All posts in category Creative Futures, Photography
Photo Essay Conclusion & Reflection 30/12/13
I have enjoyed the photography element of my course from the start and I really enjoyed creating my essay. I was genuinely excited about my ideas and producing my shots. I am not so sure, however that my ability matches my ideas. I had images in my head of exactly what I wanted my shots to look like but having taken them they were perhaps not as professional as I imagined. I am sure though that this is just something that will be improved with more experience.
I also learned the importance of props. It had not really occurred to me that to produce a professional photo essay on the subject of tea breaks I would need a lot of nice crockery. I couldn’t spend a lot of money on this so was left to make do, beg, steal and borrow. I also perhaps did not give enough thought to the background of my images. I had planned the subject of my shots but it wasn’t until I began to shoot that I realised that what was behind the subject was just as important. I got round this by just using some fabric and just doing the best I could.
On a positive note, creating my essay has really helped me to operate the camera much better. Having taken so many shots I am now familiar with most of the settings and it is becoming much easier to know which setting to use and when. I am very confident with ISO and shutter speed now and although I am sure there is a lot more to learn I feel I am definitely getting there.
As a first attempt I am reasonably happy with the result but I look forward to gaining more experience and producing better shots.
Posted by sarahesparrow on December 30, 2013
https://sarahesparrow.wordpress.com/2013/12/30/photo-essay-conclusion-reflection-301213/
Photo Essay Final Shots & Descriptions 30/12/13
My photo essay is now complete and I have entitled it ‘Tea Breaks’. The following is a list of the final shots I have used and includes a brief description of each:
My first shot is the words ‘tea break’ written in loose tea. I stood on the table for this shot as I wanted an aerial view.
For the second shot I used an old black T shirt for the background as I liked the effect and it makes the mug and biscuits stand out. I tried to show some depth of field work here by blurring out the biscuits.
Self explanatory really, the black T shirt again to make the black and white stand out. I was pleased with these first three shots as I liked the way I was able to use actual words to convey my theme.
Next I moved on to the shots taken on Beverley Beck for my factory worker on a tea break. I tried to use the framing technique here by taking the shot through the arms of the wooden bench.
My ‘factory worker’ having his tea surrounded by the beautiful foliage. Again, I tried to blur the background slightly which I think shows the Autumn colours in the best way. With the benefit of hindsight I think I should probably have used a shot outside the factory in order to show exactly who he is.
Some leading lines work here, using the bench to draw the eye to the flask.
More depth of field by focusing on the bush in the background.
Close up of a cute little cake as in focus as I could get it. I like the simplicity of this shot and think it works well with the white background.
Another simple shot which I thought worked well, again with the black background. I used a high shutter speed for this to ‘freeze’ the tea as it was being poured but quickly realised that the effect was somewhat lost to the black. I really liked the shot though and wanted to use it so I have attempted the shot again later in my essay using a different background.
Depth of field again. I mainly used this because I like the spotty teapot!
My friend who I managed to persuade to help me out. I love this shot as I feel it is something the viewer would perhaps not expect to see.
The wig and cup using depth of field.
A slightly better shot of my clown.
My ‘delivery driver’ on his tea break.
Close up of his wheel and deliveries.
This shot took a fair few attempts as it was very difficult to hold the spoon in one hand and the camera in the other. I was a little disappointed that I couldn’t get the sugar more in focus so next time I will ask someone to help me.
Again, very hard to achieve with only two hands and a lot of mess to clean up afterwards! I tried to use a very high shutter speed to ‘stop’ the sugar grains as they fell but found that it took away the light I needed for the shot.
Well what can I say about Santa. He is obviously not in focus and this is totally my mistake. Having qued for 2 hours with my children to see him I decided at the last minute to ask him to pose for my picture to which he very nicely agreed. If I am to be completely honest I was massively stressed at this point as any parent standing with excited children for 2 hours would be. We only had a couple of minutes with Santa and there was no time to set the camera up correctly or take tester shots so as a consequence my shutter speed was too low hence the movement and my ISO was totally wrong also. I took the shot anyway and didn’t check it until we had left. I was unsure whether or not to include it but as it Christmas I thought I must…
I tried to make up for the rubbish Santa with this close up and I like the colours in this.
This is the second attempt at the earlier shot of the tea being poured. I ended up abandoning trying to freeze the liquid as I saw that the ‘bubble effect’ looked nice.
My attempt at drawing a cup of tea in tea.
My hairdresser on her tea break.
I don’t think this close up worked too well because of the light. My ISO should have been turned down as there is too much light being let in here. I also could have improved the focusing.
I included this as I wanted to take a shot in the mirror.
And the last shot is in loose tea again. I thought it worked well as an ending to my essay.
