Shoot 10 Work Diary

For shoot 10 I decided to compile all my ideas from my last shoots into my final series of photographs, I wanted to take pictures of my band, as I have photographed my band practicing in shoot 7, and photographed bands performing live, along with other music related shoots, so it made sense to incorporate my band performing live at a big gig in Camden town that was coming up. From photographers that I have studied, Nikki S Lee massively inspired this shoot, as a series she had a small digital camera that she gave to passing people to photograph her in a scene, it was an art project in which she wanted to change her attire and associate herself with people and places in accordance with a culture, be it republicanism, business and commerce etc. In this shoot, I wanted to truthfully display my passion and affiliation with music and playing live in my band. Obviously I was unable within this shoot to take pictures of my band playing live because, I was actively performing with them, so the idea was to give someone in the crowd my camera for them to photograph my band play. Some of the picture from this series I shot. I'm pleased with the outcome of the shoot.

In this image, the attention is focused on  the lead vocalist, he takes up half of the frame, he's leaning in gripping the mic, the flash was on due to how dark the room was apart from the stage being illuminated, it helps to create the depth of perspective, as I am also seen in the right hand side of the image, singing into the mic playing  bass, the clarity of the shot is all on the singer, I appear quite dark, grey tonality. But the depth of the shot is one of the most interesting elements as not only is there a really close up there's another element showing off another instrument on the other end of the stage. I decided to make the image black and white to add to the grittiness of the shot, due to the fact there was little colour in the original shot due  to the depth and darkness, I fell like the black and white really brings out the subtle differences in tone adding to the atmosphere of the image, making it quite intense, serious and timeless. The venue that we played at was Hawley Arms, which has a lot of significance within the British music scene, the likes of Amy Winehouse and The Libertines performed at the venue and so this shot is rich in British culture, and therefore the black and white adds to the intensity of this image, the opportunity that my band had to play this gig.

Here's an image of all the band sitting on the deck chairs just outside the stables market, i'm on the far right. The idea to all sit on the chairs, was the fact that the backdrop of the stable was visible, and the image was to emphasise the band as a collective of musicians and friends. I asked my dad to get a few, the flash was on due to how dark it was. The cultural significance of the location, Camden has always been a cultural hub of British music but world music, showing how important an opportunity it was for my band to be playing a concert in Camden. The roots of the mod subculture that are in our band link heavily in Camden as it as a haven for old mods, and so our band is shown off appropriately, the clothes we are are wearing this, we are all in shirts and ties, parkas and I am wearing a double breasted coat. This is a prime example of the influence that I've drawn from Nikki S Lee, as Lee gave passing strangers her camera to capture her in a certain cultural situation, dressed and with people reminiscent of the culture being portrayed, I feel this has been successfully achieved in this shot, the image is an accurate representation of our band; The Revolt.

                                                                    Overall-

Shoot 9 Work Diary

For shoot 9, I decided to take a series of images around my local town, as I thought what better way of showing British culture than showing the landscape of where I live, which is a very normally, typically British town, the place in which one lives illustrates simmering about their upbringing and relation to culture. Overall I am fairly happy with the result of images, I am aware that this series is straying away from the very youth, music, subculture driven side of my project so far, despite this I think it fits well in my project and is successful in showing British culture. 

This image is of my local high street, two two off licences are visible one in blue nearest to the camera and the other one red, at the chip shop, a ladbrokes etc, the cars parked on the high street, lampposts, electrical pylons and a shop keeper coming outside looking at the camera. The image connotes a typical British high street, with all the essentials that reflects british culture, ladbrokes is traditional betting shop, kebab shop shows foreign culture anyhow it has merged into the British way of life and of course the off licence traditionally used to buy tobacco and alcohol, this shows quite a quintessential, normal array of shops you'd find in most British towns, in fact these sort of shops are quite outdated in newer towns popping up all over theUK. Overall, the image is meant to shows that we are intrinsically connected to our British traditions just in the fact we live in a certain location or go to certain shops.

