Portrait evaluation

Finished Product – Portrait

To start of the assignment we were asked to explore and take pictures and get used to using an SLR, we then had lessons on how to use the cameras and set them up correctly for different environments we was also taught how to frame a picture with the use of lines, this helped a great deal for our final project. When the time came to start our final project we had to research 3 different photographers both contemporary and classic to get a real understanding of every style of photography. Doing the research meant you could use inspiration from a photographer and also gain further knowledge on the techniques used to take the best possible picture.

Originally my idea for this style of photography was collect a range of about 40 different people and take a headshot of them on a white background expressing the emotion they were feeling at the time, I was going to put separate filters on the individual pictures, some black and white some sepia and some full colour and once that was done use the individual pictures to create an image within an image. I wanted it to be powerful and draw people in and really look at each photo and analyse their emotions, by the time I had gotten around to doing this style I didn’t have much time left to plan this out and add filters to pictures so I came up with a different idea.

For my second idea I took pictures 5 different people on a white background, for this I used a home studio kit to light the subject, I didn’t really need to change any settings on the camera for this a just used an aperture reading to test the camera with the lights and then put that setting into the camera and changed the ISO from there. I told the subject to express an emotion they were feeling at the time, this helped me get practice setting up lighting studios and how to set up a camera for a lighting studio.

Once I was happy with the pictures I used Photoshop to edit them, I asked each individual for lyrics of a song or a poem that meant something to them and I integrated them into the picture.

This worked really well, it also helped me learn that there is so much to learn on Photoshop and that I will keep learning.

Some people suggested that my edits were more graphics than photography but because they have such a powerful meaning I thought they were a mixture of photography and graphics and personally I think it made the photos even more beautiful.

My layout ideas involved a sort of spiral design, so once you had seen one you look around the board for the others, the printed images were quite large so people could see the words within the image.

Overall I am pleased with the outcome, my skills of Photoshop and with the camera and setting up lighting studios have increased greatly. This style is my second favourite of the three and I know I put a lot of time and effort into this style and overall assignment and was able to hand the assignment in on time.