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Evaluation 

Completing this project it has made me improve my skill in doing Photoshop but I feel I have become more sophisticated within my work as I have up my game by going into the studio experimenting with lighting and organizing where to place props and the right time for model to come in. Doing studio was very daunting as it's not my comfort zone of place to build up knowledge as I not done much of it last year and not done it for my A levels but have enjoyed shooting there, especially when using the snoot to do shadows just the way Sam Taylor Wood has done her series of levitation but have used a harness which I do not own so I used stool and chair to stable model. Looking into magazines hasn't really helped me dig deeper on expanding my levitation idea so I have relied on Facebook and Tumblr but magazines have helped to bring out meanings from props and seeing emotions towards the model and how lighting can refine that. It has been a shame that I have couldn't decide on a strong idea till the fourth week into the project which have been worrying but mainly my fault as my ideas were being very complicated to give out the message on my subject matter. what got my idea going is searching up what levitation means to people and if there's a meaning if people dreams of flying, falling or levitating which brought to my attention and thinking more on what I could spread to people to understand the story am coming across on the images. Best position to me is model lying on the back looking as if she's lost and falling for the book or into flowers, too distant from the world, basically I was trying to succeed to portray how people can get attached to books and forget what's happening around them in reality.

I am influenced by surrealism and human mystery experience as it makes me wonder how the story in the image unfolds, I have tried to link my work to Sarah Ann Loreth as I wanted to convey a frozen emotion on model towards a book or globe as globe could connect with where the future holds e.g. where her travels begin in finding her fate as the books could be an influence to model in what type of place she wants to grow personality or fall in love with a certain person or place.

My second shoot for this project was not as successful as I hoped for because at the group critique people did not see the image in the same way that I did so this made me rethink on what I could do for my third shoot as I was going to use a white sheet to cover model face and floating covering most of her body and continue doing book in mid air and shoot this in the woods but tutor thought the woods makes them feel chilly and too much of a distraction to read the body language of the model and what props am using to help towards a story so I have been shooting in the studio focusing more on the model and not over the top props so that people would be able to see my idea more clearly.


One slight problem I had with this project was that I struggled to have a reliable model as I only fully trusted my sister to come into college but she's studying A levels so still in school but was lucky as she had half term so basically I need to improve my communication skills and believe in myself to push myself to ask people in my course to model.

The weekly group critiques had helped me to develop my idea, I admit I didn't like most my comments through critiques as I hoped I get praised and less worry on my hands but the comments I wasn't hoped for has helped me to up my game. In tutorials we discussed ideas how to improve my story approach and what lighting techniques I could try out and possible focus on the main prop that builds up the story towards the model, he has said I could continue doing the woods but I will have to find a way to be different or find another location.

If I had the chance to start this project again I would not spend too much shooting in my comfort zone as this is not really improving my way of using the camera and hiding away on doing daunting stuff in the studio, freaking out that I would do something wrong with the lights set up and cause too much stress on me and slow me down on completing project. When I was shooting in the studio I found myself finding new ideas more quicker than being in the woods and if I have continued doing woods shooting I think my photographs will look similar and look like am not trying to experiment much and just being too simple and safe.

Level 5 photography
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Introduction to Editorial photography
Summer Work

Tutors gave the class homework to get us into what editorial is about and by getting us to understand what editorial means was researching on alec soth. My idea was looking into why people may not get accepted in society and I did this by using a mirror to reflect that her mind that society is making her feel to change her image so that she can blend and not feel alienated, so model looks into mirror to see herself, the side that she should become as to be accepted but her true self is about the background and the one that is looking in mirror. I based the shoots in the room as people's comfort zones is in their personal space a bedroom and the poster on walls shows her personality and how she was brought up on being the person not being accepted in society. Researching Alec Soth has helped me as his project looking for love, given me thought of people changes their clothing and make up styles so that they can love them self which then can move to love someone too and not care on what people thinks on what they wear and what entertainment and music they are into to discriminate.

Alec Soth is an American photographer, his work has a cinematic feel with myth elements that hint a story behind the image. He uses a 8x10 view camera which is slow in setting up, soth finds his shots get quiet and brooding, not enough smiling, not enough expression, just simple, quiet looking and lots of different energy and personality goes into it. "Man shouldn't be able to see his own face- there's nothing more sinister. The inventor of the mirror poisoned the human heart." Fernando Pessoa

Alec Soth is part of the LITTLE BROWN MUSHROOM business team that works closely with photographers, writers, and designer which is committed to experimenting with new ways of creating and distributing visual stories.

Looking for Love, 1996 it's a book about searching, about the curious and intuitive approach to people and their stories. About falling in love to a medium that opens insights to worlds that would otherwise stay hidden- intensive and haunting like an continual night at the bar. 

