rebecca lesurf

NC Photography Student @ City of Glasgow College

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Portfolio Evaluation

A story told with Adobe Spark

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NC Portfolio Continued

Post Production

To present my portfolio images professionally, I had to place them onto A3 canvases. I had to ensure each image was also set for being placed onto them for instant I had to check the image size ensuring the longest side of each was 10 inches and the resolution was 300 ppi however I struggled with this as I did not want to resample the images. So as long as my image was set to 300 ppi and as close to 10 inches on the side.

I then used photoshop to create an A3 canvas but firstly created a template, both landscape and a portrait. This way I was able to have an easy and swift work flow when placing each image and converting the profile etc.

The step by step work flow I used:

1. I opened the template and the image separately.

2. Drag the image onto the A3 Canvas.

3. Drag one corner of the image whilst holding the shift button as to not stretch and disproportion, fit into the frame on the canvas (guide lines).

4. Add a stroke / Edit > Stroke. This allowed me to add a black lined border around each image, I could choose my thickness too.

5. The canvas then had to convert profile to suit printing. Edit > Convert to Profile.

6. I then saved my canvas as a PDF. Then again as a JPG.

7. Repeat for all other images.

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NC Portfolio

more to follow...

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Reportage Canvas - 30/05/2018

Over the last couple of weeks I have been shooting a variety of shots of my dad travelling to work each morning. This is my final outcome of 12 images.

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Magnified Image Evaluation

A story told with Adobe Spark

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Rebecca Lesurf // Magnified Image NC1B

NC Photography // Magnified Image Research // City of Glasgow College

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Few Attempts at Double Exposures - 21/05/2018

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Portfolio Research Task 1

A story told with Adobe Spark

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21st Century - Skin Retouching

For the 21st Century workshops we looked at both Photomerges and Skin Retouching. Out of the two, I had more success with the skin retouching, and I think it has turned out quite well. It also looks rather subtle too. In the above image I have used spot removal on the skin and for any stray hairs that I found around her face and sticking out into the background. I then continued to use the patch tool on her nose in order to reduce the little bit of shine that I found there. I found this tool the hardest to operate but I got there eventually.

Before Spot Removal Tool:

After Spot Removal Tool:

Before Hair Removal:

After Hair Removal:

Patch Tool:

Evaluation

Overall this technique has been easy to learn and figure out with the different types of tools to use. I think it massively effects how my overall portraits look by tidying up any stray hairs or reducing any shine on the face. With the image above that I have retouched its more effective as there isn't all this extra detail on the face or background because I've been able to retouch it out of the image.

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20th Century - Ilford FP4

The 20th Century film format I researched was Ilford FP4, and my challenge for part of the brief was to recreate the effect of Ilford FP4 film. I chose this image above because it had a lot of greys and whites in it already and with the effect of the graininess and boldness of the blacks and shadows I thought it gave a sort of nostalgic atmosphere with the empty chair and table seeming abandoned for days.

In order to create this filter on the image I changed the image to black and white in Lightroom. I also adjusted the grain to just under 100%. From there I had a look at the Nik Collection (Analog Efex Pro 2) on Photoshop to see if there was any options for film filters. I came across ‘Film Type’ and you can change your tones and amount of grain in the image, so obviously for the film type I chose, I needed a Black and White Neutral effect. I went for one kind of in the middle of the spectrum.

Black and White in Lightroom:

Adjusted Contrast and Grain in Lightroom:

Nik Collection:

This technique of Recreating a film type over my own image has been effective in helping me navigate the tools on photoshop as well as light room in a clearer way. I think as I said above this film effect fits well with this image I have chosen as it speaks more volume and adds more description to the image rather than just being a random chair and table in my image. The black and white with the grain creates a story in my opinion like abandonment or sadness etc. Think most film filters are capable of adding better detail and atmospheric feels.

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People 2 - Evaluation

A story told with Adobe Spark

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Skin Retouching - 16/03/2018

Before:

After:

Using Photoshop to edit out any skin blemishes or hairs falling onto the forehead.

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Multiple Images - 26/03/2018

Today, in Creative Image Making class we discussed a different variety of ways of multiple image making, for example, double exposures, multiple exposures or collages etc. We had a look at several examples of the techniques from images found on Pinterest.

We were then put into groups of three or four. My group included @carancb1photography @samanthalambnc1bphotography @kirstin-nc1b-photography .

We decided on a technique we wanted to attempt ourselves, we chose the multiple exposures example. Cara and Kirstin were our photographers and they took several images of landscapes in a row. Once we went back to class Cara then managed to create the multiple exposure by adding 5 or so images to layers in Photoshop and then she adjusted the Opacity for each one which helped to fade the other images into the forefront image.

Final Outcome:

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Film Format Research - 12.03.2018

Large Format

What is it?

- It refers to any imaging format of 4x5 inches up to 8x10 inches. 

Who uses it?

- A lot of landscape photographers like to use large format film as the can enlarge their images without losing quality.

What are the pro’s and characteristics?

- One pro of using a large format is that because it is such a large negative it doesn’t require as much magnification as a smaller negative would. Also the bigger the film size the better the quality of the images will be. they also offer a much wider range of tonal values as well as less graininess.

Photographers that use the format.

- A few photographers I have found that use this format are Ansel Adams, Takashi Amano and Tina Barney. 

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Film Format Research - 12/03/2018

35mm Format

What is it?

-It refers to the width of film, it’s common name being 36x24mm film format or image sensor format in photography.

Who uses it?

-It is commonly used for motion pictures or chemical still photography. Many photographers still use 35mm as well, since it is still the most common type of film. It can be used for portraiture as well as fashion photography.

What are the pro’s and characteristics?

-One pro of using 35mm film is that it is a lot cheaper than the other types as well as there being easy access to labs in order to develop images. You can also find 35mm film in both colour and black and white formats. It is also available in different ISO’s meaning you can vary how sensitive it will be to the light.

Photographers that use the format.

- A historical photographer thaat has used 35mm is Henri Cartier-Bresson. Cartier-Bresson is famously known for is street photography as well as candid.

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Confectionary Shoot

For the confectionary shoot, I took pictures of packets of M&M's. I struggled hugely with this product as it has a really reflective packaging. But to get around that, the above set up allowed me to soften the shadows by surrounding the product with white card which acted as reflectors, eventually I was able to capture a decent image with an even lighting on the packaging. The other issue I had was the packaging looking too crumpled, this resulted in me needing to brainstorm ideas such as cutting out the back and using cardboard to straighten it out or just finding smoother packets at the shops.

Kit List:

Tripod, sync lead, hot shoe, 1 softbox, 5 sheets of white card, still life table, product