Review of my coursework!

The way in which my final piece reflects my chosen theme of 'hidden' is through a hidden meaning. In my final images, i am reflecting the use of media on celebrities, and how their whole lives get swallowed up by stories and articles about them. I chose to use the same model, and for my images i ripped up a few newspapers into small pieces, and then filled up my bath with water. My model then got into the bath and i covered her in the newspaper, leaving just her face showing. For my final piece, i used the editing website 'picnik' as i am comfortable with using it and like the range of effects that it offers. I chose to edit each image in the same way, to continue the same theme throughout my final piece. When editing the images, i used the black and white tool to make the models face black and white, but i left the newspaper pieces in colour to exaggerate how important and dominant the media is in the lives of celebrities. I then increased the exposure slightly, and increased the shadow. I then used the '1960s' tool which i think gives a really nice vintage tone, especially to the colours on the newspaper. I decreased this effect by a range of 60% - 70% (depending on each image) as i didn't want the effects to overpower the image. There isn't really much range in the depth of field apart from on the first image, where you can clearly see that there is a shallow depth of field as only the face isn't in focus.

My Final Piece!

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Review of my experimentations!

After doing all my experimentations, I felt more confident using the editing website ‘picnik’ and was happy to continue using this for my final piece. I found some really great effects to use, of which my favourite is probably the ‘1960s’ which gives a more vintage tone to any image. I enjoyed doing all of my experimentations, however I really want to do something a bit more creative and fun for my final piece. My favourite images that I took were probably the abuse themed ones, yet the image of my model with the peace sign on the back of her neck really stands out to me, and both me and my model really like it. Raul Romo’s work inspired my experimentations, and I really love his work, although I’m hoping to create something more messy and interesting in that way.

Experimentations!

This image portrays the word 'hidden' in the sense of a hidden meaning. A watch being held by its chain, with the chain woven between the persons fingers, giving a hidden meaning of 'time slipping through our fingers'. After taking this photo, i edited it on a website called 'Picnik', which has some lovely effects available. I firstly changed the image so that it was black and white, but then used the sepia effect to give it a more rich brown colour. I then used a colour boost to enhance the brassiness of the watch. The image is top-heavy, with the hand being at the very top of the image and the watch being the only thing in the lower half, against a plain white background.

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 My second experimentation image is this, of a diary opened to what would seem to be a random page, with a heart drawn on a specific date. Using the editing website 'Picnik' i used a monotone effect, and then i increased the contrast and shadow. This image has a shallow depth of focus, as only the drawn heart is really in focus. The text in the diary isn't in focus. I like how close up this image is, and how there is only one date shown within the diary, creating the confusion as to whether the heart has been drawn on this date for a reason, or whether there is one on every date. This is how my image relates to my chosen theme which is 'hidden' as i like to think it is creating a hidden meaning.

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This image portrays the theme of 'hidden meaning' as the girl pictured has been crying, as you can tell by the makeup running down her face. She also has her finger over her lips, as if she is saying to keep quiet. I was inspired by Raul Romo to create this image, as whilst doing my research i came across a few of his images which i related to my theme. I edited this image on the editing website 'Picnik'. I thought it looked better in black and white, as the simplicity created a better mood and the atmosphere i wanted to show. I then added more contrast and shadow, and finally i used an effect called '1960s' which gave the image a more vintage look.

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This experimentation was simply to give me the chance to use different effects on the editing website and to play around with colour and lighting. I started off by using the 'straighten' tool to crop the image slightly, and then i used the black and white effect, leaving out the deep pink lipstick heart which has been drawn on the paper. I then used the '1960s' effect, which gave a lovely vintage tone to the image which i think suits it well. This photo has hidden meaning as it could be portrayed as a leaving message, or a simple note left to show love to someone. The fact that it is at the bottom of the page i think exaggerates the simplicity to the image.

