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Contact Sheet- Paper

Contact sheets consists of many thumbnail photos which are printed on a single sheet of paper. They were regularly used in the days of film but their use went away when digital photography began. They can be used to review images so you can decide which ones you will delete, use and edit. I think that using contact sheets is an extremely intelligent way to start the editing process.

What each symbol means

Green circle: My favourite images 

Green square: I will use this image

Red X: I do not want this image/section

Orange ?: I am not sure if I should use this image 

F: This image is out of focus

L: The lighting is bad

Contact Sheet

The meaning of each colour is:

Red:  Indicates a photo or area I dislike. I would either discard the photo or crop the red areas to enhance the focal points of each frame.

Green:  Indicates a composition that I am pleased with and would go on to edit to further improve the image.

Blue:  Shows an area where there is an area of overexposure in the frame.

Pink:  Shows an area that is out of focus where this was not my aim.

Experiment – Paper Task

Paper Task – Photoshoot 1:

For this photoshoot i folded a single sheet of white paper to create areas of light and shade. I then enhanced the contrast slightly to increase the difference between the light and dark tones in the image without taking away from the natural feel. I found that this was a good example of subtle tone changes and showed texture with the dips and ridges of the paper being accentuated.


Paper Task – Photoshoot 2:

For this photoshoot I placed several pieces of flat or crumples paper onto a black backdrop to create a high contrast. I enhanced several setting during the editing process of these frames and found that this resulted in the dark parts of the image became highly textured and resulted in a sort of metallic or space-like finish to the images, while the white part of the images remained mostly unchanged.

Week 3 | Generating Ideas | Camera Skills | Using Photoshop

Click this PDF link for a range of resources and that we will be exploring to help you generate new and different ideas whilst learning what ABSTRACT PHOTOGRAPHY can be and how to use your camera and adapt your photographs…

AS Photography UNIT 1 resources

Camera Skills

You must experiment with ease of these skill areas and produce a blog post on each that includes evidence of your experiments and successes…

The images should be of an abstract nature, and show an appreciation of abstract qualities such as line, shape, colour, form, texture, pattern, repetition, symmetry

  1. Using Auto-Focus
  2. Using Manual Focus
  3. White Balance
  4. ISO
  5. Aperture
  6. Focal Length
  7. Depth of Field
  8. Show Shutter Speed

Photoshop Skills

  1. Cropping
  2. Selections
  3. Adjustments and corrections
  4. Transforming an image
  5. Layer control
  6. Image size / canvas size
  7. Double exposures

 

Working towards a vision…

canon

 

Image result for canon camera control dial

Use this method to analyse key images

Rule of Thirds

 

 

 

 

 

Paper Photography – Edits

Photo Editing

My edits within this project have been kept simple, to play on the idea of how basic capturing paper is. For all edits I leveled them to make them slightly darker or lighter and ensure that the tone and sharpness of the photographs where good. For some I then decided to turn them black and white and adjust the Hue to allow the creases in the paper to stand out. I also inverted some allowing texture to be presented. For some photographs I adjusted the blend mode which helped to create the cool effect. I also decided to try experimenting with the layers and blending options to create different effects. Most of these edits I believe where successful and I am happy with most outcomes, however there are a few photographs edits I do not think where the best but I left them in to show development and experiment.

For my first edit I started turning the image black and white. I then decided to invert the image which made black areas white and white areas black. I then changed the hue to a more green colour. Finally using the curves I made the image lighter creating noise in the photograph. Overall this edit has been successful in the fact I got to experiment with different tools on Photoshop. However, it is not my strongest edit.

This second edit, in my opinion, is my strongest edit as it shows a contrast in tones and is interesting for viewers to look at. To do this edit I started off by turning the photograph into black and white, I then adjust the levels to make the photograph seem darker than what it actually is. I then proceed using the paint brush tool to pain the background black allowing the main focus to be on the paper itself.

In my third edit of this photograph I decided to level the photograph to make it seem naturally lighter. I then turned the photograph into black and white and inverted it. I then changed the blend mode until it gave off this effect, which clearly shows the texture of the paper.

For my next edit I decided to use a different photograph. I carefully cropped the image to take away most of the background. I then turned the photograph into black and white and inverted it. Moving on I adjusted the curves to allow the different tones of the photograph to clearly be presented.

In this photo edit I wanted to clearly show the light which is beaming through the hole in the paper. I thought the best way to do this was simply turning it black and white which allowed the different tones to clearly illustrate the light.

