shoot five

Shoot five

Plans for shoot: 

my plan for this shoot was to use studio settings to experiment with close up and far away images of flowers and to edit them in a experimental way, which in this shoot is to add the effect of viewing the flowers through a kaleidoscope.

Research influence

Laura Zalenga is a German modern photographer, throughout her career she has developed a diverse array of portfolios, this included her kaleidoscope work which is the inspiration for my work within this shoot. i aim to edit my images in a way that reflect the form of the image on the left, but using flowers and Adobe Photoshop.


Contact sheet(s)

Image bank (containing 5 images)

My Best images (target 4 - 6),

Images that require improvement

despite feeling that some of these images needed improvement. i still used some of them within my final images, (DSC_0329.jpeg), this was because with the use of Photoshop tools, i improved the images qualities using contrast and brightness.

i felt that the other images required improvement due to the fact that they were out of focus or were just too crowded and i wasn't able to isolate a single subject within the image

AO3: Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions, reflecting critically on work and progress.

My idea for recording this shoot was to use studio settings to experiment with close up and far away images of flowers and to hopefully edit them in a more experimental way, like a kaleidoscope view of the images.

      With reference to my best images, I feel that although I could not create photographs exactly like Zalenga's photos, I did create a set that was in the style of her work (kaleidoscopic views) . I am happy with the overall outcome of my images and feel that they all show the many ways that flowers and their intricate details can be captured within a photograph with a different style of experimental editing. i decided to edit my images to make them sharper and isolate them from the background  in order to eventually reflect Zalenga's work on her kaleidoscope series.
With regards to some of the images that did not come out as I expected, I struggled to adapt my  positioning the get the light on the right parts of the flowers and their petals, that's why some of my images contained aspects that i didn't want.

AO2: Explore and select appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques and processes, reviewing and refining ideas as work develops.

camera settings:

1/125 second shutter speed, f/ 11, ISO 200, all images were taken in raw, camera was in manual mode and a soft box was used for the flash and a tripod was used. The use of soft-boxes ensured that the camera flash wasn't too harsh and didn't effect the outcome of my final images, the soft-boxes diffuses the lights into a soft and even light, they also reduce harsh shadows and due to the closeness of the soft-boxes to the subjects, the softer lights accentuated the details of the flowers, the use of the tripod reduced camera shake and ensured that my pictures were crisp and well detailed.

all images were edited in the following way, the only difference is that some had different pattern types: 

Shoot 5 edit process from amybattelley

tutorial i used to assist the editing process. (web link)

Studio set up for photos hoot

AO1: Develop ideas through sustained and focused investigations informed by contextual and other sources, demonstrating analytical and critical understanding.
(Here you will discuss how you developed your work based on your research of e.g. artists/photographers, etc).

The artist research was very useful during these shoots as I had some inspiration on how to tackle the finer details of the flowers from a range of different sizes and viewpoints, as well as photographing the petals and their intricate details. My research of Zalenga's flowers portfolio helped me to focus on the intricate details of the plants and their petals as well as the contrast between their colours and the kaleidoscopic details. I found this helpful because i could easily create this within my studio location.

The research on colour saturation  (shown in my techniques post) and Zalenga's work was helpful to this study and I feel that I shot some good photos that had enough contrast between the colours and saturation to bring out the boldest colours within my images.

AO4: Present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and, where appropriate, makes connections between visual and other elements. 

i feel that i have created a strong set of images inspired by the work of Laura Zalenga, my intention for this shoot was to create a kaleidoscopic effect with my floral images, I feel that these images work because of the vibrancy of the colours and the simplicity of the back grounds.

Progression: you must refer to what you will do next to improve on either the shoot you have done or how you will develop your project in the next shoot. 

 for my next shoot, i aim to experiment more with my edits and attempt to use more physical editing processes that include myself physically manipulating the images instead of digitally manipulating them.