3 Frame Narrative
In this lesson, we got into groups and thought of ideas we could use to create a 3 frame narrative. Our idea was to show the different colours of leaves in the seasons (green/orange&green/orange).
We each assigned ourselves with a colour then took photographs of lots of different leaves that colour. We then cut out the leaf in PhotoShop and created a leaf collage.
One idea, three ways
We had to think of a theme or an idea, take pictures and try display them using different techniques.
I decided I would take a close-up picture of an object and then take a wide shot of the room it's in.
These are the images I took:
These are the images using the techniques I tried out using Photoshop:
Edited pictures
I chose my favourites and edited them using the blur tool just going back over the blurred parts and I used Curves to edit the exposure.
I like these for my first proper tries because I like the way it's focused on different parts of the photograph and not just all at the front or all at the back. To improve these I will take photos outside and try to make a story/documentary out of my images.
I think these images are a vast improvement compared to my first tries.
Camera settings:
Shoot 3
This is not a practise shoot, I took these photographs by a schedule to see what kind of photographs I got to get an idea of what my book will be looking like.
Originally I was going to take a photo every hour, but because I had a limited amount of time with this camera I did it every 10 minutes. But I will be going with my original plan to do it every hour from now on.
This is my contact sheet for my photos:
Edits
With this images I edited the curves, hue & saturation and brightness and contrast to make them brighter and more colourful or washed out with less colour and brightness.
I like these images because I think they're different to what I've taken photos of before. I also like how I have kept to what I wanted to take photos of too. In my proposal I said I wanted to take some nature photos and I'm happy with the ones I've got.
I don't like how sometimes with my images there's a black shadow around the outside from the lens, so I need to improve on taking photos with this technique to prevent that from happening in the future.
If I was to do this shoot again I would try and take photos of things I usually wouldn't, I'm used to trying to get a really nice object in the photo. But I think if I tried to stop making my photos look so pretty then maybe I'll get things I'm happy with that I didn't think I'd be happy with.
Camera settings:
Shoot 4
For this shoot, I went with my original plan to take a photo every hour, but I focused on small details rather than a big scenery. I like it this way because then there's actually a subject in the photograph.
I like what is in these photographs but the majority of them could have been focused better. For example, the ones of the person didn't focus as well as I'd have liked to, I'm only happy with one of those ones. Also, I couldn't get focused ones of the berries on the tree because the wind kept blowing them making it impossible for me to focus on them.
If I was to do this shoot again I would take so much more photos, even looking at the same thing. I didn't get many I was happy with on this shoot so next time I think I need to take more than I think I need, so I have more options when it comes to editing them and choosing my favourites and finals for my book.
Contact sheet for my images:
Camera settings:
Edits
I edited the contrast of the flower photograph to have more contrast to make it more pink and green. I also then used the eyedropper tool to select the colour from the pink flower, selected the brush tool in soft light and went over the flower again. This made it look a bit more vibrant.
On the second image, I used the curves graph to make it a little brighter and then I used the spot healing brush tool to edit on the face a little. I didn't think this image needed a lot doing to it as I liked it how it was in the first place. I also think the black outline from the lens looks effective too, I wasn't keen on it in my other photographs but I like it in this one.
Shoot 5
The reason I didn't get many images from this shoot is because the battery on the camera actually ran out. But I took these just focusing on mainly on the dreamcatcher, I wanted to see what would work and what wouldn't work with it. I think the ones of the dreamcatcher in front of the window work better than the ones of it in front of the cupboard and on the blanket. I like how the light comes through in the background.
Contact sheet for this shoot:
Camera settings:
Edits
I edited using the 'Curves' graph to brighten the images and then took the contrast down a little bit. I used the quick selection tool to select the dreamcatcher and changed the brightness to be brighter too.
I prefer my photos to be bright rather than dark because when they're bright they look cleaner and I think more professional.
If I was to do this shoot again I would take lots more images. I got pretty much the same thing in each photo on this shoot, so next time I would try to photograph the feathers or the beads, or just fill the frame with the detail in one of the circles on the dreamcatcher.
Shoot 6
In my research I looked at pictures of people and a close up of an eye, I focused on trying out those ideas for this shoot. Again, I wish I'd have taken more so I'd have more options and more to edit to see which are my favourites. But in this shoot I think I'm only happy with one of the images. It's a lot more difficult to focus when you're photographing people rather than objects because you have to focus on certain features and sometimes it can look like you've just taken a bad out of focus photo but other times it can look really effective.
If I was to do this shoot again I would try taking photos of the persons face from different angles rather than straight on so I would have more of a range of images. I would also try close ups of different parts of the face rather than just the eyes, like his mouth or one half of the face. I could also try do photographs like this but not just of his face, I could do one from the back and focus on the detail in his shirt.
Contact sheet for this shoot:
Camera settings:
Edits:
This is the only photograph I'm happy with from this shoot. I like the composition, how its framed and the simplicity. To edit it, I adjusted the curves to make it brighter then I used the spot healing brush tool to get rid of some unwanted lines. Then finally, I got the eyedropper tool, picked the blue from the eye and went back over it with a brush tool in soft light.
Shoot 7
I had a very limited time with the camera on this shoot so that's why I only got 5 images. I wanted to try close up shots of this acoustic guitar instead of taking one that you see everyday, of the full body. I wanted to see if I could get good images just focusing on the details of it.
If I was to do this shoot again I would do it in natural light, because it was dark out when I took these and the light from the room gives the images a yellow/orange tint which I don't like. They would look a lot better in bright lighting.
Contact sheet for this shoot:
Camera settings:
Edits
For this image, I changed the colour balance a little. I turned it away from yellow so it got lessened the yellow tint in the image. I also changed the brightness down a little and the contrast up. I thought this would make it look more like it's been taken in a dark room with flash rather than having the dingy tinted yellows and oranges.
Shoot 8
For this shoot I wanted to try something different. I haven't taken photographs of buildings in this technique yet so I wanted to see what that would look like. I also tried some in the dark, I like the bokeh effect of the lights how they're out of focus.
Overall I'm happy with this shoot but I think some of the images could have been taken better. For example I wish I'd have taken more with the person. His face looks more out of focus and blurred so I'd like to take them again.
Contact sheet:
Camera settings:
Edits
For the first image, I didn't think much needed editing so all I did was adjust the curves and contrast to make the colours come out a little bit more.
On the second photo, it was really dark so I changed the curves to make it brighter and then because it's not focused very well I used the blur tool on the background just to make it look like the person is more focused at the front.
Shoot 9
For this shoot, I had a limited amount of time with the camera so every 15-30 seconds I took a picture of whatever was in front of me. Most of them I didn't look through the camera to see what was in the frame but sometimes I did.
I am happy with this shoot because I got so much more images doing it this way, so I have loads more to choose from and edit for my book. I'm planning on putting some into black and white to see what they look like too.
If I was to do this shoot again I would stay out for longer and take even more pictures because you just don't know what your images are going to look like so it's quite exciting to look back at your images once you've finished to see what you got.
Contact sheet:
Camera settings:
Edits
For the first image, I changed it to black and white. I didn't have anything else to do for this image because I liked the brightness and contrast as it was, but because I wanted to see how some looked in black and white, I chose this one. I think having it in black and white looks a little too harsh so I think just turning the vibrance down a little will look a lot better.
For the second image, I turned the brightness and contrast up a little bit to bring out the bright colours on the carousel. But I don't think it needs anything else changing about it.
Shoot 10
For this shoot I had an idea to get photographs of everyday life things. So I took a photo really quickly without thinking about the composition of things that were in front of me when different activities were happening. For example, decorating the christmas tree and making a sandwich. I'm happy with this shoot, especially because I didn't think about the images I'd end up with and there are a couple I think would be nice for my final book.
If I was to do this shoot again I would try get a lot more photo's of a lot more different activities, like washing your face, playing on the xbox or reading a book. With this shoot, I did more photo's of the same thing to at least try get one I'd be happy with. I would also like them better if they were in different, brighter lighting. They look a bit dark and gritty under the kitchen light.
Contact sheet:
Camera settings:
Shoot 11
I tried to get quick images during this shoot because I had a limited amount of time with the camera as it was due back in college. I took photo's from my walk to college from the train station. I got people, buildings, busses and more different things.
I'm not so happy with this shoot because I think it looks pretty much the same as shoots I've done previously. But I guess this doesn't matter because I'm supposed to be just shooting whatever is in front of me and this is what is in front of me at the time I take these photos. I just wanted more variety in my images and to not have a lot similar looking photo's.
Contact sheet:
Camera settings:
Book layout research
There are so many different options for how to layout a book. We can make our book ourself or send it off to blurb.com or photobox.com to get it made and printed there professionally.