Due to this simplistic photograph I decided to keep this edit simple. I simply adjusted the curves to allow the different creases and tones to be shown. I then decided to turn the photograph into black and white which has created this cool effect making the photograph more pleasing to look at.

For this edit I wanted to show the context of where the paper has been placed, thus I decided not to crop the image. To allow the texture of the paper to be shown in this image I simply turned the photograph into black and white and adjusted the curves to allow the mouth and paper to be clearly shown to viewers.

For this edit I wanted to capture the paper trapping the light into what looks like a tunnel. To do this I made the image darker than usual by adjusting the levels, this made the background black. I then experimented with different settings, however I believed that this was the most effective way to present the tunnel.

For my next edit I wanted to create a mirror effect. I thought the best way to do this is two duplicate the layer and increase the canvas size.  I repeated this four times until I was given the effect. This edit now present the formal element of shape and repetition, which makes it more interesting for viewers to look at.

This next edit I wanted to make the photograph seem more ‘3D’ by adding in a blur. To do this I duplicated the layer and went under fx and changed the blending options. I deselected the green and the blue but left the red. Then I used the arrow keys to move the top layer which presented this effect. I like the way this edit has turned out as it makes the paper seem distorted and is more visually stimulating.

In my final edit I wanted to experiment with layers. I decided to duplicate the image layer and slowly decrease the size of it as I went along. This has made the subject seem further away than it actually is, making it almost seem like an optical illusion. I am really impressed with how this edit turned out as it has made a simplistic photograph seem more interesting.

Favorite Outcome

I really like the way this photograph has turned out. To begin with I have managed to present the formal elements of shape and texture within this photograph. Texture and shape is shown through  the folds and creases on the paper.  The Macro shot, taken from a straight on angle making it interesting for the viewer to look at. Moreover, I like how an element of 3D is created through the different tones of the paper. Also, to present tonal regions I decided to display this image in black and white. I decided to make the background plain to allow the viewers focus to be solely on the piece of paper located in the center of the frame. Moreover, I attempted to use Creed’s effect of using light to guide the viewers eye around the photograph on my image. I love the simplicity of this edit as it captivates viewers. Finally I believe this edit is my most successful due to the fact it is similar to Creed’s image.

Edited photos 2 – Compared

The original Photo Compared To The Edited Versions

  •  Here i have experimented with the Brightness and the contrast, you can see that have made the lighting lighter and it shows the shadows that have been created from this.
  • I have also changed the tone  with using the levels allowed me to make the tone to get lighter or darker. the curves allowed me to make the colour more vibrant.
  • I have also used the exposure to adjust how the colour and focus and how the picture is presented.
  • I have used the vibrance tool so that I can experiment of fixing the saturation of the colour so that the colour is not so bright or the there is the wrong balance.
  • I used the saturation tool so I can make the colour more vibrant.
  • i have turned this picture in black and white to show the different affect that you just have it in black and white it also also shows how the meaning of a picture can change.
  • i used the invert tool see how the picture changed and also I did it to compare the original and the inverted picture.

 

3. Contact sheet (Photographing paper):

What is a contact sheet?

A contact sheet can be used as evidence of a photo shoot. They are pieces of paper which display all of the images taken during a single shoot.

What are contact sheets used for?

Contact sheets can be used as a way to look at photos from a shoot and decide which ones will be used as a final image.

Colour-coding is used as a way to differentiate between good images, images that need editing and images that won’t be used.

Contact sheet example:

Here is an example of a contact sheet that I made for my “Photographing paper” work.

  • Red – Not usable.
  • Yellow – Maybe / Needs editing.
  • Green – Usable image.

Paper Photography – Contact Sheet

Why We Use Contact Sheets

Photographers use contact sheets to allow them to carefully select their top images. It also allows them to annotate the photographs on where they may want to crop the photograph, issues with photographs and photographs that they may want to further develop or use. Contact sheets are also used to present all the photographs captured on the shoot, which shows how the photographer went about the photo shoot. This way of displaying images is very useful for a photographer.

Coding System:

  • Green Circle = Want to further develop
  • Red Line = ‘Bad’ Photograph
  • Red square/line with lines = Where I would like to crop the photograph
  • Green L = Potential image I want to work with
  • Red arrow with points both sides = Rotate photograph
  • Red L = Lighting Issue
  • Red F = Focus Issue

Contact Sheet