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Finals

Evaluation

For this project I had to produce and publish a book of my final images, which could be based around a theme of my choosing. I had to have a minimum of 20 images for said book. I also had the choice whether I should add text or not to the pages.

Throughout this project I have used various photography techniques, such as using natural light. I also used multiple editing software once i had taken the images. To start off with, I used photoshop to edit the brightness, contrast, curves, etc. I then progressed into using the app on my phone called VSCO. To get the desired look.

The two main books/photographers that inspired me during this project were, Connor Franta’s book ‘Note to self’ and Vivian Maier’s street photography style.

To start off, Connor’s book was my main source of inspiration for the layout and photography style within my work. I chose to study this book because I really enjoyed the layout of his book. I liked the way he chose to use just one images to a page. I think this makes the reader take in all of the detail from the image, rather than getting distracted by other images. I also really enjoy the way the text is laid out throughout the book. There is no page the same. However, I decided not to use text in my book. As for the photography in his book. It inspired me to do more observational and street rather than a diaristic style.

As I changed my theme to observational photography, I had to find a photographer who shot like this. The first one I thought of was Vivian Maier. She has a really unique style. I really enjoy how she shoots from the hip. However, I found this didn’t really work for my style of book. Instead I tried to keep the kind of subtle aspect within my own work. She would photograph everything that caught her eye and I chose to do this too. I was also inspired by the look from her images. As they were all shot on film they had a rustic kind of feel. I decided to edit my images to remove some of the contrast so my images would have the same kind of feel.

So together, Connor and Vivian’s work inspired the way I took my images, right to the way I laid out my book.

Originally, my first idea was to do a diary. I really liked the thought of taking pictures of my everyday life, my family and friends in every kind of situation. However, as I started I soon realised that this would become difficult as I didn’t have much time and I didn’t want the images to look to similar. After doing some research I found some other artists and books that were based around observational photography. I thought it would benefit my work if I were to change my theme to observational/street. This theme was quite close to my original idea and it wouldn’t be too much of a drastic change.

The equipment I used during this project:

Cameras:

- Canon 700D

- Canon 5D mark II

Lenses:

- 50mm

- 150mm

- Tilt shift

- 85mm

SD cards - 16gb

Card reader

Laptop and Mac

Tripod

Editing software:

- Photoshop and Lightroom

- VSCO

My final thoughts on this project.

Overall, I am really pleased with the outcome of my book. I chose to get at least 100 pages in my book, so I could get a hardback cover, making it look more professional. I am pleased with the layout of all of the images and the edit I have used to make them look more retro/vintage.

If I were to do this project again, I would look to add text to my book. I think it would add a whole new aspect and give some meaning to the images I have taken.

Layouts

I like this layout. However, if the whole book was full of images like this, I think it would become too overwhelming after a few pages.

Again I like this layout but for the same reasons as the image above. I think this will make to book way too over crowded and having two full spread images next to each other would take away from the one next to it. I wouldn’t know where to look and I wouldn’t be paying as much attention to all of the detail in the images.

This is my favourite layout. I like how the image is big but not full spread. I like having the border around the image. I personally think this layout looks more professional. I also like how there is a blank page next to it, so you only have one image to focus all you attention on.

Personally I do not like this layout. I prefer there to be a boarder around the image. Without the boarder I thing the page next to it looks a little out of place.

I like this layout. However, I have decided that all of my images will be portrait, I think the images will be too small and will look cropped if I chose this particular layout.

I do really like this layout. I like the size and shape of the images. However, I prefer the other layout, where the image is this size and shape but the page next to it is plain.

I would really like to use this layout within my book. I don’t think it would look right if the whole book was filled of images like this. Also the fold in the image may cause some damage and distortion tot he image.

Vivian Maier

Vivian Maier has really inspired me with my photography in the project. I love the way she will capture anything she sees. The majority of her images are shot from the hip. I really like this angle, I thing they add a whole new perspective and mysterious tone to the images.

This images are shot nothing like Nick Turpin’s. However, I do find them quite similar. They both take images of everything that captures their eye. Also all of the portraits they have taken, the people are either taken back by the fact that someone is taking a photograph, or they have no idea at all. I really like this about the photographs. I like how they are not staged at all. They show the true atmosphere and the mood of the people within the images.

Nick Turpin

Nick’s project from London Bridge is one of my favourite shoots. I love the way he has captured all of the colours within the photographs. Every image has some kind of bright colour in it.

