Work Record 5/2/13

Shoot (1) Work Record

Plans for the shoot

For this shoot I had planned to more specifically focus on one 'issue' rather than doing a general shoot on issues as I had a few ideas initially that I wanted to explore whilst I still had inspiration. I planned to focus this shoot on alcoholism as I felt that this was an issue that could create effective photographs as when creating my image bank I was inspired by some of the photos that I saw. I broadly took some ideas from the image bank and created ideas out of these. For example I wanted to show the dangers of alcohol, and the effects it has on individuals. Also, I wanted some close up shots of the alcohol glasses itself as I felt that some of these shots with the correct lighting could be simple yet effective and portray the danger of alcohol which is what I wanted.

What I hope to achieve

I hope to achieve a range of different shots that would allow me to edit the photos the way I wanted, and give a selection of photos that I can work from in order to achieve the idea of alcoholism as an issue in society. I hope that this first shoot that I do is one of the most successful as hopefully it will give me a good taste of what to expect from shoots in the future.

What I actually achieved

I am happy with the outcome of this shoot as I have achieved what I wanted to from this shoot that I had planned to do. I managed to shoot a large range of different shots as I had a lot of photos to work from which included a range of different ideas. Most of the shots that I did revolved around the alcohol bottles and the effects that alcohol has on an individual.

What I am going to do next

Next, I plan to broaden my ideas of 'issues' into a range of different issues which is why I either plan to do a location shoot (incorporating environmental issues) or studio work in which I will focus on body issues. I will continue to complete my image bank where I will gather ideas and decide which idea to shoot next.

 This was my favourite from this shoot, this is because of the selective colour effect that I have added to this photo. Also, the idea behind the photo I like as it shows the significance of how alcohol can effect an individual. Also, the fact that the model in this photo is taking on the role of an alcoholic and I have made her look as if she is suffering from the alcohol and cannot escape the problem. I think this photo is effective in showing what I wanted to, however the composition is not exactly what I wanted.










I like the concept behind this photo, as I attempted to show the idea of not being able to escape and being trapped in the world of an alcoholic. It also shows the topic of lonliness, and I thought it would be quite unique to incorporate this into a photo of a bottle that I had also taken from this shoot and use photoshop to place a studio shot into this. I like the angle and composition of this photo as it makes the photo more complex rather than if it was taken straight on, however the can to the right of the photo may be something i need to photoshop out at a later date as it almost ruins the photo.

Drugs Shoot

Review

I am relatively happy with the practical work that I have done so far, as I have explored a range of different ideas surrounding the theme of issues. I feel that however, some shoots have been more successful than others such as the environmental shoot I did I don't feel was entirely successful in showing the environment around us changing that well. Although I managed to enhance the photos on Photoshop by using effects such as tilt-shift and selective colour I don't think the message they are trying to portray is as striking as some of my other shoots. Because of this, I feel that I will concentrate more heavily on studio work as I generally will have less control on the surroundings and the content of my shoots if I decide to do any further locational.
I am happy with the shoot I did on self-harm as I feel that this is quite a significant issue in society, and I think that it is clear what it is trying to show. This was the second shoot I did where I took photos of myself, which I am possibly the most happy with which is why I will continue to do more studio shoots to also develop my knowledge further with using the studio. The very first shoot that I did I am happy with, I think that it was successful in showing alcoholism and I think that doing the shoot where I did, and the editing that I put on this made it an effective shoot. I will next be concentrating on doing personal body issues which I will be shooting in the studio.

Environmental Issues

 

Work Record 15/2/13

Plans for the shoot

Today I plan to to shoot landscape photography shots that include different viewpoints, and hopefully I will be able to photography a range of different cars/buses in order to gather some shots to work from. I wasn't entirely sure how successful I will be as I will be taking this from the top of a car park, therefore I may need to experiment with a few different things. Also, I will be using natural lighting so will be relying on the weather to work with what I want to achieve. 

What I hope to achieve

From this shoot, I plan to achieve landscape shots in order to show the issue of 'pollution'. I will do this by showing the congestion of traffic through a typical town road, I don't necessarily plan to show the traffic in a 'bad light' however I wanted a relatively busy road in order to show this as an issue in the sense that it is destroying the planet. I think the shots that I get from this shot may not be effective initially, however using Photoshop and with in mind what sort of shots I want to achieve I think I will gather some that I am happy with.

What I actually achieved

As I thought initially, my level of control was not as high as I would have liked as I was not able to change the lighting and the weather would have just been by chance. However, I feel that weather worked well as it was mainly cloudy, yet the sun was shining through which I felt created nice contrast within the backgrounds of some of the photos. This could also show the change in weather, as it appears to be stormy which could be the issue as global warming is becoming more extreme so this contrast in 'weird' weather is a good representation in my opinion. As I said before, I wasn't happy with how successful this shoot went, but I was able to edit on Photoshop and create tilt-shift landscapes and also used a selective colour tool in order to enhance my images.

