Photography Assignment Four - Evaluation

The artistic strengths of my photos would be that they are very creative, they capture things that really represent London and the streets of London. The technical strengths would be that they are edited using a range of tools and techniques to make them more aesthetically pleasing and they are made to look the best they possibly can. The weaknesses of my photos would be that they are not as detailed as they could be. I think I could try to focus more on the little details of each photograph rather than just trying to get everything I can into the photograph. I think I need to look at angles and shots more, to find the best angle and shots to capture an object rather than just making sure I can see it through the lense.

I feel my photos have met my own expectations because I feel I have created a wide range of different photographs displaying all sorts of different, unusual images. I have edited them in a variety of ways to highlight the best features of each photograph and to show that I can use different the editing tools to create different effects on my photos. I have tried to use all sorts of effects and editing tools to show how different each one looks.

I have been influenced a lot by Umberto Verdoliva, an established street photographer who produces a lot of black and white photographs of every day things we’d find on streets all over the world. Verdoliva really inspires me because his photographs are unusual and unique. He manages to make everyday things look especially interesting and entertaining. I love his use of the black and white effect on most of his photos, I think it looks really classy. He also tends to use black and white photographs but with one distinct colour in it such as red or yellow. These colours look really good against the black and white background and stand out really well. I used this technique in some of my photographs to make the red London buses stand out against a London bridge I changed to black and white. Verdoliva also uses a technique that really inspired me to use in my own work and this is the blur effect. He makes certain parts of his photographs blurred so that he has a clearer focal point and I think it is really effective. I used this in my own work quite a lot, to make my images stand out more. I like to use the contrast tool quite a lot to make the darker, shaded areas of my photos stand out more. I also love to create photos with juxtaposition, like Umberto does. This just makes photos more interesting and entertaining. 

I think I have developed a range of skills in photography such as the ability to manipulate and edit the photos I take to make them look the best they can, with resources such as Photoshop.  I have also developed the ability to pick out objects that are unusual and interesting to capture. I have learnt the meanings of the key photography terms such as white balance, composition, aperture, and different forms of lighting. I can use all of these key terms when writing about my photographs and can use them when editing and working on my photos. 

The skills I have developed in technology would be the use of Photoshop, I have learnt how to use the program and the different tools available to manipulate and edit my photos. This has proved to be really useful in making my photos unique and stand out.

I think my photos and techniques do look really professional and that they can compare to professional images because they are creative and unique. I think they are edited really well, to make them look the best that they can and they are not over edited. I have used a range of techniques and tools to get my images to look professional and to stand out.

I intend to develop skills in the Photography area by continuing to take photographs of anything and everything in my spare time to get better practice at what looks good, what kind of things are most photogenic, what angles and shots are better to use and to get better practice with the different editing tools and techniques available. The more practice I get, the better I should get. If i carry on using all of the effects and key terms i have learnt like, contrast and composition, then i think i can really develop my photographs and develop my photography skills. Using these effects help to extend my creative ability and push my photographs to their maximum potential. 

Key Words

Shutter - A camera shutter is a piece of equipment that allows light to pass through it fora certain period of time. 
Aperture - An opening that light travels through, limiting the amount of light that reaches the camera. 
JPEG - Means Joint Photographic Experts Group and it is the most common form of saving images. 
Composition - This means the arrangement of visual elements in a photograph, putting together the objects that make up your image. 
White Balance - This is an adjustable camera setting that makes white objects appear white in photographs. This setting defines what the colour light looks like in specific lighting conditions. 
Landscape - Landscape is a section of rural scenery or countryside or land that is photographed because it is aesthetically pleasing. 
Macro - This is a type of up-close photography, normally of very small objects such as insects or flowers. 
Portrait - This is a photograph of a person, normally a head and shoulders shot. 
Cropping - Cutting out edges of a photo to focus on one thing, this allows you to chose how much of the photograph you want to be seen. 
Contrast -  The separation between the darkest and brightest areas of the image.
Sepia - Sepia photographs are images that are a redish-brown colour pigment. 
Diffused Light - A light that produces soft shadows. It is usually bounced off something, or shone through a cloth.
Hard Light - A more abrasive lighting approach that creates sharp edged shadows; as opposed to soft lighting.
Three Point Lighting - The basis for most lighting arrangements where a subject is lit from three directions in a scene; backlighting, key lighting, fill light.
Photojournalism - This is a form of journalism that takes images and photographs to tell a story.
Juxtaposition - This means putting things close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast. 
Representation - The action of speaking or acting on behalf of someone or the state of being so represented.
Connotation - An idea or meaning associated with a particular word or thing. 