My intentions for this image were to make it as bleak and atmospheric as possible from the moment I took it, then I edited it on photoshop increasing to contrast and darkness, this helps to make the tones more striking and contrasting against the rest of the landscape. I really like the reflection of the electrical pylon in the water and the blank grey whitewashed appearance of the sky against the dark browns of the scrub land, this makes the mood of the image very dark and intense. The image connotes the British landscape, the bad weather that we have in Britain, the typical grey sky that is in this picture, the quite dull, un-picturesque landscape, the canals which are everywhere near London, the electrical pylons which cover the land, it's meant to just give an honest, melancholy portrayal of Britain, which ingrains into the British culture. 

                                                                     Progression-

For shoot 10, I would like to take the thought behind the importance and significance that certain landscapes play in the culture and heritage of Britain. Also just take the very normal, mundane subjects in photography, to successfully demonstrate British culture.

Shoot 8 Work Diary

In this shoot I decided to focus on public transport, as I think it's a massive part of everyday life in Britain, be it national rail, the tube, the bus. It plays a massive part in the life of all people in Britain, and so is a massive part of British culture. I wanted to explore the important role that transport has in everyday life.

This is one of my favourite images from the series, I love the light, the blur that emanates in the image in red circles, also the reflection of light on the side of the train, making for a crisp and light atmosphere. The leading lines of the train and the platform are really strong and so make the viewers follow the leading lines to the centre of the picture. The people on the station at Tottenham hale are visibly walking towards the exit. The image encapsulates the British culture of getting on the train to go into London, the way in which you change from national rail over to the underground.

This shot is of the barriers in the london underground, just after getting on or off of the tube, the public have to put their ticket to travel through the reader on the barriers. I feel as though  the image encapsulates the rush of London, their is a massive blur in the image on the left, I feel like it helps to add to the madness and chaos of London, I think that the blur juxtaposes the woman sorting her handbag out really well as it shows the calm in the chaos of the underground. I like the frame of the image as it encapsulates movement and a subject which is the focus of the image also the barriers and lighting in the underground are a vital part of context to the image.

                                                                Progression-

I am overall happy with the outcome of the shoot, In my future shoots I don't think I want to focus on public transport anymore, as I think a strong running theme I have within my shoots is music, especially live music. I think this shoot is a strong documentary style shoot as it shows very mundane everyday life, because how much of an important subculture public transport is in Britain. 

Shoot 7 Work Diary

In this shoot I decided to focus on my band and our weekly practice. The shoot is taken in my house, all the band are there with their instruments doing an acoustic session. I wanted to focus on all the elements of the band, the different instruments and the social factor of the practice swell. Music and specifically bands are a massive part of British culture, therefore I decided our next band practice was to become shoot 8, in a running theme with music from other previous shoots such as; shoot 3 and shoot 5.

This shot is of the band after they've just practiced a song socialising with their instruments on their laps, discussing what parts of the song worked well and what bits need strengthening etc, plus general conversation. I love the tonality of the shot, all the tones are very light and airy,such as the skin tone of the subjects being mute in depth. The lighting in the image seems to bounce of the instruments, highlighting certain parts of the image more than others. I like the neutral atmosphere of the shot, both subjects are looking in different directions to the camera. The image is a good documentary piece; as I've chose to focus on specifically bands which is a massive part of British culture especially within youth. I like the angle of the shot, it's a good window into the perspective of the band and what goes on in practice.

Blur was a big part in this series, most of my images came out blurry due to the movement of subjects when they were playing their instruments, this is an image including blur which I like and think blur works well in. The subjects hand is visibly blurry, the effect is good in this shoot as it shows movement and brings the series of images to life, this is one of the shots with blur that has little and so by focusing on this specific one it show's the importance of even a little bit of this technique. The tonality is really light and whitewashed, this is brought out by the black and white filter, the tones are all really mute, it helps to emphasise blur and perspective in this shot such as the darker tones in the backdrop, and the lighter tones of the subjects and the instrument against the backdrop. I am happy with the image because it shows live music in process and lets us view the scene from the drummers perspective making for an interesting documentary image.

