LO2 - Photoshoot evaluations

23rd January 2016
For this photo-shoot I went into town planning to mainly photograph people dressed in attire that represented different sub-cultures. I took the images on my phone which has an 8MP rear camera, so they will not be as high quality images as those taken within a 650 DSLR camera.
I successfully managed to get pictures of multiple people dressed in vintage and hipster clothing and also a few shots that expressed how I wanted my actual pictures to be laid out- those of my mum specifically. If I'd have more freedom with the models and been able to direct them more about town instead of a brief picture then my pictures could've been a lot more accurate. It was a challenge finding people that I believed were dressed in a way that made them stand out, but obviously not too difficult as I did manage to find models. I didn't do a lot of planning for the shoot as I knew I only had the camera on my phone to work with but I planned using my mum as a backup and helped decide what she would wear on the day so I could take photographs of her if I couldn't find anyone else. In my actual shoot I will obviously have a quality camera and models so this will not be a problem. I'll try and use the colour and composition of the model's clothes to my advantage, and also use the rule for thirds in a lot of my images to have a visually pleasing setup. I may make the background slightly out of focus so that there is a smaller centre of interest and the viewer focuses solely on the model.


29th January 2016
The settings I used for the 650 DSLR on this photo-shoot were: aperture F5.6, Shutter 3200 and auto focus. This objective of this photo-shoot was to show different photographic techniques through our images; sadly the weather was terrible on the day so we did not get to stay out for long. The images we did take were not particularly impressive as we spent most of the photo-shoot wanting to get back inside as soon as possible! It was challenging to find anything that looked like an interesting way of showcasing any particular photography skill, luckily I already have several photos on my blog entry 'photographic elements' that show off these different techniques. We planned for a few minutes before we went out, we got several photos in locations we'd believed may be aesthetically appealing (such as the walls covered with graffiti) but a lot of them did not turn out as well as we'd hoped. If the weather had been better we would've had more of an opportunity to take pictures without worrying about damaging the equipment- and also more time to properly plan out what I wanted to photograph. the rules of photography in my actual shoot will focus more on colour and composition that anything else, hopefully a lot of them will show off the rule of thirds as well. Each model I take pictures of may also create somewhat of a narrative as they have an interesting look about them that different sub-cultures can relate to.


8th February 2016
The settings I used for the 650 DSLR on this photo-shoot were: aperture F5.6, Shutter 1/80 and auto focus. On this photo-shoot I got pictures of my models Alex (stereotypical 'chav) and Kayla (stereotypical 'hipster'), which went very well- improving gradually in quality as the shoot went on. I took pictures in the peace and winter gardens as well as Fargate. Initially I used the flash on my photographs of Alex, which ended up giving each image a Jürgen Teller feel, then turned the flash off for the rest of the images so I managed to experiment with style. I tried to use composition effectively in each of my shots as well as focusing on the rule of thirds in medium shots. I believe the best photos I took were the ones of Alex outside the fair ride; in most of these the background was out of focus which created a great contrast from the obvious monochrome of the 'chav' outfit to the neon lights of the ride in the background.


12th February 2016
The settings I used for the 650 DSLR on this photo-shoot were: aperture F5.6, Shutter 1/80 and auto focus. On the 12th I photographed Bradley (stereotypical 'Goth') by the Cathedral and around Fargate in Sheffield town centre, it was quite a dreary day which managed to reflect the cliché mood of the sub-culture quite well. I had a lot of opportunity to experiment with focus and low/high angles in my shoot, especially around the graveyard. I feel like it could've been possible for me to experiment further with angles but we were only allowed to do so much without obstructing pedestrians or climbing on top of private property. Less planning went into this photo-shoot than the previous one, whilst this gave me more freedom with my photographs it also meant I was less prepared for the shoot- so I'll try to do more sketching/planning for the next one.


4th March 2016
I will use the 650 DSLR and tripod to capture a photo-shoot in the UTC building- because of this my subjects will all be in standard UTC uniform. I will use the building's space to create a sense of the model being abstract- being apart from the other people in the college. This would be a good way to enforce my themes as it can show different sub-cultures trying to express themselves in a work environment, connoting an aspect of a person being oppressed by situational boundaries. I want the subjects to be lighted by the natural sources within the room (and no flash), as this should be relatively bright I will use it to connote a mood of harsh realism. The camera will be on the portrait setting as my focus for this project is the expressions of the subjects; along with this the aperture will be F5.6, have a 1/20 shutter speed to add a slight blur to anyone moving in the background, and I will be using manual focus. The images will be out of focus in the background (shallow depth of field) to give the individual being photographed an artificial sense of being taken away from the rest of the world momentarily. A lot of the images will be taken from high angles as I feel it gives the viewer an almost omniscient presence when looking at the photograph. The pictures will be in full colour to further exhibit the physical declaration of my sub-cultures nature.
I think the photo-shoot was relatively successful as I got the chance to experiment with my shots, especially the camera focus. As well as this I used my photographs to study people and allow them to express themselves as will be shown in my final images. I will not be using any images from this shoot though as most of the photos were not in keeping with my theme and the models were not appropriately dressed.