Assignment 3 - Considerations for Photographers

Tips and Techniques and the Do's and Dont's for Street Photographers

Street Photographers should always ask permission if they capture anyone in their photographs, they can't take a persons photo without their consent.

Street Photographers should capture something that represents the streets of the place they are in.

They should always come up with their own new ideas.



Street Photographers should always follow the copyright laws. They could get into serious trouble if they do not comply with these laws and they take ideas or photos that are not theirs.

They shouldnt photograph anything rude or offensive.



Ethical Considerations for Street Photographers

Street Photographers should photograph anything racist. They should be careful what, who, and where they photograph. For example, if a street photographer were to photograph a muslim in an offlicence, that would be really offensive and slightly racist, it is juxtaposition. They need to be careful what they take their photographs of. Street photographers should not take pictures of other peoples children, to be respectful. Ethical considerations for street photographers are about representing people in the right way and in a positive way, its about how you portray them. It is also about photographing them in ways that are not offensive, racist, disrespectful to their religion, their age or their sex.

Assignment 3 - London Street Photography

These are a few of my best photos from the March 2012 London Trip. I feel these photographs really represent London and the streets of London. They show everyday things that you would see around London and they show some iconic objects and images. 

I achieved this image by editing the colour to sepia, bringing out the sharpness and then using softening and blur tools to give it the soft, warm feel. I think the photo looks really vintage looking, especially with the curved edges i added. This really shows juxtaposition, the photo itself is really old and vintage looking yet the London Eye in the photo is new. 

I achieved this image by sharpening it all to make it stand out more. I also adjusted the greyscale to make it almost black and white but heightened the red colours of the red bus to stand out.  I think the one red area stands out really well against the black white and grey. The contrast in this photo is really high and it gives it more definition between the light and shaded areas.   

This photograph of the London eye   i achieved by adjusting the sky blue colour to make it more bright and vibrant. I then adjusted  the sharpness of the whole photo to make it more clear and stand out more.   In this photo there is a really strong use of hard light, the sun and it really makes the darkness of the London Eye stand out.

This photograph of the graffiti i achieved by turning the picture into black and white and sharpening it. I adjusted the colour levels so that only the colour blue is picked up. I think this looks really different and stands out. I adjusted the contrast levels and the whit balance in this photo so that the darker shaded areas really stand out. 

I achieved this image by turning it into black and white. I adjusted he colour levels so that only blue would come through and i think it goes really well with the black and white. I think the feel of the underground graffiti scene represents London well. The contrast levels were also adjusted here to make the light parts of the photo brighter and the darker areas stand out against them more.

I love this photo i think it looks really different and really stands out. It is bright and colourful and the graffiti writing really represents London. I achieved this photo by brightening all of the colours that appear in the photo and then adding a 'vibrant' effect on it to really make the colours bold and bright. I then used a softened blur on the areas surrounding the colourful graffiti to make the graffiti stand out even more.  This photo gives a really interesting bubbily texture and the amount of colour in it is amazing.  

I achieved this photograph by editing the colour to black and white and softening the photo. I added a soft blur to the photo to give it a warm, soft feel. I decided to take this picture because Street Mimers are something that represent London, they are something you see on the streets of London everyday. This photo gives off a really warm tone and colour. 

I achieved this photo by again, adjusting the photograph to black and white, but adjusting the colour levels to only pick out the colour blue. I then added a softened blur to the photo to make the focal point of the photo what is at the end of the long pole. I think this looks really effective. 

This photograph is one of my favourites. The street statues are iconic for London, you can find them on streets all over the city. I achieved this photograph by changing the colour levels to sepia and then sharpening the whole photograph to make the darker areas more clear and stand out more. I  think the  creamy colour of the sky gives the photo a warm soft glow. With the bridge and the River Thames in the background i think this photo especially represents London. 

