Final Images - Theme 1

Nature

Below are what I consider to be my top ten images of the first theme of the course, Nature. I have given an explanation under each image to explain my reasons as to why these have been chosen.

This first image was chosen because it shows great detail and texture of the mushrooms and I like the colours and the tonal range overall. I also like the positioning of the smaller mushroom against the larger taller mushroom. I also like the depth of field used.

This image was chosen mainly for the texture and depth of field. I like how the bark leans and isnt just straight so it adds angles and lines to the photograph.

 

I like the patterns in this image and how it keeps the main focal point as the leaf. There is also symmetry in this image due to the shape and angle of the leaf.

 

Again, there is alot of texture in this photograph and I really like how the light just touches the plants edges to highlight the sharp spikes. I like the central position of the front plant and how that remains the focal point and the depth of field.

I like this image as it looks like a old painting. I think portrait has worked really well in this image which shows off the height of the trees in the background and the angle of the bridge along with the winding path into the background is intriguing. I think putting this in photoshop has helped to bring out the colours of the leaves.

 

This was one of my earlier photographs taken at the gravelpits and I just like the simplicity. It captures the sunrise really nicely and the trees frame the image to draw your eyes in. I love the reflections on the water from the sun and the tonal range is beautiful. 

 

This is also a really simple image of a swan and I like the movment of the ripples in the water and the graceful stance of the bird. The swans eyes draw your eyes across to the right of the image and I like the detail and texture of the swans feathers.

This image was chosen due to the simple composition and tonal range. I like angle of the leaf at the front and how this reaches out to catch your attention making it the main focal point. I also like the subtle highlighting of the leaves from the natural sunlight as this shows off the leaves textures and sheen and also, the lines in this image are really nice.

I like the colour range in this photograph and the depth of field used to make the flower really stand out. The purple tones of the flower pops out against the green background and I like the straight lines and shape of the buds on the flower. The positioning of the flower is also interesting and I like the detail captured in the image.

This is a really simple composition and it is mainly because of that reason that this image was chosen. The swan moves really elegantly and effortless through the water and I think this photograph really captures the essence of the swan. I like the gentle ripples of the water and also the reflections and shadowing on the waters surface which adds dimension.

Photoshop session

In class we were shown how to use photoshop to enhance any images that needed improving. This was the first time I had used the photoshop software and I found it really interesting and useful and surprisingly easy to use.

I selected some of my images of my first theme (nature) and had a play around with photoshop to see how the images can be changed, cropped and enhanced using the different options on the software.

Image 1

This was the first image chosen from my first theme which was taken at Branston water park and I think that the overall image looks ok as it is but I thought that I would experiment with photoshop to see how it could be changed and whether this would make it look any better.

This shows that I set the image at A4 so I no matter what I did to the image or how it was cropped it would always print out as an A4 size. It shows on this screen print that A4 would be 210 mm wide and 297 mm in height. 

This screen print shows me cropping and selecting the chosen area of the image. I didn't end up taking a lot off the image as I liked the whole composition.

I then went on to layer the image with changing the brightness and contrast. I adjusted the brightness to 38 and contrast to 4.

This screen print shows me changing the exposure. This layer by itself seems like the image is overexposed.

The next layer was hue and saturation. This layer added on top of the exposure and brightness/contrast worked quite well and looks a lot brighter and vibrant. This would be a good technique to use if you want to have a really bright and colourful image that really pops.

This last screen shot is to show the adjustment of colour balance which was the last layer I used to get to the final outcome. Because I wanted to keep the image natural I didn't want the colours to look manipulated or artificial. I really just wanted to enhance the colour of the leaves around the bark.

Comparing the before and after images

Image before photoshop

Image after photoshop

Evaluation on image 1

Looking at the before and after images above I actually think I prefer the before image. I think the only thing I would change on my original image is maybe the brightness/contrast to give more light. I like the composition so I wouldn't take anything out of the image as I shot it this way on purpose so that the bark leans inwards and I like the wildness of the twigs coming off the bark.

Image 2

I photographed this leaf because I loved the shape of the leaf and the colours and because of this I thought it was really beautiful. I also liked the way that the smaller leaves surrounded the main subject of the larger leaf. I think this image works well as it is but I wanted to crop this slightly and make it more vibrant because the photo is light but dull. I want to make the leaf really stand out.

