Shape

Shape 

Definitions 

Shape  - A shape is an area enclosed by a line. It could be just an outline or it could be shaded in.

Shapes can be either geometric, like a circle, square or triangle, or irregular.

Negative space - The area which surrounds the main subject in your photo. 

This image is an example of negative space within a photo.

Image Bank 

Analysis of a photo 

This is an image of a woman. I believe that this photo could represent peoples insecurities and vulnerabilities. This is because there are very dull colours and the model has her hair over her face. This could imply that she was trying to hide herself and isn't comfortable being open.  Also the fact that we can only see half of her face this could imply an element of mystery. There is some negative space used within the photo. I believe this could represent that she feels emptiness around her. Also the fact that the negative space is black could represent her upsetting feelings. 

Artist Research

Debby Harrison enjoys creating something from nothing. She takes images that are thriving with colour and she wants to make her images simplistic and give them a graphic style. 

The artist that I have researched is Debby Harrison. She takes photos of different types of food related objects and food itself. I really like these images because she uses a range of different shapes,  some of them have been created naturally and some she has physically placed within the composition herself.  The image of all of the cupcake cases could represent happiness due to the wide range of colours including some saturated colours like yellow and red. The fact that the cupcake cases are scattered around creates lots of different shapes. Although they are all the same shape by having some placed on their side and some placed on the bottom it draws your eyes to the different shapes that can be created with that same object. This specific image has been produced by using everyday baking equipment. This is what i like about this photographers work because she uses everyday things that you would normally see and make them more interesting and presents them in a way that is eye catching and bright. The image of the biscuit cutters is very interesting because she has placed a lot of different shapes together in a creative way. I believe that this image could represent things in the world that are close together but they do not exactly fit. For example people of different ages may be working in close proximity but may not interact. This could imply that everyone is different and unique. Overall Debby Harrison takes very interesting images of everyday baking equipment. I would like to incorporate this into my own work and use everyday items to create different shapes. 

Contact Sheets 

My intentions for this shoot were to capture images of baking related objects. The photographer that I looked at did focus on food in general however I wanted my photos to be easily accessible to me.  I think that this shoot was successful because I captured images from different angles and I incorporated a lot of different elements of baking and food related items. The unsuccessful elements of my shoot were that I did not have some of the equipment that I would have liked. For example I did not have a sheet of white paper big enough for some of the backgrounds I would have lied to use. I have annotated my contact sheet by ticking the images I feel initially look successful and I have crossed the images I feel were not as successful. I also made small labels on some of the photos as to why I crossed or ticked them.

My best images 

In reference to my best images...

The first image that I chose and one of my best the close up of a cupcake. I tried to change the composition of this image so that the cupcake was the focal point of the photo however I also wanted it to not just be placed in the centre of the frame. To capture the image I used a wide f-stop because this allowed me to use a smaller depth of field. This ensured that the cupcake was in focus and the detail was sharp.  

The second image that I have chosen is one that I tried to replicate from the photographer that I looked at. I used a white background the make the silver cutter shape look clearer. When capturing the photo I shot some of the background that was not needed so I would like to crop that using photoshop. I also used natural light because I shot this photo outside. I shot this image in the afternoon meaning that the sun was not directly above me. I purposely did this because this meant that gentle shadows were created which I liked as this created some subtle shape which contrasted the harsh shapes made by the biscuit cutters. 

The image I have chosen of the cupcake cases was inspired by Debby Harrison. I liked the way that she did it however I wanted to add something to the image. The image of the donuts in my image bank inspired me to add some sprinkles into this photo. This is because it added some extra colour to the photo and it created small shapes in between the large shapes of the cupcake cases. 

The image of ice cream scoops was also inspired by the photographer that I looked closely at. She incorporates ice cream within her photos however she assembled it in a different way. I wanted to add my own unique ideas to the photo therefore I decided to lay it out with the individual scoops in a line. This photo was taken inside therefore I used an ISO of 400. 

The final image is using biscuit cutters but laying them out individually. This really accentuates the different shapes that I have used and I believe is very interesting to look at because the saturated colour pink has been used as a background which makes the shoes of the biscuit cutters stand out a lot more.  