These are some layouts I have looked at:
- One photo over a 2 page spread
- No border
- No captions
- A mixture of having one image on one side and 2 images on the other side.
- A border around the outside
- No captions
One idea, three ways
We had to think of a theme or an idea, take pictures and try display them using different techniques.
I decided I would take a close-up picture of an object and then take a wide shot of the room it's in.
These are the images I took:
These are the images using the techniques I tried out using Photoshop:
Proposal
In this assignment I would like to create a book full of 'Off Lens Photography'. I've never tried it before and I like trying out new things and techniques. I aren't just going to focus on one type of photography, for example; I won't just do portraiture, I'll do nature and different styles too.
I will need to use a 35mm or a 18mm-55mm lens on a Canon 600D and practise a lot more to perfect the technique.
To make my photographs work together I want to make my book like a documentary, either the area I live or around Leeds City Centre. I want to think of a time to take my photos, for example; take a photo of whatever is in front of me every hour.
I think doing the shoots on location will be a lot better than doing them in the studio because there's a lot more things to do outside instead of just having a plain background on my images. Also, because the Off Lens technique focuses on small parts all around the photograph, doing it on location would capture nice parts of the background in focus too which I think will look quite effective. I would like to also try some portraits in the studio though. Having nice simple images with the focus off centred I think would look really moving.
Research
I've been looking at some photography that uses the technique I want to try, these are some of my favourite images.
I found these images on different websites, they aren't professional photographers so I have no name to add to these photographs.
I like these photographs because some of them are things you don't really see photographs of usually, like a box of pumpkins and a feet standing on a rock. I think they're unique, especially with the lens whacking technique added to the photograph. I also like the content of the photographs, I would like to make mine look like these. They're pretty, well composed photographs but still look quite commercial which I like and I think this would fit into my documentary theme for my book.
I like these photographs because some of them are things you don't really see photographs of usually, like a box of pumpkins and a feet standing on a rock. I think they're unique, especially with the lens whacking technique added to the photograph. I also like the content of the photographs, I would like to make mine look like these. They're pretty, well composed photographs but still look quite commercial which I like and I think this would fit into my documentary theme for my book.
David Bailey
I would like to bring these types of photographs into my Off Lens technique. I think having a black and white portrait with this technique would look really strong.
I want to try head and shoulder shots but also just face and close ups of eyes. I think this would fit with my documentary photographs because it would be boring if I just had nature style photos in my book, adding photos of people would make it more personal.
Bill Atkinson
I like these flower photographs and would like to bring it into my Off Lens technique. I think finding really bright colourful plants/nature would look so vibrant and effective.
This fits with what I first researched, making my photos pretty as well as documentary. I like this idea because close ups are as good as normal shots when you're taking photos of flowers because the colours and shapes always work well.
Practising the lens whacking technique
1st practise shoot
This was my first ever try at lens whacking, I didn't think about what I was taking my photos. I just wanted to get used to this technique and get better at it, so I used a Canon 600D and a tripod and just pointed it around my classroom. I found it quite hard at first with the focusing but then gradually got the hang of it and how to focus properly.
Camera settings:
2nd practise shoot
These are contact sheets of my first practises at doing the lens whacking technique. I used a Canon 600D and the settings ISO 400 and manual focus. My first pictures came out a little darker than I wanted so I turned the ISO up to 600.
I chose my favourites and edited them using the blur tool just going back over the blurred parts and I used Curves to edit the exposure.
I like these for my first proper tries because I like the way it's focused on different parts of the photograph and not just all at the front or all at the back. To improve these I will take photos outside and try to make a story/documentary out of my images.
I think these images are a vast improvement compared to my first tries.
Camera settings:
Shoot 3
This is not a practise shoot, I took these photographs by a schedule to see what kind of photographs I got to get an idea of what my book will be looking like.
Originally I was going to take a photo every hour, but because I had a limited amount of time with this camera I did it every 10 minutes. But I will be going with my original plan to do it every hour from now on.
This is my contact sheet for my photos:
Edits
With this images I edited the curves, hue & saturation and brightness and contrast to make them brighter and more colourful or washed out with less colour and brightness.
I like these images because I think they're different to what I've taken photos of before. I also like how I have kept to what I wanted to take photos of too. In my proposal I said I wanted to take some nature photos and I'm happy with the ones I've got.
I don't like how sometimes with my images there's a black shadow around the outside from the lens, so I need to improve on taking photos with this technique to prevent that from happening in the future.