Posted by sarahesparrow on December 30, 2013
https://sarahesparrow.wordpress.com/2013/12/30/photo-essay-final-shots-descriptions-301213/
Photo Essay Update & first shots 7/12/13
I have begun to take my first shots for my photo essay assignment on tea breaks. The biggest problem so far has been coordinating my spare time with the times available for me to borrow a camera!
The first shots were taken on Beverley Beck and with these I tried, in particular to show my depth of field capabilities and some leading lines work:
I also managed to push the kids out of the way and snap Santa on a tea break! This was taken under pressure, however as Santa had a very long line of children to speak to and my image will need photoshopping.
I also attempted a few other shots which I may or may not use:
Posted by sarahesparrow on December 9, 2013
https://sarahesparrow.wordpress.com/2013/12/09/photo-essay-update-first-shots-71213/
Photoshop Colour Correction 9/12/13
Today we continued with our introduction to correcting our images via photoshop using the colour correction technique.. Using the black, white and grey eye dropper tools, we clicked on an item in our image which we knew to be either black, white or grey. The idea is then that the photoshop software would then correct our images giving all the right colours. Although it is mainly a matter of personal opinion, there are instances when it is of upmost importance to show the correct colours within our images. An example of this would be if your image has the purpose of advertising a particular product in which the advertised item must be the correct colour.
Posted by sarahesparrow on December 9, 2013
https://sarahesparrow.wordpress.com/2013/12/09/photoshop-colour-correction-91113/
Photoshop Histograms 2/12/13
In photography today we were introduced to Photoshop and learned how it can help us improve our images. To begin with we looked at tonal range. We imported some images into the software and looked at the histogram graph for each image. The histogram shows us the tonal range of the image, how much back, white and other colours are in the picture. We then played the ‘histogram game’ by guessing how we thought the graph would look for an image.
A nice easy introduction to improving our images by way of photoshop, it was nice to see how much they can be improved by some simple tweeks.
Posted by sarahesparrow on December 2, 2013
https://sarahesparrow.wordpress.com/2013/12/02/photoshop-histograms-21213/
Photo Essay Planning 24/11/13
So my brief for this photography assignment is to: Produce a photographic essay, exploring a subject of your choice comprising of 15 – 30 images, with the aim of informing, educating or entertaining. I would also need to demonstrate my knowledge of compositional guidelines, aperture and shutter speed within my images.
I had decided on a theme of tea breaks for my essay. I had researched images on this subject and I had looked at the work of some professional photo journalists. It was now time to start planning! I decided the best way to do this would be to compile a shot list. However, once I sat down to do this, the shot list quickly turned into a brainstorming session. Obviously I already had images of some of the shots I would want in my mind but I realised I hadn’t thought about it enough. I ended up with 2 sheets of paper full of my ideas of what shots I wanted to take.
This put me in the ( good ) position of having many more shot ideas than I would actually need and I decided to abandon the shot list as such. I thought the best way would be to use all my ideas for shots, take them and then see which worked out best and which didn’t turn out as I had hoped.
Some of my ideas are as follows:
- To use loose tea and write words with it such as the title for the assignment ‘Tea Breaks’. Depending on how easy this is to achieve I may use the loose tea to draw pictures as well, such as a basic outline of a tea cup or pot. I am thinking of taking these shots using a plain white background in order to make it stand out.
- I would like to use a shot of a honeycomb biscuit broken in half with a close up of the honeycomb, I realise I may have to somehow shine a light on to the honeycomb to show up the detail of it.
- I must include the obvious shots of a table set up for tea with a nice selection of cakes.
- I would like to show a steaming cup of tea. How best to do this remains to be seen. I may have to take this outside in the cold to show the steam effect.
- I even have an idea to set up a pair of walking boots on a hillside with a flask of tea next to them. It would be great if I could get the boots to ‘steam’ as if they have just been taken off. If I can create this using a hidden cigarette behind them it would be good.
When it comes to using workers for my shots of them having their tea breaks I have planned the following:
- I have arranged to visit a hairdressing salon and I would like to take shots of the girls who work there, perhaps using the mirrors inside or depending what the staff room looks like, in there.
- I will take shots of the chef where I work on his break. My place of work is a carvery and I would love to take a shot of the carvery deck when it has newly been set up as it looks lovely. The only trouble with this is that as it is a working restaurant I would have only around a minute to get this image before the customers arrive and spoil it! My back up will be to use the back yard with piles of vegetables behind him.
- I also know a factory worker who takes his tea break on Beverley Beck, a lovely little place with a stream and ducks. It would be nice to get some shots here.
