Portrait Techniques

Manual Setting
ISO 200
FStop ?
Shutter speed 1/125 of a second

equipment
soft box
reflector
light diagram

Portraiture Image Bank

In this image there isn't much going on, it is just a normal portraiture photograph but I like this image. The lighting in this image is very feminine and soft, this lighting helps define her features, for example her cheekbones are darkened to create more shape to her face and make her make-up stand out more. Also, the background in this image gives a good effect because the dark colours make her stand out more rather than having a white background which would create a lighter version of the image giving it a different message. I like how she has no expression on her face giving the image no real emotion, all we have to go by is the dark colours which make the image seem dark. The main focus in this image is her lips because it is the only bright image existent in the photo and it stands out agains the other colours. I can use ideas from this image in my work by taking pictures of people using different colours to produce images with different emotions.

This image has a strong meaning that can be perceived in different ways. Some people may see him painting on the colour but other people may see him painting on the black and white effect. I think this image has a racial view behind it because it may seem as though he isn't comfortable in his own skin and that he wants to get rid of his colour so he can fit in with the society around him where he is mocked for the colour of his skin. The expression on his face also adds to this effect because he is straight faced but almost looking sad instead of angry. As well as his expression the lighting also adds a great effect too because it is dull and dark which represent his feeling towards the people and the society he is living in. I can use ideas from this image in my work because I can use photoshop to increase the effect that I am trying to portray in my images.

I chose this image because I think it has a great meaning about make-up. The fact that she has different colours smeared around her face represents to us that the photographer may have a negative view on make-up. They could be trying to portray the fact that make-up doesn't make us look good it is just different colours covering us up. I can use ideas like this in my work by creating images with strong meanings that people can relate to and look deeper into.

I chose this image because I think it has great tones. There are no colours in the image which makes the detail stand out more. I think this image has better meaning without colours because this way we can se the tones that are displayed, for example her cheekbones are highlighted with a dark tone to show feminine features. I can take ideas from this photographer by creating great detail but having the images black and white to create better tones.

I chose this image because the fact that it is an image of a celebrity it draws our attention more. I like how this also has no colours in the image because it makes the tones stand out more. More feminine lighting has been used in this image because of the areas of her face that appear lighter. The fact that the photographer is showing a celebrity makes us read more into it as we know her life and what kind of person she is. I can use ideas like this in my work by representing people's moods in the pictures.

Portraiture Definition

Portraiture 

A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person.

I chose this image because I like how the lighting is dark and very masculine. The dark colours give a very masculine vibe and the fact that it is a picture of a man adds to the effect. I also like how the image is in black and white because it helps with the tones in the image. This image also has good tones because his features are made clearer by the darker and lighter tones, for example his beard has a shadow against it which makes it stand out more. His facial expression also adds to the effect because his stern look makes him seem more threatening which corresponds with the lighting and the tones.

The way this portrait has been taken meets our standards of a political war hero because he looks strong because of the way he is standing, it makes him look like a dominant figure. He is showing a serious demeanour and the lighting adds to this serious effect because it is a dark. The image appears dark and serious which is the feelings that most of us share about war, the fact that he was a political war hero helps us link the feelings portrayed in this image with the feeling we have about war. Although he is seen as a hero the image doesn't portray him as such a 'hero' because we would associate lighter and happier images to make the person look inviting but this is not portrayed here at all.

When we look at this photo we are instantly attracted to the different colours and patterns being portrayed in the image. The make up also stands out to us because it is a very extreme make-up look which we would associate with models and magazines. Researching further into this image we find out that this woman is Amanda Lepore, a transgender model. Instantly we understand why the colours are so bright and stand out from other magazine shoots or front covers that we see regularly. I think that the colours are there to show us that she shows her true personality and who she really is even though some people may have different opinions of it. The colours in the image relate to the LGBT community because their symbol is the rainbow and she displays a very colourful image here. 

Landscape Mindmap

Joiners Mindmap

Landscape Image Bank

I like this image because its main theme throughout the image is autumn. The colours in this image draw us in because the different shades of orange can be seen. The sunlight in the photo gives a good effect because we can see it peeking through the trees as we can see the orange light reflections on the pavement. There is a great depth of field in this image because we can see far into the picture as the end of the path is visible. As we look deeper into the image the colours become lighter and the colours are darker in the foreground of the image. I can use ideas from this image in my work because I can take pictures in forests as well as in street areas. This image helps me widen my ideas of landscape photography.