                                                               Progression-

In the future I know that I want to continue my focus on shooting photography on music, as I think they are some of my most accomplished shoots including this one, In furthering shooting on the same theme it makes for a cohesive project, showing development and critical analysis of my own work, into ultimately improving the result of the images, and therefore I want to shoot my band at least once more in the series, specifically  for shoot 10 in which we will be performing at a live event.

Shoot 6 Work Diary

In this shoot I wanted to focus on smoking in youth, as it is a massive part of British culture. I took the series of images in the park, they were over a short course of the night, due to how dark it was I had to use flash for the entirety of the series. I am overall happy with the outcome of the series and think I have achieved in showing smoking in youth. The idea to shoot smoking was a carry on idea from shoot 4, I decided to take another series of smoking in youth, because I think it was highly effective and made for good images. 

In this shot my friend is looking at his cigarette, the location of this series is taken in a park shows the socially unacceptable nature of smoking, as though as the subjects are not happy about being seen. Smoking in youth depicts the coming of age, since its an adult activity it shows the appeal in youth. I really like how I've taken the shot in this frame as despite there is quite a lot of negative unused space, The completely black backdrop makes the subject come alive, especially as he is totally in the centre in the image, the subject makes for an interesting image against pitch black. 

In this picture, the subject is sitting at a bench in the park, he is looking down at the table with a cigarette in his hand, he creates the connotations of youth due to the fact he has his hood up, this creates the stigma of anti-social behavior, rebellion to the establishment etc. When in reality the friends are together to socialize and enjoy their pastime of going to the park together. The image shows the stigma around teenagers smoking, due to the fact that it is at night away from most of the public as though it is something that is frowned upon and so it shows the socially unacceptable nature of smoking. The flash illuminates the subject and the table, making for an interesting contrast between the backdrop and the rest of the image. 

                                                                 Progression-

In the future, I would consider shooting another series on smoking, next time I would prefer to do it in a different location and in broad daylight, as I think I could get quite a different outcome in the shots, in not using flash. I am overall happy with the shoot, and think it went well with a good many images to show for a big part of British culture. This was very much a re-utilisation of series 4, in which I previously shot smoking in youth. 

Shoot 5 Work Diary

In this shoot, I went to my friend Jack's house with my camera, I had asked if I could take some images of him in his 3 button suit, playing his guitar, putting on some records in his bedroom. The subculture that I wanted to illustrate in this shoot is of course, the mod subculture.

In this shot, Jack wears his 3 button suit, playing his gretch guitar, sitting on his bed. I wanted to focus on different parts of mod subculture, so I wanted to show off the style, how the way your dress says a lot about your personal identity, what music you like and what you stand for as a person. In this image all Jack's influences are shown here in the person he is, his style is apparent and the relevance in British culture it still has to this day. All the parts of this image symbolise a movement especially within youth the stands for anti-establishment, freedom and identity. The flash in the image really helps to bring out the colour in his suit, the metallic shine, the red and silver in the guitar, and his tie and shirt, this makes for a very direct, attention catching image, the shot of the picture has hardly any negative space, using all parts of the image, making it eye catching, it encompasses the whole width of his arms from plucking the guitar to tuning it with his other hand. 

This shot has lots of similarities to the image above but at the same time is very different, for example, in this image he is also sitting on his bed playing the guitar, but there is more revealed in this shot, the pride in style, the way he is tweaking his tie making sure he looks the best he can, and parts of posters and pictures on the walls revealing influence and music that he likes to listen to in specific, for example above his head you can see half of the mod sign with the red blue and white circle, and to the left of his head a band poster. For people who know little about the mod movement, this image reveals slowly more and more about the subject, giving a scope or window into his world, showing that being a mod is a part of everyday life. Also the way in which I decided to use no flash, the image is not as clear and precise but I like the warm, subtle lighting, bringing out a completely different atmosphere to the shot, this is very effective in making the viewer feel as thought they are actually in the scene that has been photographed. Jack looks as though he has been caught off guard this adds to the authenticity of the image, making for a real and natural shot. 

                                                                    Progression-

Music, within the means of portraiture is definitely a theme that I am successful exploring in my photography, and therefore would like rot keep developing and exploring, learning and incorporating new ideas into my portraiture, and music themed images. Overall I am happy with the way my shoot turned out and hope to continue to get good results within my project.

