Shoot 3 - Shoot Plan

Shoots 1 and 2 - Shoot plan

Shoot Seven - Work Record

For this shoot, I decided to go back to using the plain mask, however, I wanted it to be worn outside of College in an urban environment, as I feel that would create more real and extreme reactiosn that in a an A level Photography classroom.

For the shoot, I hoped to capture a metaphorical representation of society's attitudes to mental disorders.
 
 This is probably my favourite image from my shoot. One of the thing I like it the narrow depth of field I achieved when taking this image, as it means the main focus of the image, which is the masked face, is in focus and the people in the background are not, which implies they don't are understand and are disconnected from the masked man, who is supposed to represent somebody with a mental disorder. Another thing I like about this image is the framing and composition. I used rule of thirds to take this image, putting my subject onto the right focus points of the grid, meaning he stands out from the background and is the first thing you notice. I took the image from a very close up perspective too, which I feel makes us connect with the subject more and the image feels much more intimate.

  
This, however, is an image that I would say was not very successful from my shoot. This uses a narrow depth of field like the previously shown image, however, in this image, the focus point is in the background rather than the foreground, meaning the masked man is out of focus. Although this could be seen as experimentation and is not objectively bad, I personally preferred the focus point to be on the masked man in this shoot, as he was the main thing that is being represented throughout the shoot. This image I also feel lacked in saturated colours, as even the colours that were supposed to be bright appear slightly muted. This could have been avoided by setting the white balance rather than having it set on auto.

For my final exam piece shoot, I hope to incorporate both the painted and plain masks in both the studio and on location while using long exposures and overlaying images together and manipulating layer blending in Photoshop.

Exam Layout

Exam dates, 19^th, 21^st and 26^th April

Please ensure that you address the following within the blogger.

Target number of shoots = 2

The first three hours of the exam must be consecutive.

It is recommended that students do not start their exam with a first shoot on location unless they intend to continue the shoot for a 3 hour period.

PRIOR to the exam students who intend to photograph on location must have an outline proposal on their web site.  The shoot time will be measured as the time taken to photograph – travel time.  For each shoot (e.g. shoot 1) you can photograph in two different locations and have the travel time between the shoots deducted.

	Done y/n
AO1:   ·   Is my work linked to my research?  ·   Am I showing a progression of my work from previous shoots? – mention the preparatory shoots within the work record. ·   Am I analysing my work objectively… (connotation, denotation, etc.)? This can be done in the work record.
AO2:   ·   Am I experimenting with techniques, processes, materials? This can be shown in the work record, computer experiments and physical experiments (if done as part of the exam). ·   Am I reviewing and refining my ideas (learning from e.g. preparatory shoots)? This can be shown in the work record and final evaluation.
AO3: ·   Am I recording my ideas, observations?  This can be shown in the work record. ·   Am I reflecting on my work and progress? This can be shown in the work record and final evaluation.
AO4:   ·   Am I adopting a personalised approach within my photography, am I expressing why I photographed/edited/printed the subject area in a particular way? This can be shown in the work record and final evaluation. ·   How do my final photographs/final pieces, connect with my previous research?  This can be shown in the final evaluation.

For each shoot you will need to create the following posts.

·         Contact sheet

·         Straight images (as many as you wish to post)

·         Work Record

·         Computer experiments (if carried out during the exam)

·         Physical experiments (if carried out during the exam)

·         Final Pieces

·         Final evaluation

On page 2 there is an outline of why these components are required and what you need to write within each section.

Why you need the following posts

Contact sheet

Will evidence the breadth of your research. 

Straight Images (as many as you wish to post)

 Select the best images from the shoot that you might wish to take further through editing

Work Record your Plans for the shoot, What you hope to achieve. NB (those first two sections should be written before the shoot in order to help you clarify your ideas and to ensure you have all that you need).  This is followed up by What I actually achieved (with two evaluated pictures - equivalent to the evaluation section of a work diary) In this section you must record how you took the photograph in terms of camera settings and the visual outcome (did you achieve the type of photographs you wanted, what are the denotations and possible connotations associated with the images).  Candidates are expected to use technical language (e.g. depth of field, etc).  What I am doing to do next (this might mean something that occurred whilst doing that shoot that you want to develop or maybe even a change in direction, etc).  Clearly your final shoot will not have a “what am I going to do next section”

Computer experiments -

·         Computer experiments will demonstrate your ability to experiment with the medium of digital photography… This is an important aspect of the AQA assessment criteria.  You will need to explain the process used.   You can do this with screen prints and text or just use text only.

·         You should evidence the photograph before and after the computer experimentation.

Physical experiments -

Physical experiments will demonstrate your ability to experiment with the medium of photography… This is an important aspect of the AQA assessment criteria.  The process involves the way a final print is physically transformed and how the meaning of a print changes as a result of the transformation.  Physical experiments SHOULD be recorded by scanning in the transformed print..  You will need to explain how the transformation has changed the meaning of the photograph e.g. describe your concept and the connotations associated with the print.

