Final evaluation

In my opinion I believe my work has developed massively. This is because from my preparatory shoots, I was able to see what had worked and what didn't and I was able to work on those that didn't. Some of my images I shot on my preparatory shoots which I didn't really like at first have now become some of my favourite work because I have been able to change parts of it in my exam shoots to make it better. I also think my work has developed because I have been able to take the work I have learnt all year into account and use it in forming that chosen mood or atmosphere. An example of this is movement, in my unit 1 blog post of movement, I mainly used objects, however when researching the atmosphere of creepy, I found movement was a key element, therefore I was able to manipulate it in my favour. Additionally, I used tone in my work as an element shown in my unit 1 blog. This furthers my development because it shown how I have used the transition from highlights to shadows on my subjects by my use of manipulating light in order to shown a depressive mood.

This is an example from my unit 1 shoot of tone in the studio (on the left) and this links to my exam work now, showing depression (on the right).






This is the example from my unit 1 blog of movement (on the left) and this is how this links into my exam shoot of creepiness through the movement (on the right).








As shown on my final images blog post, my photographers research and research log has had a massive impact on my final series of images. This is because I was able to take ideas from different photographers work and merge them together to form my own work.
For example, when looking at Christian Sampson's work, I merged two of her images to create my one in my shoot of depression…
 In the image on the left, I took the idea of the two emotions and versions of depression.
In the image on the right, I took the way of editing by placing images on top of each other and change the opacity.
As I have displayed in my final pieces blog post, I used this work to show isolation in my preparatory shoot, another example of this is shown here …
I thought this was a really good effect and therefore wanted to use it in my final exam pieces.



This here is the outcome of my final piece of depression after all my research and preparatory shoots, I came up with this idea. In all I think this worked very well and am glad that I used Christian Sampson's work in my exam.
Other than depression, this effect also worked at forming that creepy atmosphere because I thought it was such a good idea and it also shows how it isn't stuck to one mood and atmosphere, you can manipulate it to be anything.



Another way that my research log has influenced the final series of image which I have created is the work by Laurel Komos. An example of her work in shown on the left. She uses two images in one to display a mood of nostalgia. I thought this was a really good idea so wanted to manipulate this in order to create depression. In my preparatory shoots, I used editing to put an image on a phone of the opposite emotion to her face. I really liked this outcome and thought it was really good.
Therefore I wanted to use the technique in my exam. Even though I didn't use a completely same technique, I still used the similar idea of displaying both emotions through my editing.
This is my final piece of depression gathered from this part of my research log.
In all I think this worked really well and it clearly displays my research. If I hadn't done my research correctly, I wouldn't of been given this idea so am really glad as it has helped my work massively.






As a result of the project, I have learnt the ways of manipulating the use of light in displaying my chosen mood. This image on the left is an example of my learning in the use of lights. I really wanted to include this image in my final evaluation because other than really liking it, I think it is a very clear example of how I have learnt the importance of manipulating my light. Beforehand, I would just shoot images, not taking lighting into account and just forming a mood through manipulating my editing. However as I have come to learnt and really like, lighting is a very powerful element of an image it can make the difference between a good photo and a bad photo. In my example here, I made the use of a "snoot-like" object, even though it wasn't completely a snoot, I made use of my objects around me to create the same effect. This is because it manipulates the direction in which the light flows. I thought this is a good way in showing my shoot 1 depression because it shows a hiding aspect of it.

Overall, I believe that I was very successful in responding to the exam paper. This is because the exam asked me to carefully position my subject- in which I have done, carefully thinking about how they should stand, where they should stand and also how I should capture them through the lens- using the rule of thirds. And example of my placement of my subjects is shown here…
Alongside using the element of movement, I managed to form a creepy atmosphere by placing my subject in a way to make her look like she is trapped behind bars in a creepy mental asylum type of way. As I used a long shutter speed to get the effect of movement of her body going upwards- I wanted to make sure my subject stayed as still as possible. Additionally, this shows my preparatory shoots have helped because I used this technique of having bar like objects in the foreground a few times (as shown below)

My reason for using this technique this many times is quite simple really, I really liked the connotation it held with it- the evil they hold is trapped on the other side, protecting them from being hurt although we can still see the danger in which they are.


