GCE AS Advanced Subsidiary Art and Design Component 2 Standardisation samples 2016Photography

Total Mark 62

To start off investigating relationships I took an idea from my visual stimulus – doors and windows. To find inspiration for different techniques within this still life photography I investigated Steve McCurry who takes a range of still life images in different countries showing the colour, texture and tradition within each image. They all tell their own story of who once lived there and what has happened around them.

Above are two images in red boxes, this is because they are not Steve McCurry’s work and I don’t know who took them. They are on this page because I also like their composition, colour and texture as well as the photographers use of rule of thirds to draw the viewers attention to the door.

To respond to the work of Steve McCurry I took photos while in Sri Lanka of doors and windows, these images all show colour, texture, tradition and life. I took these photos in a fort in Galle, after the 2004 Tsunami this was all that was left in the area because of the high solid. Some of the buildings were still full of character from before the Tsunami but other places got affected and have been rebuilt since then.

I decided to make this image a full page because of the composition, colour and texture on the wall. I purposely positioned the window in the center of the image to draw the audiences eye straight to the closed window. The layers of paint which have peeled off over the years create colour and texture which make the image exciting as well as tell a story.

Recording Natural Framing;AS Exam; RelationshipsI walked around my area to look for Natural Framing, this occurs everywhere – doors, windows, paths, broken windows, fences – everywhere. This took a while for me to get the hang of but eventually I managed to capture natural frames. Matthias Heiderich does this extremely well capturing simplicity and colour in the image as well. Although his work is much more geometrical and creates a positive scene from the negative space.

Developing ideasAS Exam; RelationshipsTo develop my ideas I took pictures of a friend around Sri Lanka in an abandoned house to get the empty windows and empty door ways with texture, which links too my response to Steve McCurry’s work.

This is my favorable image in the set. I took the model into an abandoned house in Sri Lanka where it was quite damp and dirty, I positioned the model in the bottom half but center of the frame. I got her to crouch down into a fetal position to show she’s vulnerable and protecting herself. The peeling and textured walls as well as the ground being dirty contrasts with her bright dress which shows quite a lot of skin.

Responding to Franz Jeofee;AS Exam; RelationshipsTo respond to the Franz Jeofee I took a person into a location with doorways and natural framing and blacked out the face, for the first image I used black and white but for the others I changed the colours. By blacking out the face it leave a sense of worry and unkindness. It makes you feel uncomfortable and opens up an idea of the unknown. The central positioning of the subject draws your eye straight to it rather than drifting off, but the natural door framing and texture makes it more pleasant to look at..

Investigating the work of John Copeland and Piet Mondrian;AS Exam; RelationshipsPiet Mondrian did paintings of the relationships between colours in an arrangement of rectangles and squares. It is put together in a mosaic composition where the shapes aren’t evenly spaced. His work links to my set of doorways and windows because of the shapes, colour and composition. John Copeland does portraits of body which I am going to combine with Piet Mondrians by taking pictures of body parts painted and organising them into a mosaic

Responding to John Copeland;AS Exam; RelationshipsTo respond to John Copeland I investigating hand positions, the creases and different movement you can do to create the same effect as him. In photoshop i changed the colours to Black and White to create a more meaningful feeling rather than in colour which doesn’t show the detail and dark shadows in as much depth.

Macro lens; Investigating handsAS Exam; RelationshipsTo look at hands in a more detailed way I took images of plain hands using a macro lens where you can see the details of wrinkles, colour, lines and shapes. The use of macro distorts a normal image and makes it more difficult to properly visualise the subject, but it also captures maximum detail with a shallow depth of field.

Developing ideas linking to the work of John Copeland and Piet Mondrian;To develop my ideas linking to John Copeland I’m also bringing in the work of Piet Mondrian who creates different block patters with colour, to be more creative I brought in the hands and painted them.

Experimenting;AS Exam; RelationshipsTo experiment I took photos of normal body parts and edited shapes onto them using lightroom and photoshop. By taking shapes and adding them to the image it creates an internal yet external shape and frame to a smaller more focused area that is in black and white, by putting it in black and white it makes that area drawn to more.

Developing ideas using the human bodyAS Exam; RelationshipsTo develop from just the hands I took photos using the whole human body that create internal and external shapes that create a negative and positive space that is balanced in the image. The positive and negative space can also be created through shapes on top of the body, not using background.