Nick stood on the bridge and took a photograph of anything that caught his eye. This has inspired me on some of my shoots. I chose to stand in one location and I would take pictures of anything and everything that caught my eye. Whether it was colours, objects or just people I saw.

I really like how in all of his images there is no one looking directly at the camera. His images are not staged at all, they are all just take then and there. No thought behind them.

Equipment required to create digital images

Lens based equipment needed to create a digital image:

- Digital camera

- Mobile phone camera

- Webcam

- Scanning equipment

- Film/scan

To expand on this, there are many types of digital camera brands out there. Such as: Canon, Nikon and Sony. All of these cameras have multiple lenses available. However, there are arguments as to which of the brands is the best. This all depends on the details of the main body of the camera. Such as: the resolution, screen type, sensor size and whether it has a view finder or not. These cameras can cost a lot of money. Whereas now you can buy a camera phone for half the price. The latest camera phones have 12mp rear cameras, which is better than some digital cameras.

Most photographers now have some form of scanner, this could be to scan, in to digital form, any kind of film photographs. some photographers till shoot on film and then scan and develop images so they can be put onto and online website for anyone to view. However, this is a very long process because all of the images have to be developed and then scanned. Whereas a digital camera can be uploaded to the computer almost instantly.

Amanda Friedman, she is a photographer that still uses film and scans all of her images into an online website, for the public to see. She says she enjoys using film to capture low light, long exposures as she cannot get the same effect by using a digital camera. In all of her images there is a very bold light source which gives her images a beautiful feel. She managed to capture the colours perfectly in her images.

The equipment required to transfer images to computer:

- USB

- SD Card

- Card reader

- USB Camera-to-Computer leads

To start off all cameras need an SD card to capture the images, these SD Cards come in plenty of different storage sizes. From 2GB to 128GB. The more images you capture the bigger the SD you will need. Once the images are taken and ready to transport to the computer, you will need to use a Card reader or a USB camera-to-computer lead. Personally, card readers are much easier to use. They plug into the USB port onto the computer and the SD card slots into the other side. The camera-to-computer leads are too bulky, you have to connect them into the camera and then into the USB port on the computer. They can take up too much room. Also some cameras may not have the port for the lead. After all of the images are uploaded, they can be transferred onto a USB stick which will free up some storage on the computer. Again, the storage size of the USBs are the same as the SD cards.

Techniques used to capture specific characteristics:

- Continuous tone

- Colour/Monochrome

- Transparent/opaque

- Natural objects/found objects

- Digital moving image

To expand on this, with the colour and monochrome. Are photographers changing the settings to monochrome or are the editing after. On most digital cameras and phone cameras, you can set the camera to monochrome and sepia before shooting. However, I believe editing the image to B+W after shooting in colour is much more beneficial because you are able to change the the tones within the image if they look too similar.

Another technique is changing the settings on the camera to capture the best image of something opaque or transparent. When taking a photograph of a reflection in a window or anything transparent, you will have to change the focal range and other settings. Such as: the aperture and shutter speed, to get the correct exposure and sharpness of the images.

Another technique is natural objects and found objects. This would be staged images or natural images. If you find an object you like but you don’t like the background you can move it to a different location to capture the image you desire.

The equipment required to enable digital image editing:

- Computer

- USB

- Portable hard drive

- Software

To start off, you would upload the images to the computer/laptop. You would then use some kind of editing software, E.G: photoshop/lightroom. After all the editing is done, you could download the images to an external hard drive, again, freeing up space on the computer.

The techniques used in digital image capture and editing:

- Image manipulation software applications

- Basic editing tools

- Manipulation tools

Finally, to access all of the basic editing and manipulation tools, you would use the photoshop software. You would use the basic editing tools if the image you have taken is either under or over exposed. The type of tools you would use are the brightness, exposure and contrast tools. These will help to edit the photo to the light you require. You would also use the manipulation tools, such as: Layers, opacity, clone and mask. If you wanted to completely change the way the image is portrayed or to add/remove something to the image to give a different look/effect from when taken.

heath and safety

Throughout this project there were plenty of health and safety issues I came across.

Whilst on location:

I had to be sure I was not trespassing at any point.

Whilst taking portraits, I had to ensure my models were comfortable with their photographs being taken. I also had to make sure I was not putting them in danger at any point.

When taking photographs in a shop or certain locations, I had to as for permission, to use my camera.

If I to take pictures of any people in the streets, If their face is visible I had to ask for permission to use the photograph.

Whilst taking the self portraits, I had to be sure that the tripod and camera was not in the way of anybody. (possible trip hazard).If on location while doing the self portraits I had to be sure to keep my eye on the camera and tripod at all times.