LO2 - Initial photoshoots

23rd January 2016

29th January 2016

Here we were trying to show composition and create a more artistic effect by making the image out of focus, it did not work as well as we'd hoped- if we had taken a closer shot then we would've at least had the advantage of textures making the picture look interesting.

This image was used to show the contrast between bright colours and monotone, the myriad of colours also sets out a clearer focus point for the viewer as their eyes are attracted to the graffiti.

When taking this photo I was hoping it would abide by the law of thirds but this did not work out particularly well, instead the photo focuses a lot more on the natural lighting of the scene. There is also relatively interesting composition and depth because of the buildings.

LO2 - Location recce

This is a location recce complete with photographs of the area of Sheffield City Center I will be taking my photographs in:

 

LO2 - Treatment

What is the brief?

The brief we were given was to deliver five photos we have taken for an exhibition at the Millennium gallery, each revolving around the theme of 'identity'. These photos will be picked out  and edited from numerous pictures we have taken over the course of the project.

Who is the audience?
The audience will mainly be the local people of Sheffield visiting the millennium gallery, although some may have travelled from further away or have varying knowledge of the arts. I want my photographs to target a variety of different people and different sub-cultures because of the themes of representation shown in the images.

Key dates for milestone deadlines
The entirety of the project must be completed by the 30th of April- paperwork and photographs. I will base my self-set deadlines from this, hopefully having done location recces and risk assessments as well as getting models by the 20th of March so I can begin taking my photographs. By the 10th of April I wish to have all of the paperwork for my project done so I can begin to focus on editing the images I have and refining them and getting feedback on my previous work for the deadline.

Equipment

The equipment I will be using is a 650 DSLR camera on a DF-61 tripod. No lights will be necessary as I will be using natural light to illuminate the modelling scene.

Props and models

I will be needing models to photograph for my photoshoot of whom will be friends or family that have volunteered to represent a sub-culture. For them to be believable this will require suitable costumes and makeup, hopefully a lot of the clothes will be available to borrow off of family- if not it will be easy to buy the clothes cheaply in stores such as Primark. Makeup will also be important for my models, I may do the makeup for a lot of people using my own products as I am fairly confident in my skills and I will have a vision of what that sub-culture should look like. Here is a list of models and the props/makeup they will need:

Bradley Webster - (Stereotypical Goth) Black skinny jeans, dark shoes, black t-shirt (possible band reference), accessories (chain necklaces, rings), has agreed to temporary black hair dye and eyeliner.

Alex Campbell - (Stereotypical 'Chav') Tracksuit bottoms, adidas top, scruffy trainers, possible gold chain around neck and for makeup he will only need to have messy hair.
Kayla Baugh - (Stereotypical Hipster) Fake hipster-styled glasses, denim bottoms, beanie, doc martens and patterned shirt.

Health and safety considerations
I have referred to any dangers in my risk assessment, and there is nothing dire that I need to consider. Some of the examples from my risk assessment are: bad weather, tripping over equipment or dropping equipment on my feet. All these should only result in minor injury or damage to the equipment instead of the model/photographer.

Legal and ethical considerations
One of the most important aspects of taking my photographs will be ensuring what I am photographing is legal, and also that I am photographing in public places so any strangers pictured in the background are not being ethically affected. I will also need all of my models to sign model release forms before the shoot to say that I am permitted to use the photos of them. It is important when I am photographing in a place like town to try not getting business logos in the background as legally there are numerous stores I would not be permitted without explicit consent to have in my images. This can be solved by blurring the background of my images if necessary.

LO2 - Risk assessment

LO2 - Production plan

Work plan 

I will be needing models for my photo-shoot, of whom I am hoping will be friends and family- this way they will likely aid me for free and will be more pliable for me to use as models. All of my shoot will take place in town as it is easily accessible, in locations such as the winter gardens or inside stores (for instance plantology may be an appealing location for photographs). I will need to do both location recce’s and risk assessments for these areas so I and my models are aware of any potential dangers and I can refer to the locations when planning the shoot in further detail. As well as this I was, of course, obviously need the props and costumes that relate to the sub-cultures I wish to study via my project. As an example, for the goth outfit I will need dark clothes such as a black hoodie, skinny jeans and effective makeup. I may also need props for them, a ‘nerd’ may stereotypically carry a book for instance. I will also be needing a Velbon DF-61 tripod and canon 650 DSLR camera in order to actually take the photographs.

Activities/tasks

The tasks included in my project will be: gaining models, do the location recce and risk assessments, taking pictures of them (JPEG) dressed in different stylistic outfits and finally altering them using photoshop to end up with the miserable effect. Set out in the style of a work flow (order in which I’ll complete my tasks), it’ll look like this:

• Finish planning camera settings and lens’
• Recruit my models by asking around 
• Complete a recce of the potential locations and take photographs
• Do risk assessments of each location
• Consider if I will be needing any extra lighting within them
• Buy/borrow the necessary props and outfits for the shoot
• Make a shoot schedule at my model’s convenience
• Take the photos over a period of (hopefully) two weeks
• Choose five of my best
• Edit them using photoshop until they meet my vision

Hopefully, this wall all take place within a two to three week period (lasting only six hours in total) as I will be shooting majorly at weekends because of the convenience of the natural light.