- Finally, I have a friend who I know has a full clown costume including wig and make up. I think it would look great if I can take a shot of her like this on a tea break!
I also thought about the technical side of things:
- An image of a sugar lump being dropped into a cup of tea would demonstrate shutter speed nicely, as would tea being poured out of a pot.
- Leading lines could perhaps be demonstrated using a wooden bench or a table runner. Perhaps even a design on a table cloth taken from a low angle might work.
- The rule of thirds is pretty self explanatory and at this point I can’t think of anything I could use to demonstrate the framing technique. I hope this will come once I start shooting.
I think I will need to arrange one or two more people to shoot on their tea break and I may have a few more ideas but I am more or less happy at this point to start taking some shots….
Posted by sarahesparrow on November 25, 2013
https://sarahesparrow.wordpress.com/2013/11/25/photo-essay-planning-241113/
Photo Essay Assignment More Research 21/11/13
Having already decided on a theme for my photo essay assignment, I felt I needed to develop it further with more research and perhaps a shot list. I had decided I would use the theme of tea breaks, planning to shoot different people in different professions on their tea breaks. I had looked at some lovely images of tea cups, biscuits etc on the internet but I thought I needed to know more about the photo essay itself.
I began to research some well known photographers and found a man named W.Eugene Smith. Although he is now deceased he is credited with the title of ‘ the master of the photo essay’ making him a great place to start. I looked at some of his famous photo essays, published in Life magazine. The first, ‘Nurse Midwife’ was made in 1951 and includes images showing the work of an heroic midwife, Maude Callen:
And another in the same year was ‘Spanish Village’ depicting daily life in rural Spain:
‘ Spanish Village’ also contains a very famous image of 3 law enforcers at the time:
I really loved looking at these essays. I love the images and they really made me think. I thought about how different life was back then, how times have changed and I also found myself wondering about the people in the pictures. What they were thinking and who they were. To me this would be the mark of a successful photo essay….if I could make people stop and think about my images I would be very happy. I also think I enjoy W . Eugene Smith’s work as most of his subjects are in fact people as oppose to objects, much more interesting to me. I hope I can produce images even half as good as this one day.
Posted by sarahesparrow on November 21, 2013
https://sarahesparrow.wordpress.com/2013/11/21/photo-essay-more-research-211113/
Panning Technique 18/11/13
In the session today we learned a new technique known as panning. Put simply, this is a technique whereby a moving object is ‘followed’ with your camera. When the object is directly in front of you the photo must be taken using a high shutter speed in order to freeze the moving object. However the camera should still be moving after the object is taken which should cause the background to blur creating a still image with blurred background.
To begin with we looked at some professional images of the effect we were hoping to achieve:
The next step was to set up our cameras correctly for this challenge. We put our cameras to shutter speed priority and set the speed at a 15th of a second. A good old you tube video tutorial always helps so after watching a couple of these we took to the streets looking for moving objects. Some students went chasing seagulls but I thought it would be easier to stand by the road side and try with moving cars. A couple of tester shots revealed my moving cars were still slightly blurred. To combat this I turned down my shutter speed to a twentieth of a second which gave me a better result:
And this, I thought was the best and was quite proud of it:
I always enjoy photography but this session was an especially good one. Again, learning how to get great looking effects which are so simple to achieve. I would like to try this at night with different lights to try to create a stunning image, hopefully I will find the time….
Posted by sarahesparrow on November 18, 2013
https://sarahesparrow.wordpress.com/2013/11/18/panning-technique-181113/
Photo Essay Assignment Research 11/11/13
Today I discussed my ideas for my photo essay assignment with Mark Terry. I’d had a bit of a ‘eureka’ moment in coming up with this…..a simple quip to a fellow student ” lets get a cup of tea,” switched my light bulb on and I came up with an idea to use that great British institution….the cup of tea!
Initially I thought I would just use shots of all the many different types of tea and perhaps different styles of crockery such as fine china tea cups or a builders’ mug. Thinking about it some more however, I developed the idea into tea breaks rather than just tea itself. I am imagining using different shots of different workers on their tea breaks. For example, I work in a restaurant so I will take a shot of our chef on his tea break and perhaps use a one line quote to go with the image. I hope to repeat the process for lots of different jobs and incorporate some close up shots of tea cups, biscuits etc.
I began to research my idea and found lots of nice images to give me inspiration.
And I must include probably the most famous image of all when it comes to tea breaks, even though I believe it was fake:
Although I won’t be attempting any shots hundreds of feet up I am looking forward to this assignment. I just hope my ability will match my thought process….
Posted by sarahesparrow on November 11, 2013
https://sarahesparrow.wordpress.com/2013/11/11/photo-essay-assignment-research-111113/
sarahesparrow 