Systems and Processes

Systems and processes 

Vase of Flowers

 Richard Notes  Tuesday 13th November

This week I will shoot, edit and upload an image that represents a vase of flowers in a location or studio environment. Demonstrate an understanding of relevant theories mentioned in the presentation including macro, tripod use, colour temperature composition and exposure.

To generate some ideas I looked at some of the work by Robert Mapplethorpe he was a New York based artist and photographer who was an important part of NY culture in the 70’s and 80’s, working with close friend Patty Smith and other NY creatives. Mapplethorpe, (1946-1989) was controversial in that there were two main creative strands to his work, flowers and sexuality. Some believe that the flower work is loaded with sexual themes and issues. After looking through some of his more erotic images of the gay community of New York, You really get a sense that a lot of people would have seen them as pornographic. This must have turned a few heads at the time. My opinion on the images are 50/50 there very interesting not at all pornographic or seedy.

ImagesbyRobertMapplethorpe                                                                          

There has to be a fundamental point of knowledge on how I took the images they could be the best images in the world, but if I am not fully confident in knowing how I took the images whats the point. Therefore I will document every step in the planning of my images to reference back too when needed. Light is a physical object and I need to know how light work and why it affects an image. Understanding light is key to good photography.

I decided to find a book from the library to find out more about how light can effect an image, I found a book called "Digital Photography in Available Light" page 94.

Light is the essence of photography.without light there is no photography. in order to manage a light source, we must first be aware of its presence. often our preoccupation with the content and framing can make us oblivious to the light falling on the subject and the background we naturally take light for granted. this can sometimes cause us to simply forget to "see' the light. when light falls on a subject it creates a range of tones we can group into three main categories highlights, mid tones, and shadows.

Light Source

Ambient light is the existing light present in any environment. Ambient light can be subdivided into four major categories.

• Daylight
• Tungsten
• Fluorescent
• Firelight

Daylight-A mixture of sunlight and skylight. Sunlight is the dominant or main light. It is warm in colour and creates highlight and shadows. Skylight is the secondary light. It is cool in colour and fills the entire scene with soft diffused light. Without the action skylight , shadows would be black and details would not be visible.

This panoramic image was taken when I was on holiday in Spain looking out on the balcony. The image shows how without skylight shadows are black and most detail is not visible. But the effect is warm in colour because most of the light is sunlight.

Tungsten-A common type of electric light such as household bulbs/globes and photographic lamps. A tungsten element heats up and emits light. Tungsten light produces very warm tones.

Kelvins 

Basically, when shooting in kelvins for white balance, I think about what kind of light I am shooting in. Does the light look yellow? or blue? or neutral? if i am shooting an image in the evening under tungsten lighting. The light will look yellow, and my subject will look yellowish. so i would need to change the settings to around 2800K as a starting off point, and go up or down from there. It will immediately look better, If it was still yellow, i would use a lower temperature, like 2500K. If it looks blue, i would use a higher temperature, like 3000K. i always  (check the LCD repeatedly) until the image on the LCD looks as if it were shot in neutral light.

Sensor Cleaning

• First of all i need to set my camera to its highest f-stop with my canon 550D SLR this would be F 22
• Set to automatic also the lens needs to be at it highest focal length 18-55 highest would be 18
• put the iso low as possible 
• set the camera to infinity § eight on the side also clean the eye view and check the focus
• focus on something white and take the picture
• Upload the image into photoshop or Lightroom his will show me were the dirt is on the sensor, select image and auto contrast.

Another thing to remember is that most SLR camera have a program which can clean the sensor automatically every time you tern the camera off and on. Also always tern the camera off before  changing a lens this will prevent the static sensor attracting dust.

Photoshop Tools

1. Click on the layer that i want to apply the Gaussian blur filter to in the layer panels window.

2. Select an area of the image using the selection, magic wand or lasso tool. If i am applying the Gaussian blur to the entire layer, leave the image area unselected.