Images that require improvement 

The images above are images that I have taken which I believe require improvement. The first image I have selected is of different food colouring in bowls. I took this image at home and I did not have certain resources. For example I wanted to take the photos on a white background but I had to place the pieces of paper together because I did not have one big enough. This meant that the background was not pure white and smooth which I feel ruined the image. I also had the camera on a shutter speed of 1/200 which I believe was too low. The camera was on auto when taking this image and I feel as though it did not capture enough light. The photo came out slightly darker than I wanted. If I were to reshoot this image then I could use the manual setting on my camera so that I could increase the shutter speed to enhance the overall colour of the photo.

The second image that I feel requires improvement was taken at a slightly slanted angle. When taking this photo there was a lot of unnecessary background. The composition of this photo did not come out how I wanted it to. I would have liked the image to be closer to the cupcakes themselves. Once photographing this I decided to take photos that focused a lot closer on the cupcakes because I did not want there to be other objects in the background. This also takes the focus away from the shape of the cupcakes which is what I was trying to portray within my photos. 

A03: AO3: Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions, reflecting critically on work and progress.

I have gathered the ideas for my photographs mainly from my artist research. The images that the photographer takes are of multiple different food items. Her general style is using pastel colours however I decided to use some more saturated colours. This is because I wanted to use the resources that I already had at home and because I felt like this would make the food stand out a bit more. The photographer I focused on uses the shape of different foods and food related items to create some shapes that looked slightly different to just food. I really liked some of her ideas and I tried to copy what she had done but add some small extra parts which were my own ideas. For example when photographing the biscuit cutters I wanted to add a vibrant coloured background and I photographed individual cutters to make the shapes more distinctive. Debby Harrison uses a lot of different compositions within her work. I really liked the way she uses negative space however I also really like how in some photos the objects fill the whole frame of the image.  

A02: AO2:Explore and select appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques and processes, reviewing and refining ideas as work develops.

I used a canon eos 400d to take my images. When taking some of the photos I used the auto setting on my camera however this did make some of my photos slightly dark. I wanted to brighten up the photos I was taking so I used the manual setting on the camera. When taking the photos of the cupcakes I specifically altered the aperture to a larger f number. This meant that I could take the photo using a smaller depth of field and make the background blurry. I did this because I wanted to focus in on the fine details that were in the cupcake. When capturing the images of the different coloured food dye I wanted to have a slightly bigger shutter speed to let more light into the camera. I used a shutter speed of 1/200 which enhanced the brighter colours and made them stand out a lot more. 

To improve my photos I used photoshop. For each individual photo I altered the setting to enhance the individual images. Some of the photos required me to use the cropping tool to get rid of some irrelevant background however I also used this to just crop out some of the edges in the photos. I also used the brightness and contrast tool to make the colours stand out a lot more. The curves tool and the auto tone settings made the bright colours of the foreground and the lighter colours in the background stand out. The curves tool also made the white background slightly crisper. Below are screenshots showing how I edited the images using photoshop. The screenshots have been generalised to represent what I did to all of the images that I edited. When editing some of the images I also used the clone stamp tool to erase some of the imperfections within the photos.

A04: AO4: Present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and, where appropriate, makes connections between visual and other elements.

Overall my artist research is the main piece of inspiration I have had when creating a series of images. I also chose specific elements from some of the photos in my image bank which I incorporated in my images. The image bank also showed me a range of different way that you can compose a photo. For example i really liked the mage of the grapes on the vine. The photographer used the rule of thirds and had the rest of the image as negative space. Negative space was something that I looked at during my theory and I liked the effect that it had on the images.  My images specifically relate to my photographer because I have captured photos of food and for related items. I decided to use a theme of baking so that I can create a strong series of images that represent shape. My photos also relate to my photographer because they have been taken from different angles. For example the photographer takes some photos from on top of the objects, looking down and some of the images are also taken at a slanted angle or from head on to the image. I specially took my images from man different angles to try and relocate this style of work. 

My best images 

Below isa a series of best images that I have created. I believe that my images could represent a happy and friendly atmosphere due to all of the bright and saturated colours that I have used. I also believe they could represent a recipe because there are different elements of a recipe within the series I have produced. For example there are the ingredients like the ice cream and the baking equipment you will need like cutters. 

Texture and Pattern

Texture and Pattern

Definitions 

Texture - the feel, appearance, or consistency of a surface or a substance.

Pattern - a repeated decorative design.

Theory 

Texture can be accentuated by different amounts of light. For example at midday the light is vertically overhead. This could mean that the texture would be very visible. 

Pattern is the key to a good composition and when it is used correctly it can turn a very bland and dull image into something that is very dramatic and eye catching. 