What I am going to do next

What I plan to do next is some work in the studio, although I am not entirely sure of this yet so I will need to gather some inspiration. However I have decided that environmental issues would be quite difficult to do in the studio, so I think I will more closely look at personal issues and themes surrounding body issues and personal problems that most people face in their lives. I will be shooting next week following this shoot, but I don't think that environmental issues were as successful as I maybe anticipated.



This is my favourite photo from the shoot I did on the environment, as I think adding the tilt-shift aspect to it on photoshop enhanced the photo and made it a lot more effective. Although I don't think it is effective as I would have liked in order to show the theme of environmental issues, I still like this photograph. I think that the bright colours in this create a happier atmosphere, therefore the idea of issues isn't apparent from looking at this photo. I also increased the saturation of this photo on photoshop which also helped it to look minature like and as if it was toy scenery, as when I took the photo it was mainly a miserable day but in the photo above it looks relatively bright and sunny.

I like the composition of this photo, as the railings in this photo create a leading line which draws the eye naturally to the left hand side of the photo where the railing continues.I like the colours in this photo as they are quite gloomy and almost spooky like, as the sky is very striking and grey. I think this photo is more effective in showing what my photos are about, as it is more obvious that I was trying to show the change in weather as an environmental issue because of global warming storms are more common.












 

20/2/13

Targets

In today's lesson I will be editing from my shoot on Friday as I did not get a chance. I will also be completing my discussion and a couple of computer experiments for my next progress check.

15/2/13

Targets:

My targets today is to edit the photo from Wednesday's shoot, as I have only just started doing this.
I may also have time to do a little contextual work in order to help with the development of my shoot which I will be doing in next weeks lesson.

Personal targets: My personal target is to plan my shoots well, I will be doing this on my blog so that I know exactly what I will be doing in the shoot in order to make sure my shoots are successful.

Work Record 13/2/13

Shoot 13/2/13

The Scars That Never Fade

'Self-harm isn't always obvious'

Lost Hope

13/2/13

My targets 

My targets for today is to do my shoot on issues (body-harm) in the studio, and also to upload these photos and edit them. I will also do a little contextual work beforehand to help with further development of ideas.

Today's Shoot

This is just a quick sketch of some of what I want to achieve in my shoot tomorrow. I will be focusing on self harm as an issue for my shoot, and I plan to do a shot of the lower part of my body showing signs of self harm through drawing red pen lines over the clothing in order to symbolise how this could be hidden and how it isn't always obvious that someone is self harming. I am also going to do this by putting text on the side in photo shop that reads '3 teens self harm every hour in the UK....it isn't always obvious'. Essentially, the marks are there to show the 'hidden' scars behind a self-harmer. My plans for this shoot is to take some shots of the lower part of my body in the studio, I will do this from different view points some face-on and others from a side profile in order to give me enough to work with. 

8/2/13

Todays targets:

My targets today are to finish editing my photos from my shoot earlier on in the week from the alcoholism shoot that I did, this should take about an hour of my time which will allow me to keep up to date with the written work also. I am planning to experiment with my editing in order to achieve the photos that I had planned before I did the shoot. I will then continue with such contextual work as work records, and image banks in order to gather inspiration for my shoot next week that I will be doing.

Alcoholism Shoot

Isolated

This is probably my favourite photo from this shoot because of the element of contrast between the black and white and the bright colours in the glass

No escape

'Issues' possible ideas

Below I will be selecting a few ideas from the subject of 'issues' which is my chosen question and thinking of ideas that will enable me to do my first shoot in a couple of days. It will consist of a range of different ideas surrounding this topic, which should give me a broad direction to go in which when thinking of the range will help me to highlight my favourite ideas within and attempt to fulfill the exam title.

I feel that even a photo of a pair of eyes can tell you so much about what the person is feeling. Eyes are incredibly powerful, and can display a range of emotions at the same time. I like the idea of someone being 'trapped' in society and the need to escape which may be a problem for many teenagers in today's society. However, the problem being that nothing is being done about it and they are suffering in silence and lives are being taken for many different reasons that most cannot begin to comprehend.

Secondly, I have looked into the issue of alcoholism and how that effects individuals and the people in that persons life. Although I can only imagine, alcoholism is quite a dangerous path that is likely to leave the individual very vulnerable and isolated as if they cannot escape..which in itself sounds highly dangerous. I have collected a few photos that I feel portray a strong message of this, and this route of interest seems to something I may like to do.

I really like this photo as I feel that by using selective colour the glass that the drink is in is very bold and striking, and the position in the foreground I feel has worked well to portray a message. Also the fact that the subject in the photo seems to be distressed/unhappy shows the true effects of how this can destroy somebody's life, and the fact that there is no colour in the rest of the piece gives a bitter feel to the photo and gives a sense of eeriness as to how the person is feeling.

I like the concept of this photo of staring at the wine glass directly, and the image inside the glass to represent loneliness which is most likely what alcoholics suffer from quite largely.

 I think it would be interesting to experiment with slightly abstract ideas during the editing process to create someone trying to escape from a bottle like this one. Although I will create this idea mainly in photoshop, I will need a couple of images in order to create this style.