Through this module I have learnt a great number of things, and pushed myself far beyond what I thought possible. I have worked in groups that have been efficient and produced an armoury of successful shots, yet also worked in groups that have not been so coherent, thus producing less impressive and below professional standard shots.
The tasks and workshops we have done all have enhanced my abilities in knowing how different lighting set ups work, knowing what equipment works best for indoor or outdoor and the settings used to compensate different available light. I especially value the walk around with the Quadra kits. It allowed me to learn all the different skills needed for the shoots I went on to do. From this I was able to take on my Indoor and Outdoor shoots.
My Mood Boards greatly influenced my work, I had a lot of poses in mind when taking on my shoots, mainly for my male models, who I wanted to look more submissive than the females in my female shoots.
I loved my interior shoot. I used the communal area of my halls and then used the pool table as a basis for my shots. My model was extremely comfortable and was open to all the poses I asked him to do. My final outcome and best image was a mixture of experimenting, and careful lighting. I got one of my assistants to pretend to hit the balls with a cue while keeping their face and body out of shot. this was after I had got them and my other lighting assistant to get the lights perfect. A lot of post production work went into the image as I had to enhance the colours and to completely change the background. It took a lot of time but it was worth it.
My second shoot did not go as to plan as I had initially intended, however I was able to turn the good imagery into black and white, thus transforming the images into grungy men’s fashion. The feminine and submissive pose images were not as strong as I would have hoped, though I still used an image that took away the identity of my model like my first shoot, keeping along the theme of having men there simply to show of the clothing.
My third shoot was extremely different for me, as I was my own model This was not too new, however the environment I was working in was somewhere I had not shot in previously. I used four lights on the back of the cove in an attempt to make it seamless and totally white. This almost worked, however a further two lights in the mid-ground could have been of benefit.
The images I produced from this were high quality and varied. I did the male like stances, then the powerful ones along with a few feminine poses. Overall though, the final image I chose was powerful. I managed to have myself looking slightly down on the camera with a turned away stance, showing authority. The editing needed was predominantly getting the floor and background to match and not have marks on.
My fourth and final shoot was my favourite to do. I used a model who was not a common looking woman and got her to wear spring/ summer clothes in bright yellow. These then were shot against a yellow background. Lighting evenly was my key enemy in this. I found that I was not able to fully light the back and foreground evenly and I had a number of cross shadows. I feel if I had time I would have perfected it.
For this shoot I worked with a make-up artist for the first time. It was wonderful to have someone who knew what they were doing with the make-up and touch-ups all through the shoot. I also enjoyed shooting images for her own website.
Through out all the shoots I was aware of any risks I may face. When in the communal area of my Halls I was aware I needed to keep all equipment safe from passers by. While outside I was aware that the equipment was vulnerable when I was shooting, but I kept it close at all times and ensured it was never at risk of being taken. The studio shoots were to ensure the wires did not become a tripping hazard.
All of the shoots, all of the tasks, and all of the research allowed me to learn, experiment and experience more than ever. I have learnt so much about my genre and preferred style and genre in photography, finding that portrait work and people makes me crave it more with a yearning to one day be paid for the photographs I take.
I hope to continue to learn both photography and lighting techniques throughout my studies and assisting.