PROJECT: Presentation (portfolio)

So as a part of the portfolio we were to give an assessed presentation to the class, putting forward our idea for the project and how we were to go about doing it.

I mostly had visual aids and talked around them, but I thought I might share those images with you by popping my presentation into this post!

I think it went pretty well, I've never been shy about talking in front of people, but I definitely feel as if I'm becoming clearer and more confident about doing it.

So anyway, enjoy!

MODULE: Portfolio Project

Yet another module to be working on, this time it's a nice open brief, create a portfolio of 15-20 images surrounding a theme.

I'm dead set on creating a series of miniature people images similar to what I've done before, and I can't wait to get started.

I think I can get away with creating 12 as they take a lot more work in post, but I'm going to aim for 15.

I'm going brainstorm some ideas and I'll be sure to keep you updated!

MODULE: Work Based Learning

So with the start of the year comes another introduction to another module, and this time it's Work Based Learning.

Now last year WBL consisted of a project brief that ran like a commission, it was in conjunction with End Clothing as they supplied the brief, and it was a fashion based project which is not my area!

This year it is basically any commission work you have had written into a report, along side two supporting images, and aside from the fact I'm panicking about being able to get work, this seems like a much better and more enjoyable module.

I will update you with the work I have, and hopefully you'll enjoy seeing it!

PROJECT: Contextual Studies.

Along with an essay set by the college we were asked to create a supporting image, inspired by the work of the photographer we talked about within the essay.

My photographer of choice was Zev Hoover of Fiddle Oak who I have posted about before and used as inspiration for my Scale project last year.
Though I loved that project, after reading through Zev's blog I found out more about his process, and specifically how he shoots in the same lighting as the background image, something we weren't allowed to do for the project last year.

So while creating my supporting image, I followed his process to some extent, using the same lighting, and though the image of the model wasn't on a blank studio background, I made sure it wasn't too busy and cutting her out from it wasn't as difficult as I had expected.

I'm very happy with how it has come out, I managed to match the focus quite well, and also create shadow that is hopefully believable.

I'm hoping to continue creating images like this, almost paralleling to the images on Fiddleoak, making mine more city based rather than nature, though I'd love to do some like that too!

PROJECT: Surrealism

As you can see it is a very different kind of work than I usually do, and it was all done on a flatbed scanner!

I know I could have done pretty much anything for alternative techniques and stayed a bit safer in terms of imagery, however as soon as I tried scanning images I fell in love with the tones and texture and with the creative freedom we had for this project I decided to push myself a little bit and just go for it!

It's quite a dark image for me and I don't really want to explain my thoughts behind creating it because I like that it's open for interpretation but I'd love to hear thoughts in the comments as it's so different to my usual work!

PROJECT: Incident Room

So this is my incident room project, it is based off a project I did at a level art, but with much more sophisticated lighting than my bedroom light and a candle hah!

I liked the idea of showing basically two sides to how you feel through a mirror because it is often when you're sat looking at a mirror when you think about yourself and who you are. We shot in a travelodge because it worked out pretty cheap compared to other places, so the room isn't the best (including the warped mirror!) but aside from that I think my lighting is pretty well done considering I'd never lit a room before with flash, and the idea is solid, it just needs a bit more styling to the room.

All in all I was much more pleased with this project than the weightless aspect of the module, and though it is certainly not my style of work usually, I enjoyed the opportunity to create something a little different a practise a new skill!

PROJECT: Weightless

My final image for weightless is one that I'm reluctant to put up, because what I imagined this looking like is not at all what it has ended up looking like.

Cringe 

I'm not making excuses but when we did this we did 4 shoots in a day, which then ended up actually being 5 because my original one did not work even slightly and I had to reshoot last minute having my friend make her way over immediately from university just so I had a model, thankfully Georgia stayed and gave me a hand, but to be honest neither of us were very confident with flash outdoors, and to top it off only one of our flash heads was working because with the equipment we booked out from the store we were only given one radio slave, which was fantastic considering the image had to be lit with two lights....

However I know exactly what I did wrong, I basically exposed the image for the natural light and then added the flash, which due to the fact the sun was incredibly bright was not the best thing to do, I should have spent more time making sure I had it right but to be honest i was flustered and completely lost with how to even begin to shoot with outdoor lighting and that affected my motivation to keep trying. I wish I had had time to go back and try again but I had to make do with what I had, and it's not an awful photograph but I know I could have done better with time and practise. Never mind.

MODULE: Alternative Techniques

This is surreal project and I'm super excited for it, aside from the fact I have literally no ideas on where to go.

So long as we use an animate and inanimate object we're basically free to do whatever we wish.

Examples we were shown were double exposures which I love, but kind of want to do something a little different to that, I think this is opportunity for me to use my art in my work and I want to push that a bit. I'll update you when I've done some more research but for now I'm a little lost!

MODULE: Digital Skills

So a good few weeks ago now I was given a new module at college, digital skills (bet you didn't see that one coming with the title did you?)