If I was to do this shoot again I would try and take photos of things I usually wouldn't, I'm used to trying to get a really nice object in the photo. But I think if I tried to stop making my photos look so pretty then maybe I'll get things I'm happy with that I didn't think I'd be happy with.
Camera settings:
Shoot 4
For this shoot, I went with my original plan to take a photo every hour, but I focused on small details rather than a big scenery. I like it this way because then there's actually a subject in the photograph.
I like what is in these photographs but the majority of them could have been focused better. For example, the ones of the person didn't focus as well as I'd have liked to, I'm only happy with one of those ones. Also, I couldn't get focused ones of the berries on the tree because the wind kept blowing them making it impossible for me to focus on them.
If I was to do this shoot again I would take so much more photos, even looking at the same thing. I didn't get many I was happy with on this shoot so next time I think I need to take more than I think I need, so I have more options when it comes to editing them and choosing my favourites and finals for my book.
Contact sheet for my images:
Camera settings:
Edits
I edited the contrast of the flower photograph to have more contrast to make it more pink and green. I also then used the eyedropper tool to select the colour from the pink flower, selected the brush tool in soft light and went over the flower again. This made it look a bit more vibrant.
On the second image, I used the curves graph to make it a little brighter and then I used the spot healing brush tool to edit on the face a little. I didn't think this image needed a lot doing to it as I liked it how it was in the first place. I also think the black outline from the lens looks effective too, I wasn't keen on it in my other photographs but I like it in this one.
Shoot 5
The reason I didn't get many images from this shoot is because the battery on the camera actually ran out. But I took these just focusing on mainly on the dreamcatcher, I wanted to see what would work and what wouldn't work with it. I think the ones of the dreamcatcher in front of the window work better than the ones of it in front of the cupboard and on the blanket. I like how the light comes through in the background.
Contact sheet for this shoot:
Camera settings:
Edits
I edited using the 'Curves' graph to brighten the images and then took the contrast down a little bit. I used the quick selection tool to select the dreamcatcher and changed the brightness to be brighter too.
I prefer my photos to be bright rather than dark because when they're bright they look cleaner and I think more professional.
If I was to do this shoot again I would take lots more images. I got pretty much the same thing in each photo on this shoot, so next time I would try to photograph the feathers or the beads, or just fill the frame with the detail in one of the circles on the dreamcatcher.
Shoot 6
In my research I looked at pictures of people and a close up of an eye, I focused on trying out those ideas for this shoot. Again, I wish I'd have taken more so I'd have more options and more to edit to see which are my favourites. But in this shoot I think I'm only happy with one of the images. It's a lot more difficult to focus when you're photographing people rather than objects because you have to focus on certain features and sometimes it can look like you've just taken a bad out of focus photo but other times it can look really effective.
If I was to do this shoot again I would try taking photos of the persons face from different angles rather than straight on so I would have more of a range of images. I would also try close ups of different parts of the face rather than just the eyes, like his mouth or one half of the face. I could also try do photographs like this but not just of his face, I could do one from the back and focus on the detail in his shirt.
Contact sheet for this shoot:
Camera settings:
This is the only photograph I'm happy with from this shoot. I like the composition, how its framed and the simplicity. To edit it, I adjusted the curves to make it brighter then I used the spot healing brush tool to get rid of some unwanted lines. Then finally, I got the eyedropper tool, picked the blue from the eye and went back over it with a brush tool in soft light.
Shoot 7
I had a very limited time with the camera on this shoot so that's why I only got 5 images. I wanted to try close up shots of this acoustic guitar instead of taking one that you see everyday, of the full body. I wanted to see if I could get good images just focusing on the details of it.
If I was to do this shoot again I would do it in natural light, because it was dark out when I took these and the light from the room gives the images a yellow/orange tint which I don't like. They would look a lot better in bright lighting.
Contact sheet for this shoot:
Camera settings:
Edits
For this image, I changed the colour balance a little. I turned it away from yellow so it got lessened the yellow tint in the image. I also changed the brightness down a little and the contrast up. I thought this would make it look more like it's been taken in a dark room with flash rather than having the dingy tinted yellows and oranges.
Shoot 8
For this shoot I wanted to try something different. I haven't taken photographs of buildings in this technique yet so I wanted to see what that would look like. I also tried some in the dark, I like the bokeh effect of the lights how they're out of focus.
