Task 2 - Experimental

Out Of Focus

Out of focus photographs is when the camera is in manual focus in order to create a blur. I think that this is the best out of focus photograph I took because I feel like it looks the most professional. Having a blur on the photograph changes the appearance and adds a totally different perspective as it can make features look different, for example it makes the lights look like orbs of colour. The paintings that are on the wall in the image and the red from the floor add some colour as it does look quite bright in all areas of the photograph. As the photograph was taken down a corridor, the lights look as though they get closer together towards the end which causes them to merge together creating a nice effect.

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Evaluate: ideas eg analysis, results; How well do you feel you have realised your ideas and intentions and what results have you got? Ensure you talk critically (compare, contrast, assess) about your work. You should reference your influences and assess how your work compares.When taking these out of focus photographs I wanted to use mostly lights as I think they look better when blurred as the light sources look like orbs which creates a better effect because it changes the appearance of the photograph. I took a photograph of a fire extinguisher out of focus which I thought did not look as good because it looked like it wasn’t meant to be blurry. I used the trial and error technique when taking my photographs because I did not have a clear idea as to what I wanted them to look like. I think that using this technique gives more of a wider option and it can mean that I create something appealing when in fact it could've just been taken by accident.

Qualities:Consider the aesthetic qualities (how does it look) of your work. How does it look? What do you like about it? What are the strongest and weakest elements from an aesthetic point of view?Some of my out of focus photographs did not turn out very well as they don’t look very professional and I wasn’t happy with the outcome. I feel that the photographs taken of the lights looked a lot better because the effect created by the blur looks pretty although the other things I took photographs of did not have the same outcome. I think that if I went to some other locations than college, I could've created more effects rather than using the same idea more than once.

Consider the technical qualities of your work? How well done is it? What elements are strongest and which could need further work and development? Be sure to use technical terms in your work such as exposure, shutter speed, aperture and talk specifically about any post-production techniques you have used.I feel that the photographs I produced were not taken as well as they could’ve been as I need to take more care with them rather than just taking them randomly and hoping for a good outcome. Also, I need to think more about what I am trying to create because this could help me take more care as I will be wanting a specific outcome.

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How could you improve your work? Could you develop your work further with additional work? What would you try to achieve with this? Could you undertake further experiments? If so, what would they be?I think that I need to take more photographs in different locations because this will mean I have a varied amount that look different rather than them all looking more or less the same. To improve my out of focus photographs I could set up a some different coloured lights so that they create the effect that I was trying to achieve. I would also try using different things other than the lights to have more of a selection rather than using the same method for each photograph as they may all look the same and I would learn more by trying new effects. I think I need to also monitor the amount of light in the location I take my photographs because sometimes there is too much light which makes the photograph look too bright.

When talking about your work, consider formal elements such as lines, shapes and patterns as well as the colour and contrast and also tone of your image. Think about the composition of your work and where this could be developed. Taking out of focus photographs meant that some of the shapes featured would change shape slightly. This creates a different perspective of the photograph and can make it look like something completely different. I think it works really well because a boring object can be made to look like something unusual.

Finally you should consider if the images you have produced fulfil the brief you were set. Do they match the theme? Are they experimental? Explain your answers using specific examples. The photographs I took for the out of focus theme fit the brief I was set because I used the correct camera settings and the produced images looked like they were meant to although I could’ve taken more.

Movement

Movement photographs is changing the camera to a longer shutter speed so that movement is picked up. This photograph of Chloe is the best one I took because the appearance of it has changed completely. For example, she was spinning around which has created the effect of her hair looking almost like fire. From far away this photograph would probably not look like a human although up close you can see her face. The background around Chloe is also blurred which adds to the effect and makes it seem like it is not just a corridor.

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Evaluate: ideas eg analysis, results; How well do you feel you have realised your ideas and intentions and what results have you got? Ensure you talk critically (compare, contrast, assess) about your work. You should reference your influences and assess how your work compares.Most of the movement photographs I took were not very successful as I could not get the effect I was looking for. I found that in one of the locations where I took my photographs, the light was too bright so the outcome wasn’t very good. I felt like only one of my photographs came out well. I used trial and error for these photographs as I changed location quite a few times to darker and lighter places although when it was dark the camera did not pick up movement very well. Also, in bright areas, I found that the camera did pick up the movement but the photograph looked really white which I didn’t think looked particularly good.

Qualities:Consider the aesthetic qualities (how does it look) of your work. How does it look? What do you like about it? What are the strongest and weakest elements from an aesthetic point of view?The qualities of my work is that I did although I did not take many photographs, there was a few that turned out well. Also, one of my photographs created an effect that looked like fire which made it look totally different to how it did in real life. I experimented different shutter speeds so that I could vary my photographs and make them look slightly different.

Consider the technical qualities of your work? How well done is it? What elements are strongest and which could need further work and development? Be sure to use technical terms in your work such as exposure, shutter speed, aperture and talk specifically about any post-production techniques you have used. I think that I need to make sure that the camera is perfectly still when taking my movement photographs because this could make them have better effects. Also, I need to be in a location that isn’t too dark or too bright so that the camera picks up enough light to create a good outcome.

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How could you improve your work? Could you develop your work further with additional work? What would you try to achieve with this? Could you undertake further experiments? If so, what would they be?To improve my work I need to take more photographs so I have more of a range and try out different moving things instead of doing it of the same thing all the time. To take more movement photographs I will use a tripod or balance the camera on something still and flat so the photographs are more likely to have a good outcome. I may also try different shutter speeds to see which one suits the photographs.

