SOCIETY'S VIEW
INTRODUCTION
What have you learned about photography and your way of working during the Abstraction and street photography projects?
During these projects, I have learnt how I can compose my images in various different ways- Which helped me to be able to communicate what is important in the images & therefore, it was easier for me to be able to "capture" the essence of the image I saw. Editing skills: they are skills I have developed throughout my previous projects. By being able to increasingly develop my skills, I was able to attain a much more interesting style to my images which helped attract more attention to them. I have learnt that I love using Photoshop, since I'm able to develop my photos into something more creative.
What genres of photography interest you?
A number of genres ( within photography) interest me. Most of the genres that interest me most, I've experimented with- Whether it was in my spare time or as a school project.
In previously done projects, I have mainly expressed interest in portraiture; Since that was the theme of my topic for my Abstraction project. However, throughout this newly started project I'm hoping to use a mix of different genres, including: Candid, Documentary, Fashion and Portraiture.
Why I've decided to do my personal theme on 'Society's View':
In my opinion, a major part of our human existence is our modern society's use of media and how for the most part it is very damaging.
For my Human Condition project I have decided to base it on how our current society is a danger to us. This Topic shows us how society views things (especially on the media) .
Through this project I hope to look at how our ideas of 'beauty' are socially constructed and how vulnerable members of today's age are exposed to this, which causes a lot of pressure and makes them participate in harmful actions in the hope of trying to 'fit in' . Another thing I hope to focus on during this project is identity and how people in todays society are labelled by the media.
When I chose my personal theme for this project, I wanted to be able to enjoy it. Thus, I chose a personal theme that is able to include
(most, if not all ) the genres I've shown interest in.
During these projects, I have learnt how I can compose my images in various different ways- Which helped me to be able to communicate what is important in the images & therefore, it was easier for me to be able to "capture" the essence of the image I saw. Editing skills: they are skills I have developed throughout my previous projects. By being able to increasingly develop my skills, I was able to attain a much more interesting style to my images which helped attract more attention to them. I have learnt that I love using Photoshop, since I'm able to develop my photos into something more creative.
What genres of photography interest you?
A number of genres ( within photography) interest me. Most of the genres that interest me most, I've experimented with- Whether it was in my spare time or as a school project.
In previously done projects, I have mainly expressed interest in portraiture; Since that was the theme of my topic for my Abstraction project. However, throughout this newly started project I'm hoping to use a mix of different genres, including: Candid, Documentary, Fashion and Portraiture.
Why I've decided to do my personal theme on 'Society's View':
In my opinion, a major part of our human existence is our modern society's use of media and how for the most part it is very damaging.
For my Human Condition project I have decided to base it on how our current society is a danger to us. This Topic shows us how society views things (especially on the media) .
Through this project I hope to look at how our ideas of 'beauty' are socially constructed and how vulnerable members of today's age are exposed to this, which causes a lot of pressure and makes them participate in harmful actions in the hope of trying to 'fit in' . Another thing I hope to focus on during this project is identity and how people in todays society are labelled by the media.
When I chose my personal theme for this project, I wanted to be able to enjoy it. Thus, I chose a personal theme that is able to include
(most, if not all ) the genres I've shown interest in.
CHOSEN PHOTOGRAPHERS FOR FUTURE SHOOTS
For the next 3 weeks, our work will be based on the ideas of other photographer's work. My main source of research to find these photographers was with the use of the app 'Pinterest'.
1. ANDREAS MIERSWA & MARKUS KLUSKA
2. PETER DEVITO
3. KELSEY WEAVER
SHOOT #1 - ANDREAS MIERSWA & MARKUS KLUSKA
PHOTO ANALYSIS
Unfortunately, the title of this piece is unknown to me. However, It was taken by the collective photographers for a magazine called AMICA Italy. This image is an example of portrait photography. The composition isn't organised- However, I feel as though this was purposely done. This image should show perfection with the use of measuring tools but in my opinion the composition shows the 'back story' : that even though everyone else might think a person is perfect, they still have their flaws. The focal point of this image are the measuring tools, more specifically the protractor ( which is placed on the right hand side of the image). I believe this because in contrast to all the other monochromatic colours , it has a bolder colour. As this image was used for a magazine it looks 'professional' because of the use of a studio and its lighting. Other useful techniques used for this image are: angles & height. The patterns I can see in this image are from the markings of the measuring equipment. This also signifies the want of perfection because numbers are a universal language -this can define whether you're a failure or not. We get this idea from things like: weight, results and ranking. The lines from the patter draws your eye to the model's face.
Overall, this image makes me understand society's concept of beauty. More importantly, how we as a society obsess over numerical figures and the need to be 'perfect'. |
SHOOT PLAN
To start off my three shoots, I am using inspiration from a collective project from two photographers: Andreas Mierswa and Markus Kluska. The style of photography they both use ( during this project ) is Portraiture. I am planning on taking my images with a white backdrop as my background and my model as my foreground. Following my inspiration, I will put measuring equipment in front of my model. Techniques I'd use are : Angles, zoom & natural lighting. I am going to focus on trying to make the set up as close to a studio as I can, to try and re-create the photographers work. In addition, I will focus on the composition to try and photograph my model from different angles.
