Kenza Mouffok Photography

𝙷𝙽𝙳 𝙿𝚑𝚘𝚝𝚘𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚙𝚑𝚢 @ 𝙲𝙾𝙶𝙲 𝚑𝚝𝚝𝚙𝚜://𝚠𝚠𝚠.𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚖.𝚌𝚘𝚖/𝚔𝚎𝚗𝚣𝚊𝚖_𝚙𝚑𝚘𝚝𝚘𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚙𝚑𝚢/

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Macro - Final Contact Sheets

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Macro - Contact Sheets

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Macro - Final 2 Optimised Jpeg Images

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Structure - Contact Sheets (6/6)

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Structure - Contact Sheets (3/6)

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Painting W/ Light Sources

Anything that produces light can be used when painting with light however, each light source gives a different look depending on the range and spread of light and of course the colour. 

For my recycle shoot I used natural sunlight for my overall base image as this provided a wide spread of subtle but strong light for small detail key lighting I used my IPhone torch and a reflector to block majority of the light and narrow a spot light from this. 

Torch (Mag-lite);

Very narrow lighting source especially the Mag-lite brand of torch, this is great for small key lighting without lighting the entire scene.

LED Work Light/ Pole;

Wider light spread and would be used to light larger items or to create an effect in a long exposer image. 

LED Panels;

Light larger whole areas, not usually used for narrow specific key lighting unless placed correctly and somewhat covered or turned to a low light setting

Smart Phone;

In the image below it uses the front screen which can be done and with apps can be changed in colour but you can also use the torch feature on the back which will give you a smaller light source than the front.

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Recycle Shoot - Contact Sheet

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Illusion - Final Image

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Illusion - Project Evaluation

Positives - My kind of least favourite project we had. I'm not one for still life type photography however I usually seem to pull it out the bag and produce an extremely detailed piece. It’s an extremely eye-opening project, it allowed me to research and educate myself further on layer masks and the depths of photoshop magic. Lots of free range with this one. The brief asks for an image of two objects composited into one, an imitation of the original object however combined with something completely random. My images are very simple yet different. Easily interpreted but could also be slightly hard to enjoy for some. It’s all about imagination, the objects are in front of you but it’s not always how you see them. I also decided to make my images simple yet recognisable, very generic to eliminate any distractions and ensure key focus is what catches the viewers familiar eyes. 

Improvements -  If I did this project again, I would plan well in advance for shoots with loads more items and ideas as I was struggling for clean crisp space around my home and objects that flow together. My optimisation process, I would normally decrease the contrast in my images to enhance my detail however I didn’t want to darken the nail polish bottle and lose too much natural highlight or detail in the bottle and etc. I would also lighten the ketchup label a little more with a lower contrast to give more depth to the label and a higher focal attention.

Things learned - I have learned that finding two random objects  and combining them together is much more difficult than thought to be. I normally have a good eye for random objects to photograph however, this brief proved to be rather difficult this time round. Allowing myself much more preparation time and loads of brain storming before diving into production is what i have taken from this for my future shoots.

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Lost & Found Brief

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Illusion Post-Production - Write Up & Screenshots

Overall I am extremely happy with how my composite for the illusion brief turned out, I’ve included screenshots below of my final draft image and further screenshots of the layers and edits which I have used.

Quite a simple process in my eyes for this outcome for the illusion project after observing the amount of layers I used, and very little editing in post production as I feel as though I nailed my lighting in production! Overall, I am very pleased with my attempt at this illusion brief.

Below is the steps taken to achieve my final image for the illusion brief.

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Illusion Shoot - Contact Sheets

Below is my first contact sheet;

This shows all images taken.

Below is my second contact sheet;

This shows the images that have been narrowed down as potential images.

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Recycle Brief

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Creative Manipulation - Analysis

1) Christophe Gilbert

- Identify Key Successes of Creative Manipulation In This Image.

The key success of creative manipulation in this image would be the illusion of the models hair turning into race horses at the ends, this flows extremely well as its been colour blended extremely well and the lighting is concentrated on the right hand side of the image really bringing the horses to life.  

2)  Garrigosa Studios

- Identify Key Successes of Creative Manipulation In This Image.

The key success of creative manipulation in this image would be the illusion of the males face specifically the mouth area slowly transforming into a camels mouth. Very interesting piece, showing great use of layer masks and blending being used to create this image. the lighting also being very dull creates a scene which really blends well with the tone and shades of the camel mouth and nose and the models skin and under tones.

3) Erik Almas 

- Identify Key Successes of Creative Manipulation In This Image.

The key success of creative manipulation in this image would be the illusion of the models feet disappearing into the water, her dress floating so elegantly like a flower petal slowly submerging in water. This image shoes great use of lighting to advantage with subtle colour through out the image, minimal shadows, really capturing the subtle edges of the models dress and skin tone/surrounding elements such as the concrete edges. 