Developing and ExperimentingAS Exam; RelationshipsTo develop as well as experiment I took one of the images from my set and experimented with it in different ways. Using a simple triangle I designed on photoshop i tried different things out with it to manipulate the photograph. In the first picture I made the triangle transparent but black and white, it drew out the texture in my skin and the different colours and shadows in the image from the natural lighting. In image 2,3 and 4 I took the texture from the background onto the triangle and creates and made them different sizes and angles – this makes the image look very geometric and interesting for the viewer. For the large image I took part of my body into the triangle and repeated it, this is more subtle but my favourite out of all of them, it creates a satisfying illusion to the audience and emphasizes the shadow and individual shape of just the collarbone itself.

Developing ideas;AS Exam; RelationshipsTo develop my ideas I brought a real frame into each image which draws your attention to that part of the image. For my initial idea I just took the frame on its own and placed it around just empty. It looks lonely and out of place but sometimes it fits in since there is natural framing all around it.

Developing ideas;AS Exam; RelationshipsTo develop ideas using a frame I took it behind a slightly opaque material and blurred it in photoshop, it creates a illusion of what's behind the frame and why it’s there.

Developing and experimenting ideas;AS Exam; RelationshipsTo develop my ideas and experiment with photoshop I used a frame and arms to create an image of being trapped, and a concept of trying to escape. I also combined different images together to create a collage but in a realistic more professional way still using the framing concept.

To create these images I had to add the image of the body part on top of a plain background shot. Then I had to add a mask to get rid of the side part of my arm which would ruin the effect of it looking like it is detached and floating. I then edited the images once they were together. To change if I was adding back or removing the foreground I switched between black and white

1Add both files into photoshop;

the mask tool it will automatically fit it to where the part was removed previously;

3 Move other image ontop of the background and select

making it black this allows you to bring back any part of the image you want. Press one corner and go to the other while holding shift, this will create a straight line;

4Fix lines by selecting the brush tool on the mask and

2Select inside the frame with quick selection tool and mask out inside;

6Add a Gaussian blur to the first layer (which is now black and white) so that it doesn’t take the attention away from the main frame image;

5Make the image black and white and then mask the layer and use the paint brush and black paint to colour in only inside the frame;

Investigating the work of Rebecca Reeves;AS Exam; RelationshipsRebecca Reeves creates frames with curtains and takes them into different landscapes to capture it in a different way. By using the curtains to create the frame it looks like a daily view which makes it look more breathtaking than if it was a single landscape image.

Responding to the work of Rebecca Reeves;AS Exam; RelationshipsRebecca Reeves creates frames with curtains and takes them into different landscapes to capture it in a different way. By using the curtains to create the frame it looks like a daily view which makes it look more breathtaking than if it was a single landscape image. To respond I took fabric into different environments and captured it as if it was a window as well. But mine turned out differently due to the different landscapes available.

Developing my ideas;AS Exam; RelationshipsTo further develop my own ideas and create images that link to my previous work I took a male model into two different environments and involved different artists that I took inspiration from like Kyle Thompson, Rebecca Reeves and taking the work from my previous developments. I experimented with different effects and filters on photoshop to give each image a different mood and meaning alone to then suit the image and tell a story.

In the first image I used a 50mm L1.2 lens which created an extremely shallow depth of field and managed to create an illusion that the person is small and insignificant. The body position that I used for this image was a in a fetal position so that the audience can see that he is scared and unwanted. The shear material covering the model is used as a shield to the person, making it seem like he is in need of protection, and him being shirtless makes him look vulnerable as well as the environment he is in makes him look more neglected.The position of him is along the rule of thirds as well as the tree and stick creating a natural frame around him. The editing I used also created a softer feel to the background making things that would over power the main subject less noticeable, they were darkened and also I added a blur to make them less obvious to the audience. I also added a subtle vingnetting which helps to draw the audience’s eyes to the main subject.On top of the subject I added a layer of white paint which I then changed the opacity of so that it made the subject still look bright compared to when the filter was added and the life and colour was taken out of the material

For this image the editing was very important. When looking at the original image there is texture but it is difficult to see because of the first frame, it takes away the views attention from the main subject. To edit it I put on a sepia and then sharpened the 2nd frame, but then blurred the closest wall. I took it in the centre so that your eye is automatically drawn towards the image. By sharpening the closest wall it brought out lots of shadows and textures which makes it more interesting yet makes it look vintage.I used a vignetting to help draw attention to the middle as it makes the wall look like it stands out more rather than it being flat like it looks in the original image below.

Dull colour of skyDistracting rubbish

Too soft of a edge separating the sky and dune

Dirty unappealing sand colour

(The image below) The way the material flows and the detail of the movement looks like a still from a movie rather than an image. This is one of my favourite images from the set because of the simplistic beauty and the way it looks in black and white is aesthetically pleasing for any viewer.

