Product Self Assessment

See the images here..

For the product series I was umming and arring about what to shoot for some time. I was initially after something that could be a similar theme but very different photos. Say a shot of socks in a yard then in a bedroom. Then I decided that this would have been more different than similar. I decided to shoot something that is sleek and stylish, but not too complex and over done. I wanted to keep a common theme and have sharp edges and leading lines.

I decided on a product that was visually powerful so that the product sold itself even on a “simple” background. I chose to shoot the red KitchenAid appliances as they were glossy and crisp. I shot them on a black background using a mirror and white card/paper. The concept was to have sharp geometric shapes to match the geometry of the products, with the punchy red stand out against the black and white.

I sent some quickly Photoshopped concepts that I made to Julian to get his approval of the design and to ensure that they weren’t too similar.

One of the dodgy photoshopped concepts I sent Julian.

Another of the dodgy photoshopped concepts I sent Julian.

The last of of the dodgy photoshopped concepts I sent Julian. Sadly they didn't stocke the hand mixers at Your Habitat.

The next hurdle I faced was actually getting the products. My girlfriend had a Mixmaster, but that left me with 5 more to get. I asked a total of 6 stores before getting lucky with number 7. They agreed to take my credit card details and they would lend me the display stock, with a promise of them coming back in once piece, and no scratches.

I shot the Mixmaster first; I tried to light it with a solid black rectangle over along the top and a slightly lopsided, but slim rectangle down the stand. There was no arrangement of the lights that gave me the reflections I was after in the same shot, so after speaking to Julian, I sandwiched two shots together in Photoshop. I used a reflector to the left of the shot to ensure the shadows were filled, the “KitchenAid” logo was lit and the attachment slot was easily visible. I shot this mixer with the dough attachment as I felt it looked more modern, which fitted with this mixer.

I then shot the toaster, using a rectangle piece of white card to match the shape and size of the base of the toaster. This formed a nice symmetry for the shot. I then lit it with a nice line over the top of the toaster and the lever. I had difficulty with the positioning of the toaster to get it exactly square, but the effort paid off. I would trim the paper edges to be more square and I would compose tighter, or square if I had my time again.

The next image I shot was the coffee grinder. This was easily the most difficult to shoot; the glass refractions and the awkward shape made sure of this. I shot with a large softbox close and above the grinder, slightly angled towards the front. This created nice reflections above and below the crest of the curved face. If I had my time again I would have used a reflector to light the top and left side black parts and then sandwiched photos to eliminate the reflections in the glass.

The processor was next. By this stage I had discovered they did not stock 6 products of the same colour. I had to re-think my series. I decided to do two white so the images could have symmetry if presented together, with either 2 red, 2 white and 2 red again or white on either end. This shot was made using a large, square red card making a diamond and triangle with the reflection. The diamond made for a good background for the clear glass/plastic. This was lit with a soft box to the front and a reflector to the left, parallel to the product in both instances. This made for less reflections and the large light sources meant there was no single points of reflection.

The blender was shot similar to the processor, this time with a large softbox to the front. This meant the light faded slightly at each edge and there were no nasty reflections as they were not appealing on the white product. I used a triangle to create a leading line in this more simple image and the “sunrise” was brightened slightly in Photoshop to make this shot more appealing and to make the product sand out a little more.

The final shot was that of the “industrial” mixer. This shot was lit similarly to the first, however on this image I tried for the thick rectangle and white reflection on the harder edges of the mixer. This made for a more defined, sharper shape to the mixer. For this product I left the whisk on and used a slightly harsher ratio, as this made the image feel more rustic and less contemporary, which I felt suited the product.

Overall I was a little disappointed I was unable to shoot all red products, however I do like how the processor and blender images turned out. I felt the coffee grinder was the hardest to light and resulted in the poorest image. However I really do like the first mixer image. It was shot on a higher resolution camera and I believe the quality shows.

Social Commentary / Documentary Series Self Assessment

See the images here..
See the proposal here..

My aim for this folio was to “document the progress of a friend of mine, Kieran Walsh fight for the New South Wales state kickboxing welterweight championship belt. I planned to document his training and preparation as well as the final fight. The series should tell Kieran’s story from a personal, intimate perspective.”

I posted previously in my blog examples the high contrast, grainy, black and white feel I was trying to achieve. I feel that although my images were shot digitally, I managed to produce images that had a similar to feel to the Mohammad Ali photos.

