Personal shoot 5 - Contact sheets:

Personal shoot 5 - Contact sheets:

Personal shoot 5 - straight images;

Personal shoot 5:

Mid-project evaluation

Mid-project evaluation:

Currently I am half way through my unit 3 personal project, at this point I am happy with the way the project is going and the images I am producing.  The topic I am focusing on is style, more precisely the style of beauty and makeup. I have enjoyed this topic so far and find that more photographic skills have developed. I have completed 5 shoots at this point have have varied between a small amount of portraiture and some studio/advertising based shoots. 

What's improved:

I think that one improvement that I have made so far in the unit would be my work in the studio! Both shoots 4 and 5 were studio based and essentially the same topic however when looking at the shoots you can see massive improvements once shoot 5 was completed. The reasoning behind this is that once i had completed shoot 4 I was not completely happy with the images that had been produced. After seeking help from my teacher and reconsidering my techniques i decided to conduct a re-shoot. In this shoot my lighting was more thoughtout and i was more considerate of the background and composition. The aim for the re-shoot was to attempt to make my images look as if they had been produced for a magazine or advertisement. I think that was something that i was able to achieve as my images were better lit and my editing made them look appropriate for a magazine.

My aims for the next part of my project:

Throughout studying photography I have always enjoyed location photography more than studio photography. Something that i have been enjoying during this unit is looking at advertisement and product photography. However i think that for the next part of my unit i would like to make an animation of some sort i think that this will be able to show some of my skills in both photography and photoshop. Another thing i would like to look at would be a small documentary topic, i would like to look at personal possession of beauty items, I'm going to look at the difference between age and gender and the types of products that they use.

Personal shoot 4 - Straight images:

Personal shoot 4 - Straight images:

Personal shoot 4 - Work diary

Personal shoot 4 - Work diary:

For this shoot i decided to move to looking at the style of products and packaging. This shoot was completely studio based and i used studio lights to focus on my products. The aim for this shoot was to show the different styles of packaging that you can come across. This shoot also progressed slightly into looking at advertising as some of my images look as if they could be advertising that product. I kept my editing simple for this shoot just sharpening one of the images slightly and making sure that the lighting was as i wanted it. 

Progression:

I think that this shoot examples the beginning of a technique that i could advance further. While the overall technique is quite simple i think that if i take more time with my set up and advance my lighting slightly the whole shoot could improve. I think that with better lighting and setup the whole shoot could change and appear more professional. Therefore i am going to do a re-shoot, while i am happy with this shoot, the purpose of the re-shoot is to advance my technique and show some development with my shooting skills. 

The image above is an example of my work from this shoot. I like this image as i like the set up of the brushes and the way that they alternate colours. However i think that the composition of this image is slightly slanted making the image look off. I also think that the brushes themselves could have been better lit. The line across the middle of the frame should have also been considered when taking the photograph. If i was to shoot this image again i would take all of this into consideration to improve my work.

This image is another example of mine from this shoot. Personally I like the composition of the photograph. I like the use of depth as i think it adds something more to the photograph but you are still able to focus on the eyeshadows themselves. However i think that the lighting in this photograph is off as some of the colours in the eyeshadow palette look over exposed and to bright while others are not as clear. 

Personal Shoot 4 - Contact sheets:

Personal Shoot 4 - Contact sheets:

Personal shoot 3 - Work diary

Shoot 3 - Work Diary: 

For today's shoot i was based in the studio photographing my model wearing difference coloured lipsticks. The aim of this shoot was to focus on the why you can change a look with just one lipstick, essentially it was the style of lipsticks. For this shoot I was in the studio and used a strong light to make sure that my model was well lit. I wanted to make sure that she had clear definition in her face but still looked natural. I made sure to not over expose her while making sure it would be well lit when changed to black and white. For the overall edit i decided i was going to turn each of the photos black and white, and using the technique selective colour i kept the lips as the only piece of colour in the photograph. 

Progression:

Overall I think that the shoot itself went well, i found the lighting worked well for what i wanted to achieve and the overall setup was basic so that the model would be the main focus. However when it came to the editing i think that it could have been made cleaner. Looking back at the photographs now i think that some of them show lips that are not a natural shape and i think that this could have been improved upon. Taking this into consideration i have decided not to do a re-shoot, I am generally happy with the overall shoot, with a small minor part i could change. i think that a re-shoot is unnecessary as this shoot gets across the idea i was trying to achieve and this style of editing would not work with any of my other shoots. 

The image above is an example of one of the ones that i don't feel worked as well. When looking at her lips i don't think that the natural shape is clear and the look to drawn to me. I think that the lighting worked well and all of the shadows of the photograph are effective. The whole use of tone worked well as it simplifies the photos which is something that i had wanted to achieve. overall i personally think that the lips are what let this photo down. 

This image above is an example of what I feel is a more successful image from this shoot. Here i feel like the dark colour on her lips makes them look fuller and ensures that they are not lost in the photo. I also think that this example with the dark lip gives shows a clear contrast to the image above showing exactly what i intended to achieve with this shoot, which is the way that different lipsticks can change a persons look or style. Again i think that the use of tone is effective adding subtlety to the photograph and making it look clear and effective. 

Personal shoot 3 - straight images:

Personal shoot 3 - straight images:

Blurring - Techniques page:

Blurring - Techniques page:

1. Change the ISO to the lowest possible setting, usually around 100. 

2. Change the setting of the camera to 's'.

3. Change the shutter speed of the camera to around 1/8, this will give you a long exposure to create a blur. 

4. When taking the photo you can either move the camera or the subject to achieve the blur. 

Multiple imagery - Technique page:

Multiple imagery - Technique page:

A multiple imagery is a way of showing 2 or more images in a interesting and creative way. These can consist of 2 or 12 the amount is up to the person and dependent on the shoot. 

1. Take enough photos to fill you multiple imagery (this will be of personal preference).
2. Edit all of the photos in your desired way and then flatten the images once this is complete. 
3. Create a new document in photoshop, ensure that it will fit all of your images on it. 
4. Resize all of your images using the crop tool, make sure that all of the images are the same size. 
5. Once your images are at the desired size, put them all onto the new document that you created and arrange them in a way that you are happy with. 
6. Save the image as a jpeg. 

Shoot 2 - Work diary:

Shoot 2 - work diary:

For my second shoot i decided to stock with the theme of beauty and makeup but this time look at the transition form no makeup to a full face of makeup. For this shoot i was again on location and based the shoot in my bedroom. I could not control the lighting however i am happy with the images that were produced and this that the changes in the face has been evidenced throughout the shoot. 

Progression:

For this shoot i decided to keep all of the images as straight images with simple use of editing. I think that this is a effective idea as it makes it easier to look at the differences after each piece if makeup has been applied. However i think that this style of shoot would  be a good type of shoot to use to to form a gif where you would be able to see the changes progress. For this reason i will be repeating this shoot at a later date and then creating a gif. 

This image above is the starting point of my shoot, it shows my subject without any makeup on and looking completely natural. There is no forced expression on her face nor a distracting background. The image is just left to be as basic as possible making the face the key subject. I think that this image shows a good starting point for my shoot as it clearly shows the beginning of the process. 

The image above is the last image that was taken for the shoot. This shows Megan's face once she has put on all of her makeup in her way showing her style of makeup. I think that this image is successful at showing the change in her face and how she choosing to where her makeup. I think that the over shoot was effective as it shows each individual change and how it changes her face. 

Personal shoot 2 - Straight images

Personal shoot 2 - straight images: