Unit 3 Ideas & Concepts

Mini Project 1 - Trainers

Brief- You have been asked by a leading shoe company to produce at least two images of their new range of trainers to promote them to the age range of 17-24.

Research

These photos are advertising Vans. I chose these pictures as they would appeal to a 17-24 age range, this is because they show people which are of a similar age. They also include common interests for people that age, for example skateboarding and music. These photo are good because the viewer is drawn to the shoes, this has been done by using a shallow depth of field so that they are the main focus.

These pictures are also effective for advertisement as the editing has made the trainers look unique. 

  

TRY OUT IMAGES

I aimed for my photos to appeal to 17-24 year olds by using models of that age, i also shot the photos in urban areas. I used a skateboard as a prop because Vans are designed to be good skate shoes.

I experimented with varies angles to see what worked best for advertising the trainers. Experimenting with depth of field showed that having a smaller depth of field meant the background wouldn't distract the viewer from looking at the shoes. 
I also tried a few action shots, they weren't as successful as I planned because the background wasn't interesting. There wasn't enough movement for these photos to be effective. I could of tried a slower shutter speed to capture the movement.
I tried close up of the trainers to focus on the detail such as the logo and laces, these were successful but not as interesting to look at.













FINAL IMAGES

I chose this picture as a final image as the shoes can be clearly seen. I planned for the pose to be quite natural so that the shot didn't look too staged, this also tied in with the casual nature of the shoes.   

This image was one of my final choses as the composition is interesting. I used the rule of thirds with the shoes in the foreground, I made the background out of focus so the viewer was directed more to the shoes in the front. 

I chose this photo as a final image because it would appeal to 17-24 year olds. I wanted the model to wear up to date clothes without taking too much attention away from the shoes. I added the vans logo so that it is clear that the advertisement is for Vans. The concrete steps were effective as an urban setting. 

EVALUATION- 

My plan was to use models in urban settings wearing Vans trainers to advertise the shoes. My shoot went as planned although I think I should of spent more time thinking about angles and composition. I asked for the people to act natural so that they didn't look too staged. I then edited each photo by increasing the colour, I added a logo on the last image to clearly show what the photo is advertising. I am happy with the final images as I think they are suitable for the project brief, they would appeal to 17-24 age range and there is clear focus on the shoes in each photo. If I did this photo shoot again I would plan where I was going to take the picture because I found it difficult to find many urban settings. I would also use cleaner shoes as they should look nice when being advertised. 

Mini Project 2 - Selfies

Brief - Create 3 selfies, a sad selfie, a funny selfie and a surprise selfie with a complete stranger.

Research 

Sad selfie- From research I have seen examples of other peoples selfies that have inspired my own. The photo on the left has used editing to add tears to the image. This is effective as it is clear that she is sad. I like the right picture as the use of black and white suggested that there is no happiness. The expression of the girl shows clearly that she is upset.

Funny Selfie- Using animals can make a selfie funny as they are unpredictable. Taking a funny selfie will be hard as people find different things funny. Not everyone will laugh at one photo. 

The research has showed me that the best way to take a selfie with a stranger is to not plan it. I think it will be best to find different people and ask them to be in a photo.  

Plan

Sad selfie: I will use makeup so show crying, i will then make it black and white. 

Funny selfie: I will try different photos with pets.

Stranger selfie: While being out I will take a few selfies with different strangers

Try out images

I found it hard to take a funny selfie as other people looking at the photo won't find it funny. I decided to get me and a friend to dress as egg and bacon. I then took some selfies. The image on the left wasn't as successful as its not obvious that i was dressed as bacon. 

I also took sad selfies by using makeup to make it look as if I had been crying, this was effective as I found it difficult to show sadness with just facial expressions. 

Final images

This was my final photo for my sad selfie, I added a black and white filter to suggest no happiness. 

I chose this as my funny selfie because it is fun to look at. I chose this one as it is clear that we are dressed as bacon and egg. 

It took a while to take the stranger selfie as I was nervous to how people would react. To get the final photo I just asked without really thinking to much about what they would think.

Evaluation
I found this mini project challenging as I don't like to be in photos. I found the stranger selfie the most difficult as I get nervous talking to strangers, so asking someone to be in my photo was hard. The funny selfie was hard in a different way as it's hard to know what people will find funny. The sad selfie I found the easiest as I had the idea of using makeup to show the sadness. This one was successful as it is clear that I am meant to look unhappy.

Mini Project 3- Seven Days

The scenario is that in one weeks time there will be nothing left of you except the seven pictures found in your camera that you took in the last seven days of your life. 

For this mini - one week – project you are to take one image every day, and these images will be your only representation, the only evidence that you existed.

Exercise 4 - Unusual Portrait

Brief- Create one unusual portrait

Research- 

This photo has used double exposure to layer two images into one. This makes an unusual portrait as it's not something you would normally see in portrait photography.

In this portrait they have made the subject unusual by changing the way they look. This can also be done by make up, face paint and outfits.

Another way to make a portrait unusual is by what the subject is doing, for example the one to the left. You would expect the subject to normally be smiling and a natural looking expression.

Plan/ ideas

Face paint- I will use face paint to create an interesting design, I will try animal faces. This will make the photo unusual.

These are photos from the face painting process, I decided to paint on a zebra then a panda.

Editing- From my research I have seen different ways you can use editing to create unusual portraits. I will try double exposure.

Try out images

These are my original photos I took. I stood the subject against a plain wall to make the face paint stand out. The problem I faced was that the wall had photos on which got in the background of some of the photos. These photo are successful as an unusual portrait as the face paint is not what you would expect in a normal portrait.