FINAL PIECES

Show the images the best images that you have created in a single post.  Ensure that the images selected work as a series and are linked to the exam paper.

Describe how the work is linked to your preparatory work (i.e. photographers research or shoots)

Final Evaluation

Here you will need to summarise how your work has developed as a result of the shoots that you have undertaken.

·         How has your research (photographers research, research log) and preparatory shoots influenced the final series of images that you have created?

·         What have learnt/ how has your work developed as a result of the project, this can be:

o    technical (learning new techniques in camera operation, shooting)

o   aesthetic (new ways of presenting work)?

How successful were you in responding to the exam paper? Identify areas where your work is strong and areas where you m

Shoot Six - Work Record

For this shoot, I decided I would incorporate the painted mask again, only this time, I would go back into the studio with it and use some spotlights to create a dramatic and dark tone with it.

For this shoot, I hope to create a darker representation of depression than in my previous shoots through the use of low key lighting.

 
 This is the best photo from my shoot in my opinion. I like this partly because of close up perspective, which is something I've not incorporated into my shoots yet. I feel this perspective makes the image very personal and intimate with the subject. I also like the use of the rule of thirds, as I put my subject in the left centre point where your eyes would look so that more attention is drawn to them. Finally, I like the low key lighting and the light's position in relation the the subject's face, as it lit up mostly the side where the paint is, which creates connotations of there being hope.
 
However, this is an image that I felt didn't go as well as I had planned. Although the positioning of the light lit up the place on my subject's face I wanted, I feel like the angle I shot this at took away from the mood. You can see past the black background that was my backdrop and see the wall next o it. You can also see the top of the studio backdrop where the backdrops roll down from, which I feel ruins the effect I wanted from this image, which was a pure darkness, void-like background with just a dimly lit face on it.

For my next shoot, I plan to go back to the plain masks, however, I want ot use them in a less friendly environment where I will get more extreme reactions to them.

Shoot Five - Work Record

For this shoot, I decided I was going to incorporate some physical art into my mask idea by covering half of a plain mask in a few different brightly coloured paints. I also decided that it was time to incorporate a new location that I haven't previously used which should be rural and outside of College.

For this shoot, I hoped to create a shoot that creates a representation of mental disorders as well as having connotations of societal stigma of mental disorders.
Here is an image that I feel was successful.

This image is possibly my favourite from this shoot. One thing that I think makes it successful is the composition and framing. I implemented the rule of thirds, placing my subject roughly where the left vertical grid line is so that your eye is immediately drawn to them. Also, the use of a long shot perspective I felt was important to this image, because although this perspective means you can see less details on the paint covered mask, I like the contrast the bright saturated colours of the leaves from the background and foreground make to the white mask with only a splash of colour on it. Finally, I like the exact location I chose for this image, as it contains lots of overgrown trees in the background and a broken fence, which have connotations of chaos that contrast to my subjects calm body language.


On the other hand, here is an image that I fell was not very successful. With this image, I was experimenting with shooting on f5.6 to achieve a narrow depth field. I was changing the focal points to different areas in the photograph and this came out of me experimenting. Although a narrow depth of field has been achieved, the background is in focus rather than the foreground, which means you can't see my subject as well as you should be able to and your eye isn't immediately drawn to them. Also, I feel like taking the shot from the right side of my subject was not as effective as it would have been tkaing it from the left, as that would have captured more of the paint on the mask.

For my next shoot, I want to use the painted mask again, however bring it into the studio and incorporate some studio lighting to create a dark atmosphere.

Shoot Four - Work Record

For this shoot, I have decided to implement props like in my previous shoot. I decided I was going to make somebody wear a plain white paper mask and get them to sit in a class room doing work, where I will capture people's reactions to it.

In this shoot, I hope to capture how people react to something unusual in an environment, which will act as a metaphorical representation of how people react to mental disorders in society.

This is my favourite image from my shoot. I feel that this image captures the mood I wanted to create with my shoot, which a mixture of comedic and dark. I like the way this image is composed; my subject is leaning into the shot and looking at the camera, which creates a kind of fourth wall break in that the person in the photograph is aware they are being photographed. Something else that I feel was effective was the way the people in the background are not paying attention; this implies that my subject in the mask, who represents somebody that has a mental disorder, wants to be noticed, as the people around him are not noticing his mental issues. Finally, I like the use of depth of field; I shot on f5.6, meaning there was a very narrow depth of field in the image, which draws your attention to the man in the mask and not to the people in the background.

 

However, this is an image from my shoot that I feel wasn't very effective. Firstly, I think that the image wasn't very well framed; There is far too much background in the image and it was taken from too far away from my subject. Also, there was somebody else on the right side that has their face cut mostly out of frame. I would have had them fully in frame but only having a small part of their face in the frame looks like they were not supposed to be there. Additionally, I feel that this image, while exposed well, is too dull and contains too many muted colours, which was due to using an automatic white balance rather than setting it manually for the light I was shooting in.

For my next shoot, I would like to keep to this subject matter, however, I would like to remove other people apart from my subject and shoot in a more natural location rather than a man made one.