Exhibition Review

Exhibition Review

The Exhibition was on Wednesday 10th December and it was held at UCLan University in central lancashire. It was held by a group of Preston's College Photography Students that are eager to impress their newly developed skills in the photography world. The Exhibition was called 'Perspectives', this is because every photographer in the group had a different image, a different idea in mind when taking photos. There was roughly 25 students who participated in the show. In the show, the photos were hung in a room about head height and there was no visually similar images placed next to each other. The images weren't placed in groups because the whole idea of the name 'Perspectives' was that every photo was different.
      People would agree that the artwork was brilliant, but only a few were outstanding. I would argue that the best painting was the one below. This is because the emotion that has gone into the thought of the picture. A lot of the photos were done with colour, however its good that the fact that this one is black and white because it makes the facial details stand out with more emotion in the photo.
     The Theme in the exhibition was Perspectives which gives the idea that everybody's photo was meant to be different in their own creative, distinctive way. Compared to other exhibitions I've seen, i would argue that the is one of the best. This is due to the fact of the theme and the work and effort that has clearly gone into the show. The artist that created this photo drew my attention straight away to this photo. This was because it showed more emotion that the other photos. A lot of the photos had no expression to the models face. A few of the pictures the model was dressed up in different clothes, but with less emotion than this photo.
Aswell as my favorite one, there was a couple of other photos that stood out to me from the start and caught my eye. You could argue that the most unique photos were the ones with the coloured backgrounds. This is because they are the first pictures that catch your eye when you walk in the room. A couple had Orange backgrounds which looks effective and gave it a summer effect. The model in front of the orange photo was wearing sunglasses and shorts which made gave the picture a hot summer look. Another effect which looked professionally unique was a a sky blue background tone. The model in the blue background was wearing a coat which gave it a cold, wintery look. By having completely different photos it explains the exhibition name 'perspectives'.

    

Exhibition

Exhibition

This was my final image that I took for the exhibition. This was the image before it had been photoshopped. As you can see, the position of the face in the portrait is perfect as it is central. However the lighting on her facial details is overexposed so that needed correcting before it becoming the final edit. You may not be able to see from this photo, but the model had freckles. So by editing it in photoshop by using the spot removal tool, it got rid of 90% of her freckles.

This was my final image that I used for the exhibition. I found that a black and white effect looked better on the photo and I thought that it looked like she was showing more emotion than the original photo. The photo before edit was overexposed so I changed it a little to make it look even better.

Exhibition Photos

Adjustment Layers

LOTC

An adjustment layer is a tool that uses color and tonal adjustments to your image without changing the picture permanently. The color and tonal adjustments are kept in the adjustment layer. You can correct several layers by making just one change, rather than adjusting each layer separately. You can get rid of your changes and get back the original image at any time.

Evaluation

Evaluation

If I was to do Light Paintings, Scanograms and Projections again I would most certainly spend more time doing each task. I would take a variety of photos within each task to make sure I had a few different photos to experiment with. With only having 1 or 2 photos such as what I did, it limits you to what you can do with the photo. For example, if you were to take a dull photo with bad lighting and low exposure with the models hair cut out of the photo, correcting it on Photoshop would almost be an impossible task. However if you were to take a range of photos, then you can mix around with them and see which photo comes out the best. I would say my strong point is light paintings. This is because I have had experience in this area and I know how to make a light painting look effective. I would like to say another strong point is Scanograms. This is because I have done various images whilst I was working with my peers and found that imagination with the image on Photoshop can turn a very dull image, to a very detailed creative image within a couple of steps. My weak points are most likely Emulsion transfers. This is due to the fact that I haven't spent much time doing emulsion transfers as yet. However I plan on practicing it until I feel confident with my work.  

Scanograms

Scanograms

My First Step was to upload the Scanogram to Photoshop. When it first started off it didn't look effective, however i saw potential in the photo as I knew I could give it a unique style. The first thing i did was crop out the bottom bit of the picture so that there wasn't an empty space in the bottom of the picture.

The Second Step was to change the color of the scan. I opted to go for a black and white effect and i gave it a higher exposure to show the face details.

For the Next Step i used the 'Curves' tool which you could use to higher the light exposure or darken it within certain areas. By using darker areas on the face, it gave the scan a balance of high and low key lighting. Using this toll you can change the amount of light balance on the photo by dragging the line on the chart and bringing it to a curve. Hence the 'Curve tool'.

The final effect I made on the scan was to add a coloured effect to the photo. For a few minutes I experimented with different colours and effects. I found that by increasing the amount of red and green it gave it a gold effect which in essence made it look unique. By adding this look to the face, it highlighted some areas of the face and kept the outline details of the face darkened keeping the outline detail to a minimum, however giving the centre of the face a lift in detail which is which every bit of detail is taken into the picture.

Projections

Projections

The First thing i did was to pick a night image because i thought a shadow in front of a city life photo would look great. However after experimenting, I found that i was wrong. So i went back to finding an image that i thought would look creative on the background of my model. I picked an image of Big Ben with Westminster Abbey and a bus in the scene. I experimented with different standing positions and the most effective look was when the model held both of his arms up.