When talking about your work, consider formal elements such as lines, shapes and patterns as well as the colour and contrast and also tone of your image. Think about the composition of your work and where this could be developed. The shapes in my movement photographs would’ve been slightly altered because the longer shutter speed means that the moving object would be across the photograph. I found that when I was taking the photographs of Chloe moving, on some of them it looked like you could see through her because of the camera picking up the movement.

Finally you should consider if the images you have produced fulfil the brief you were set. Do they match the theme? Are they experimental? Explain your answers using specific examples. Some of the movement photographs I have produced fit the brief because I used the correct camera settings and a longer shutter speed to achieve seeing movement in the photographs. I think I need to take some more as some of the photographs don’t look like they fit in with the brief.

Reflection

Reflection photographs are about finding something with a mirrored surface to take a photograph of. I think this is the best reflection photograph I took because it has two reflections, a slightly blurred one and one that is in focus. I think this photograph looks as though it is using the fisheye effect because of the curved surface.

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Evaluate: ideas eg analysis, results; How well do you feel you have realised your ideas and intentions and what results have you got? Ensure you talk critically (compare, contrast, assess) about your work. You should reference your influences and assess how your work compares.I did not have any intentions for my photographs so I used trial and error to take them. I found some mirrored surfaces and then took my photos. I took a photograph in a mirrored tap but it did not come out very well as it looked really blurred when it was meant to be in focus. Also, the flash went off which meant the only reflection was the flash.

Qualities:Consider the aesthetic qualities (how does it look) of your work. How does it look? What do you like about it? What are the strongest and weakest elements from an aesthetic point of view?I think the qualities of my work are that some of my photographs look like they are using the fish eye lens which makes them look more professional. Also, in some of my images the photographer has ended up been the one who is photographed which is not usually the case. The lighting in my photographs is perfect as it makes them look clear and not too bright or dark.

Consider the technical qualities of your work? How well done is it? What elements are strongest and which could need further work and development? Be sure to use technical terms in your work such as exposure, shutter speed, aperture and talk specifically about any post-production techniques you have used. I think that my reflection photographs could’ve been better because I could’ve been more creative and set some reflections up instead of taking them so that I was in the reflection every time. This would mean that I have more of a variety of reflection images to use rather than all of them been similar.

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How could you improve your work? Could you develop your work further with additional work? What would you try to achieve with this? Could you undertake further experiments? If so, what would they be?To improve my work I will take more reflection photographs using different techniques. For example, I will set up some reflections for the photographs to look unusual. To achieve this I will need to find some mirrored surfaces that I can take photographs in but make sure I am out of them.

When talking about your work, consider formal elements such as lines, shapes and patterns as well as the colour and contrast and also tone of your image. Think about the composition of your work and where this could be developed. The shapes in my photographs look pretty much the same as they do in real life although they are backwards because they’re taken in a mirror. The light in the photographs is not too bright or dark and all of them are focussed well and are not blurry.

Finally you should consider if the images you have produced fulfil the brief you were set. Do they match the theme? Are they experimental? Explain your answers using specific examples. The reflection photographs I took do fit the brief although I could’ve done a wider range so that they didn’t all look the same. I could also use different reflected surfaces such as sunglasses, billboards etc.

Photomontage

Photomontages are made up of a lot of photographs taken in the same place. For example, this photomontage is made up of 4 photographs of the same car park but split into different sections. When put in Photoshop, all the photographs get merged together to make a photomontage. I think this is the best photomontage image I took because it fits well and looks like it is all one photo. Compared to the rest of the photomontages I took, I think this one has used the most space and looks the most appealing as there is a lot of colour and it looks more complicated.

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Evaluate: ideas eg analysis, results; How well do you feel you have realised your ideas and intentions and what results have you got? Ensure you talk critically (compare, contrast, assess) about your work. You should reference your influences and assess how your work compares.When creating the photomontage images I did not know how they were going to turn out so I used trial and error. I had an idea of what I wanted the final images to look like but I was not certain that they would turn out that way as Photoshop determines how they are going to look.

Qualities:Consider the aesthetic qualities (how does it look) of your work. How does it look? What do you like about it? What are the strongest and weakest elements from an aesthetic point of view?I think that the qualities of my work are that the photomontages all fit together well and they look like they are all one photograph rather than split up into different sections. I think that the car park image looks the best because it just looks like a panoramic photo as all the sections merge well and do not create any parts that look out of place.

Consider the technical qualities of your work? How well done is it? What elements are strongest and which could need further work and development? Be sure to use technical terms in your work such as exposure, shutter speed, aperture and talk specifically about any post-production techniques you have used. I think that the photomontages I created worked out well as a whole although my first attempt wasn’t as good because I did not use enough space which meant that when the photographs were put into Photoshop, there were parts that had nothing there.

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How could you improve your work? Could you develop your work further with additional work? What would you try to achieve with this? Could you undertake further experiments? If so, what would they be?To improve my work I could make the photomontages look more interesting by taking them in different ways. For example, instead of taking them in a straight line I could move the camera up and down to create a different style. I could also use parts of different images to create a photomontage which would make it look unusual although this may not look right as nothing will fit together.

When talking about your work, consider formal elements such as lines, shapes and patterns as well as the colour and contrast and also tone of your image. Think about the composition of your work and where this could be developed.Some of the shapes in my photomontages have been changed slightly because they have been merged together. Some of them look good with this effect because it makes it look unique although some of them look out of place. The lighting in my photomontages is not too bright or too dark which is good because it means that my images are clear.

Finally you should consider if the images you have produced fulfil the brief you were set. Do they match the theme? Are they experimental? Explain your answers using specific examples. The photomontages I have created do fit the brief because they all fit together well and I have used the correct method on Photoshop to create the montage. My photomontages are not as complicated as I would’ve liked them to be so they are not very experimental because I used a random area of college to take the photographs.