I like this image as the flowers in the foreground are clear but as we look deeper into the image they become less clearer. This image also has a great depth of field because we can see deep into the image into the horizon. I think the sun also has a great effect because it adds brightness into the image, without it the image would be dull and dark with a different meaning. Also, I like the different colours that are in the image, the purple sky gives a good effect even though you would've thought that it would give a gloomy/scary effect. I can use ideas from this image in my work because I can take images of landscapes that may not seem very interesting but we can make them interesting.

I like this image because it is a realistic landscape and urban areas like this landscape is the type of images that I would be taking. The people in the background and the train coming through the station make this a more realistic image because when I take pictures I will have elements in my picture that I don't necessarily want in the image but I can stop it from happening. This image has a depth of field but not as good as other landscape images. We can see the depth of field on the right hand side of the image where we can see deep into where the train is coming from but the depth of field isn't the main focus. Another element of this image that I like is the fact that the train station sign is in colour but everything else is in black and white, this makes us realise what the photographer wants us to focus on.

I like this image because of the fact that it is a famous London landmark it draws us in and grabs our attention. This image at first looks dull because there is not much colour but I think that it is interesting. I think it looks like a painting when you look at it but I think the photographer has edited this image to give it a better effect. Although the lighting in the image looks dull I think it gives it an ancient effect which works well with the landmark because it is old. I think the depth of field in this image isn't as obvious as other images but we can still see it, in the background of the bridge we can see the buildings behind it. I can take ideas from this image by photographing things like famous landmarks or things like bridges to create a landscape but also include depth of field.

I like this image because I think the height of the buildings give a great effect because it almost seems like the buildings are enclosing in on the photographer as the height of the buildings are unclear. I also like the fact that the picture is in black and white because it makes the photo seem older and we are focused on the actual picture rather than the colours if it wasn't in black and white. This image can relate nicely with my photography because I will be able to get urban pictures like this one. The depth of field in this image is strong because we can see where the path ends, I think the height of the buildings add to the depth of field. 

Landscape Definition

Landscapes show all the visible features of an area of land, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal. When taking images of landscapes the recommended f stop is 20/22 because it gives a greater depth of field so we can see deep into the image.

Ansel Adams represents landscapes well as he has an interest in nature and takes photos mainly of landscapes.  

Ansel Adams is part of Group f/64. Group f/64 was a group of seven 20th-century San Francisco photographers who shared a common photographic style characterized by sharp-focused and carefully framed images seen through a particularly Western (U.S.) viewpoint. In part, they formed in opposition to the pictorialist photographic style that had dominated much of the early 20th century, but moreover they wanted to promote a new modernist aesthetic that was based on precisely exposed images of natural forms and found objects.

Ansel Adams uses pictorialism. Pictorialism, an approach to photography that emphasizes beauty of subject matter, tonality, and composition rather than the documentation of reality.

The Zone System is a technique that was formulated by Ansel Adams and Fred Archer back in the 1930's. It is an approach to a standardized way of working that guarantees a correct exposure in every situation, even in the trickiest lighting conditions such as back lighting, extreme difference between light and shadow areas of a scene, and many similar conditions that are most likely going to throw off your camera's metering giving you a completely incorrect exposure. 

Previsualization is a function to visualize complex scenes in a movie before filming. It is also a concept in still photography. Previsualization is applied to techniques such as storyboarding, either in the form of charcoal drawn
sketches or in digital technology in the planning and conceptualization of movie scenery make up.

Movement Work Diary

Evaluation
I took some photos related to movement, some turned out the way that I would've liked but others didn't capture movement as well as I would've liked them to. This topic turned out easier than I originally thought it was going to be, it was quite easy to capture freeze frame movements but capturing the motion blurs was quite hard. Movement is the first topic I really played with the camera settings by changing the aperture and the shutter speed.

This photograph is one of my best images because I think it captures freeze frame really well. The running water was easier to capture as a freeze frame rather than a motion blur because the bubbles of the water as the overflow in the glass prove more effective if they are visible rather than blurry. The fact that the background isn't visible also gives a better effect as our eyes are drawn to the water rather than the background. I think that running water into a glass rather than just from the tap gives a better effect because we can clearly see the water overflowing in the glass. I think I can improve this picture further by taking it a different times as the water fills up into the glass.