3. Click “Filter,” click “Blur” and click “Gaussian Blur…” from the sub-menu.

4. Move the slider left or right to decrease or increase the blur effect. I can also input a value into the “Radius” box to control the blur effect. Preview the blurred image in the main image window, or use the preview box in the “Gaussian Blur” dialog to see a zoomed-in preview of the image.

Raw-  (deffinition from the internet)

A camera raw image file contains minimally processed data from the image sensor of either a digital camera, image scanner, or motion picture film scanner. Raw files are so named because they are not yet processed and therefore are not ready to be printed or edited with a bitmap graphics editor. Normally, the image is processed by a raw converter in a wide-gamut internal colorspace where precise adjustments can be made before conversion to a "positive" file format such as TIFF orJPEG for storage, printing, or further manipulation, which often encodes the image in a device-dependent colorspace. There are dozens if not hundreds of raw formats in use by different models of digital equipment (like cameras or film scanners).

Raw image files are sometimes called digital negatives, as they fulfill the same role as negatives in film photography: that is, the negative is not directly usable as an image, but has all of the information needed to create an image. Likewise, the process of converting a raw image file into a viewable format is sometimes called developing a raw image, by analogy with the film developmentprocess used to convert photographic film into viewable prints. The selection of the final choice of image rendering is part of the process of white balancing and color grading.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raw_image_format

JPEG- (Deffinition from the internet.)
In computing, JPEG  is a commonly used method of lossy compression for digital photography(image). The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and image quality. JPEG typically achieves 10:1 compression with little perceptible loss in image quality.

JPEG compression is used in a number of image file formats. JPEG/Exif is the most common image format used by digital cameras and other photographic image capture devices; along with JPEG/JFIF, it is the most common format for storing and transmitting photographic images on theWorld Wide Web. These format variations are often not distinguished, and are simply called JPEG.
The term "JPEG" is an acronym for the Joint Photographic Experts Group, which created the standard. The MIME media type for JPEG is image/jpeg (defined in RFC 1341), except in Internet Explorer, which provides a MIME type of image/pjpeg when uploading JPEG images.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JPEG

Tiff - (deffinition from the internet.)
TIFF (originally standing for Tagged Image File Format) is a file format for storing images, popular among graphic artists, the publishing industry, and both amateur and professional photographers in general. As of 2009, it is under the control of Adobe Systems. Originally created by the companyAldus for use with "desktop publishing", the TIFF format is widely supported by image-manipulation applications, by publishing and page layout applications, by scanning, faxing, word processing,optical character recognition and other applications.^[ Adobe Systems, which acquired Aldus, now holds the copyright to the TIFF specification. TIFF has not had a major update since 1992, though several Aldus/Adobe technical notes have been published with minor extensions to the format, and several specifications, including TIFF/EP (ISO 12234-2), TIFF/IT (ISO 12639), TIFF-F (RFC 2306) and TIFF-FX (RFC 3949) have been based on the TIFF 6.0 specification.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tagged_Image_File_Format 

Image Review

Looking through the weekly images project discussing are final images, for positive and negative feedback to help improve are technique. 

Image 1 vase of flowers

Image overall has good composition the apples balance the image, also the colour choice of the blue with the red go together very well. A negative point in the image is the label left on the vase this distracts you from the main focal point in the image. I could try and remove the label from the image using photoshop or alternatively re-shoot. 

To get a sharp image always keep your f-stop high over 8. 

Shallow Depth of Field Portrait

The task is to take a portrait using shallow depth of field, Shallow depth of field is the amount of the scene that is in focus, both in front and behind the actual point of focus, a 
Large aperture like 1.8 will give me a shallow depth of field.

Research on Depth of Field

Shallow Depth of Field

The dragonfly has been isolated from its chaotic surroundings by using shallow depth of field. By using shallow depth of field the distracting background is blurred and only the dragonfly appears sharp. Viewers eyes concentrate first on the sharp areas of the photo and so the dragonfly gets all the attention.

