Evaluation

Evaluation

Throughout my project I have researched several different photographers and each one has made a difference to my work. When I researched Henri-Cartier Bresson I learned about the decisive moment and how he had to decide when to take the image to make sure it turned out the way that he wanted. In my work I was able to use the decisive moment because I timed photos right and was able to capture successful images. Another photographer that has influenced my work is Barbara Kruger, she created physical images relating to feminism. Personally, I liked her work because she spread a meaning throughout her images, they have a purpose and spread her ideas to other people. I particularly enjoyed creating physical images that linked to her work because I  believe strongly in what she was saying and I like spreading my ideas to other people.

Also, I was able to learn several different skills when using the camera in my project. When using the aperture feature on the camera setting we were taught the main f stops and how each f stop let a different amount of light into the image. Learning the f stops and all about aperture had a successful effect on my work because my pictures turned out better as I understood how much light should be allowed into the photo and which f stop to choose. Being able to use the studio also impacted my work a lot because I was able to learn about the studio lighting and how to change the settings on our camera to work well with the studio features. Working in the studio had a successful impact on my photography because I am able to use the equipment well to produce a high quality photograph. 

These different techniques that I have been taught made a successful impact on my work as it has helped develop my photographs well. In the beginning my ability to take photographs was not very successful, I had no idea how to use the different settings on the camera and I didn't understand the different compositional rules that I could've used. Throughout this project my ability to take photographs has progressed well. I now know how to change the different settings on the camera to work with the lighting in the location and which f stop and shutter speed to chose. As well as learning about the camera I have also learnt a lot about Photoshop. I am now able to edit photos using the different tools to produce a progressed photo.

I have demonstrated the different techniques that I have learnt by editing my images using Photoshop. In Photoshop I am able to change the image to black and white to effect the mood of the picture. I have also picked up skills to change the saturation and contrast of the images to effect the colours being produced in the image. Also, I can use different paint brush tools to colour certain elements of the picture, for example making the sky darker or lighter. In my work I have demonstrated using the camera techniques that I have learned by changing the settings on the camera to produce a high quality photo. For example, when taking images related to landscapes I changed the f stop to 22 to produce a high depth of field in the images.

Personally, I think my work is developing in a composite theme because my images show composite rules such as the rule of thirds. However, I would still like to experiment with abstract images as this will help me develop fully what route I would like to take. I enjoy producing composite images because the look nicer and I feel as though I can spread the meaning of the image better.

In my work I feel as though I have been most successful in my documentary project because I produced a high quality photoshoot and also produced better edited photos within this category. I think I have been least successful with tone, I found it extremely successful to make tone images using people but I was unsuccessful at creating tone images using objects.

Connecting Essay 5

Connecting Essay 

Barbara Kruger

In this photo we can see a little boy flexing his muscles and a girl pointing to his arm. This photo has a old fashioned black and white effect which gives it a WW2 effect. The caption says "we don't need another hero", this shows that this little boy is inspiring to be like the powerful men in the world. I think the caption is showing sarcasm because there are hardy any powerful women that have status in the world at that time and the powerful men in the world aren't really heroes at all. Barbara Kruger has a feministic theme throughout her photographs and this one adds to this theme because she is showing us that little boys are inspiring to be like the arrogant and selfish male leaders throughout the world. I like this image because I think it has a deep meaning and it opens peoples eyes to things happening in the world.

In this photo we can see a boy holding up his hands with boxing gloves, he looks very intimidating. The black and white effect is similar to Barbara Kruger's image but I made it slightly bolder to represent modern times. The caption on this image says "equality, if they can we can", this also, like Barbara Kruger's image, represents feminism. The meaning I tried to get across was that if men and boys can be strong and powerful then so can women because there is no difference between women and men. Similar to Barbara Kruger's images this photo also has a deep meaning to it and can spread feminist views. 

My image is similar to Barbara Kruger's because they both spread feminist views and both show how boys are inspiring to be powerful and strong but we don't see girls inspiring to be like this. The composition of this image is also similar because the images are both black and white with a red caption. 

Composite Images Work Diary

Composite Images

Evaluation
I created two sets of composite images, the first attempt of this topic didn't go that well because I chose the wrong objects as they didn't match with the location I chose. However, my second attempt turned out better than the first.

These first two images were my first attempt at trying to create some composite images. The idea I had didn't turn out well, I was expecting to try and create the objects like people but I struggled with this. If I had

chosen different objects it may have turned out well. A perfume bottle and lipstick doesn't really compliment the location that I have chose which is why it didn't turn out as well as I hoped. 

   

As my first attempt at composite images didn't turn out as well as I hoped I tried to create them again but with a different object and the same location. I think this object worked well with this location as it is cartoon character and graffiti is often associated with cartoon characters and writing. Also, this area looks like a rough area and not very upper class, this can link to the fact that the character is a shark because they represent fear. 

Landscape Work Diary

Landscape Work Diary

Evaluation

I think this is one of my better images as it has a great depth of field, we can see deep into the image as it is unclear when the path ends. Although the bushes aren't the main focus of the image we can still see them in great detail and they add great effect to the image. I think the path and bushes add a great effect to the image because this is naturally where our eyes follow. To edit this image I think I will make the sky lighter because I didn't want to create the darker tone that this image is showing, by making the image lighter it will have a better effect. 

This is also one of my better pictures as it too has a great depth of field because we can see far in the distance to behind the buildings and in the direction the traffic is going in. I think the fact that we can see where I was standing where I took this image increases the depth of field too because our eyes naturally follow the wall into the distance. This picture is very dull but it adds effect to the image because the small lights we can see on the cars and the traffic light stand out against the dull lighting. To edit this image I will make the image lighter as a whole and maybe crop the sky slightly as this isn't the main focus.

In my opinion, I don't think this was the best landscape image that I was able to take because it is quite dark and we can't see the car park very well. I like the way the sky looks in this image because the clouds are very low and clear. Instead of focusing on the real landscape this image really only focusses on the sky. To improve this image I could change the camera setting to allow in more light to make the car park seem brighter instead of really dark, if it wasn't so dark it would've been a good photo.

Progression

     

To edit this image I made everything other than the sign black and white. By doing this the main focus of the image stands out more. I think the edited version is better because we are drawn to the station sign rather than what is going on in the background. Making the image black and white also helps with taking away the effect of the leaves as the image appears better without them. Although the train in the background does add effect to the picture I decided it would look better black and white to draw more attention to the sign. As well as making it black and white I increased the saturation of the sing to make it stand out more and appear more vibrant.

   

To edit this image I increased the exposure of the image which made it slightly brighter which helps increase the mood and prevent it from looking dark and dull. Also, I increased the saturation of the image which brightens the colour of the leaves on the trees and also brightens the colour of the sky. I think by doing this it has helped with the depth of field as we can see clearly into the back of the image. The edited image appears better because the colours are brighter and the image is less dull. Although the image looks good dull as it was in a forest which people would associate with a darker image I didn't want to spread this stereotypical idea.

   

To edit this image I cropped a section of the grass out because it brought more focus to the trees as it was unnecessary space which took away the attraction of the trees. Also, I increased the darkness of the shadows which made the details of the trees stand out more because the shadows appear bold and darker. I increased the saturation too which made the colour of the trees stand out too which also grabs our attention too. By making the sky white it also adds to the effect of eeriness and makes the trees stand out more. 

  

To edit this image I cropped the sky slightly and the bottom too because I wanted to draw attention to the London Eye and the building as these were the main focuses. As well as this I also increased the exposure of the image slightly because it made it look less dull, the sky appears brighter and helps the buildings stand out more. By increasing the saturation of the image makes the lights that are present in the building appear brighter and draws our attention more. I think the edited image appears better because it has a lighter mood and brighter colours.

   

To edit this image I cropped it slightly to focus in on a small section of the car park, this added a better effect because we only look into this section rather than looking at other elements that are present in the image. Also, I changed it to black and white and increased the clarity, by doing this it increases the eeriness present in the picture as it appears darker. By making the image black and white the shadows appear blacker which creates a narrower depth of field than the original image as there is more darkness. I wanted to create more darkness in the image because it adds to the horror effect that I wanted to create. 

Joiners Work Diary

Joiners Work Diary

From my research about joiners I was able to create 2 joiners, one of a building which I don't think is my best and one of a person which I prefer out of the two.

This was the first joiner that I created, I went out and took several images of this building and tries to piece it together to form a joiner. In my opinion I dislike this joiner because I couldn't piece it together properly as it doesn't go as well together as I had hoped. To improve this joiner and make it better I should've took smaller images of the building so it would've been easier to piece the images together to make it seem like an actual image. I think this was good for my first attempt at making an joiner but I feel as though I could take another image of a building and try again. Instead of taking zoomed out images of the building I could've zoomed in further and captured smaller sections of the building to make the piecing together stage easier.