This photograph is on of my best because I think it capture motion blur really well. I think a freeze frame or a motion blur would've been effective when taking photos of moving cars. I used a motion blur in this photo as I wanted to capture the path and movement of the car. The fact that the rest of the image is in focus apart from the taxi draws us towards the motion blur as it is the main aspect of the picture. I think that moving vehicles was a good way to capture movement because they are going at high speeds and easily display movement. I can improve this image by incorporating more cars into the photo.

This photograph isn't one of my best photographs because it doesn't capture movement in the way that I would've liked it to. I tried to capture a motion blur of her flipping her hair but it worked out harder than I imagined. To capture the motion blur the photo would have to be taken at a specific moment to capture her hair in the air and a motion blur. I tired to capture a motion blur rather than a freeze frame because I don't feel as though the freeze frame would've captured a better effect than the motion blur has. To improve this picture I would like to try to take it again and capture the motion blur of her hair in the air.

Progression

To progress the images that I took I put them into Photoshop and edited them to make them better. By editing the images that I have taken it gives them a deeper meaning and improves them.

    

To edit this image I made everything but the taxi black and white. By making everything else black and white it makes the motion blur be more effective. We are drawn into the taxi more by changing everything else to black and white as our eyes are instantly drawn to colour. I think this also makes the motion blur stronger which increases the effect of movement. To edit this image further I could've sharpened the taxi to make it stand out even more, I didn't sharpen it this time because I didn't want to lose it's motion blur. I think the edited version of the image is better because it gives a deeper meaning that the taxi represents a person speeding through life and the background shows the rest of the world being unchangeable.

      

To edit this image I made everything except the girl black and white. By making everything else black and white it make the motion blur become more stronger because we are only drawn to looking at the movement of the hair in the image. Even though the rest of her has colour the main focus is still the hair because we instantly recognise that it is out of place so we are drawn to looking at it first. I also cropped the image too, by cropping out the rest of  the background she becomes more obvious and stands out more. In the background there are things that may draw our attention so by cropping them out we can focus on the main movement. I think the edited version of the image is better than the original image because movement is more obvious. 

    

To edit this image I made everything black and white. By making everything black and white it breaks down the colour so we are not drawn to focus on the blue or the cream. I prefer the image in black and white because the image becomes more together rather than broken down into sections by the colours. Also, the image is given deeper meaning in black and white because the colour has faded away similar to how the foot is fading away. The motion blur is stronger in black and white because we tend to point out the odd parts of an image and the fact that the foot isn't all there draws our attention.

    

To edit this image I made everything black and white. By changing the colours to black and white it helps us focus on the movement in the image as in the original image we look at the grass and maybe the pole in the background as they show bright colours. I think by taking away the colour of the image it has slightly taken away the effect of the motion blur of the swing in the foreground but the freeze frame of the background swing is still visible. To improve this image further I could've changed the brightness or darkness of the blacks and the white to make the motion blur still stand out. I actually prefer the original image to the edited image because it interests me more and draws my attention more compared to the edited image.

    

To edit this image I made everything black and white and increased the brightness of the orange parts of the roundabout. By making the image black and white it helps us focus more on the motion blur in the image rather than being distracted by the colours in the original image. Also, by increasing the brightness of the orange poles the motion blur becomes stronger. I think the edited version of this image looks unrealistic and gives it a more surreal effect. The edited version and the original image are both good versions but depending on the type of photography that people enjoy they would prefer one or the other. To improve these images further I could've gotten closer to the roundabout and focus on one of the poles to grasp a motion blur.

Next time I take image related to movement I will use these improvements and make all my images a high standard.

Movement Contact Sheet

Joiners Image Bank

This image shows joiners because several different images have been taken of London Bridge in different places. These different images have been put together to make a whole picture. I chose this image because I was instantly drawn to it because although it isn't neat the different tones in the image make it better. I like how in this joiner we have a central image and several other images that make the central image stand out more. I can take ideas from this image by taking pictures of landmarks or buildings. Also, I can change settings on my camera to capture more or less light to create different tones.

This image shows joiners because lots of small images have been taken and fitted together to create a clearer picture. I chose this image because I was interested in the fact that it doesn't look like it has been created on Photoshop it looks like each of the pictures have been stuck together. I like that when the pictures are stuck together it doesn't create a landscape or portrait shape, it creates an uneven shape. I can take ideas from this image by taking images of landscapes. Also, I can take the use of really small images and photograph really small parts of a place.

