LO5 - Comparison to other photographers

When I look at what photographers my work compares to the most I would have to say I took a lot of inspiration from Diego kuffer and Martin parr. Diego kuffer gave me the idea of taking a traditionally normal setting and editing it to come out with a much weirder photo than before. I also used many editing techniques that he used such as layering to create a weird image. While my genre may differ to his I did take a lot of inspiration from his work.

I also took inspiration from Martin parr. It was his work that gave me the idea to try and capture a normal everyday setting within my photos. I then added the movement of surrealism onto my photos in order to have a contrasting meaning within my photos. He also inspired me to explore techniques such as the rule of thirds and having something for the viewer to look at in every part of the image.

LO5 - Methods of presentation

LO5 - Bibliography

Sources i used for finding information 

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/fototech/apershutter/aperture.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrealism#Golden_age

https://www.blog.theteamw.com/2013/02/19/15-questions-to-ask-yourself-when-evaluating-a-photo/

LO5 - Slideshow/Video of photos

LO5 - Gallery photos

I believe that my final edited photos fit into a gallery setting. They look professional due to the setting they are being displayed in and i feel they would work in a real gallery setting as i have seen gallery settings feature surreal photos similar to mine.

LO5- 8 Final edits with descriptions and evaluations/ What went well..

"Depression of the mind"

This photo was taken on the 18th of march and was taken at mid day in the assembly hall. The techniques i have used are single point perspective and rule of thirds. I used these in order to show of multiple aspects of the photo such as the person and the buildings. The photo depicts the subject (Callum) sat in front of the windows over looking Sheffield city centre. The editing techniques I have used in this are contrast, saturation blur and curves. I separated the model from the background in order to edit him separately from the background and give the idea that he is suffering from depression I did this by darkening him and making the buildings brighter in order to show the subjects state of mind.

"Seeing double"

This photo was taken on the 4th of February in the town centre. The technique I used in this photo was single point perspective. I used this in order to make the model the focal point. When I was editing this photo I wanted to convey the idea that the model was becoming the thing he was holding this. I achieved this by layering a picture of a ball onto the original image I then duplicated that image so that it would appear he is either becoming or apart of the ball he's holding. I also edited aspects such as contrast and brightness to further enhance the photo.

 "split wave"

This photo was taken on the 4th of February in the town centre outside winter gardens. The movements I took inspiration from were the surrealist movement from the 1920s. When i was taking my initial photos I used single point perspective in order to make the fountain the subject of the photo. When I was editing my photos I wanted to create the effect of two of the same object colliding with one another. I did this by duplicating the fountain and rotating them to look as if the two are colliding. 

"Skyscraper garden"

This photo was taken on the 4th of February in peace gardens. The techniques i used when taking this photo were a high exposure leading lines and emphasis of colour. I did this in order to capture the light of the sun coming over the roof of the buildings shown and the colour that was being given off.  When i was editing this photo i wanted to give a glow effect to the photo of the plants  to give the idea that it was something unworldly or holy. I then chose to use editing techniques such as contrast, vibrancy and curves to emphasise the colour and detail within the photo.

"worlds colliding"

This photo was taken on the 4th of February outside the winter gardens. The techniques i used when taking this photo were single point perspective and depth of field. I used these techniques in order to give the image a subject. For the meaning of this photo I wanted to give the impression that two different worlds were colliding. I did this by taking another photo and merging it with the first. I selected the fountain of the first photo and set an area in which I wanted to merge the two photos and then took a section of the second photo and merge it into the fountain. I then turned it green in order to have the two different sections stand out from one another.            

"aqua energy"

This photo was taken on the 4th of February in peace gardens. This photo depicts the water fountains in peace gardens. The techniques I used in this photo was leading lines and single point perspective. When i was editing this photo I wanted to have the water stand out from everything else in the photo so i created a new layer in order to separate the background and the water. I then used the saturation tool in order to make the water more colourful and the background darker. I also used contrast in order for the water to have more distinct edges and lighting.

"Urban ocean"

This photo was taken on the 14th of February in peace gardens. The movements i took inspiration were surrealism for the weird aspect and real world places such as the salt flats in Bolivia. I wanted to give the impression that there was a ocean or sea underneath the city creating the reflection. I accomplished this by using a technique i used in a previous edit of duplicating and merging together the same photo. I then used an effect where the transparency of bottom photo progressively got lower to give the effect you see on oceans or on the Bolivian salt flats. I then added a gradient of a light blue colour so that it still looked like some form of ocean or a even the sky.