4) Riccardo Bagnoli

- Identify Key Successes of Creative Manipulation In This Image.

The key success of creative manipulation in this image would be the illusion of the models emerging from the massively unnatural eggs, in my eyes imitating turtles hatching on the sea front. New life a fresh beginning, this manipulation really shows the detail of masking using the saliva type goo to be edited onto the models, really showing the fresh obvious manipulation in the image.

5) Staudinger + Franke

- Identify Key Successes of Creative Manipulation In This Image.

The key success of creative manipulation in this image would be the illusion of the butter becoming mountains, the perfect lighting to create the perfect reflection on the butterknife and the subtle shadows in each and every little to large crevice and point in the butters harsh edges. This images is subtle yet creative as the butter is flowing so naturally however closer inspection shows its true manipulation.

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Creative Manipulation - Plan

My Two Household Objects; 

Heinz ketchup bottle and red nail polish bottle.

My Plan of Action;

Turn the nail polish bottle into a mini Heinz ketchup, add ketchup label, edit polish bottle and add background colour.

The image should look similar to Lydia Cowards’ below image. Ultimately my illusion is inspired by her.

My Finished Composite;

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Illusion Plan - Production & Concept

Concept;

My plan for the illusion brief was as follows, combine a nail polish bottle and a ketchup label to make a disturbingly weird but not surprising combination of a condiment and cosmetics. I took inspiration from the concept of ‘the uncanny’ I felt this was an equally disturbing yet very familiar mix for viewers to react to.

The idea behind my the project is something simple, however very achievable which I believe is what I have created. I’d use masking for majority of my image, turning my polish bottle label into a ketchup label, to get the feeling of the uncanny. I’ve drawn a rough sketch with annotations for my desired shot.

In my sketch you can see my ideas and roughly thought desired image. As for the kind of ketchup, I’ve decided to go for with no hesitation at all, Heinz ketchup keeping the traditional well known brand and label as I can relate my image to the viewer. Bringing a bit of wow factor as well as the familiar however uncanny vibe this illusion will create.

Production;

I’ve got enough modifiers and some black and white card for some DIY backgrounds and flags which I can use if need be. I will include an equipment list below;

Equipment List;

- Canon EOS 600D

- EFS 18-135mm Stabalizer Lens

- Red Nail Polish

- Ketchup Bottle

- White bed Sheet

- Curtesy College Tripod

- Clear Plastic Chair

- Reflector (White)

- Natural Light

I’ve set up in my kitchen as this is situated at the back of my house, which allows me to have a maximum amount of natural light used in my images, I can also draw the blinds shut and if needed a black out curtain. I’ll include below photos of my set up.

The current lighting setup is very versatile and I can easily switch out the objects while fairly keeping the exact same lighting, I will also be shooting these both with an 18-135mm stabilizer as this is the only zoom lens I own at the moment. I also believe it will allow for better framing of the subject due to the longer focal length, meaning I have to use less material/background space, although I have plenty of both this should still be taken into consideration.

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Layer Masks - Research

Layer Masks are one of the most important Tools in Photoshop. They make part of a layer visible and part invisible. The main advantage to using Layer Masks is they can be changed at any time – they are “non-destructive”, meaning they will never destroy image pixels. 

Benefits;

Hiding/Showing Layer masking is a reversible way to hide part of a layer. This gives you more editing flexibility than permanently erasing or deleting part of a layer. Layer masking is useful for making image composites, cutting out objects for use in other documents, and limiting edits to part of a layer.

Isolation Adjustments The use of layers is one of the most important concepts you can learn in Photoshop. Layers are the key to building a nondestructive workflow because they enable you to isolate important image components so that you can edit each independently of the rest of the image.

Layer Separations The main advantage of layers is that it can make every edit easy to reverse, by editing on separate layers. One option here is to have a foundation layer, then a retouching layer, then a layer for any other added objects (text, gradient filters, lens flares, etc.) and a layer for colour toning.

How To Use Layer masks;

STEP 1;

Select your desired layer/background in photoshop, once selected look for the create layer mask button next to the adjustment layer button at the bottom right of your photoshop interface. 

STEP 2;

A white square will then pop up next to your layer, which is then the canvas for you, you’ll use your brush tool to conceal or reveal details within the layer, It should look like the image below;

STEP 3;

Now you will be able to conceal/reveal the layer below using your brush tools which you can find on the left hand side of your interface on the tool bar. You will always have the option to click the smaller squares pictured below, which will swap out any sampled colours which you’re working with to black and white automatically. Black conceals pixels in a layer and white reveals them, neutral grey can also be used as a half way point if you’re interested in blending. However, using the Opacity/Hardness in the brush settings to blend is much more accurate allowing for more control and overall cleaner end results.

Tutorial/Explanation;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxxPUKrKcmE