iAMquinn Test shoot 2

What have I done?

Below are 4 images I created of myself and Quinn to include in my Studio Practice project. I recently  created some images of me and Quinn, but I wasn’t happy with how the final images turned out, there was too much background and foreground in the image that wasn’t vital information to the subject.  So I decided to reshoot the images, using the same location but on a long focal length to blur out the background. I also took a tripod with me to use when shooting, because I wanted to shoot from stomach up, rather than including the floor in the image because it’s irrelevant information.

What have I gotten from this?

I think these images are a lot more successful than the original ones I took, they tell more of a story about mine and Quinn’s relationship, without looking too posed. Again, keeping in the theme of Quinn’s eyes avoiding the camera, but still smiling and looking happy. I wanted to include an image of mine and Quinn’s relationship to show how it has  grown and developed throughout the process of iAMquinn. I want to show our friendship as a positive thing in Quinn’s life, even though when she first came out as non-binary I was not very supportive, the image shows how I have developed alongside her and that I so support her, further more the image shows the impact iAMquinn has had on us both.

 

What’s next?

The next post will show the newest reshoot I did of Quinn’s eyes (the final image), I decided to photograph Quinn with her eyes open and her eyes closed, to start and end the project. I also thought this would be a good idea because it is out of the norm of photography to photograph someone with their eyes shut, as this is usually by mistake and avoided in portraiture. However I wanted to give the illusion of ‘a blink of an eye’, to show how all the images in iAMquinn, are all situations or memories in Quinn’s head, and the audience is walking through Quinn’s mind. Furthermore the final image of Quinn’s eyes finally meeting the audience/camera shows that she has finally grown the confidence to look people in the eye and has grown to accept people looking at her.

 

 

 

Street Blur Shoot

What have I done?

The image below is one I took on my latest shoot with Quinn. The image represent’s Quinn’s fear of embarrassment. Over the past year I noticed a change in Quinn when we were out in public, she was a lot more aware and cautious of other people on busy streets. She often said to me that everyone was staring at her or cars driving past were looking at her, and I told her that she was paranoid and that not everything was about her. When initially speaking to Quinn about what kinds of images we could create for iAMquinn, she told me about her fear of embarrassment when being out in public, she was scared that either she would embarrass herself and draw attention to herself, or that someone would look at her and say negative things and reject the way she looks and dresses. I decided to interpret this image through people rushing past her, with Quinn sitting still, I did this because this is my vision of Quinn in a public place. Her anxiety gets the better of her and the chaos of a busy street is almost too much to take, she thinks people are looking at her. Again I had Quinn facing away from the camera to avoid eye contact, I tried to have her facing the camera and looking away, but the aesthetics of the image did not look correct.

What have I got from this?

Using Quinn’s friends as the people rushing past her, I used a slow shutter speed to blur the movement of her friends walking past, but a fast enough shutter speed to keep Quinn sharp. However the blur was not enough to get the effect I wanted, so I used post-production in Photoshop and used a motion blur to further the effect that I was looking for. I originally wanted to create the image in the centre of town, but Quinn was not comfortable with being photographed around so many strangers, so we decided to use the street we live on to help her feel comfortable. However, the pavement was not big enough for Quinn’s friends to fit past her, so we had to move into the road. I don’ think this takes away from the images message, if anything it confuses the audience more as to why Quinn is sat in the middle of a road.

What’s next?

Next I am doing a shoot with Quinn and her friends, I want to show the happier side of Quinn’s life. After a tutorial with Andy, we decided that the project was a little too dark, especially if this was someones only education on what it is like to be non-binary. I need to show that there are times in Quinn’s life and on the journey where she is happy and content, and I know that when she is with her friends who completely understand her and have accepted her, she is at her happiest.

 

 

Work with Rowan Bowes

What Have I Done?

Below are 3 images that I collaborated on with MUA Rowan Bowes. Rowan came to me and asked if I would collaborate with her on 5 images, each image would be based on an old fashioned advert in which women are portrayed in a sexualised manner. We created 5 different images, but Rowan only needed to use 3 and below are the final images she chose.

What have I gotten from this?

This was an interesting collaboration as I have never had to shoot an image and take into consideration that there needs to be room for text over the image. Rowan then collaborated with a graphic designer who added the text and other images. I had a lot of different make up artists approach me who wanted to collaborate, but I chose to work with Rowan because I had worked with her before and I knew that she was a reliable, fast worker who I work really well with, we understand each other’s ways of working. A lot of the make up students I have worked with before have been running late and often are not very reliable, so I didn’t want to waste my time waiting around for someone running 2 hours late.  I wanted to take on this project because it also tackles the issue of gender and so it relates to my iAMquinn project as it questions gender stereotypes. It was also interesting to create because I didn’t make the end product, so I sent the images to Rowan with my edits to the models, and she then sent the images to her graphic designer and I didn’t get to see the final images till a couple of weeks later. We also worked really quickly together, usually a make up artist will come into the studio with no idea how they want the model posed or what kind of shots they would like, with Rowan she knew exactly what she wanted and so we got each shot in around five minutes. This was a really strange thing for me as I am used to spending a minimum of half an hour in the studio with a model.

What’s next?

Next I hope to work with Rowan again as we worked really well together and really quickly together. I also really like the make up she creates, she uses different make up than others and goes for quite an editorial look.

 

 

Planning for shoot

 

For my Crimson shoot I am going to be purchasing and then shooting/experimenting with a lot of different objects. I will also need to buy different containers for the liquids and other things to sit in.

Some of the things I need to buy for my shoot are

• Red feathers
• babybell cheese
• strawberries
• red apple
• red fairy liquid
• red e-cig liquid
• air freshener balls
• red peppers
• red chillies
• red glitter paint
• haribo hearts and skittles/sweets
• possibly a red perfume bottle?
• red lipstick
• nail varnish?
• red ornament or vase
• red cape
• red wig

 

I am going to have a look around for the cheapest I can buy of these objects, as I have a very small budget on this project. Aldi will be a good place to look for different red options and is quite cheap which will mean I can buy more things to experiment with.

 

Studio Practice test shoot

What have I done?

During this shoot, I experimented with different angles and lens lengths. I wanted to do this to see if there were any other shots that I could get with my horse and rider.

What have I got from this?

This shoot allowed me to experiment, which I enjoyed doing and it was interesting to see the horse from different angles, as well as close up to get the detail of the horse’s eye. And although I do like these pictures and I am happy with them, i dont think they are in keeping with my proposal and so they will not be put into my final images.

What’s next?

I will continue to look for different angles and perspectives that I can shoot from and continue to experiment with my 50mm lens.

Photographers similar to me

As my T and P subject is my dog, I did some research into other AOP photographers who enjoy photographing dogs and the different ways they do so.

 

1. http://timflach.com/work/dog-gods/

I like Flach’s work because it’s quite different, he uses a fast shutter speed really well to capture the dogs movement and uses specific dogs that he knows will look good in action.

2. http://www.jackdaniels.me.uk/jackdaniels/ANIMA.html

Daniels’ work is similar to mine because of the angles he uses, he likes to distort the dog and shoot from ‘unflattering’ angles and this works really well.

3.http://www.gandeevasan.com/#Portfolios/Dog-Days/

What I like about Vasan’s pictures is that there is a variety of differnt shots, but he uses a straight forward, shoulders up, dog looking at the camera shot quite effectively and shows that it doesn’t have to be a fancy picture to look good. Although he does also do very eccentric pictures as well.

4. http://www.boudewijnsmit.nl/people/

Smit uses comedy in his k9 portraits which I enjoy very much, i too tried to incorporate some comedy into my photos of my Lab, however they have not made the final cut for my body of work.