After i played around with this picture on Photoshop, i gave it a threshold look
which gave it an old fashioned effect which i quite liked. The threshold look darkened the picture, in essence giving more shadows to the picture. This meant that the details such as the models face and clothing wouldn't be seen. However having details in the background such as big ben, it made the picture look like it was from an old fashioned newspaper article or a photographers old sketchbook.

For these pictures I used an ISO of 100, and the cameras exposure was set to 1/4 and F4 to increase the time limit the shutter would be open for. By increasing the exposure to 1/4, it meant that I was letting more light into the shutter because the shutter would be open for longer.

 

For a darker picture and ISO of 300-500 and an a lower exposure of 1/15 would mean that the shutter would be open for a shorter amount of time, meaning that less light would be allowed into the shutter.

 

Light Paintings

Light Painting

The Light Paintings were created in the studio after blackening out the room and using a black background as the backdrop. For light painting you need first of all a good quality camera (preferably a Canon or Nikon) and a tripod to connect your camera to. To do light painting, the Shutter needs to be open for between 15-30 seconds depending on the detail of light you want to draw in the photo. To keep the shutter open for 30 seconds you will need an aperture of around 1/10.

However when we did the light paintings, we found it better to have the settings on 'Bulb' which is when you hold the shutter button down and you can decide when to stop the shutter by taking your finger off the button. We experimented with different people and different drawings to get different photos.

To create the light paintings, the camera is set on a low shutter speed to allow time for the light to be drawn around the body. The picture is taken, and shortly afterwards another peer comes in with a light (Torch), and carefully draws around the edge of the body giving the model a highlighted effect. Having the shutter set on 20-30 seconds means that there is enough time to be careful with detail and to make sure no mistakes are made.

Equipment in the studio

Soft Boxes

A Soft Box is useful when it comes to using a soft light for any style of photography. This is because the light from a soft box is spread out and the brightness of the box can be turned up or down determining the right amount of detail in the photo shoot. They are not always used as a main light source, however Soft Boxes are important for the right amount of light detail in the photograph. As you can see in the photo below, a soft box was used however another soft box was needed at the side of the shoot to make sure that no shadows were caught in the photo. We could also photoshop the shadows out of the shoot, however getting the photo right in the first place would mean that photoshop wouldn't be needed.

Small Reflectors

A small reflector is needed for a good detailed shot. It is essential and is the difference between a good or bad picture. This is because the reflector reflects the light and portrays it onto the object or model making the detail in the model more visible. 

Beauty Dishes

A Beauty dish helps to simplify the task of using lighting to even out skin tones and textures. Beauty dishes are frequently used to light up the models face details and eyes. By using a dish, you can make sure that the photo will be used with the correct amount of light and the right detail of the models face is shown on the photo.

Flash Sync

The flash operates at 1/60sec. When you’re using flash, the shutter speed is set to around 1/60 sec and the flash is set to fire while the shutter is open.

Photographers use the fact that the flash duration is very short, and offers higher ‘sync’ speeds of between 1/200 - 1/250 sec.

Honeycomb

A honeycomb is used Direct the lights going straightforward to where you are trying to stress. With the honeycomb in the right place, the light beam becomes narrower and less intensive, and they are ideal for portrait photography. 

Backdrop - A backdrop is used for a clear background which is used for magazine covers.

Health and Safety

Health and Safety

1. Do not leave the lamps on for long periods of time, as the lamp could overheat and it could potentially cause a fire.

2. Do not leave live wires unattended in the studio, as people can quite easily trip over the wires causing damage to the studio equipment.

3. Do not lean on the backdrop, and it will collapse and most likely damage the equipment.

4. No food or Drink in the studio as spillages could cause people to get electicuted.

5. No more than 10 people in the studio at one time as overcrowding could lead to people miss treating the equipment.

6.

Scanograms

Planning

Scanograms


I will use a scanner to create the scanograms. There is multiple things you can can such as Someones face, pieces of food or objects. A creative edge to scanograms can be created by using something such as your fingers, and dragging them down the scanner to create a screeched out look.
The equipment i will need is:

• A scanner
• Objects (packet of cigarettes, Chewing gum etc)
• 1 or 2 people (to be able to scan faces, body parts)

The shoot will take place in the classroom as there is a scanner perfect for the shoot in there.

Emulsion Transfers

To make emulsion transfers i will shoot a photograph that i think would look good on an emulsion transfer, then i will glue it down with the photo facing the paper and glue it down. The next step is to dry it with a hair dryer, then using a wet paper towel scrub the layer off of the photograph to bring through the image onto the paper. 

To make an emulsion transfer i will need:

• Paper (preferably A4,A3)
• Wet Paper towels or wet cloth
• Hair dryer
• Pva Glue and Brush 

Projection Photography

To make the images i will use a Projector in the studio because a dark room is needed. Next i will use a client/model to stand in front of the projector. Doing this i will then need to project an image onto the person to create a projection. Depending on the 

Still Life Photography

Still Life Photography

1. Still life photography is usually photographing small groups of objects. It can be done in the studio or outside. However in the studio is has a better lighting effect for small objects which are mainly used for inside purposes anyway. 

   

   
   Still Life Photography gives the photographer more room for error as the object isn't moving so it doesn't require a fast shutter speed to capture the photo, whereas a wildlife photo would. It is commonly done in the studio with pieces of fruit because as you can see from the pomegranite photo, it highlights all the different pieces of detail in the fruit and gives it a unique effect.