Artist Research - Patrice de Villiers

Patrice de Villiers is an English photographer who is based in London. She specialises in food and drink photography. She emphasises on food inspiring art.

 Villiers takes photos of different types of food but she focuses heavily on the pattern and textures that have been created within that specific food. This photographer uses food to experiment with different compositions and is very creative in the way the objects are presented. The third image down is an image of a ------- with a sharp outer shell and it is smoothly textured inside. I really like this photo because I feel like it represents that thing or people may look dangerous but on the inside they are not. Also the fact that the two halves of the object are only just touching could represent that people are afraid to see what's inside a person just because of what they look like. I really like the composition of the photo because of the plain background. The fruit has a moist looking texture on the inside and a pale brown outer shell. The plain background draws your eyes straight tot the texture that has been created within the food itself. I think that this work has been achieved  in a studio because there is a lot of lighting and the shadow look as though they have been created due to where the light source is. I would also like to try and use this in my own work. The second image is a photo that looks at pattern and texture. I believe it is of the upper side of a mushroom. This image focuses heavily on the intricate detail of the food. Villiers has specifically chosen to use a dark background. I believe this is because she looks at the colour of the object she is photographing and then decides which colour background would make the object stand out most and in this case a darker background really makes the texture of the mushroom pop out. The repeated lines could represent the everyday use of the food. For example people would regularly eat food in their day to day lives however because of the slightly curved lines within the mushroom this could represent irregular things that happen in everyday life.      

Image bank 

This image bank has a range of photos that represent pattern and texture. Each of the images that I have selected have elements that I would like to incorporate into my own photographs. 

Contact Sheets

The intentions for my shoot were to create some different patterns and textures using fruit and vegetables. I wanted to be a little bit creative with the way I physically presented them because I believe that my artist does this. I believe that overall the shoot was successful however some of the images I took at home did not have enough lighting or a plain background. This made the composition slightly off. On the other hand I believe that the photos I took in the studio had good lighting and were set out in a way that draws your attention to the pattern and texture. Some of the images were slightly out of focus and this is because I moved the camera too close to the fruit however to overcome this I zoomed the camera out slightly and I plan to crop some of the background out in photo shop. I have annotated my contact sheet by ticking the images I feel initially look successful and I have crossed the images I feel were not as successful. I also made small labels on some of the photos as to why I crossed or ticked them.

  

My best images 

In reference to my best images...

The image of the slice of kiwi was taken specifically to portray the formal element of texture. This photo was taken by placing the slice of kiwi on a light box. I also used a tripod to support the camera as I was taking the photos. This allowed me to get the best composition that I could. I wanted the fruit to be the centre of the photo. I also increased the shutter speed slightly so that there was a longer exposure time. By doing this the light box looks pure white instead of being a slightly off white colour. 

The photo I took of the raspberries was very interesting because it closely looked at both texture and pattern. This photo required a lot of altering of setting in the studio and on the camera. I had to use extra external lights to get the image to be sharp and bright. At first the camera did not have a long enough exposure time and the top of the raspberries were very dark. This image was specifically inspired by my image bank where I gathered a very close up and detailed photo of raspberries. I really liked the texture that they create. 

The photograph of the mushroom, in my opinion, stands out amongst my best images. This is because it is the only one that I selected that is a vegetable rather than a fruit. I really like this because I feel as though a completely different texture has been created. Rather than it being slightly moist like the fruit it makes your eye immediately focus on the thin intricate lines in the mushroom. This image was fairly difficult to take because the stalk of the mushroom did not look very aesthetically pleasing and it got in the way of the fine details. To overcome this I used photo shop to crop the image. This made sure that the focal point of the photo was the texture.

My final best image was a specific photo I took that I believe was quite creative. The composition of the photo is very interesting because the fruit is not just directly in the centre. The fruit is introduced into the photo from the right hand side. To make the image more creative was an idea that I got from my artist research. Also there is a mixture of different textures all in one image. This makes it very interesting to look at and it is not like the rest of the images I have selected therefore I believe that it stands out.

Images that require improvement

The images above are two of the images I felt needed improvement. The first image of the lemon and lime slices was very over exposed. The camera was set on a longer shutter speed than needed. To take the image the fruit was placed on a light box and used overhead lights in the studio. Due to this and the thickness of fruit the exposure did not need to be very big as there was a lot of excess lighting. The longer shutter speed there was too much light and the fruit was washed out. To overcome this I needed to use a shorter shutter speed. Once I realised this I continued using a shutter speed of 1/50 instead of 1/100.