Shoot 4 Work Diary

In this shoot I took my camera up to London, with the intention of photographing my night before a gig, socialising, smoking, drinking before going into the concert, on the streets of London. All the subjects in my images, are of people that I met that night, everyone is very sociable and eager to meet and talk to new people. 

In this shot, and for the whole series I used flash, because of how dark it was, this really helps to bring out the portraits. In this image someone I met is smoking, smoking is a big part of british culture across all ages, this image challenges social pre-conception and values. Overall the shot shows the spirit of youth, being a British teenager, drinking and smoking publicly, getting in the live atmosphere of going to watch a gig. I never gave the subject orders about how to look at the camera, he was having a smoke so I decided to take some pictures, I like the way he's looking into the camera, and the way he's been caught in motion, about to have another puff on his cigarette. The exposure on the image looks good and not too heavy, the flash gives the right amount of light on the shot, his glasses reflect some of the light from the lens on the camera, this gibes a cool technique.

This shot encompasses the party spirit of pre drinking, meeting people who are all into the same music as you, which is a huge part of British culture, it's a good feeling to be connected to everyone in mutual interests, I feel like this is shown in the actual image. The way in which they are clearly in conversation with others out of the short, and the subject in the beige coat is punching her hand into the air. I like how natural the image seems, as I never asked for the subjects to act in this way, and o a very realistic, authentic image is the result of this. I think the series reflects a good set of portraits all showing different parts of British culture such as, alcohol, music, youth, partying and smoking. 

Progression-

In the future, I will definitely use portraiture within future shoots as I feel this has been a really successful series of images, so this is definitely like develop and pursue more shoots like this, in whatever circumstance, not only out drinking etc but within other types of British culture. 

Shoot 3 Work Diary

When taking pictures for shoot, I decided to take my camera up to a gig in London Liverpool Street to see a band called Gengahr. I tried to get an accurate representation of going to see a gig, trying to include not only he performance but the overall experience of watching live music, for example I shot pictures of the ticket office, the ouside venue, band merchandise, the bar.

In this shot, I decided to focus on the technical aspects of the gig, as you can see the main focus of this image is placed on the sound technicians both exchanging words to one another about the sound levels and lights etc, the band, lighting and audience form a perfect backdrop behind the sound engineers. I really like the clarity and the sort of glazed look of the shot, the flash illuminates the backs of the audience, this contrasts nicely with the mute colours on the band. I feel the shot really captures the atmosphere in motion, and effectively shows the live event. The frame is the most effective formal element in the forming of this image, the only part of the shot which I don't like and think could be improved is the man on the left (the most exposed part of the image, only his ear and part of back of his head is visible) in some ways though it essentially focuses the viewers eye more on to the main subject of the sound engineers, and the band. The pictures successfully demonstrates British culture, within the subculture of music, as the band Gengahr, are an up and coming band, doing successful in the sphere of british independent music. 

I wanted to make sure when shooting live music music, I still captured the process of going to watch a gig, so in this image I took a picture of the venue itself that I went to, to see the band perform. I decided to not only shooting live band pictures but to show all the different elements that make up what it means to go to a live event. In this shot, I had the settings on a long shutter speed as you can see the light of the image ids a strange tinge of yellow, partly due to the light in the street and partly because of the camera setting, but due to the shutter speed you can see someone walking past in the image, and they are seen as a black shadow, this gives an interesting effect, and adds an altogether different element in the shot. This venue is based in London Liverpool Street, in Hoxton, it's a very small venue and tends to independent bands showing the relevance of independent music in British culture. 

                                                            Progression-

Within my shoots, in the future Live band photography indefinitely something I'd like to focus on reshoot, and develop, as I definitely think this is one of my strongest shoots so far, and music as a part of British culture is something that I find fascinating, and it's definitely a strong point in my photography as I know exactly how I want to display it visually. 