This image shows joiners because different parts of this mans face has been taken and fitted together to make an abstract image. I chose this image because I was interested in the abstract effect of it. I like how the face can be clearly seen and each photo is of a different part. When you look closely at this image it looks like two men have been photographed and their faces have been put together. One man has longer hair and the other man has shorter hair. I can take ideas from this image by taking pictures of small sections of different peoples faces and merging them together to create a joiner. Also, I can take the idea of just using people in general to create a joiner.

This image shows joiners because different parts of the tree have been taken and fitted together. I chose this image because it shows that not everything has to be interesting to make a joiner out of it. I was interested in the abstract shape that is created when the joiners are put together. I think it is interesting how the whole tree hasn't been photographed. I can take ideas from this image by taking images of things that aren't considered as interesting but can be made interesting when we create them into joiners. Also, I can take the idea of photographing nature in general.

This image shows joiners because different parts of the woman's face has been taken and fitter together. I chose this image because I liked how abstract it is because the different parts of the face don't fit together perfectly. The fact that her whole face is in black and white except the eyeshadow shows us that the photographer wanted the eye to be the main focus of the image because it is the only part that has any colour. Although these pictures don't join up together, the image is still interesting and we are drawn into it. I can use ideas from the image by photographing smaller parts of people faces and joining them up abstractly. Also, I can take the idea of photographing small sections of people faces in general.

Joiners Definition

Joiners (for which the terms panography and panograph have been used) is a photographictechnique in which one picture is assembled from several overlapping photographs.

In the early 1980s, Hockney began to produce photo collages, which he called "joiners," first of Polaroid prints and later of 35mm, commercially processed color prints. 

This image shows joiners because several different images have been taken of the man. By putting all the images together we can see the different movements of the old man. The joiners create a puzzle and we have to look closely at each joiner to establish what each part shows. Each picture shows something different, they all fit together to form a picture. 

Movement Mindmap

Movement Straight Images

I took this image of a roundabout because I wanted to capture the fast movement of the roundabout. This image works well with a motion blur rather than a freeze frame because the freeze frame wouldn't have captured the movement as well as a motion blur. In the image we can see the movement well because the bars of the roundabout are not in focus and these are the main things that are moving. I think the fact that the rest of the image is in focus adds great effect because we are instantly drawn to the motion blur. Also, the way that the bars nearer the camera have a greater motion blur than the bars further away gives a greater effect than if the whole thing was just a massive blur. 

I took this image of swings because I wanted to capture the movement of both the swings going at different speeds. This image shows a motion blur as well as a freeze frame. The swing nearer the camera can be seen as a weak motion blur and the swing behind shows a freeze frame. The fact that the closer swing is a motion blur helps us establish the fact that this swing is going faster than the other. I think swings work well with either motion blur or freeze frame because both types of photo show the movement of the swing well. By having the photo closer to the camera not in focus makes us focus on the swing further away because it stands out but we still manage to focus on the other swing too.

I took this image of someones feet whilst they were walking because I wanted to capture their movement. This image shows a strong motion blur because the back foot is almost non existent where as the front foot is more visible. The fact that the back foot is less visible makes us see it is it is fading away as it almost looks ghost like. The way the background is more in focus makes the motion blur stand out more. By showing only the persons feet rather than their whole body makes the picture more interesting because we only focus on the feet whereas if their whole body was in shot it is likely that other aspects of the image would draw away our attention. 

I took this image of a taxi because I wanted to capture the movement of traffic as it went past. This image shows a strong motion blur because the taxi is totally a blur. Motion blur or freeze frame would work well in this case but I chose motion blur as it looked better against a focussed background. Having the background in focus helps the motion blur to stand out because it is the only blurry part of the picture. I think this motion blur is good I don't think it needs increasing or decreasing because it already gives a good effect.

I took this image of a girl because I wanted to capture the movement of her swaying her hair back and forth. This image shows a motion blur because the movement of her hair has created a blur. I think a freeze frame or a motion blur would've worked in this case but I chose a motion blur because it stands out more against the focussed background. I think the fact that everything else is in focus apart from her hair makes us focus more on the hair and what sort of movement she is performing to get the motion blur.