For the second image that I feel needs improving, firstly I do not feel as though the composition of the photo was correct and, unlike the first image this was under exposed. There was not enough light captured by the camera meaning that the shutter speed was too short. The detail within the lime wasn't clear because the whole image was darker than I wanted it to be.

AO3:

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

The ideas for my photos mainly came from my artist research of Patrice de Villiers. I feel as though her images were slightly more experimental than mine. By this I mean that the way she places the objects in the photo were very creative. Although I did try to experiment slightly with how I placed the fruit and vegetables I found it difficult to make them stay in the same place unless they were flat on the light box which I photographed them on. If I were to reshoot these photos I would try and use other people to help me compose the fruit and vegetables in a more creative way. Some of my ideas also came from my image bank. Within this I looked at some images of fruit creating texture and pattern, I really liked this because the texture is very unique for each particular fruit. I took some of my images at home however most of them were taken in a studio within my college. This was very beneficial to me because I could use extra lights and the fruit and vegetables were placed on a light box which really made the texture of the fruit visible. Most of the images came out as expected however some of the images I took at home did not have the composition that I would have hoped for. I believe this was because I did not have a tripod to position my camera and keep it very still. This meant that I couldn't perfectly centre the fruit in the frame of the image. Once facing these struggles at home I decided to use the studio because I felt like I would produce better quality photos. For this reason I believe all of the images I took in the studio turned out better than the ones I photographed at home. Using a studio was an idea that I got from my photographer research because I believe that Villiers used a studio to place the light source where she wanted to and so that she could create the exact composition she was looking for. 

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

I used a canon 400d to take all of my images. Before altering any of the camera settings I put the camera in manual mode and it was on a shutter speed of 1/100 and the f-number was f/5.6. Before taking any photos I changed the iso down from 1400 to 200. This was because there was a lot of lighting. When working in the studio I had to alter the camera setting depending on what I was photographing. For example, when photographing the kiwi I did not need to use any extra exterior lights however I wanted the background to look a crisp white colour. This meant that I had to have a longer shutter speed therefore I changed the shutter speed to 1/120. This allowed a slightly longer exposure time meaning that there was more light allowed into the photo. When I was photographing the raspberries they looked very dark when using these camera settings. To overcome this problem I used extra lights to brighten up the photo. Due to the extra lighting that I used I lowered the shutter speed to 1/50 as I didn't need as long of an exposure time. If I would have left it at 1/100 then the light would have flooded the image and it would be too bright. I also adjusted the aperture to an f-number of f/8. I used a light box the place the different types of food onto. I used this because the light shining upwards made the texture of the fruit very visible. I also used a tripod to adjust the camera positions. This was very helpful as in many situations I only needed to make slight adjustments. If I was holding the camera I may have not been able to achieve the correct composition. This is what I believe happened with the photos I took at home with no access to these extra resources.  

To improve my images I used photo shop in a number of different ways. Each photo was slightly cropped. For the image of the mushroom below I cropped out the stalk because I didn't feel as though it was necessary however some of the other images were only cropped slightly just to remove some of the background. This was because I didn't want to take the photos too close to the object because then there would have been a chance it would have been out of focus. I also used the curves tool and the brightness and contrast tool to adjust the colours within the photo. These tools just slightly enhanced the colours. For the image below I also used the auto tone tool. This adjusts all of the tones within the photo and balances them out. Also when editing the photo of the kiwi I used the healing brush tool to get rid of some of the small black dots which were on the fruit. This made the image look a little more professional and neat. 

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

My artist research helped me to gain ideas on how to physically place objects within the composition of the image to make it more creative. This helped me to come up with some unique ideas of my own, for example I the image of the different fruit skins and the image I took of cut up banana piled up into a tower. Although some of these ideas did not come out the way I wanted them too I do believe that I tried to be experimental. Also due to the photos being taken in a professional studio I was able to use the correct amount of lighting to bring out the detail in each photo I took. In addition my artist research helped me to focus on how a plain background can make one object the main focal point of the image.

My final images 

I believe that my final edited photos represent a very healthy lifestyle and they show the textures and patterns created within fruit and vegetables. I feel like this could be because I have used a number of saturated colours. I also feel as though they directly relate to m artist research because they are all images of some kind of food. Also they look at the different ways that fruit and vegetables can be arranged and organised.

 

AO1: Develop ideas through sustained and focused investigations informed by contextual and other sources, demonstrating analytical and critical understanding.

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

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

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