High Key Lighting Work Diary

When shooting for high key, I used 3 lights to help with the exposure of the image. I 

 The way it was set up, was that there was a key light next to the camera, pointing down at our subject, we then had a reflector board placed next to where the subject would stand, this would enhance the amount of light bouncing back on my subject. Then in the background, we used a white back drop, with two of the smaller lights pointing onto the backdrop, this was to make sure the background was more more over exposures than the subject- giving it a "high key lighting" effect. To set up the lighting, we needed to make sure the main key light, had an F.stop of 8 and the background lights had a higher F.stop- in our case it was between 11-12.

In this shot 

Multiple Flash Work Diary

With in this series of images on multiple flash, I shot them within a controlled environment of the studio. To create multiple flash I used a tripod, a snoot this this allowed me to direct the light onto the subjects, I also used the light meter; this meant I could measure the light so I knew what camera settings to put on to the camera.

This image is very distorted, and badly taken, first of all the backdrop and the wall are visible, so the frame of the shot is not straight and includes too much as the backdrop should be the only thing behind the subject also it looks as though external light not including the snoot is in the shot, the yellow tinge color, makes the image very noisy and intense, her movements are very badly recorded also with lots of blur. The only good part about the image is it has a very strong chaotic atmosphere. In the image below I learnt from some if my mistakes within this image and improved in shooting multiple flash.

In this shot I made the same error as above, where the frame of my shot is too wide including, the wall next to the black backdrop screen. The clarity and difference in individual shots have improved in this image, the backdrop is a lot darker and there doesn't seem to be any external light apart form the flash on the snoot when shots are taken. I like the direction of movement that the subject is moving in, as he starts off further away from the camera and the shots pile up as he gets closer, showing multiple arms and legs getting larger, this gives a really interesting effect. 

                                                                     Progression-

In the future when shooting Multiple flash photography I need to make sure the frame fits only the subject and backdrop, that there is no excess light. I really like the effect of the multiple flash, but I don't think i would use it in my own photography, as I don't think it really has a place in documentary style photography.

Macro Work Diary

In this shoot for macro I took the series of images in the studio with a black backdrop, this was to add depth of field and add all focus on the subject and the contrast between skin tone and the darkness of the backdrop. I used a macro lens, a tripod, the studio lights and a light meter; to set my camera settings. 

In this shot I decided to focus on the main features of her face being lips, nose and part of her eyes. Her skin tone is the best thing captured in the image, also her lips and teeth, they all contrast well, the shot is very clear and the macro is amplified by the dark background. I instructed her to have a deadpan expression on her face, I think this is very effective as it gives the shot a very neutral, art pose. I think that the top frame part of the image is a little too dark, I like the way a shadow is cast on the right side of her face, however I think the top part of the shot could be a little lighter to draw attention to her eyes. Also I wish I highlighted more attention on her nose as the change in tone because of her freckles would've been an interesting contrast within the shot. 

This is my favorite of the two as I love the depth of field, the way the backdrop is out of focus and so is the subjects ear and parts of her face, the part of the shot which id in focus is the subject's glasses, the skin underneath and her eyes, this gives a really cool effect as ones attention is automatically drawn to this part of the image as it is totally in focus, the color and clarity of her glasses are very strong and attention catching. There is a lot of unused space i.e. the black backdrop, however I like this as it draws more attention on to the subject instead and adds greater depth of field and contrast.

                                                                        Progression- 

In the future I'd like to continue using macro, I'm not sure how much of a role it would play n my own personal shoot, as I am using documentary style photography, but maybe within portraiture, macro may be something that could help me explore British culture, I won't be shooting macro in the study within my project but It can still be used outside rather than a controlled environment. 

Shoot 2 Work Diary

In this shoot I went up to Camden, my decision to shoot in this part of London was because of how rich it is in British Culture, and especially youth Culture. I shot images on the high road, market and lock. The interesting thing about Camden is how ever-changing it is in culture and it's relaxed atmosphere making for a very different part of London.

This image has been taken along the canal, it is of a group of friends drawing chalk on fence, they are spread out between the wall and the canal, having conversations and in creative endeavours. The shot also includes people walking through on the path, a man in clue wiring the locks for a barge boat, and two young children playing. The overall message of the image is how much of a relaxed, together, multicultural place Camden is. I like the business of the shot, it makes for a very happy, united atmosphere. The image is rich in youth culture, because young people are seen together with their friends making art and conversing as the setting on the canal because of how relaxed it is. I am happy with the overall outcome of the shoot and especially this image as although it may not be perfect, I like the content, as there are lots of connotations and meanings that cane derived. 

