"http://www.flickr.com/photos/97604934@N05/9214145183/" By looking at my first image, I believe that my photograph could have multiple meanings. One of the most obvious definitions that the placement of the two contrasting objects (the flowers and the cigarettes) give is the theme of life and death. I think that the reason this picture is effective is because even though the cigarettes give the feeling of and cause death, it shows the flower in the centre of the picture surviving and growing where as the other flowers in the background have been killed and have withered away. It gives the feeling of escape. Although I think that this image is good at giving across its point, I feel that the positioning of certain elements could be improved; for example I think that the layout of the cigarettes and flowers is perfect but I think that I should've attempted to take the shot in a different angle to get the cigarette closer to the centre. In the background I also like how the brown leaves from the trees has softly blended into the green leaves and grass, in a way it gives the image a warm feeling.

"http://www.flickr.com/photos/97604934@N05/9214178529/in/photostream/" I like how everything is arranged in this photograph, it is cluttered with many different plants and flowers which brings the picture to life, it also gives the idea that it is a summer photograph because of the fact that all the flowers have grown. I really like the colours in this image as there is a range of different colours that are contrasting with one another, I think that the red flowers are the ones that stick out from the rest the most as they stand out from the green surrounding. I think that with this image I should've waited for the sun to come out more as it would have brought out the colours more in this image and give it a more warmer feeling to it, as at the moment it lets of a cold feeling. Another thing that sticks out in this image is the pathway that is almost centred in the image, the reason this sticks out to me is because both end of the pathway are hidden behind the bushes which makes it seem mysterious as it could lead to anywhere. It kind of also puts a barrier in to the picture meaning that without it the image would be full of complete nature, but with the man-made path it gives a less lonely feeling.

Crawley Futures Part 2

Edited Image.

Crawley Futures Part 1

This is the original Image.

 

 This is the image after editing.

 

My Movie Poster

First Edit (Not Chosen)

Final Edit (Chosen)

Landscape

 

I used two tools; the blur tool and the sharpen tool. I used the blur tool to make the mountains and the foreground seem faded so that the building stands out more. I used the sharpen tool to reinforce the contrast between the background and the center item that I'm trying to make stand out.

 

Cracked Glass

I pasted two different images into the canvas on different layers, I changed the glass layer to “screen” to make the glass have a blended in effect with the back image. I resized the glass image using Ctrl + T to make it the size I wanted. I always chose the oil painting filter to slightly change the image and make it seem less rough and give it a softer look. I then used the lighting effects on both layers; and I used the burn tool to darken the shadows and the dodge tool to lighten the light areas to make the colours contrast more and seem scarier. I used the smudge tool on the back image to make it look like it is peering through broken glass.

Altair and Mario

UFO

Sugar Bag

Ctrl + T - Resize
L - Lasso tool to cut round the edges
Ctrl + Z - Undo

Fashion Photography

When is an image a portrait when is it a fashion photograph?

The difference between a portrait and a fashion photograph is that portraits are more about the person/ people in the image and how they are presented as individuals; it is usually about capturing something about that person. Whereas fashion photography is SUPPOSED to be about the clothing and the styles that are being presented to an audience to sell them; in this case the photographs usually show a fake luxury lifestyle that is being sold that is meant to make the audience aspire to. Photographers that take portraits are usually aiming to try and tell a story within there photographs, they try to tell the truth and capture the natural state. This is completely different to fashion photography because there inst a story usually trying to be told it is just about advertisement, and photographs are manipulated way to much to tell any truth to fashion images so they are fake.

To what degree should an image manipulated to go into a fashion magazine?

In fashion photography the image is usually manipulated to a point that it is beyond reality, for example fashion photography is supposed to be aimed at selling a product so the audience main attention should be on that, but alot of the fashion magazines edit the models in the image to make them more thinner, and taller so now the main focus is on the model.

Is there a clash between the creative and commercial side of fashion Photography?

There is a big clash between the creative and commercial side of fashion photography because the creative side is about how the product is being presented to the audience, and the commercial side is what product is being sold; both of these two sides have to overlap and work together to be a successful image. If one of the sides is slightly off or doesn't link in with the other then it will have to be rethought to be successful.

Photo Journalism

Photojournalism is a unique part of photography, this is because this is all about capturing the moment; instead of taking pictures that are controlled by the photographer it is about "capturing reality". Even though the photopgraphs are through the photographers eyes and their point of view, it is still said that this type of photography captures a truth.


Henri Cartie - Bresson. - was described as a big game hunter, as his style of photography was unusual as he would set up a scene and then he would wait for something to happen; the decisive moment. "Into the space life will come". Henri's choice of camera was the Leica camera that was made in 1925, this was because other than being quite wealthy this camera allowed you to see around you while taking the picture because of the design and it was alot faster than normal cameras. Henri became famous for his style of photography, he took alot of photos of well known events and people which became quite known and he was usually refered to as the father of photojournalism. Bresson's style of photojournalism was effective because after he had set up the scenes, he then waited for something to fill his background. Even though this sometimes could've been a long process it was definitely worth it as you can see by Bressons stairway bike photographs, the structure of the picture and the layout with stairway look unusual and the by Bresson waiting you can see that it gives the picture more life.

Robert Capa found an unkown love for photgraphy after finding work in berlin; he wanted to be a writer but after finding work as a photographer he became interested in it. Robert Capas style of photojournalism was up close "If your photographs aren't good enough, you're not close enough." this style can be shown through Capa's photographs as you can see that most of them are in the action and not just long shots. This can be seen in Capa's war photograph "The Falling Soldier" 
While Capa was in the war taking photographs, he was also working as a photojournalist for Life magazine. Alot of his most famous pictures were taken in WWII, which include "The magnificent Eleven" these eleven pictures were the remaining photographs out of 106 that Capa had taken during a dangerous period in the war; the reason only these 11 pictures remained was because there was a mistake that was made at Life magazines Lab that had destroyed the rest. "The war correspondent has his stake - his life - in his own hands, and he can put it on this horse or that horse, or he can put it back in his pocket at the very last minute"


Tony Vaccaro's style of photograph was unique as he truly believed in capturing reality in his photographs, apart from being photojournalist he also took portraits where he would try to mix the two types of photography together. An example of is when Vaccaro took Picasso's portrait; he tricked him into thinking he had already taken the pictures so afterwards Picasso could relax and then Vaccaro took his picture when he wasn't ready for it. I think this was a very effective style as it can almost show how a person truly is by there photographs, it also gives the photographs more meaning and in a way more truth.