The first image of the three shown here (using the same bars as my final shoot) was taken unexacting of it being creepy- it was just an experiment with my friend, however when I came to look at it when editing, I really liked the atmosphere of creepy which it helped create. This therefore led me to varying the types of bars in which I used, The second one was a bed frame at the bottom of a bed. However even though it does create that creepy atmosphere, I believed when compared with the first image, it wasn't as good. Then the final one was just a gate in which we found behind my house. I did like this one however I thought my subject was lost in this image. Therefore when it came to be doing my exam shoot I decided to use the same bars as the first one become I found this one worked best.

Additionally, I think I used my lighting very well, as shown on my techniques evaluation above. This is because I was able to change the colouring of my images- not by photoshop but in the raw form by changing the gel of the light. This meant the atmosphere was able to be created through the light, even with out the use of a subject, for example
A blue light= sad
A pink light= confusion
A red light= danger, blood.
Although, unfortunately, in one of my creepy images, I intended for my image to look red as a resemble of danger. However through the image, it looks much more pink. This shows a mistake which I did not recognise until I came to editing my photos. Except, I do actually quite like the image (this image is shown above on this blog post by my example of how my photography research has influenced me). I am a very proud of my final work in this exam as I can clearly see that development in progression in my own work.

Final Pieces

Final pieces from FernDisney

As a whole, I think these are my best images from this exam. I believe they clearly convey the mood and atmospheres which I intended. There are two images here from my first shoot- depression. I think they connect with the exam paper because I have clearly shown that I precisely positioned my subjects, in order to portray the correct mood and atmosphere. Additionally, I believe these images show how I have used lighting as a way to convey the mood/atmosphere. When preparing for this exam, I done three different moods/ atmospheres, isolation, depression and creepy. When deciding what to do for my exam, I chose depression and creepy because I believe these were my strongest shoots and which worked the best. Some of these images were ideas that were formed in my practise shoots for example I took a similar image to number 3 in my practise shoots and decided to take it again in the exam because I thought the movement from the camera and the street lights giving the orange tone, give it the creepy and eerie atmosphere of the unknown- it is unclear what their faces look like as you cannot focus on them.

Below is an example of each image displayed I'm my slide share above, numbered in the order they are presented in the presentation.


Image 1- Depression.
     This image links to my preparatory work of the photographer research because when researching I came across a photographer called "Christian Sampson" who captured a variety of different moods and atmospheres. The image on the left is an example of her work on a sufferer of Bipolar depression. Sometimes they are happy other times they are not although they are stuck in the same person- this contradicts the stereotypical view that those who suffer from depression are always sad. I wanted to capture this affect because I thought it was a really good idea and wanted to put my own twist on it. To edit this I simply took 2 images pasted them together and put the opacity on 50% so you can see both images. This also resembles my preparatory shoot of isolation because I used 3 photos and done used the same effect (this image is displayed on the left.

Image 2- Creepy.
 This image links to my preparatory work because it shows elements of a photographer called Christopher McKenny. An example of his work is displayed here on the left. This is where weapon tunnelling is used to focus the image and create that atmosphere of creepy. This is when the weapon of destruction (in his case an axe. In my image 2 a knife) is the centre of focus. To create this image, I didn't want her to have a bag over her head as displayed in this example from my photographer research, I wanted to make it my own, though having the strong eye contact to form the creepiness as well as the knife. In my preparatory shoots, I placed my subject with a toy doll, having a similar effect, however when I started my exam shoot, I thought it would work better with a knife- this example is displayed on the right.

Image 3- Creepy.
This image links to my preparatory work because it resembles the work of photographer, Christian Hopkins- his work is exampled on the left. I like how this image conveys the creepy atmosphere because he is moving so irregular. Even though my image 3 doesn't resemble this entirely, it displayed how I got my inspiration for capturing the movement of someone to create a creepy atmosphere. Additionally, I shot a very similar shot on my preparatory shoots, as displayed on the right, I really liked the outcome of this image so I really wanted to use it again. The movement hasn't been enhanced or edited.