This image is also taken along Camden lock, the image is of the underneath of a bridge, the graffiti on the brickwork of the bridge, the canal is also visible an the handrail going under the bridge. The shot connotes youth culture, through the artwork on the bridge, and the overall urban feel of the image connotes London. I used flash in this image, this gives the image a nice effect as it lights up the darkness of the tunnel and brings out the metallic colour in the graffiti and handrail. This is part documentary and art shot as it shows off surroundings and artwork. I like the overall result of this image as it is very clear and subtle, I think it the future if I go back to re-shoot in Camden I will make sure that I have a subject to take pictures of to add another element to my images. 

                                                                    Progression-

In the future I'd like to go back to Camden to do another shoot, as I still think there's more to explore with the photography there, I think by taking a friend it would add a completely new dimension to the images as it will mean having a subject in my shots will always be ensured, as with taking pictures of people in a documentary style is not always reliable as they may not want to have pictures taken of them and also there may not be any people doing things that you want to document. Shooting friends is something I want to incorporate a lot more in my shoots. 

Shoot 1 Work Diary

Shoot 1 was taken from shooting in Norfolk, I thought this would be a good place for the first shoot to take place as it is quintessentially British. I decided to involve my family in my pictures, especially my grandparents as their heritage and culture is shown in Norfolk, as it is very nostalgic. 

This image is taken in Blakeney, looking over the heath and where the sea comes in and all the boats are docked. The main components of this shot, is the leading lines of the poles, and on the masts of the boats. I like the clarity and crispness of the water, it contrasts with the paleness of tone in the image, the sky is very cloudy and pale blue, denoting typical British weather. The whole shot is quite dark, this gives an overall melancholy, nostalgic feel. The overall scene and seagull in mid flight connotes British symbolism. I am overall happy with the result of the shot, there are not any big parts of the image that I would change, perhaps I would make the frame bigger, as to take the image further away so the total height of leading lines of the poles are visible.

This image is more documentary style, my grandma, sister and my dad's nose are the visible subjects in this shot. I love the light in the image as it really illuminates the side of my grandmas face, highlighting most attention on her. The shot connotes typical British culture, my family are sitting by the sea side, eating cockles, cockles are a traditional sea food. As seen in the shot they are all lost in the moment eating their food, with their cocktail sticks used in process, this makes very natural and realistic documentary shot, as they appear to be all unaware of the camera. On one hand the realness of the image is appealing, but I could instruct the subjects in my photos to do certain actions to avoid overcrowdedness in the images I take, i.e my dad's nose, I also could've cropped the image to improve this. 

                                                               Progression- 

In future I want to use some of the elements that I have learnt from this shoot, the importance of natural and realistic type results in documentary photography, and that instructions for the subjects, can improve the image.  Also I have learnt the importance of perspective and how frame always makes for this difference in perspective. I want to use and encompass factors that I've learnt in future shoots and also just similar British culture such as holiday, pastime etc. 

Low key Lighting Work Diary

Slow Sync Work Diary

For Slow sync I shot in the studio I used the camera settings; ISO 200, F 5.6, Shutter Speed 1.3, I found these camera settings were really suited for taking slow sync photography, as 1.3 seconds was just enough to get a good trail of motion from the action that was acted out. I'm overall pleased with my results. The equipment I used for this technique was, a tripod, a Light meter (to work out the camera settings of the studio lights), Studio lights, and a subject.

                                                              Favourite-

In this image of Jasmine, I instructed her to do a movement with her hands in the air, as to mimic dancing or some type of uplifting action. I really like the image as I think that, it is the best picture that I took from the Slow sync series in showing movement, there is a very strong trail of light movement, and the colour is very strong, bright and vibrant, due to the colours on Jasmine's top it really gives a lot of contrast and aesthetic conviction to the shot. The light trail of motion is almost a mirror of he action she is doing in the present shot, this gives a really cool effect.  I'm overall pleased without the outcome of he shot, I didn't expect for it to come out with this cool mirrored effect but I'm pleases it has, In terms of improving this image, I think I would have maybe tried to make sure Jasmine's face was more in focus.


