Mind Map

Final Evaluation

For the enhanced Image project I was given a choice of themes that I could base my project on such as fashion, contemporary, Landscape, Portrait and Documentary. I decided to choose the documentary theme as I found it most appealing and I could have the freedom of experimenting with a wide range of ideas. I was required to experiment with a number of digital and darkroom print based outcomes so that I could widen the range of outcome ideas. I also researched into a number of photographers based on my documentary theme that I could gain inspiration from.

I started off with 4 ideas which were based on children, animals, historic landmarks and London. My main plan was to develop the idea of children as I have a younger sibling and many younger cousins so I could take a load of pictures to work with. I then broke down the idea of children and thought of ideas that I could incorporate within in theme such as children at school, children playing, children experiences etc. I decided to develop the idea of children's experiences where I then documented my younger brother on his first ever trip to Legoland. I photographed him in the action as I wanted to catch his facial expressions and moods so that it felt like a real documentary theme shoot rather than a portrait shoot. I captured images of him on rides, walking around, things he was looking at etc. This was a very successful shoot as I captured a broad range of photographs that I could work with for my experimentation and for my final outcome. Another theme I captured was my younger brother playing in the snow, I liked this idea as it was a change of scenery and lighting was very good as the snow made the images brighten up.

For the experimentation part of the project I started of doing some handmade experiments with materials such as acrylic paint, ink, food colouring etc. I enjoyed these but I felt that they weren't techniques I would like to use for my final outcome I wanted to concentrate on creating a clean cut neat outcome. I then moved on to the digital experimentation which my main idea was to use the double exposure effect. I began to use to images I had captured and used photoshop to create a double exposure effect so that I could create a montage kind of big image. I felt that using the double exposure effect would make the images look like they have a story behind them and it would feel like a big board of memories.

I researched into a number of photographers but the main person that gave me my inspiration was Dan Mountford who is a documentary photographer. I admired his photographs as he used the double exposure effect which made each one have a hidden story behind them. His pieces looked very simple and had no colour but still they looked like deep images and they inspired me to base my own work around his.

For my final outcome I came up with a few ideas such as mounting images onto foam board to give it a 3d raised effect but I then decided to keep it more simple and classy. I used the vignette effect on the best 5 images I captured and then for the final main piece I created a kind of double exposure collage of all the images put together. I was proud of my outcomes as I got them professionally printed so they had a clean sleek finishing look to them.

Overall I was fairly satisfied with my progress and outcomes but feel I could of done better. I could have came up with more ideas and developed my original ideas more in depth. I could have experimented more with the outcomes and incorporated some hand made designs within the digital to make it more interesting.

Review of Experimental Work

Since I began the project I have experimented with a wide range of techniques and presentation techniques to give me a variety of possible final outcomes. Throughout the As-A2 Project I completed experiments such as Origami, pinhole technique and weaving two photographs in and out of each other. These experiments were new to me but were very enjoyable, they gave me more ideas that I could use for my final outcome. Since then I have experimented with more creative handmade techniques such as the Leslie David paint experiment where I printed out photographs and used acrylic paint to make them more bright and eye catching. 

While I experimented with these techniques I also shot my first roll of film. My theme is Documentary so my photographs were based around documenting people. I captured photographs of people doing certain facial expressions to give the impression there was a meaning behind each photograph, I also photographed peoples shoes and things on them like id cards to symbolise things about them.

I also experimented with techniques on photoshop which I prefer and felt comfortable completing. I used the double exposure effect tutorial on photoshop where I combined two photographs together to make an interesting outcome. I also used the vintage effect on one of my photographs to give it a dark shadowy outline so the focus is mainly on the middle of the image. I was successful with these experiments and I am considering using them in the future with my final outcome ideas. Another effect I accomplished was the solarisation effect. 

I experimented with a lot of darkroom work such as dodging and burning, creating negatives from scratch and using shapes to highlight certain areas of an image. I found the darkroom work more difficult but it was enjoyable at the same time, I was successful with the experiments and my prints came out with some interesting effect and textures. I am considering using some of the darkroom techniques when developing my roll of film.

The artist that inspired me was Dan Mountford who specialises in double exposure photography. His work amazes me by the way his images tell a story and the way the two subjects shadow one another. I am incorporating my work around his technique.

Double Exposure

This is a photoshop experiment I created using the double exposure technique which consists of overlapping two images to create a see through effect. I am going to be using this technique for my final outcome and I think it can tell stories and have meanings behind the images.

This is another double exposure experiment I created on photoshop using toy army men. I used a shadowed image and a light contrasty image which I then overlapped them to create this interesting effect.