Image 4- Depression. 
This image links to my preparatory work because as shown in the example on the left, the use of mist is used to convey a distance effect. This work is an example of a photographer which I research in my preparatory work called (the same photographer as shown above) Christian Hopkins. I really liked the effect this image had on creating the atmosphere of depression and the mood so I wanted to use it. My image 4, as you can tell is a bit different, I used the breath steaming up a window with my subject on the over side. I still think this shows my learning and research because it resembles the use of the mist to make it a unclear to see. I actually didn't use this effect on my preparatory shoot because originally I didn't think it was a good idea however when I tested it on my exam shoot, I really liked the outcome.

Physical experiments

Original image:                                                                                                 Image after editing:

This is a physical experiment to help show my shoot 1 mood- depression. I done this by printing out two of the same images and cutting them into strips- one cut one way the other cut the other way, I then weaved them together to create this effect. My idea for this stemmed from my practice shoots and I really liked the outcome. I think this helps portray the mood of depression because it shows confusing- she doesn't know what to do. It also shows depression because it can symbolise her mind- she feels mentally messy as she is unsure on what she wants to do. This image has changed the meaning of the photograph because originally it was just a photo of someone looking sad, now it still shows the denotation of someone leaning on their knees being sad, but it also holds a connotation of the confusion. Unfortunately through the process of scanning, the colouring has changed, although this wasn't intended and it couldn't really have been prevented. 

Original image: 

Image after editing:

This is a physical experiment to help show my shoot 2 atmosphere- creepy. I done this my printing out a horizontal image and ripping around a frame. I then got scissors and scrapped off the ink in a straight line. I like this effect because it looks like its an old image which has been misplaced many times and has slowly began to be destroyed.  I also done this in my practise shoots to show creepy and believe it worked really well. I think this is a good example in forming a creepy atmosphere because with the straight posture of my subject combined with the graffiti on the mental wall behind her contrast one another, alongside the ripped image. Originally, this image held the simple denotation of someone standing by a garage, the connotation is that is it a little bit creepy with the eye contact although it wasn't really as scary as I had wanted. Therefore after physically editing it, it helped transform the level of creepiness. Again much like the first image, this image also appears to of faded through the scanning process, this wasn't intentional.

Computer experiments

before editing:                                                                  

The steps: 

1st: I simply cropped my image so the subject wouldn't be lost in the rest of the bed and would be more dominant...

2nd: I clicked on the filter button at the top and then clicked liquify…

3rd: I made sure it was the "Forward warp tool" 

4th: I dragged my mouse across the photo is opposite directions- first going one way then going the other creating this effect on the curtain...

After editing:

Before editing:

The steps:

1st: I opened both my images in photoshop…

2nd: I selected all of one image by clicking cmd A (this makes a dotted line go around the image) and copied it by clicking cmd C

3rd: I then went onto the other image and pasted it in there to do this I click cmd V, this meant a new layer would come up and cover the background image 

4th: I then changed the opacity of my images to 50%

After editing:

Before editing:

The steps:

1st: I cropped the image so it was just the lips…

2nd: I removed the blood makeup on the chin as this looks more like a spot than blood…

To do this I clicked on the Patch tool…

drew around the blemish…

Dragged it down to the chin and the blemish went…

3rd: I wanted to enhance the redness of the lips so I changed the curve to make it a much more "blood" like red…

4th: I wanted to remove the braces (just to see whether it would look creepier or not and to experiment) to do this I used the patch work tool again and drew around the brace and move it to the rest of the tooth… This is the photo after doing one brace...

I then need to use the spot healing brush to blend it out more…

After editing

Shoot 2 Work Record

Date: 18th April 2016.
My aim for this shoot… 
For this shoot, I intend to capture the atmosphere of "creepy" by the use of my lighting- for example use the flash on the camera to purposely form that red-eye effect, or using a red gels on my lights to symbolise death/blood. I also aim to position my subject in a way that it makes the audience feel drawn in but scared to be so drawn in- for example her having a tilted head with a fixed gaze of the camera- holding the eye contact.