 

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The ideas for this image came from a piece of work i came across when doing my research. The photographer 'Raul Romo' created a similar image, which i tried to re-create here. I used my close friend as my model, and then i edited the picture on the editing website 'Picnik'. I used the 'cross process' effect, as i think it gives a rich vintage tone to the image, and also really suits the colour of the models skin, hair and eyes. I then used the shadow and highlight tools to create a bigger contrast in tones, and also to give the desired black background. I feel that the focal point of this image is the models eyes, as they are in focus and are looking directly at the camera. This image portrays my chosen theme of 'hidden', through having the model covering her mouth and nose with a scarf, as we are unaware why she is doing this.

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This is another image which was inspired by the work of 'Raul Romo' who i researched earlier on in my coursework task. His image had a young boy, with tape over his mouth with 'day 47' written on it, whereas my model is female and has 'love me' written on a piece of paper, taped over her mouth. This portrays the topic 'hidden' as there is a hidden meaning behind the message on the paper taped to her face. I edited this image on the website 'picnik' and when my i asked my model to do this, i let her choose what she wrote on the paper, so to me, the meaning behind this is still hidden. I increased the shadow and contrast on this image, and used a '1960s' effect, to create a similar look to Raul Romo's image.

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This experimentaional piece is made up by a series of four images. My inspiration was a piece by Raul Romo which i discovered whilst doing my research. Raul uses sign language to spell out his name, showing just the positioning of his hand in each photo, against the same background. In the piece i created, against the same background each time, my model spells out the word 'love' in a series of four images. I edited each image, using a monochrome effect, and increasing the contrast which enhances the shadow. I really enjoyed creating this, however, i was dissapointed with how the image turned out as i didn't have a tripod or similar equipment to ensure that the images were taken in exactly the same place each time, so i decided that i wouldn't be using this technique for my final piece.

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This is one of my favourite of my experimentations, as the colours all work together beautifully and it is really simple yet gives a good message. My theme is 'hidden' and this holds a hidden meaning of peace, with the peace sign drawn on the back of the neck, and my model holding her head with her hands, as if she is surrendering for peace. I increased the exposure, shadow and highlights on this photo, which made the skin tone of my models neck and hands stand out more against the background.

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The hidden meaning behind this photo is abuse, and you can see by the make up and tears streaming down the models face that there is something wrong. I used a blue tint on this image, as i felt that it created a cold atmosphere, which is what the intention was when taking the photo. The girl is huddled in a corner, covering her naked body in a blanket with lipstick and makeup smeared across her face. This suggests that she could have been raped or abused in some way. 

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This image also uses the hidden meaning of abuse, or something similar. I have the same model, but this time she is looking into the camera, possibly at her attacker. I used a sepia tone on this image, and increased the contrast and shadow to exaggerate the shadows of the bones in her body. The focal point of this image is the models eyes, as they are so big and dark. This was also inspired by some of Raul Romo's work, as you can see from my research. Raul has images of young girls with tears and makeup staining their faces, and looking into the camera as if to pass on guilt, or beg for help.

                                                   

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Here i have used the same image, but just for experimentation i have edited it in a completely different way. I have left this version in colour, yet used the 'cross process' tool on the editing website 'picnik'. This enables the colours of the makeup and lipstick to still show through, possibly giving more meaning to the image. I still increased the shadow and highlights on the image, as i feel that it gives a wider difference in colour to the skin and hair, creating a better contrast. 

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I wanted to experiment with more close up images, and this is another of my 'abuse' themed shots. This actually turned out to be my favourite. I used the 'cross process' and '1960s' effects on the image, as well as increasing the contrast. I also used the 'straighten' tool to crop the background out of the image. The whole of the image is in focus, and for me, this is the best image for showing off the atmosphere and mood of the model.

Review of my research!

 I really enjoyed the research element to my photography coursework as it was interesting and enjoyable to look through other photographers work. My favourite photographer which i discovered whilst doing my research was Raul Romo, who creates really beautiful images that are deep and meaningful. I found many images that i fell in love with, some of which haven't been included on my blog as they are not relevent to my coursework. The images i have included are all inspiring and have given me lots of ideas for my next task, which is experimentation. My chosen theme is 'hidden', and since doing my research, the path which i want to follow for my experimentation and final piece, is hidden feelings and emotions. I am going to create this using objects, not just models and facial expressions and hopefully through this i can portray my representation of the topic 'hidden'.