My intentions;AS Exam; Relationships

My intentions for my Relationships final pieces is to bring the different aspects of my project together and develop them further. I’m going to take the best images from my last set and develop and experiment with them to find the best outcome. This will link to my whole project because of the different sets I have done in the past that will link my developments together.Below are the different images that will allow my final piece developments to be the final outcome of the whole project. These consist of the fetal position, hidden faces and material and the curtain frames by Rebecca Reeves.

In the image the subject is standing in the middle of the road, because the materials quite wide it covers the thinner part of the road so you can just see the road leading up to the subject. The deserted road and surrounding make the subject look lost and desperate. Looking for a road to follow.

For this image I edited it with a sepia filter to create a more cinematic effect. I think added curtains in photoshop which link to the work I studied before of Rebecca Reeves.To create the curtains I had to remove the blue background and then add them on top in a way that they fitted into the image. I had to add them then change the blending mode to screen and change the opacity, this left them looking more realistic but still too sharp meaning I had to add a Gaussian blur to them.After it was finished I decided that it looked like it was a still from a movie so I changed the ratio of the image to make it look more cinematic and effective.

Final outcome creation 1;AS Exam; RelationshipsFor my second final outcome I put 3 images that I took in the desert together to create a whole different much bigger image. I did this all on photoshop where I used different tools like the mask tool, distortion of the image and stamp tool. These were all for different reasons. The mask tool was used to remove the material from the background (Image 3) so that I could add it on top of the material my model is wearing. The distortion tool is to line up the extra material so it looks like it is continuing. Finally the stamp tool was so I could blend the 3 different images together and make it look natural since they are all different colors.

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bigger. I also decided that I wanted my model facing the opposite direction since it looks like the wind should naturally be coming from the right.

1 I took my main image and added into photoshop where I then moved it to the corner and cropped the canvas to make it

2 Next I added the material on top and positioned it so that it was flowing off the models material. I had to flip this as well so that it flowed the same way as the models material did.

3 I then used the quick select tool to highlight the background of behind the material and the mask tool to remove it.

4 It was then ready for when I needed to use it later on in the editing stage.

5 I then added in the third image and flipped it to fit the other 2 images.

6 I positioned it to line up with the dune line behind the model.

7 I then had to make both desert images the same and expand the sand so it was lower than the material and model as well as make sure that they fit together to look realistic.

8 After some readjusting and time I managed to get this, I did a basic shadow outline so that I knew I needed to do that after I finished editing the material in realistically. .

9 I decided that I didn’t like the added on material because it was too fake so I decided to remove it and bring the model layer to the top to then mask out the background. I then moved the model further to the left so I could add on curtains linking to Rebecca Reeves.

Final outcome 1;AS Exam; Relationships

Final outcome creation 2;AS Exam; Relationships

1 Original image;2 Stock photos to make curtains out of;

3 Colour efex pro selecting a filter;4 Selected filter “Colour stylizer” then editing to my preference;

5Fixing the background detail;

6 Select the background of the stock

photo using quick select tool;

7 Put a mask on the image, use the quick select tool to go round the curtain and then the black mask paint brush to Remove the white around the curtain itself.;

8 Duplicate the curtain and put it on the opposite size;

9 Add motion blur to create a realistic effect that adds depth of field to the image;

10 Add final adjustments like colour tone, curves, repositioning;

Final outcome 2;AS Exam; Relationships

Evaluation; AS Exam; RelationshipsThroughout my project I have investigated lots of different photographers that make their work out of different variables including; framing, colour, body parts and material, within my final outcome it brings out the different work that I investigating and then also developed with my own ideas and opportunities. The photographers and artists that I used allowed me to get to my final piece, influencing me with different ideas every time I wanted to develop more. My work is conceptual, the reason for this is because I enjoy putting my thoughts to photographs, expressing different meanings in different ways, but I also enjoy other people working out what my images mean, and other peoples interpretation of them. During my exam project I would have liked to experiment with reflections and tried out other ideas I had, but they didn’t follow the path I was on.For my final outcome I used a 5D mark 3 and a 50 1.2 L lens, this allowed me to capture sharp images with a shallow depth of field. At the time of the shooting in the desert it was windy and there was sand blowing everywhere, which helped me to take pictures of the material flying well but it made it more difficult to capture the sharpness of the image and the true colours, making everything more dull than it should have been. I focused heavily on the composition and what the model was expressing through his actions to be able to portray what I wanted in the image. After I had taken the photos I had to learn different skills on photoshop which I didn’t know before hand to be able to make my final pieces successful in the end.

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