Events

For this assignment we were asked to photograph an event. We were told to choose two picture’s, one that represents what is happening at the event, and one that represents what it means to us.

I chose to cover a club night I run in Leeds. Iv been hosting the night monthly at Wire night club since February and have had various dj’s coming from all over the country to play at the event.

This image I feel best describes what’ happening. The photograph is of dj / producer LKID playing to the crowd. The night is all about good music therefore I feel this image best signifies the mood of the event.

To me this image signifies having a good time with your friends as overall that is what the nights about. As well as this it signifies us promoting are events company as the t-shirts being worn in this picture are from the clothing line we have recently tied in with are business.

Bounce Flash

For this assignment we were asked to take a photograph of something in are room using a bounce flash, the subject of the photograph was to be something that tells the viewer something about us.

As you can see I bounced the flash from the ceiling in order to capture the subject with out creating a shadow.

I chose to photograph my BMX as I think it portrays me as an active person. I have ridden this bike for years and although I don’t  jump it half as much as I used to, I still love using it to get around on. Especially in the city. I think there’s something so satisfying about bombing past traffic in rush hour on a bike, and getting to wherever your going quicker than those people sat impatiently beeping their horns whilst waiting for the lights to change.

Portrait Assignment

For this task we were asked to take two portrait photographs, one of some one we know and one of some one we don’t. The aim was to capture them in the same visual style and then describe what are image say about these people.

Here are my Images.

This first photograph was of someone I don’t know, his facial expression is stern portraying him as possibly quite a serious person. In the background you can see buildings at the university campus, suggesting he’s  a student at Leeds met.

This portrait is on someone I know, In this image Barney has a slight smile suggesting a more joyful nature. Again you can see the university campus in the background, representing him as another student at Leeds met.

These photographs were taken in exactly the same style with the only difference being the subject and the facial expression they chose to represent themselves.

 

Portrait Retouch

For this assignment we were asked to take one of are photographs from a previous assignment and create a perfected hyperreal version in Photoshop or a surrealistic creature by retouching are model or portrait. I chose to use one of my portraits to do the following task.

This is the original portrait I chose.

Firstly I used the magnetic lasso to select one of the eyes.

I then slightly adjusted the brightness and contrast of my selection and copied it on to the forehead.

I Used the eraser tool to smoothen the edges around my copied selection.

Finally I used the smudge tool to distort certain areas of the face for a more surrealistic effect.

Here is my final distorted alien like Image.

 

 

 

Portrait Adjustments

This was one of my original portraits. For this task we were asked to edit a portrait using various photoshop techniques.

The first edit I made was adjusting the shadows and highlights of the face, using the magnetic lasso to make the selection.

After this I altered the colour of the hat again by using the magnetic lasso to make the selection and then adjusting the colour balance.

After this I chose a photograph I had taken from a holiday in morocco and added a slight warming filter to the image.

Finally I used the magnetic lasso tool to select the portrait and dragged my selection on to the other Image, before slightly adjusting its size and positioning.

  

Here Is my final Image

Raw Images

For this task we were asked to take an image in a raw format and then work through various adjustments on camera raw.

The First adjustment I used was changing the temperature, this gave my image a slight orange tint.

After going back to the original image I then altered the tint, making the image slightly purple.

I the changed the exposure of the original image.

Next I Adjusted the recovery.

Here I altered the image by increasing the fill light.

Here I made the image darker by increasing the blacks.

Again I made the original image darker here by decreasing the brightness.

Here I altered the contrast.

I made this image appear slightly blurry by decreasing the clarity. 

Here I decreased the Vibrance.

For this image I increased the saturation.

This Is the final edit I made using a selection of these alterations together, as you can see there are many editing techniques that can be used in camera raw to adjust both the style and mood of a photograph.

Spot Colour

For this assignment we were asked to take a photograph that uses spot colour and then edit it in photoshop. Here is my original image.

Here Is my edited image.

To create this effect, I started by opening my image into Photoshop and selecting the magnetic selection tool.

After highlighting the dandelion I then went to select Inverse in order to select the rest of the image.

Finally I went to Image, adjustments, black and white. In order to change the background colour to black and white.

Panorama

For this assignment we were asked to create a Panoramic Image on photoshop, and then edit something into are image that wasn’t originally in the photographs we had taken.

This is my panoramic Image.

So to create My panorama, I first went out with my camera and took various photos of a view, turning slightly as I took each shot. I then opened photoshop and went to file, Automate, Photo merge.

I used the auto layout and uploaded my images into the drop down bar.

After Photoshop had loaded my panorama I then cropped the Image to get a tidy outline.

The next step was to add something to the image that wasn’t already there. So i found an image of a tiger on the internet and loaded it in to Photoshop.

I then used the magnetic lasso tool to select the tiger from this image.

After this I simply dragged it on to my panoramic image and resized it slightly to fit in where I wanted it.

Finally I adjusted the brightness and contrast of the tiger to match my Panorama.

Final Image

Over all Im happy with my final image.

Colour Assignment

For this assignment we were asked to choses one of are images, and create 2 different copies of the Image by adjust the colour in photoshop, allowing us to change the over all mood and feel of the picture.

This is the picture I chose.

Here are my two Photoshop edits.

First I used the magnetic selection tool to select the area I wanted to remain the same as it was in the origional image.

I then selected the inverse of the selection allowing me to alter the background colour and keep my selection the same.

After selecting the inverse I adjusted the Hue and saturation of this selection until I found a point and style I was happy with.

Reflection

I feel this method successfully altered the mood and feel of my image, using the magnetic tool on such small areas such as around strands of grass was extremely difficult. Despite this I feel my adjustments added a nice surrealistic element to my images.

Semiotics 2

For this assignment we were asked to chose one of are own photographs and answer the following questions.

This is the photograph I chose

Identify the signifiers in this picture?

The signifiers in this picture are the building its self, the decrepit state of the building and the overgrown shrubbery that surround it.

What do they signify?

They signify abandonment and decay.

What does the signifier and it’s signified form?

They for a representation of a place forgotten by the community in which it sits, left to over grow and decay, a waste of space that is no longer needed by the people who created it.

How do the signs in this picture combine to form a message?

This image is of an old metal merchants and the land that surrounds it is an old industrial site with many other buildings similar to this one, left out of use to decay. How apparent the message is from this image alone I’m not sure but I took this photograph as part of a larger piece I did on industrial abandonment and decay.

For me both when taking the series of photographs and when looking at them, the message I was trying to portray still stands. With the recession are country had found its self in still being a fairly fresh topic when these picture were taken. It was apparent to be that many of the things the country now needed we had either sold, abandoned or discarded. In a country that now has so few exports and so many imports. In January 2004 a trading economic report showed that exports of goods and services only equated to 25.47 % of the countries GDP. How could the country expect to have stayed afloat when it produces so little to be sold overseas.

The message I was aiming to portray through not only this image but through the series of images I had taken, was that maybe in hindsight the things we abandoned and left to rot, were exactly what we needed.