EDITING
I have picked 3 images for my final images . The editing has been kept simple to match the photographer's work.
For my first final image, I went onto the app VSCO cam, on here I firstly increased the exposure to +1 , I did this because I wanted to brighten up the image as the lighting wasn't great, however I really liked the composition. Secondly, I added contrast ( +2) to add depth to the image. Another way I tried to make the image look similar to the photographers , was by decreasing the saturation- I did this to make all the colours monochromatic and to make the yellow measuring tape stand out more. To finish it off, I sharpened the image to add more texture.
I did the same thing for the other images except increasing the exposure since the lighting was the way I wanted.
For my first final image, I went onto the app VSCO cam, on here I firstly increased the exposure to +1 , I did this because I wanted to brighten up the image as the lighting wasn't great, however I really liked the composition. Secondly, I added contrast ( +2) to add depth to the image. Another way I tried to make the image look similar to the photographers , was by decreasing the saturation- I did this to make all the colours monochromatic and to make the yellow measuring tape stand out more. To finish it off, I sharpened the image to add more texture.
I did the same thing for the other images except increasing the exposure since the lighting was the way I wanted.
SHOOT REVIEW
For this shoot, I had photographed my model (Grace), on a white backdrop. The props used in the shoot were measuring equipment, like: rulers, protractors & measuring triangles. The techniques I had mainly focused was height and angles. However, I also tried to make sure my lighting was accurate. During this shoot, I wasn't concerned about focusing on composition since the images of my photographers hadn't focused on it and it was purposely 'messy'. What I think went well: my editing. Even though is was kept simple, I was able to achieve a similar look to my chosen photographer. Another thing I believe I did well was the lighting was good and my images had not turned out blurry. I think my shoot could have been better if I did them in a actual studio with artificial lighting to get the images 'spot on'. During my first shoot, I had learnt and understood what the photographers had in mind whilst taking the images and what they wanted to show and the importance of them. In technical terms, I had learnt how I can take images to re- create photos that are done in a studio. My target for next shoot is to try and do my editing on photoshop to get used to the different ways I can style my images on there.
Overall, I think that this shoot has gone very well. Beside the fact that the background is white instead of black- I believe that I experimented a lot with angles and lighting to find the perfect image. I'm also satisfied with the amount of images I had taken.
My work was influenced by the photographers: Andreas Mierswa & Markus Kluska. The link between what I have done and what they've done is mainly the use of the props & the studio. However, the similarities also lay with the editing and composition.
Overall, I think that this shoot has gone very well. Beside the fact that the background is white instead of black- I believe that I experimented a lot with angles and lighting to find the perfect image. I'm also satisfied with the amount of images I had taken.
My work was influenced by the photographers: Andreas Mierswa & Markus Kluska. The link between what I have done and what they've done is mainly the use of the props & the studio. However, the similarities also lay with the editing and composition.
SHOOT #2- Peter Devito
PHOTO ANALYSIS
SHOOT PLAN
To start off my three shoots, I am using inspiration from a collective project from two photographers: Andreas Mierswa and Markus Kluska. The style of photography they both use ( during this project ) is Portraiture. I am planning on taking my images with a white backdrop as my background and my model as my foreground. Following my inspiration, I will put measuring equipment in front of my model. Techniques I'd use are : Angles, zoom & natural lighting. I am going to focus on trying to make the set up as close to a studio as I can, to try and re-create the photographers work. In addition, I will focus on the composition to try and photograph my model from different angles.
EDITING
During my shoot, instead of choosing to edit the words onto the face , I chose to put them on physically to since i thought it would be easier. However, now looking at the shoot i regret doing that. So I chose to do to two sets of images for my final photos. For one of them I decided to zoom in parts of the face
SHOOT 4
This is my fourth shoot for my personal project based on Human Condition. From this point onwards, we are meant to develop our own ideas to continue experimenting and see what we want to do and present for my final shoots and mock exam. During the ten shoot process, I will most likely still continue with the theme of 'society's view'. During the future shoots, I want to photograph and base my images on matters such as: beauty and how in our society we don't feel worthy enough - so we engage in dangerous behaviours and/or try to change with the use of plastic surgery.
Shoot 9-FINAL SHOOT
FINAL PIECE
For my final piece, my idea is to present my final images on a mirror. I want to put my images on the mirror to reflect on how we as a society have a distorted way of viewing ourselves.
Project Analysis
To start off this project, I had chosen 4 artists to research: Andreas Mierswa & Markus Kluska (joint artists), Kelsey Weaver, Peter DeVito. I discovered them through the app- 'Pinterest'. From t