This will consist of:

WEIGHTLESS
Creating an image in which something is exactly that, weightless, the idea is floating and using photoshop to create this. We will have to use lights on location, something I have never done before and am quite worried about doing. Fingers crossed for me!

INCIDENT ROOM
Lights on location again but this time inside lighting a room effectively for a shoot, the image must show some kind of incident less like a model looking at the camera and more so like you are looking at something actually occurring.

I'm looking forward to these projects but also very worried about getting the lighting right!

End Clothing Brief

This new project is all about product photography, and I'm loving it!

Here's a little insight to the soft launch image I took.

The brand I've chosen to photograph is Regal Rose Jewellery. I like these because the jewellery is a little edgy so I can play around with that, and have a bit more styling than just say a ring on a manicured hand.

ooh, behind the scenes! (These were taken on my phone so I apologise for the noise on these!)

First set up I tried. 

Set up used for the final image!

Yes, that is my velvet skirt pinned to the window sill with a vase and oil burner to get some natural light and a pretty surface!

My silly sense of humour found this funny. Using a little cracker ring to prop up the box for some real jewellery!

Distort

Just completed editing another college project, and I'll be honest, I didn't enjoy this one as much as the others.

The theme is distort, but it is a fashion editorial that is to be submitted. I did a shoot with a model that didn't go as well as I had hoped so the images and contact sheets I'll be showing here are of the re shoot which worked MUCH better!

Once again I worked with my friend Kayleigh Grier who is quickly becoming, though she may not agree, a fantastic model.

I wanted to go with an effect afterwards for my distort and decided to rip through the layers revealing colour, so I wanted my shoot to be simple but with lots of colour, not overly styled, just bright! Which Kayleigh's hair certainly provided!

Let me know what you think!

Walk the Walk: Moving image.

Above is the completed 15 second moving image project as part of our studio portrait module.

"But this wasn't shot in the studio." I hear you exclaim.

This was actually a second part to go alongside the shoe portrait brief of which I have posted some of the final images I have in this post here.

This project fit the same theme as the previous shoe project "WALK THE WALK" and was a collaboration, I worked with two fellow students, Bex Keers and Nicola Kitching; links to their work will be at the bottom of this post.

I really enjoyed working on this project, as film and moving image is a passion of mine, it's definitely something I'd like to give another go as I had only previously worked with small point and shoot film cameras, it was great fun to have a bit more flexibility with the DSLR.

Bex: http://firstimeforeverythingphotography.blogspot.co.uk/

Nicola: (to be added)

Shoes!

Another project for college, and one I am thoroughly enjoying!

This is a studio portrait project, with a brief of Shoes. We were given a starting point of a little phrase relevant to shoes, I got "Walk the Walk".

Here are some of my favourites from the shoot, I will update with contact sheets at some point tomorrow. I also shot some with a cowboy theme, which I don't like as much as the irregular choice shoes, but I'll pop them into a post too.

Also, a quick thanks to Kayleigh for modelling, she also modelled for another shoot happening on the same day that I assisted and I'll link to that too when they are posted on line!

PROJECT: Scale, the finished product(s)

So after hours of editing, I have three images. I don't know which I prefer!

A comment letting me know your favourite would be much appreciated as I can only hand in one as a final image!

PROJECT: Scale, In the studio.

So, we start out by setting up the lights.

This is a tedious job, but once they're done, they're done (sort of, a few tweaks may have been needed),

And then onto making my model and friend, Megan, balance on one leg for an extended period of time, it's a good job she's a dancer!

Here are the images I feel are the best fit:

PROJECT: Scale, The Location Shoot

So, this most recent module we're doing is one I'm pretty darn excited about!

Being a lover of the surreal and fantasy more specifically, this digital composite module is giving me the freedom to incorporate my love of fairy tales into my work! 

So immediately with the brief of scale, I jumped straight to the borrowers. I decided I'd definitely scale down a model to fit something tiny. 

I'm not sure where my idea to use a jar came from, it just popped into my head, and so off I went to shoot the jar on location.

The following are a small selection of the images I took. They were mostly taken in Bill Quay farm with a few by the water which runs through the neighbouring park. 

I also took a few images with a little stand in model to check for shadows however it didn't work too well as I couldn't see, I think what might be better is a 3D model maybe made of a whitetac to see how the shadows lay.The image I settled on after feedback from peers was this one:

PROJECT: Hats

Creative Portrait

This part of the module was to shoot a creative portrait based on the subject of hats.

This was my final image in response.

Model: Kayleigh Grier

I decided to base this portrait around the idea of Alice in Wonderland, using tea cups and playing cards to pull in references from the story. 

Documentary Portrait
This part of the module was to shoot 2 documentary style portraits using shallow and great depth of focus, one male, one female again with the subject of hats.
These were my final images in response.

Though I like my final images, I feel my knowledge of depth of field is lacking somewhat and it is something that I need more practise with.