Equipment:

When borrowing any equipment from college, I had to ensure there would be no damage to anything I use. When not using the lenses I would put all of the caps on and it would be safely zipped up in a bag.

When using tripods I would have to make sure they are not in the way of any passersby, as it could become a possible trip hazard.

The editing of my images.

For all of my images I wanted the same Vintange/Retro look to them. So to do this I used an app on my phone called VSCO. I gave all of the images a blanket edit. However, some of the images were either under/over exposed so I would have to change a few extra settings. Such as: Exposure and brightness.

This is the simple blanket edit I used.

I started off with the M5 filter, adjusting this to +9.0.

I then changed the Temperature to roughly +1.0 and the Tint to +2.0

After this I changed the contrast to -3.0 to dull some of the bright colours to give it that vintage feel.

To finish off I added a highlight tint in the colour cream, I the adjusted this to +6.0

These settings gave me the vintage/retro look I desired.

For some of the images I did not need to follow all of these steps because the M5 filter dulled the majority of the colour. If I were to follow all of the steps from above the certain images would look too edited.

This image is an example of one that was over exposed. To overcome this I changed the exposure to -2.5. However, I still added the cream highlight tint, as this adds a warmer tone to all of the images.

Connor Franta

This is one of my all time favourite books. I have always wanted to make a book similar to this. I really like the way the images are laid out throughout. There is only one image per page, but they are all different sizes and shapes. There is no set layout. I also love the way Connor has placed the text within the book. He has put mini poems, that mean a great deal to him, throughout, with ‘chapters’ telling us about his life experiences. I think this book is beautifully laid out and presented.

This book is my main source of inspiration for this project.

I was originally going to add text about things I have experienced and poems I enjoy. Next to this text I was going to add Images that related to said text. However, part way through this assignment I realised that writing big chunks of text was going to take a lot of time and I didnt want to put myself under too much pressure and want this to take away from the quality of the images I put in my book. I also didnt want to write something that is not up to the standard of my images. If the text is bad the it will take away the detail from the images.

Also I was originally going to do a diaristic styled book. However, I decided I needed to have started take images much much sooner to get the quantity of images I need for the book. I then changed and developed on this problem. I chose to then do more observational and street styled photography, I still kept the images close to me. I only took the photographs in locations that I frequently visited or places and people that mean a lot to me.

Not only do I really enjoy the way this book is laid out and the quality of the images. I really like the way they are edited. I think they have a very vintage/retro feel to them as if they were taken on film/Polaroid. This inspired me to edit my images to make them look as if they were shot on film/Polaroid. I think it makes the images look more delicate and beautiful.

These are some of the images i took for the Sophie Calle remake. I like these images a lot so I might put these into my book.

For this shoot I went to the local pool place with a few friends. I used my Canon 700D with 50mm lens, so I could capture all of the detail and colour within the images. For this set of images i used the aperture f/4 and ISO 100, as it was quite dark. I didn’t want to change the ISO to let in more light because i didn’t want the images to go all noisy.

If I were to do this shoot again I would take more images, preferably of them playing the game, not just posing for the picture. I would prefer to have some less staged images from this shoot. I think it adds a more atmospheric mood to the images.

Barton in the snow

I took all of the images from this shoot in my garden. While doing this project I realised I do not have to travel far to take some beautiful images.

For this shoot I used my Canon 700D with 50mm lens. I used this lens because i wanted to change the focal area whilst taking these images. Either a blurred background or foreground. During this shoot the settings varied between f/5.6 and f/11, due to the sunlight constantly changing and reflecting off of the snow.

I really like the colour in these images. I enjoy how the majority of the image is white with snow and just a burst of colour seeping though, like in the images with the pink/purple flowers and the houses.

If I were to do this shoot again. I would consider using the macro lens to get right up close to the snow and the objects it is covering.

College 3

For this shoot, I again used my Canon 700D with 50mm lens. I used this lens because it is the best lens for taking portraits, it captures all the detail within the face.

For the majority of this shoot I used aperture f/5.6 and ISO 100. These settings seemed to do well throughout the whole of the shoot as the lighting did not change too much.

With this shoot, I decided to do some more self portraits for my books, as it is based around my life. I also walked around the college and took some pictures of objects and people I see everyday.

If I were to do this shoot again I would take some more images, as I did not take many of the people I see everyday. I would also change the angle. I took these images in landscape whereas the images in my book are all portrait.