Large Depth of Field

Usually it is good for landscape photos if all parts of the image appear sharp. There is usually no need to isolate elements by utilising the depth of field in the landscape photos. All around sharp photo can be achieved by using large depth of field. In order to get large depth of field you should use rather small aperture. This also means that you must decrease the shutter speed. Therefore it's often necessary to use tripod when taking landscape photos.

• The smaller the aperture, the deeper the depth of filed ( the other two factors remaining the same) for example if the lens focal length and the shooting distance stay the same, the depth of file is much deeper at f/16 than at f.1.4

• The shorter the lens focal length, the deeper the depth of field ( the other two factor remaining the same). For example comparing a 28 mm lens with a 50 mm lens at the same aperture and shooting distance, depth of file is much deeper with a 28 mm lens

• The greater the shooting distance, the deeper the depth of field. I.e. other two factors remaining the same). For example if the subject is photographed from three and then seven metres away, the zone of sharpness in the foreground and background is greater at seven meters. 

Below is a chart that describes how shallow depth of field can be created using the aperture to control the amount of light going into the camera, a small aperture will let more light into the camera giving you a shallow depth and a high aperture will let less light into the camera giving you a sharp image.The idea is to understand the use of shallow depth of field, shallow depth of field is a great way to enhance a subject by throwing other elements out of focus. the control that has the most impact on depth of field is aperture. Bigger apertures tend to provide shallower depth of field. If you open a wide aperture (say f/1.8) you will have a narrow location in your image which is focused. If you set your aperture to a small value, say f/22, you will have a huge focused area.

The image was shot using a large aperture as this gave me a shallow depth of field, I shot with a 20 mm lens as I wanted to capture as much of the background as possible. Focusing on the subject throughout the background out of focus, The technique has given the subject the attention, almost framed the little boy giving the viewer a clear perspective to what the image is about. The little boy was great to shoot he was fixated with camera he wouldn't look away from the lens. His facial expression come across as if he was lost.

Hyperfocal landscapes

Research:

Calculating hyperfocal distance can change depending on a number of factors, and different cameras and lenses have different ways of helping you figure out the hyperfocal distance. 

Factors affecting Hyperfocal distance include focal length (wide angle lenses have a greater depth of field than telephoto lenses), distance to nearest subject (two distant objects will have a smaller hyperfocal distance than a near and far object together), and sensor size (the smaller the sensor, the greater the depth of field). 

Hyperfocal Lens Markings

Some lenses have markings on them showing the hyperfocal distances for different apertures. An example of this is shown in the image below.

In the image below, you can see that the lens is focused to 8'. On the barrel, you can see two vertical markings on either side of the focus point line — two lines correspond with the number 11, and two with 16.

These lines tell you that when you have the lens focused at 8' and the aperture set at f/16, everything from 6' (on the right of the scale) to 12' (on the left of the scale) will be in focus.

Adjusting the focus ring on this lens will change the hyperfocal distance (the area that is in focus) for a given aperture. For instance, you can see that with this lens, setting the focus point to 12' would give you DOF from 8' to 20'.

When deciding to shot my hyper focal distance image I took the opportunity to shoot when the group visited Morecambe. 

Trip - Hyper Focal Distance

Morecambe was great place to learnt the new technique as the surrounding had some amazing seascapes and landscapes. The equipment used were somewhat basic, I used my digital SLR camera with a wide 24 mm angle lens as Wide-angle lenses have short hyperfocal distances when set to large apertures and so are good for maximising depth of field. i also used a weighted tripod as the weather was extreme this prevented any camera shake, when shooting I decided to try out an app I downloaded called photo buddy. Not only did it have the Hyperfocal distance calculator but it has a host of other little functions too. Sunset/Rise times, phases of the moon, a bulb timer for long exposures.