5.http://andygreenphotography.com/

Green has one photo in particular I really like, it is a advertisment for dogs and the breeding rights people have for their dogs. The pictures appears to have quite a comical element but has a darker meaning behind. Advertisement especially for animal shelters is something that interests me as a potential career path.

T&P Test shoot

What have I done?

I wanted to introduce both water and the dog into the photograph, as I wanted to attempt to freeze both subjects, as well as a close up of the dog interacting with the water.

What have I got from this?

I achieved some pictures that I like from this shoot, however the arm in both pictures is something that I am unhappy with. It ruins the shot but yet brings something to the photo, sort of an owner and a dogs relationship. The photos again have a some form of comedy element, as the dog is shaking and brings the idea that the owner is also covered in mucky water, however I would have preferred the shot to be without the hand.

What’s next?

I don’t think any of these two photos will make it into my final portfolio however my next step may be to re-shoot and make sure that there are no objects in the pictures that I do not wish to be there.

T&P Shutter Speed Experiment

What have I done?

I have frozen the dogs actions whilst he was catching the ball, I wanted to experiment for the purposes of my T&P project ‘All Bark And No Bite’ but I also wanted to experiment with my Canon 760D. Using a 55-300mm lens at 1/1000th of a second with a maximum aperture of f4.5. I am very happy with results of this shoot and I believe I achieved exactly what I set out to photograph.

What have I got from this?

From this shoot I now know how what shutter speed I need to use to completely freeze the dog mid-air, in order to capture his jump. In addition to this, freezing the dog running with his ears in the air bring a comedy element to the picture which is something I would like to achieve with this project, to show the fun and happiness of owning a dog. Also, if this photo were to be used as an advertisement for a animal shelter, I think this could be used as a positive funny photo to persuade people to adopt pets or to donate money.

What’s next?

Next is to test more shutter speeds but with my deadline being next week, I now have to decide which photos will be in my final body of work and which to leave out. However I think that these pictures, particularly of the dog jumping for the ball has strong elements of what I wanted to achieve with this project.

T&P test shoot

What have I done?

Another test shoot ( exploring white balancing, shutter speeds and lens lengths) I decided to shoot these pictures indoors as my other test shoots were on location, I wanted to use a plain background so that all the detail in the dogs face and nose could be seen without any distractions.

What did I get from this?

I like these pictures very much, I think I achieved what I was aiming for, and my one worry was white balancing my pictures. However a Golden Lab is not the easiest subject in the world to white balance but I believe that I have managed it. I think that I have used lens lengths effectively, to show the little intricate of the dogs nose and whiskers. In addition to this I also think I used a fast shutter speed to freeze the ball well, although my criticism for this picture would be that the ball is not as frozen as I would’ve liked it.

What have I got from this? 

I now know that I can white balance a picture and this has boosted my confidence, and I will be able to confidently white balance future pictures. I also know that my eyes can see the difference on the camera’s screen between a correctly and incorrectly white balanced picture. Also I am confident in my ability to use different lens lengths, although I still have not used a deep depth of field in my pictures.

T&P test shoot

What have I done?

ISO and shutter speed test shoot at Rivington Pike, I used a longer shutter speed to blur the dogs motions, and a higher ISO so that i could try and freeze the dogs motion as well, however this was unsuccessful.

What have I got from this?

I am now a bit more comfortable with turning my ISO up as I can see from these pictures that the noise/grain is not noticeable. However I have been unsuccessful in freezing the dogs motions, this is because I did not have enough available natural light and so my shutter speed was quite low, therefore it was unable to freeze the quick action of the dog running. In addition to this, i may have been unsuccessful because my lens is limited at an aperture of f5.6 and therefore I had to compromise on my shutter speed.

What’s next?

Unfortunately having a limited aperture of f5.6 is not something I can change at the minute as I am changing my Nikon for a Canon 760D, so there is no point in purchasing another lens as they are expensive. My other option is to borrow a camera from stores and use the 50mm f1.8 Canon lens, or again take the pictures with more available natural light