What I achieved…

For this image, I used an extended shutter speed and then got my subject to swing. As when I took the picture I used the flash, it meant the first thing I shot if more dominate- her standing. Although as she swung throughout the time of the shutter speed, it meant parts of her appear faded- her face blends in with the background light of the houses behind. I really like this effect of forming the creepy atmosphere because it appears scary. Also the way I told my subject to stand with her head tilted, makes that sinister effect. People should look at this and feel like it's a tiny bit creepy. I really like this image and believe it has worked very well in what I wanted to achieve. The camera settings I used for this image were…
Shutter speed: 8 F-stop: 4.5 and ISO: 400.
This image holds the denotation of someone just getting ready to swing and the light has interfered with the image.
However this image also holds the connotation of a sinister scene in a horror film- it's as if this is a ghost, she was once there but died so now haunts the playground.

I included this image in my straight images post although I also wanted to use it as an example of my work in this post because I feel like it is a very good way in creating that creepy atmosphere which I had originally intended for. This is because the extended shutter speed of 12 was used. This meant when I took the image, I was holding the camera for quite a while. Like the image above, I used flash, this meant that part of my image would be more dominant than the rest. This has therefore help this final result. I like this image because it's almost as if she is leaving her own body- she is mental decaying behind these bars- Or an evil is entering her body. The reason I believe this image is creepy is because it is almost as if my subject is part of a mental alyssum- trapped behind these bars. I think think this holds a creepy atmosphere because stereotypically, those who are in a place with "mental" people are normally to be seen as quite creepy- for example "American Horror Story" in season 2. The camera settings I used for this image were:

Shutter speed:12 F-stop: 4.5 and ISO:400.
This image holds the denotation of someone sat in a park holding on to the gate and the person who took the photo moved a bit.
However the connotation I intended to achieve was a creepy person lock behind bars as a safety barrier for everyone else around her.

My idea for this image was to make it seem like someone is hiding away- something if you were to look out your kitchen window to see would creep you out and force you to have to double look to double check if what you seen was real. However, I do not think this image worked as well as I had wish it to. This is because the flash from my camera covered most of the window and then in the foreground it is covered with rubbish and gardening objects which take away this creepy atmosphere and just replace it with the thought of why is this person just standing in a shed? As I would like my audience it be engaged into a creepy atmosphere, I do not believe this image does this. Therefore I do not like it. If I were to reshoot this, I would use a tripod- so I wouldn't rely on the flash and could therefore extend my shutter speed without showing too much movement. I would also make sure the foreground was emptier. The camera settings I used for this image were:

Shutter speed: 1/6 F-stop: 4.0 and ISO: 400

When my subject was in the shed, I thought it would be a good idea to show her creepy through the slit in the door- as if "She's watching you", although this is an example from this shoot which didn't work. I do not like how her whole face is seen. To me this decreases the creepiness. Even though it is still quite creepy, it isn't as creepy as my other images which I got with my subject in the shed. Another factor I don't think worked with this image was the positioning, as she was crouching down, her head was in the middle of the screen. Although for me this is too "precise" because it looks like i intended her face to be central, which I didn't. Personally, my images of her in the shed looked much better when her face was off centre much more than this. An example from this part of the shoot which I do like is also shown here. The reason I prefer this one is because it is unclear on what her whole face really looks like. I also like the shadowing which has been casted on her face because even though the door is open wider, her other half of her face is blacked out and you just can't see what she looks likes. The camera settings used for these photos were…
Shutter speed: 1/6 F-stop: 4.0 and ISO: 400.

Overall…

Overall I believe this shoot worked really well because the atmosphere of creepy is really clear in the majority of my images. These are two more examples I wanted to include in this work diary because I also think these two show how my work in this shoot shows creepy. I believe I positioned my subject/s really well in order to convey creepy. I asked them to stand straight, yet tilt their head. I really like the position in a way of creating creepy because it is the position animals such as dogs do when they are confused on what to do- these subjects may be doing this because they are supernatural and don't know what to do- other than kill- stereotypically one of the creepiest things someone feels.