Final images

I decided to layer some of my final images on into one photo, it makes the photo more interesting. In my final photo I added a close up photo with a more zoomed out one. 

I was happy with my final photo. I like that it is unique, also the creative face paint on the model. If I did this shoot again I would try different face paint designs, then layer more of the designs into one photo. 

Exercise 5- Strength and Weaknesses

Brief-  Photograph your given subject of either strength or weakness. You can choose to photograph the term in a literal way showing either strength or weakness literally, or you can choose to photograph the term in an emotional way using your ideas and concepts skill to examine ways to photograph strength and weakness emotionally.

Research- 

Strength- There are different types of strength: Physical, Skills, Character, Values and Mental. 

These photo show physical strength. They show strength literally.

Weakness- There are also different types of weakness similar to types of strength.

I think this photo shows emotional weakness as it shows someone curled on the floor probably crying. It looks as if part of her has left her body, showing desperation. The background looks like padded walls, this could suggest she's in a mental institution. 

Addiction could be seen as weakness. This photo suggests alcohol is his weakness. The main focus is on the bottles in the foreground, which could show they are the main part of his life.

Plan
I plan to use the idea of addiction to portray emotional weakness. I will shoot photos of someone smoking and with alcohol.

Try out images

 These are some of the photos I took in this shoot.

Final images

I choose this as one of my final photos because it could suggest the addiction to smoking. I asked the model to look unhappy so that it would not show him enjoying it. This could suggest that smoking is his weakness. I added a faded filter so reduce the colour, this was to show illustrate the unhappiness. 

This was my other final photo. I choose this one as it represents alcoholism. I was inspired by photos from my research where there was a shallow depth of field, focusing on the bottles/ glasses. I did the same in this photo but also made it clear that the person is not happy. 

Evaluation

In this project I decided to photograph emotional weakness instead of physical weakness because I was more interested in the challenge of showing emotion. I was happy with my photos as they went as planned. If I did this photo again I would try different locations such as a pub.   

Exercise 6 - Long Exposure Night Photography

Brief-  explore the night with your camera

Research- 

From researching long exposure, I have seen interesting ideas where a torch has been moved leaving the light trail. You can make different shapes using the light. 

Another idea I saw was capturing the trail of stars. To get a successful photo is needs to be a clear night in a place with not a lot of light pollution. 

Plan

I plan to use the trail from a torch to create shapes. Im going to experiment with shapes when I do the shoot. Im also going to try photographing people while there moving to show their movement. I plan to use artificial light to show the people.

Try out images

I asked someone to draw simple drawings in the air using the torch. The main thing that was difficult was that you can't see what you had drawn so some of the pictures didn't line up. 

I wanted to include colour into the photo but didn't have a coloured light. I decided to use a coloured carrier bag to cover over the torch, this changed the colour of the light.

I also tried capturing the light trails from cars. I set my camera on 10 second shutter speed and took the picture as cars drove past. I am happy with the photos I think they would be better if there was more cars.

Final Images

I choose these as my final images as I think they are the most interesting. The boat one was the best as the colour is effective. Also the contrast between the straight lines and curves of the waves. I could crop the photo to get rid of the line leading out of the picture. 

The bottom photo gives a great feeling of speed. The colour of the car lights stand out against the dark setting. The white light trails lead your eye around the picture.

Exercise 7 - Photographing something we can't see

Ideas of things you can't see- 

Wind: You can't see wind, only the effect is has. You could capture this by showing trees, people or anything that will move in the wind.

Mental illness- Mental illness is an 'invisible' illness. You could show it like the picture above, using words, or showing emotion.

Ghosts- Although not all people believe in ghosts, they are definitely something you cant see. I could use different techniques to show a ghost effect in a photo. I could use a long exposure and get someone to move in the picture. Or I can use different editing techniques

Plan- 
I will capture the ghost effect. I will do this by taking 2 photos, one will have someone looking sad near a grave, the other will be the same with another person stood in the frame. I will edit the 2 together on photoshop, lowering the opacity of the photo with the second person in. This will make them appear see through.


Final Images

My final photos were successful as it shows the ghost effect. I used different angles and poses in each picture. Each picture has got a grey tint to them to suggest sadness. Also in each picture the ghost is looking over the other person, this is effective as it suggests a friendship lost.

The first image shows the emotion of the scene. The second one suggests loneliness and the third illustrates acceptance and moving on.

Durex Group Work

Brief-  Working in small advertising teams you need to work together and come uo with a visual promotion for Durex aimed at young people to the age of 25. Your poster can be a series of posters or a single idea. Whilst your tackling a serious subject you may use humour, symbolism, metaphors to get the message across.

You only need to come up with the idea at this stage, so roughly drawn outlines of your finished product need to be produced. You should work out if your ad would be better on billboards, on tv in newspaper, on the internet or any other media.

You need to pitch your idea, for the pitch you need rough drawings and explanation of where you would see it.

Planning-  In the team we discussed different ideas of how we could create the ad. We can up with the idea of images with bold writing showing a message. 

One person came up with the idea of 'wrap up this christmas', basically meaning, wear a condom. Then as a group we thought of creating seasonal ads for christmas/winter. My role in the team was drawing out our ideas. As we talked about different things we could do I drew out what they were saying and then we agreed on which was best.

We decided the ad would be in a magazine or online as this is were the target group would most likely see it. It would be digitally drawn. 

Final Advert-

Evaluation
In our group we worked really well together. We all helped come up with ideas then each had our own role in making the ad and pitching it. We didn't come across any problems in our team.
I think our advert looked good as it gets the message across without being to obvious. If they were successful in a pitch they be digitally drawn and used as an internet advert. This is because  the target group are mostly likely to see it online other than in a magazine or on a billboard.