Wide Angle lens 

dramatises the sky it make the shy look deeper and you get the curvachure of the earth because it so wide. also if something is to close a wide angle lens will increase the distance between the camera and the suject. great for including foreground, and midground. great for a massive depth of field 

Telephoto lens

This lens can increase depth of field and give you the option of getting in close to the subject. Perfect for wildlife photography. with telephoto composition you can be very cleaver and exclusive in the composition. 

Zoom /veriable length 

Prime /fixed lens

Great British

This week, I am required to shoot a photograph entitled ‘Great British’ The image needs build upon the themes discussed in the lecture/seminar. 

firstly i decided to brain storm what it is that we call british, could it be the food we eat or the religion we follow. overtime time Britain has become one of the most mixed societies in the world full of different religions and races, which have all contributed to the Britain we live in today, i feel i would have to look back in history to capture an image that people see a british. Architecture would be great place to start also Britain has some of the most recognisable landscapes in the world. 

I took this image when visiting London in 2011 i feel It's the architecture and the landmarks are now what people instantly associate Britain to be.   


I like the photograph by Martin Parr because it is not created to fit a brief, but just a moment observed and preserved.  The main axis of the photograph is the way he is stood at the top of the ladder and the visual relationship between the man and the steps, and his head being framed by the window. Also the cobbles, pavement and stone are nostalgic and characterise a way of life that the man seems to fit. his photographs offer a unique perspective.

Final British Images

Environmental portrait

An environmental portrait is one where you take a photo of a person that includes enough of the background to tell a story about your subject. There are two categories. The first is when you put the person into an environment which is not their own. This is often done in fashion and editorial photography and is very creative. The background will often be very brightly coloured or unusual in some way. They provide a stunning backdrop against which to photograph the people in the photos.

The second is when you photograph someone in their natural environment, including elements of the background to tell the viewer something about the subject. Same approach taken by photojournalists, documentary photographers, travel photographers.

For my environmental  portrait, I wanted to shoot something commercial as this is something a lot of photographers do for regular income also they can be very interesting, I decided to go to Blackburn Royal Hospital as i knew there are a lot of different professions under one roof after looking around for a subject to shoot i came  across an ambulance driver call David he has been a paramedic for over 30 years and he was more than happy to have picture taken, I decided to use the ambulance as the backdrop to show what he did in his profession, i took several images in and around the ambulance but felt the best image was when he didn't pose for the shot as they showed more about him.  

Triptych 

A photographic triptych is a common style used in modern commercial images. The photographs usually arranged with a plain border between them. The work may consist of separate images that are variants on a theme, or may be one larger image split into three. I decided to take various images of London and place them together in a triptych form, as one image of London is never enough this is how I used light room to create the set.

First I loaded Lightroom and imported my set of images into the print module. The first thing i did was selected custom package as this gave me more control over the final set up. As my final image was going to be a print job i changed the file format to a JPEG. 

Next I set up the file dimensions by clicking the box in the corner, this gave me the option to have my dimensions of the page any size. i also made sure my print resolution was 300dpi as this will give me good quality print. 

Now the page is set up and ready to go, I added my images, so i went into my collections and selected "print triptych" from this all i needed to do is drag and drop my images i wanted to use into the layout and size it to suit.

From here I went to image setting to see what i had selected i wanted a black border around the set of images so i increased the inner stoke but I didn't want the photo border  as i thought this looked a bit odd so i deselected this by not ticking the box.

To create the other two images on the layout I pressed the ALT key and dragged across the image this gave my the exact same measurements of the first image saving me time getting the correct sizes. This also gave me the option to play around with different images to see what 3 images worked well together.

For my triptych image i decided to use images from London as the images would have similar flow and look to them, i decided to take images of the British landmarks as they are recognisable to a mass audience. and they look great. as they were separate image i felt they had to have something in common to show they were a set, So i decided to up the saturation bringing out point of colour in each image.