                                                                         Worst- 

This shot is one of my least favourite out of the series as it is quite bland with not much light movement, also The frame is rather large and it almost overpowers Jasmines size within the shot. However elements I do like about this shot are the fact that the light trails are quite light and airy, giving a cool atmosphere to the piece, also there contrast within the shot, I like the depth of colour between the paleness of the subject's face and the backdrop and her clothing, all coming together to draw the viewers attention in to the main subject. The outcome of this image was not what I had expected, as it is obvious that there was direction missing from me to the subject in instructing her how to pose and what actions to do, but on the other hand I like the fact that in the image she looks caught off guard making for a more natural, less imposed style image. An element that I think could help the image to improve would be, the traces of motion light to be more visible in actually showing what actions the subject had done, also catching the subject in that process.

Progression-

I don't think that Slow Sync would have a place in my own photography as my project is going to be, documentary style showing off British Culture, therefore I may take to some shooting within the studio to show off personal identity but I don't think slow sync would have any relevance in my own project. However I will use some of the ideas and techniques I have learnt in this shoot, for example the importance of shutter speed etc, and use it in my own project to strengthen and develop my images. 

Blur Work Diary

Location Portraiture Work Diary

In my shoot for location portraiture I used the following camera settings; 1/125 F5.6 ISO 200, I find these are the perfect settings needed for portraiture, I also used a tripod as to stabilise my shots. I shot around the local town, the shoot went well, however there are a few components that I would like to change and experiment with next time to reap different results; that I have written about below.

Favourite-

In this Image I love the contrast in colour and tones, what the subject is wearing contrasts strongly against the dark bleak wall, all the colours that the subject is wearing are in blocks of black and white, this looks amazing against the dark green, grey wall. The backdrop and subject are both in focus, this gives a really interesting urban effect encompassing both two components however it may have looked more effective with Jasmine standing further away from the wall with the backdrop out of focus, focusing on the subject alone. I love the clarity and frame of the image, as the whole shot is strangely bright due to the ISO, therefore is very clear and the frame shows a a good section of the wall and a few leading lines. In improving this image I think that I could've asked my subject to stand away from the wall in order to add depth of field, by making only the subject in focus, this would've helped even more so if I had used manual focus to separate the subject and the backdrop, I think by doing this It would make for a better portrait.

                                                                          Worst-

I like this image as it's bright and crisp, I like how the subject is in focus and parts of the background are. In this image I asked my subject Alex to stay still as he was already standing there, I wanted to shoot him where he was standing because it looked like a very natural shot, with a great backdrop including many major lines and depth of field in the shot. When taking the image I thought by the way that he was standing it would make for an image with a good depth of field and only subject in focus with the backdrop at a blur, however I think by not using manual focus and because of how the backdrop is a main leading line throughout the picture, parts are more in focus than others, so in the future I think I need to make sure that the backdrop is far away and horizontally facing the back of the subject instead of throughout the image, on that other hand it does give an interesting effect, with different points of focus. 

Progression- 

Location portraiture is something that I would definitely like to encompass and use in my project, as my project is based on documentary style, portraiture is a means in documenting the life of people and doing it in a setting which can represent them is a great way of exploring the person. Location portraiture is also a lot like street photography; something that I also want to explore in my project as the urban environment is a brat place to find people and places for portraits.

Focal Length Work Diary

Worst-

The above images are my first set of focal length images, they are all quite inconsistent, the majority of the shoot is dark looking and almost distorted, and then there are some shots which are really bright and unmatching. The difference in shots in terms of size of subject doesn't look that drastic, I measured the difference in each shot by stepping a round a foot closer to the subject each time, this obviously is a factor why light would change throughout shoot, and inconsistence in change of size in each shot.