In the training images I tried to depict the “person” so this would contrast with the “fighter” at the end of the series. I followed Kieran for a few training sessions and the image of him kicking the boxing bag, to me, depicts Kieran’s power in what appears to be a lazy kick.

On the night of the fight I shot Kieran sitting around listening to his ipod, talking quietly with his coach, wrapping his hands, warming up, entering, fighting, the presentation and the celebrations. I tried to record every step and every little intimate moment that Kieran experiences before his fight. During the fight I captured the fleeting moments of the punches and kicks.

As with any series however, there was a limit on the number of photos I could use to tell my story, so images of the relaxation and the warm up were cut. I believe the remaining images were more than sufficient to give that private insight. I also believe I have captured the emotion of the fight, both of the fighters and the audience (specifically Kieran’s mother). The final image to me sums the fight up perfectly and the raw emotion in Kieran’s face and his body language is a powerful finish.

If I had my time again I would have a more intense training image, however these training images were just before a fight and Kieran was taking it easy. I would also use a higher shutter speed for the fight images as his punches and kicks were still too fast, even when shot at 1/400th of a sec and upwards.

Portraits Final

I just realised when making final checks for my Folio presentation tomorrow, that I haven't posted my "interesting background portraits" and my self assessments..

Up they go!

Portrait Self Assessment

See the shots here..


Interesting Background Portrait

The idea for this shot came after Jos was talking about a dress that her boyfriend had bought for her that she loved. We were talking about it and I told her that we should do a shoot using it. She told me it was black with white polka dots and I was trying to decide how I wanted to shoot it with an interesting background. I came up with the idea of a matching background so that she almost camouflaged into the background so that her face stood out. I then thought that I should try do something a little extra with makeup and hair to draw more attention to the face.

I purchased red eye shadow and did some test shots of my girlfriend Rachel. The test wasn’t too promising, but we put that down to poor makeup application. At the shoot I tried both a white with black polka dotted background as well as this black with white dots. The black polka dots were too small and blended in too well once out of focus. The white dots on black fabric worked really well and though they are out of focus (as required by the brief) they help the subject pop out of the shot.

I lit it with a nice soft 2:1 ratio, using a snoot as a hair light. Next time I will drop the snoot down a lot more as it ended up being too powerful. I also feel a reflector may have worked better than a flash for fill.

I had to be careful with the background as the fabric really showed creases and sagging, so it was clamped to the background with six clamps plus pins.

If I had my time again I would have shot looking down on Jos a little more to get a more “cutsie feel” which is what I was after. I would turn down the hair light and try a reflector for the fill. I would still like to try the red eye makeup done well by a professional makeup artist. I would also get more fabric to do a full body shot.


Multiple Exposure Portrait

This portrait came up after trying to teach a few other students to Juggle. During my practice for this shot I tried using juggling balls and one person juggling lots, however the image almost looked too real and there was no obvious element of multiple exposure. It was also too contrasty and anything in shadow disappeared to black.

To overcome the detailess shadows I shot with two lights, one at about 20* and the other at 60* again trying to get a 2 to 1 ratio on either side. They were flagged with the white reflectors with the bright side facing the camera. I used reflector dish shooting from behind the subject towards the camera to give a slight rim light and to help separate the subject from the background. This is why the black side of the flags faced away from the camera.

I then did two flashes of the subject so it looked like they were juggling with themselves, then I did another flash to add more balls into the air.

If I had my time again I would re-shoot with a different model and auto flash’s to eliminate the requirement for the “go” command, giving ugly facial expressions. I would also throw the balls in the air in their own flash so they do not overlap.

Presentation Methods Rational

I chose to use my image that was a reflection of the Poem “The Second Coming” by William Butler Yeats. I researched the poem and understood that it is about the second coming of Jesus and the apocalypse. I reflected on the poem depicting the apocalypse as it would appear to me, in my own city.

I shot a panorama of Canberra from Mt Ainslie and photoshopped the image to appear apocalyptic with the cross (the universal sign of Christianity) appearing. I printed the image large, so the viewer can see the detail in the image. The intention was to make the image appear as a record of the apocalypse as if displayed in a museum, the attached identification plate is also a reference to hanging in a museum.

Click this link for the full image (like last time it is 6mb.. so be patient)