Firstly I wanted to crop the image and select the area that I wanted to concentrate on and work with to enhance it. I ended up making the image more square and took away some of the edges from the side. 

The first layer was the brightness and contrast. With this one I increased the brightness to 37 and decreased the contrast to -12.

Here I have increased the exposure which has given the image more light. Even though I felt the image didn't really need more exposure I played around with the exposure settings to see what it would do and how it would effect the image.

The next layer was vibrance and saturation. The vibrancy was set to +56 and the saturation +16 and this gives the image purity and makes the colours more defined.

The final layer was the colour balance and I tried to concentrate more on the yellow tones to really make the leaf pop out of the image.

Comparing the before and after images

Image before photoshop

Image after photoshop

Evaluation on image 2

I like both the before and after images of image 2 and I think that they both give a different effect and feel. I like the before image but I do feel that it has a better composition once cropped. I love the vibrancy of the after image but it maybe slightly too bright but I think it definitely pops and gets your attention.

Image 3

I liked the shape and the detail of these plants and that is what I wanted to capture in this image. I wanted to make the texture and the detail really sharp and defined. Because it was a dull day the image came out quite dull so that is the main thing I wanted to improve on.

I decided to keep the image the same here and didn't actually crop anything out. I like the composition and the shapes and I thought it worked well enough without anything being removed.

The first layer I experimented with was the brightness and contrast. I increased the brightness to +97 and the contrast to +37 which I think helped the image as far as the dullness is concerned. It really helps to pick out the light and makes the details appear sharper. I like that you can see the cobwebs on the plants and the little water droplets.

The next layer was hue and saturation which I only changed slightly.

Finally I altered the colour balance of the image concentrating on the blue, green and red tones as these were the main tonal ranges in the image.

Comparing the before and after images

Image before photoshop

Image after photoshop

Evaluation on image 3

I think that using photoshop with this image has improved it. I like the brightness and the detail that is shown in the after image and everything has just been lifted. I think that this may be one I will use in my final images.

Image 4

I like the composition and angle of the tree in the original image above. I also like how you can see the background but because it is blurred it doesn't defer away from the tree and the detail of the bark. 

Because of the points raised above I didn't crop anything off the original image.

My first layer was the brightness and contrast, the brightness has been increased to +37 and the contrast to +40. This just gave a subtle change to the image and gave more light at the front.

Next I changed the hue and saturation. The hue was taken down to -2 and the saturation was increased slightly to +4.

The last layer was the colour balance which I tweeked slightly. I didn't feel it needed much as I like how 'raw' the image was originally. I just wanted to pick out the green of the moss and hints of colour on the bark.

Comparing the before and after images

Image before photoshop

Image after photoshop

Evaluation on image 4

I think that both images work but I like the sharpness and colours of the after image. The hints of colour on the bark have been drawn out and the moss also stands out alot better. Even though I like the after image I would still use my original as this has a more raw look and I like the neutral tones.

Image 5

This image was one of my favourites taken at Branston water park. I like how the composition is simple and that the swan is the main subject and this is where your focus lies. The only thing I wanted to change to this image is the space around the swan.

This snapshot taken from photoshop shows that I have cropped the image and changed it to portrait instead of landscape. The only other thing I did here was to change the contrast and brightness of the image to bring out the colours of the swan's feathers. I mainly concentrated on the contrast and cropping.

Comparing the before and after images

Image before photoshop

Image after photoshop

Evaluation on image 5

I prefer the photoshop image to the original image mainly because of the fact I was able to crop out a lot of the empty spaces in the photograph. I also like the position of the swan and altering the contrast has really made the feathers of the swan stand out and make an impact. I specifically left the swans foot in the frame as this shows the swan is in movement and the line of sight from the swan directs your eyes over the image.

Theme 2 - Branston Water park

Preparation and planning

This shoot was the same day that I had planned to come to the water park to take photographs for theme 1. Because my partner was coming with me to help carry my equipment it seemed logical to try and take some shots for theme 2 as well and encorporate the two with my partner being the model.