Assignment 3 - Umberto Verdoliva Street Photographer

All of Umberto Verdoliva’s work is in black and white and I love black and white photographs because I think they look really stylish and classy. They look sophisticated. Umberto Verdoliva uses a lot of shadows in his work to create unusual images and shapes.

Umberto tends to photograph unusual objects and a lot of close up photographs to really try to trick the mind of his audience. Each photo is so creative and imaginative, you can see that a lot of thought has gone into creating each photo.

Verdoliva seems to like using layers in some of his photos and semi-transparent images to create a really unique effect. I think this is really creative and it looks great. Also, he tends to make quite a lot of his work, blurred in some parts, to bring focus to the important focal points of the photograph.

I chose to look at Umberto Verdoliva because of a lot of different reasons, one being his use of black and white. I also love the way he uses shadows in his photgraphs to create different shapes and patterns, I think he is very imaginative.

I love the way Umberto Verdoliva is so random with his work, he photographs really simple everyday objects but in a really interesting way using shadows and blurred and softened effects. On the other hand, he creates really unique and unusual layered image photographs and puts lots of different photographs on top of one another but makes them slightly transparent so that you have lots and lots going on in the one photo that is made up of all the different other photos. 

Assignment Two - White Balance

These photographs show how different a change to the white balance makes a photo look. This photgraph was taken on the 'Florescent' white balance setting and makes the photo look orangey in colour and gives it a warm feel to it. This setting doesn't give as clear an image as some of the other white balance settings, for example, Cloudy. It seems more blurred and faded together than the photograph below. The focal point in this image would be the diamond in the circle in the middle.

This photograph was taken on the 'Cloudy' white balance setting and gives a clearer image. It is more of the right colour compared to the other one and more realistic colour wise. The focal point of this picture is again the diamond in the middle circle.

Assignment Two - Hard and Soft Light

 This photo really demonstrates hard light and you can see the dark shadows really clear behind the object. I feel the main focal point of this photograph is Joe's smile. You are then drawn to the huge shadow behind him, it it like Joe is looking out of the corner of his eye at the shadow, It is a really interesting photograph that demonstrates the uses of lights and shadows and the hard light within this photograph.

This photo really demonstrates soft light, there are no shadows to be seen behind the object despite the bright light being shined at him. The object in the photo, Joe, is really clear and detailed. It also looks really sharp which makes him stand out more. I think you are automatically drawn into Joes eyes in this picture, they are the main focal point. Whereas in the other photograph you are drawn into his smile.

Assignment Two - Portrait Photography

This photorgaph is a really close up, face, head and shoulders portrait shot. I love this photo because of the smile on her face and the little tilt to her head really makes the photo stand out more. I edited the photograph and changed the colours. I brought the saturation right down and took the temperature up a little to create this warm, soft image. You are automatically drawn into her eyes in this photograph, they are the main focal point. You are also drawn to her beautiful smile next, i feel this is the second strongest focal point.

This photograph is also quite an close up photo but is a little different from the first. It is not central like the one above, and the main focal point in this photo is right in the bottom left corner. it is the eyes and the glasses again but they are not situated right in the middle drawing you into the photo, they are in the corner. The eyes and the head are looking up, like they are looking up right into the corner of the photo. This is really different and makes the photo look really interesting. I edited the photo a little to make it a little sharper and make the shadows around the face darker to make the face stand out more. I think the photo is really eye catching and does stand out.

Assignment Two - Rule of Thirds

This photograph is a really good example of Rule of Thirds as it has a huge, thick pole just to the right of the centre which would be almost on the line of the 'noughts and crosses'. When you have objects that fall in the points where the lines cross on a noughts and crosses board you are automatically drawn to those places because they are the main focal points. They are the places your eyes are drawn to first. The actual lines themselves are the second strongest focal point, your eyes are drawn to them second. The South Downs College sign intervenes with the pole, round about the place where the lines would cross over on a noughts and crosses board. So that is the strongest focal point in the picture and is most definitely the place you are first drawn to. 

This photograph is also a really good example of Rule of Thirds. It is really detailed and really eye catching. It is an interesting photo and one of my favourites. It feels really soft and this is what i love, you are drawn to the cream flower in the middle because it is round about the point where the lines would meet on a noughts and crosses board. This is the main focal point on the photograph and everything else just seems to fall around that.