it and made us smile and giggle. The again shows how she brings out an innocently funny side to the walks and brightens up dull situations. 

Shoot 2 - Contact Sheet

SHOOT 2 - CONTACT SHEET 

Documentary Image Bank

DOCUMENTARY IMAGE BANK 

I love this photo because of the emotion and memory that is shown in it. It shows a couple with a new born baby which is an important moment in someones life. Therefore documenting it in this way shows the proudness and happiness that the child has brought. 

I think this photo is very powerful in documenting society's changes over time (especially for children). This image shows three young boys who cant be over the age of 12 all smoking on th street which isn't as common now, However this shows that this kind of behavior was accepted at that time. 

This photo shows the bond between a granddad and his granddaughter. I think this is an important bond to document as people learn a lot from their grandparents. In this photo the granddad is teaching her to tie shoes this shows the help he offers her.  

This is a very powerful photograph that shows a man crying holding his two sons. I am not sure on the story behind the image but I can only guess that he has to leave them or has been reunited with them after a long amount of time. The fact that this moment has been documented means a lot as it appears to be a very important memory. 

I like the composition of this photo as it is three women all crossing the street but at different points. This is a well timed photo which reminds me of the 'decisive moment' whereby the women who are all wearing similar things are almost showing a sequence of events.