I created a second joiner of a person, I used a studio to take several images of this persons body and pieced them together to form a joiner. In my opinion, I think this is my best joiner as although we can see where it has been pieced together and doesn't actually look realistic we can still clearly see where each of her body features are. I think this joiner worked out better then the building joiner because I took smaller sections of her body and pieced them together rather than taking bigger sections. To improve this the only thing I would do is take the pictures on a different background instead of a ripped one. If I was going to progress further with joiners I would take someone face and create a joiner. 

Barbara Kruger Research Post

Barbara Kruger

Context
Barbara Kruger was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1945. Working for Mademoiselle Magazine, she was quickly promoted to head designer. Later, she worked as a graphic designer, art director, and picture editor in the art departments at House and Garden, Aperture, and other publications. She layers found photographs from existing sources with pithy and aggressive text that involves the viewer in the struggle for power and control that her captions speak to. Much of her text questions the viewer about feminism, classicism, consumerism, and individual autonomy and desire, although her black-and-white images are culled from the mainstream magazines that sell the very ideas she is disputing. 

Photography

This image from Barbara Kruger shows a puppet in the form of a man holding a sign with lines that we would perceive as hypnotising. Having the line "Repeat after me" tells us that we are being hypnotised into thinking certain things and taking orders from people that know their ideas are wrong but they still find a way to transfer them across to the people. The fact that it is in the form of a man shows that the men have all the power and they are giving orders to the women. This can also show that we are being given orders by puppets who are also being hypnotised. Barbara Kruger's feminism can be displayed in this image because she is showing how men are in charge and they have ultimate power.

This image from Barbara Kruger shows someone placing a needle in a haystack, the needle is surrounded by negative and positive words that we experience in every day life. The fact that the needle is being placed in the haystack surrounded by these words shows us that the words are forever going to be lost in the haystack with the needle. You will never be able to find the needle in the haystack. The slogan 'the meaning of life is that it stops' links to the picture because the needle can represent life and the words represent what we go through in life, the fact it is being placed in a haystack where it will never be found again shows that life is stopping. 

This image shows a woman's face, on one side it it normal and unedited but on the other side it looks like we are looking at an x-ray. The fact that the saying "Your body is a battleground" is written across the picture shows that we do things to our body such as getting plastic surgery etc that is changing our body. It can also show that women go through pain to look they way they want to. I think Barbara Kruger is trying to show that we shouldn't go through all this pain to look a certain way we should just embrace the way we look. I think she has used a picture of an x-ray next to a normal woman to show that when women change the way they look it isn't always for the better.

Physical Images Image Bank

I chose this image because I like how elements have been entered into the image to replace her facial features. I also like how this picture shows surrealism and is abstract. Although colour is only present on her face the image is still inviting and bright because of the bright lighting. The dripping effect on her eyes and mouth adds effect to the picture because it is spreading the colour to the rest of her body. I can use ideas from this image in my work because I can add colour to duller parts of the image and add in colourful elements to replace facial features like this image has.

I chose this image because I like how it has been destroyed with water. I like how virtually the whole image has been destroyed but you can still make out what was there before and what the image is supposed to be. The blur of colour is attractive to the eye because we are intrigued to know what the image is showing. Also, I like the inaccuracy of the water, it is not in a certain place and hasn't just blurred out one section of the image. I can use ideas from this in my work by using water to drip or blur the ink from the photo. 

I chose this image because I like how they have used burning to take out her eyes. Although, the burning is not exact, it isn't a clean circle I like this image because it shows imperfections and how our minds instantly replace these burning marks with eyes even though they are not exact replicas of the shape. I think burning has a great effect on an image as it shows how a picture has been destroyed. I can use elements of this image in my work as I can use burning to remove elements of an image or just to destroy the image completely. 

I chose this image because I like how it shows surrealism and is abstract. I like how it forms a collage rather than one image on its own. The fact that the images are not clear and are ripped with uneven edges gives it a bester effect. You can tell that these have been taken from newspapers because of the ripped edges and scratched images. I can use ideas like this in my work by getting difference features like this person has and creating a collage out of them.

I chose this image because I like the abstractness of the image. The persons face is unclear to us but we are aware of what it is supposed to be. I like how every part of the image has been rotated to make the image look strange and unrealistic. Although we cannot see the face properly we are still able to make out where the features are and which way each part as been rotated. I like this image because it acts as a puzzle for our eyes because we instantly try to piece each section together. I can use ideas from this image in my work by making a similar puzzle with different pictures.