Lenses

50mm Lens

fixed focal length - 50mm

maximum aperture - f/1.8

Really good for lowlight conditions due to its f/1.8 aperture.

Best lens for street photography and portraits.

85mm lens

Telephoto lens.

fixed focal length - 85mm

maximum aperture - f/1.8

The 85mm is very sharp, ensuring the background is out of focus making the image satisfying to the eye.

Tilt shift

Fixed focal length - 24mm

“A tilt shift lens is a lens in which the optics can be tilted and shifted in relation to the image sensor. By tilting the lens up or down, you can accentuate the effect of limited depth of field at a aperture. This technique is used to make cities look scale model replicas when photographed from elevated perspective” - The-digital-picture.com

150mm lens

Telephoto macro lens

maximum aperture - f/2.8

fixed focal length - 150mm

The macro lenses replicate a small object up to 0.5x left size on a camera. Dedicated macro lenses can also go 1.0x or 1:1 at their closest magnification.

200-400mm lens

Maximum aperture - f/4

minimum aperture - f/32

closest focus distance - 2m

focal length - 280-560

Super-telephoto performance

Maximum sharpness no matter the conditions

Durable and lightweight

- “Canon.co.uk”

10-20mm lens

Wide angle lens

Maximum aperture - f/3.5

Good for landscape photography, captures a wide angle to record more detail.

College 2

Again with this shoot I tried to keep them as minimal as possible. I took out a balloon and put it against different backgrounds. I changed the focus of the 50mm lens so the balloon was the main focal point and the background was blurred. I also chose to do some self portraits with this shoot. I set the camera up on a tripod and set it to the correct aperture (f5.6) and the 10 second timer so i have enough time to get into position.

For this shoot I used my Canon 700D with 50mm lens. I had the aperture set on f5.6 the whole time with ISO on 100. Evidently, due to now changing the aperture, some of the images were underexposed.

If I were to do this shoot again, I would change the aperture more frequently. I would also consider going to different locations for the self portraits, rather than just staying in one place.

Burton RFC

Again, like the Lichfield shoot. I decided to take a few pictures at Burton rugby club. I chose this location because I spent a lot of my time training and playing rugby here. This location again means a lot to me.

For this shoot I used my Canon 700D with 50mm lens and 10-20mm lens. With the setting varying between f5.6 and f11.

I used the 10-20mm lens to capture the images of the rugby pitch. However, the images in my book all need to be portrait. So to get the full effect of the wide angle lens, I took a few pictures of the rugby posts.

I then used the 50mm lens to take all of the other photographs. I feel the best images from this shoot were the ones of the seating and the portraits. The lighting in said images is really warm. Which I think capturing this natural lighting really shows off the colours in the images.

If I were to do this shoot again I would go over to the other side of the rugby pitch, I think I would’ve been able to get some nice photos of the club and the seating from that angle.

Marianne Mueller

Marianne, again like Nobuyshi, has used diaristic styled images for her book. Marianne take pictures of anything and everything to so with her family. She takes pictures of them everyday, now matter what they are doing, whether they are showering or laying in bed, Marianne always has her camera out.

Unlike Nobuyoshi, Marianne’s book layout is quite simple. She has a maximum of 4 images to a single page. Personally, I prefer this layout. I think Nobuyoshi’s book is too cluttered, due to the collages on the pages, it’s difficult to focus on all of the images. Whereas in Marianne’s book, each image is in full, no overlapping, which gives you time to take in every little detail of all of the images.

I aim to take my images the way Marianne takes hers. Marianne always has her camera with her, she never puts it down. I will try to do this. I will carry my camera with me everywhere, so every photo opportunity there is I can take a picture.

Nobuyoshi Araki

I was inspired by Nobuyoshi’s book as his style of photography is diatistic and that is what I am basing my book around.

Nobuyoshi’s book is called Yoko as that is the name of his wife. The whole book is based around her. He took images of her from before they got married, right up to the day she died. He would photograph her constantly.

As for the layout of his book. He took so many pictures that every other page is a collage. I think for this style of book, it is beautiful. However, for my book, I do not think I would take so many pictures that I would have to collage the images.

Nobuyoshi has also used text in his book. However, it is in a different language so I am unable to read it. I do really like the layout of his text. It works very well with the style of his book. There are so many images in the book, he adds a lot of text to go with it too. Again, I wont be adding a lot of text to my book, I would like to add a little bit here and there. However, I will not be writing a whole page like Nobuyoshi has.

As much as I like the style of this book, I do not think I will be using this layout as inspiration for mine. I will, however, use his images as inspiration for my diaristic style.

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