It was a cold day so I made sure that the clothes he was modelling was also practical for the weather conditions as well as the shoot itself. I wanted to keep the images quite simple and natural so the clothes my partner was modelling reflected this.

Equipment used

For this shoot I borrowed a camera and tripod from the college. It was a standard tripod and a Canon EOS 400D Digital camera which I have used previously.

Health & Safety

Before heading out to the location I had to take into account any health and safety implications. Like I mentioned above it was very cold so I had to make sure I was wrapped up warm as well as my model. I also checked out the park map to make sure that access was possible to all areas and that it was safe. Because I had used the same equipment before there was no issues where that was concerned so knew how to operate and look after the equipment.

Log of images

Below are some images that I took on the day at Branston water park for my fashion on location theme. I have advised the settings used on each image and also a short description on what was successful in the image overall and what wasn't as successful. I will also compare some of the images I have taken to the research I have done on photographers.

ISO - 500, f/5, Shutter Speed - 1/400

Because it was a dull dark day I had to increase the ISO settings accordingly. With this first image I wanted my model to be quite natural in his pose and at the same time I wanted to show off the background - the greenery and the colours of the fallen leaves. I like the overall composition of this image and how the path is central.

ISO - 800, f/5, Shutter Speed - 1/500

I wanted this next image to be off centre and to still be very natural. Having my model look into the distance makes you wonder what he is looking at and adds the mystery to the image.

ISO - 800, f/5, Shutter Speed - 1/500

This is a similar composition to the previous image but this time I captured it in portrait mode instead of landscape. This time the model is looking behind the camera into the distance and your eyes follow down the path into the back of the image as well as on the model. It also clearly shows what the model is wearing which is what this theme is about.

ISO - 800, f/5, Shutter Speed - 1/500

I like the composition of this image and how the path sweeps around to the back. I think the light works well here and the way it reflects off the surface of the leaves and on the models clothing.

ISO - 800, f/5, Shutter Speed - 1/500

I like this composition and the natural pose of the model and I wanted the bench to be deliberately slanted and not straight to add more of an edgy feel. However, I felt that the bench needed to be more central to the whole image.

ISO - 800, f/5, Shutter Speed - 1/500

This is similar to the image before but the bench is more central and it makes the composition and image look better overall. This is probably one of my favourite images of this shoot because I like it as a whole. I like the fashion element of it because the clothes work well with the location and weather and it still has the natural beauty from the fallen leaves and the trees in the background.

ISO - 800, f/5, Shutter Speed - 1/200

Although I think the light may be too direct and bright in this image it has helped to pick out the texture of the clothes the model is wearing. I like the straight lines in this image, the horizontal lines of the wooden bridge against the vertical lines of the trees in the background which also contrasts against the winding pathway into the distance.

ISO - 800, f/5, Shutter Speed - 1/500

This image is the same as the previous photograph but slightly darker and the expression of the model is different which adds a different mood to the image. I prefer the lighter image for the fact that there is more texture and the colour of the leaves and greenery stands out more.

ISO - 800, f/5, Shutter Speed - 1/400

The composition works well here with the path winding down into the distance which is one of the main focal points. I like the fact that the model is looking into the distance and the angle of his body.

ISO - 800, f/5, Shutter Speed - 1/320

The shutter speed is set lower than before which has lifted the light in the image slightly but the models expression doesn't really work.

ISO - 800, f/5, Shutter Speed - 1/320

This is another favourite image of this shoot due to the composition and rule of thirds and it was taken from eye level perspective. I like the angle of the models body and it is very relaxed and natural. This image has also picked up on the texture of the clothes and I like the movement in the fabric.

ISO - 800, f/5, Shutter Speed - 1/320

This is similar to the shot before but the image is tighter and more focused on the model. The angle of the model is more upright here but it still has a slight slant which mirrors the tree slanting in the other direction in the background which adds symmetry.

Comparing my images to my research

For this shoot I wanted to use David Burton's work as inspiration and to capture the same feel that he does in his photography. My images have a similar backdrop and natural energy but because of the time of year I haven't been able to use the same light techniques that he has with the use of sunlight to create the shadows.

I still feel that the shoot went well and that I have shown the inspiration gained from my research. Not only this but the clothes worn by the model fits the location and backdrop well and overall I am happy with the outcome.