Favourite-

This shoot is a lot better and a lot more consistent than the last, these factors are controlled by the fact I changed the focal length for each shot instead of actually moving the camera, therefore I haven't lost the frame or 180 degree angle of the shot. All the light and change in size is consistent throughout. I used a tripod for both shoots, I increased shutter speed to 1/125 and the F stop, helping to capture the image with more clarity and speed, also the images have a really glowing light, illuminating the whole composition.

Sequencing Gif Animation Work Diary

When shooting for sequencing, we all went to the local park, as we aimed to shoot sequencing Gif animation, we thought the park would be a perfect place for this as there are lots of rides, which obviously, ensuring we will be able to show the movement in action, which could be shot in a sequence. 

Favorite-

I learnt from the gif below where I took the 1st series of images that I need to make sure the tripod is stable and secure, In this shoot I have managed to do this successfully, also there is no parts in the gif where it overlaps due to the same images being used, showing the rotation and movement of the swing. Things I could've improved in this shoot are, shooting the movements of the swing to look more fluid in my shoot and also, if I had chosen the frame of my images as smaller it wouldn't have picked up other movement in the background, and the noise of light, for example the man walking along the fence and the movement of the swaying trees and changing light, but on the other hand all of these components also do add another interesting layer to the gif. I like the overall tonality and colours in the image, as they're all quite rich and deep, with different shades of green. The image connotes youth, having fun and friendship.

Worst-

This was the first series of images I shot, of Sarah climbing up a tower in the park, this is very ineffective as the tripod wasn't stable and so moved at each shot, creating the turning motion of the gif, also due to the rotation of the shoot, the light changes in brightness as the camera moves. Despite these factors I'm happy with the capture of Sarah climbing up the tower as there is no overlap, and you can clearly see the route and movements she takes to climb to the top. In the future I need to remember to always secure the tripod properly and situated on a level situation. The child connotes youth and having fun.

                                                                           Progression-

I'm uncertain as to whether i'd like to use sequencing Gif animation in my own photography project, as it may detract from the documentary type style I want to create, also I can't imagine many actions that I would want to capture in british culture, apart from maybe music and musicians playing their instruments, or live music, they're some ideas I'd like to incorporate in sequencing.

Wide Angle Close Up Work Diary

For this shoot I took pictures around the college and garden, I tried to incorporate the two elements of wide angle and close up in the same image, I took some images where the wide angle were out of focus and some where the whole shot was in focus, I am happy with some of the results I got. 

Favourite-

This is my favourite of the images, as I love the clarity, the lighting, I think that the focus is crisp and clear on the subject of the aeroplane, the way the lights are all blurred in the background helps to make your eyes more automatically drawn to the main subject, creating a nice tonality in the shot. The Wide angle element of the shot is obviously the room, the close up (the aeroplane), the frame of the image is perfect in representing both elements and how they work together as a composition. The contrast is really stark and strong in the shot, there are lots of different tones of green, this is very aesthetically pleasing against the bright light and white backdrop, there are also a few leading lines in the composition, the main subject being an interesting shape has many lines in different directions, but one of the main lines that catches the viewers attention is in the middle of the shot; the lights moving down the centre of the shot, illuminating the whole image and drawing attention to different elements. I took the image without a tripod and close up maybe in future I could improve the image by having a higher ISO as the image is very heavy and dark, which can be seen as negative to the composition.

Worst-

This is my least favourite image, because of the overexposed look of light and the lack of defintion, however it is a good representation of wide angle and close up in an image. I particularly like the camera angle used as I took it from a low angle as to capture the close up subjective of the leaves against the wide backdrop of the building. The frame of the shot includes the top part of the leaves covering the backdrop of the overexposed building, the lines in the composition look strange yet interesting as the leading lines are not  quite horizontal or vertical, but both diagonally slanted, adding an interesting layer to the shot. Factors that could improve the shot are making sure the levels of light in the image, turning down the iso, blurring out the backdrop.

Progression-
Since I want to do documentary style as my photography project, wide angle close up shooting may be very useful as generally street photography is something I want to focus on in my project so I imagine that this shooting technique may be very effective at shooting context, such as portraiture with a backdrop or showing the relation between a main subject and the backdrop.