" I like individual images to certainly have a life on their own and to exist in that way, " Alec Soth

Level 5 photography
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Test shoot on lighting in studio

Camera Settings: 1/125

                             F4.0

                             150 or 100

Equipment : Tethering cable

                     Canon 5D Mark II

                     Capture one

                     Fixed lights

                     Soft box

                     Triggers

                     24-105 lens

                     Light meter 

So here is behind the scenes on how I get the levitation to work and what space I have to position props and seeing what lighting work to show my levitation work best and what colour clothes is best to wear so that model wont be fainting away or look invisible as the back drop would blend in with clothes and could look messy and difficult to see model positioning.

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Finals

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Tutorial on Shoot 3

Jamie really liked my studio shoots and says that I have brought out more on what my subject matter is about by focusing on the model and being selective on what props are most meaningful. Next experiment he will like me to try is to use gels on the lights to bring in colour to my images background to look fun and waking and possibly glamorous and push myself to do shadows just like Sam Taylor Wood and just have one prop with the model example reading a book or looking into a globe.

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Tutorial on second shoot

Tutor has said that I have a strong interesting idea but feel that I have over grown the woods now and have a play in the studios on what props work in the woods. Having the woods as a scene is a distraction to the tutors as eyes wonders off to the trees and lake instead of focusing on the model facial expressions and posture and what props am using to relate the models feeling on feeling comfortable in the area she is in and props relating to the book and what her needs are to make her life full filling.  Tutor has said to look up into Sam Taylor Wood on how she uses shadows and backgrounds she uses and experiment with lighting techniques.  Jamie has said to use the stage in the cafeteria and try using balloons tied to my model and get chalk and write the book titles on chalk board so then the images look educational and more sophisticated and not look like a beginners photographer. 

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Shoot 4

Equipment: Snoot

                        Soft box

                              Fixed Lights

                      Triggers

                                tethering cable

                                  Canon 5D MK II

                          Light meter

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Shoot 3

Equipment- Triggers

                                    Cannon 5D Mk II

                                 Tethering Cable

                             Fixed Lights

                       Soft Box

                           Barn Doors

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Sam Taylor Wood  

Sam is one of the most important contemporary women artists, her work combines elements of the still and moving image and frequently explores the tensions and erotic entanglements arising between people in a closed environment. Her panoramic photographs have the quality of freeze frame. Sa, Taylor Wood often explores how emotions are expressed.

Sam is a photographer and film maker, image below is made with a rotating camera  that turns 360 degrees in five seconds, the work records the motions and gestures of six actors and friends, the image unfolds each character seems lost in their own reality.

I would like to experiment with coloured helium balloons to illustrate the model is being lifted up from a fantasy book to reality. I would do this by having a fan in the studio blowing leaves and artificial flowers around the model and have the book on the floor some open some not, Could even tie the books to the balloon  when not tied to the model. Am guessing to do this shoot is having step ladders in the set where the model cud stable her legs on steps and if need more stability i use a stool to rest her head.

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Lidia Vives

  

Lidia's favourite photographer is Annie Leibovitz due to the compositions, the colour, the images almost looking cinematic and contrasts. She goes adventuring for inspiration through landscapes, clothing, technique and when she dreams and deep in thoughts in a shower.In Lidia's opinion she feels that making a good image considers fundamental things like composition, colour but most importantly the images needs an issue, there has to be a story behind it, a mystery.

Advice Lidia gives for aspiring photographers is to see up to date art in museums, collect daily art books and be very critical with yourself.

Annie Leibovitz

 

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Sarah Ann Loreth

v  


Sarah is a fine art photographer who specializes in self portraiture and conceptual portraiture. In her work she tries to convey a quiet frozen moment of emotion with a connection to her natural surroundings.

Sarah's use of colour and surrealism she creates a reality only imagined in her mind and explores between darkness and light, she leaves a feeling of a human mystery experience that leaves viewers wondering how the story unfolds.

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Brooke Shaden

Brooke Shaden is a fine art photographer which her passion is creating new worlds in photographs, her images resemble paintings and speak of an era and each image is a story. Brooke's photography questions what it means to be alive.

Brooke shaden beginning of doing her photography experimenting and finding her style she knew fine well she did not want to make straight ahead images and relies on photoshop to create images that only exist in her mind. She creates otherworldly photographs with a surreal dark imagery focusing on movement and painterly effect with a  whimsical feeling. Brooke spends about 5-7 hours per picture in photoshop, when the image get's complicated she spends 35 hours on a single picture in photoshop, when put pictures together she blends the images to create a single layer and then begin to make colour/ contrast to make image stand out.

Brooke shaden "I wanted to evoke feelings from people" she explains " I soften my images and add texture to make them look painterly"

  
  



 

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Process of Levitation

Sebastien Barriol

Two main ways to achieve this is com-positioning variety of completely different shots to build up the composition or taking few photos same position with camera sitting on tripod. Sebastien layers both images in photoshop and masked out the chair.







Dani Diamond

Once the background is captured it is best to take shots of the model and try and take pictures of the model and background in the same place and at the same hour. When comes to compositions photographers look for the inconsistencies. Lighting and shadows are the first to give away that fact the photo was a composition of images which is why its best to shoot model and background the same time and area. Most important part of levitation shoot is capturing the body of the model in a natural position whether is be jumping in mid air or lying down, the body's language has to math the levitation.