"Descending orbs"

This photo was taken on the 14th of February in peace gardens. The technique i used in this photo was the rule of thirds. This photo depicts the subject (Callum) running through peace gardens. I then added another photo into the skyline to give the photo another subject. When i edited this i removed the sky and added the photo of the fountains and then added a glow to the bottom of the photo in order to give the skyline a weird or somewhat holy outline.

My edits fit the brief because i believe i have shown key aspects of Sheffield such as peace and winter gardens effectively as the theme of the shoot is the identity of Sheffield. For example I believe  that i have used aspects such as colour and depth of field to really bring the photos to life. Also i believe that my use of the photographic techniques helps give the photos more definition to them allowing the identity of the photo (Sheffield) to be the main focus of the photo.

I believe that what went well in these shoots were that they allowed me to experiment with many different photographic elements and techniques I hadn't used before such as exposure, depth of field and layering. What I think I could improve on for if I were to do this shoot again would be take photos in more diverse locations in order to get different backdrops and set pieces. Also I would take photos in different times of day other than mid-day so that I could experiment with different levels of light. 

LO4 - Evidence of editing

Edit 1

Before 

Process of editing photo 

After

When I was editing my photos I wanted to create the effect of two of the same object or even two mirrored worlds were colliding with one another to create the distorted/ripple effect on the image.  I did this by duplicating the fountain and rotating them to look as if the two are colliding. I then used the wave tool to give the fountains the distorted feel, I wanted them to have that effect so that they would fit the surrealist movement.

Edit 2 

Before 

After

 When i edited this i removed the sky and added the photo of the fountains and then added a glow to the bottom of the photo in order to give the skyline a weird or somewhat holy outline, I did this in order for the photo to fit in with the surrealist movement.
Edit 3

Before 

After

When i was editing this photo I wanted to have the water stand out from everything else in the photo in order to convey that the water was the only thing in the photo filled with life. So i created a new layer in order to separate the background and the water. I then used the saturation tool in order to make the water more colourful and the background darker.

Edit 4

Before 

After

The editing techniques I have used in this are contrast, saturation blur and curves. I separated the model from the background in order to edit him separately from the background. The meaning I wanted to convey with this photo was that the subject was suffering I achieved this by darkening the subject while making the outside world seem more alive and brighter so the two focal points contrast one another.


Edit 5

Before

After 

The editing techniques I have used in this are layering, filters contrast and curves. I firstly removed the sky in the original photo as i wanted to replace that with a different photo to give the idea that you were looking into a different place or two worlds were colliding. I then chose a photo of peace gardens as i feel this would contrast well with the original photo.

LO3 - Planning to edit my photos

When i am editing my photos i am going to be following in the style of the surrealist movement. Surrealist works feature the element of surprise, unexpected juxtapositions and non sequitur; however, many Surrealist artists and writers regard their work as an expression of the philosophical movement first and foremost, with the works being an artifact. Leader André Breton was explicit in his assertion that Surrealism was, above all, a revolutionary movement. I will try to incorporate many of these features into my work in order to give my photos a weird side to them.

I will use techniques such as layering, scale, levitation, tranparency and transformation in order to fit my photos into the surrealist style. I will also manipulate features such as saturation and contrast in order to further extend my photos into the style of surrealism. I feel that this will help improve my unedited photos as in some the colours were rather dull and not much may have been happening in them so by using surrealist techniques i feel they will be improved.

LO3 - Adobe bride

I have evaluated my photos on the unedited photos post.

LO3 - Unedited Photos with shoot evaluation

When I was taking my photos I wanted to use a variety of photographic techniques in order to show more understanding of multiple techniques. A few examples of the techniques i used were leading lines rule of thirds and depth of field. I would say i am more experienced with these techniques as they allow me to create very intriguing and contrasting images. When i was taking photos i had to manage effects such as aperture and shutter speed. I used a small aperture in order to let less light in which could have made the image over exposed. I believe that my photos fit the brief of the theme being the identity of Sheffield. I believe this to be because I have showcased many key and beautiful places located around the Sheffield city centre using techniques such as leading lines, rule of thirds and depth of field. It also fits the theme due to the idea of the green ethos as i have tried to incorporate a lot of nature into some of my photos.

LO2 - Second shoot photos

In these photos i was trying to capture the urban side of sheffield.

I am happy with how this shoot turned out as it allowed me to experiment with techniques such a exposure, lighting and how to position my model. I feel that i have met the brief of the identity of Sheffield as i have captured many photos of a regular Sheffield but i have added my models in to add a deeper meaning to the photos.