Overall I'm happy with this shoot but I think some of the images could have been taken better. For example I wish I'd have taken more with the person. His face looks more out of focus and blurred so I'd like to take them again.
Contact sheet:
Camera settings:
Edits
For the first image, I didn't think much needed editing so all I did was adjust the curves and contrast to make the colours come out a little bit more.
On the second photo, it was really dark so I changed the curves to make it brighter and then because it's not focused very well I used the blur tool on the background just to make it look like the person is more focused at the front.
Shoot 9
For this shoot, I had a limited amount of time with the camera so every 15-30 seconds I took a picture of whatever was in front of me. Most of them I didn't look through the camera to see what was in the frame but sometimes I did.
I am happy with this shoot because I got so much more images doing it this way, so I have loads more to choose from and edit for my book. I'm planning on putting some into black and white to see what they look like too.
If I was to do this shoot again I would stay out for longer and take even more pictures because you just don't know what your images are going to look like so it's quite exciting to look back at your images once you've finished to see what you got.
Contact sheet:
Camera settings:
EditsFor the first image, I changed it to black and white. I didn't have anything else to do for this image because I liked the brightness and contrast as it was, but because I wanted to see how some looked in black and white, I chose this one. I think having it in black and white looks a little too harsh so I think just turning the vibrance down a little will look a lot better.
For the second image, I turned the brightness and contrast up a little bit to bring out the bright colours on the carousel. But I don't think it needs anything else changing about it.
Shoot 10
For this shoot I had an idea to get photographs of everyday life things. So I took a photo really quickly without thinking about the composition of things that were in front of me when different activities were happening. For example, decorating the christmas tree and making a sandwich. I'm happy with this shoot, especially because I didn't think about the images I'd end up with and there are a couple I think would be nice for my final book.
If I was to do this shoot again I would try get a lot more photo's of a lot more different activities, like washing your face, playing on the xbox or reading a book. With this shoot, I did more photo's of the same thing to at least try get one I'd be happy with. I would also like them better if they were in different, brighter lighting. They look a bit dark and gritty under the kitchen light.
Contact sheet:
Camera settings:
Shoot 11
I tried to get quick images during this shoot because I had a limited amount of time with the camera as it was due back in college. I took photo's from my walk to college from the train station. I got people, buildings, busses and more different things.
I'm not so happy with this shoot because I think it looks pretty much the same as shoots I've done previously. But I guess this doesn't matter because I'm supposed to be just shooting whatever is in front of me and this is what is in front of me at the time I take these photos. I just wanted more variety in my images and to not have a lot similar looking photo's.
Contact sheet:
Camera settings:
Book layout research
There are so many different options for how to layout a book. We can make our book ourself or send it off to blurb.com or photobox.com to get it made and printed there professionally.
These are some layouts I have looked at:
- One photo over a 2 page spread
- No border
- No captions
- A border around the outside
- No captions
- One image partially over a 2 page spread and a small collage of images down the right hand side
- Small caption underneath collaged images
- Pages filled with collaged images
- Borders around the outside of each image
- Caption on the top of the left page and on the bottom of the right page
- Information/text on one page
- An image covering one page fully
- Having a blank page in-between each photo page
- No captions
My book made on InDesign and uploaded to issuu.com:
Evaluation
In this assignment, I chose to do something completely new that I haven't tried before because I like discovering new techniques in my photography. The lens whacking technique I chose to use got some getting used to, it's difficult if you have never done it before but the more I did it, the more I got the hang of it and the better I got.
Reflecting back on my proposal, I achieved nearly everything I wanted to. For example, I wanted to do my shoots on location which I did all the way through. I did my images in a kind of documentary style which I wanted to do, although this was difficult for me because I'm used to planning out my photography and making all my images pretty and well composed I think I did well in not doing this. Almost all of my images were taken without me looking through the viewfinder on the camera or the back of the camera and I managed to get some images I'm pleased with doing this.
I like the images I chose for my final book because I don't think they're images you'd usually see in a photography book. They're kind of dingy and I would say very English, like the one with the orange peel. If I was to re-do this assignment and my images, I would be more strict with myself. At the start I wanted to take them every hour but because of my limited amount of time with the camera (as I don't have my own) I wasn't able to do it like this.
Overall, I really enjoyed this project because I love to try out new things with the camera. I'm happy with my digital book and am looking forward to getting it professionally printed, I've only made a book myself once before but because I've done this I would like to see what the printed one looks like so then I have one of each.
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