Below shows two examples of my in camera working with the photomontage. On the right I have worked and started to experiment with the use of the geometric shape blocks and the archival material. I have developed a few lot of photographs that incorporate the use of the shapes on the coloured backgrounds as well as the white backgrounds. Being influenced by Rafal Milach I tried to enclose some of the objects almost in the shapes and the cages however I did this in-camera rather than in later editing, but I will want to experiment with using archival images and incorporating them into my photographs. On the left shows my other experiments when I was working with the figures as well as the geometric shapes this is another version of incorporating the people and other aspects into the photographs in response to Milach.
Lightroom Editing
In lightroom I have been working in just updating contrasts and exposures as well as tints to work an enhance the photographs. I have not worked in photoshop as I have wanted to work mainly in camera working for this experiment with the small figures and the coloured backgrounds as well as the geometric shapes. I have worked with the brightness and contrasts of the photographs to enhance the coloured backgrounds I have used to work with the objects in front and help where there may have been some shadowing or dark patches from lighting angles which is the majority of the working I have produced in Lightroom rather than working in photoshop or the camera to particularly edit the photographs.
For looking at objects we went into the studio and used two different stations to produce a number of photographs. We used one with the camera directly on and the other shooting from above, using various lightings and attachments for us to be able to create our still life photographs.
The small set up uses one continuous light and two connected flash heads, this allows for a small shutter speed, aperture and ISO as we had the transmitter on the top of the camera connected to the flash heads. On the larger table set up, specifically for being able to take photographs of objects, 3D ones, we had a continuous light on, a back light and secondary (tungsten light) light source to eliminate shadows and create clearer images without grey shadows. (Set Up Pictured below)
For the shoot I planned to take photographs of the occupation archive objects that we had placed in the studio, I wanted to capture some regular ones and some with an abstract feel. After looking at Irving Penn with some of the photographs I will aim to create a sort of ‘lived in’ feel like the aspects I felt from looking at Penn’s work such as After Dinner Games – New York 1947.
Birds eye view – table set up
Continuous lights, 3D on front objects set up
Contact sheet of Photographs:
Below shows my contact sheets of the photoshoots produced in the studio, my original lot of photographs and as well my flagged, chopped set of photographs ones that I will look to go through and edit in the future and develop further in Lightroom and maybe Photoshop.
Original Contact Sheet
Cut down Contact sheet
For my editing for these set of photographs I decided to look into keeping it simple. I looked at editing contrasts and temperatures as well as looking at what Lightroom suggested for white-balances to then see what I could do further to enhance the photographs rather than change them completely, I worked into around 4 of my photographs to create as final outcomes from this photoshoot. I worked mainly in Lightroom instead of photoshop as I feel this would be better for enhancing rather than manipulating the photographs. For some of my photographs I cropped the image into a square to position the objects in the centre of the photograph as some of them were slightly to the right of the photograph or there was a slight shadow in the side and a way I found effective to remove this problem if both were involved to crop the photograph down to a square to have the clear lighting and the centred photograph.
I chose to edit four of my cut down photographs as these were the ones I felt had the best composition to look at in the photographs. I chose two of my original trials of the objects just on the table and laid out, trying the Irving Penn “lived in” style that I had taken from the research and looked into. My second two came from my experimenting with shape and placing, looking at how I can incorporate archival objects into archival teaching methods, cubes and shapes used in maths etc. Below shows some of my editing process with the cropping and enhancing of the photographs in Lightroom.
Editing
Editing
Editing
Editing
Below I have some of my outcomes from my studio photoshoots that I have produced through editing and working in Lightroom as well as working in camera. One of my favourite outcomes from this photoshoot is the one taken from above of the letters, not much editing I felt was needed for this photograph as it already is quite dark and in black and white which I feel creates a good effect for the photographs, the letters that I were taking photographs of were some personal ones as well as formal ones, sent from Bailiffs to England and vice versa at the start of the war, overall I felt taking these from above in collection with each other help to create a better more powerful image. For my other photographs I experimented with the use of other objects upright on the objects table. I experimented with incorporating unknown objects made out of wire to create some abstract photographs with some form and shape, I feel these made for interesting photographs, I tried to place the archival objects in the gaps between the wires to create lines and shapes which were interesting the eye, while in Lightroom I just experimented with editing the contrasts and brightnesses as well as exposures to enhance the photographs rather than edit them completely like I would in photoshop. For the last of my outcomes in this photoshoot I had collections of the archival objects all placed together to create what could seem like a scene or to create an idea of what was used and what life looked like during the occupied period, I found experimenting with these a little difficult due to the shadows created and getting the right lighting however I do feel that they are still good outcomes as to experiment with object photography which I had been yet to try yet.
With the images from my visit to Batterie Moltke, I am going to experiment with various techniques such as cropping and colour adjustment as well as Desaturating images entirely to create a series of variation in my images
Cropping
Below I have included some of my original images followed by cropped edits. Cropping is used to remove irrelevant or unwanted subjects fro an image which allows for more focus and emphasis on the main subject. Cropping also helps change the aspect ratio of an image and also allows for an overall improvement in terms of the images composition
Above is an image of a corroded ceiling inside of the German MP4 Radio Tower. I like the texture given off in the image as it shows a true sense of age and decay, However I find that a crop could benefit the image well in terms of overall composition. Below is my Cropped Image
I have decided in this edit to focus more on the patch of decaying brown material in the roof rather than focus on the wider Image as I found there was too much to take in #
Colour Adjustment
Colour Adjustment involves utilizing the colour palette in an image to create variation. In Adobe Lightroom, There is a whole HSL/Colour control panel which enables the user to have control over the various colours in an image and allows for the Hue, Saturation and luminescence to be controlled with sliders. Below is an example of an image where I used this function to alter the colours to create a dramatic image
For this image, I took control of the Aqua and blue colour filters and completely desaturated the image, Leaving the Gray/ brown of the concrete bunker as the only subject with colour in the image. This method also helps to isolate the main subject to give it much more emphasis and make it stand out from the image. I further altered the contrast and exposure to create a dark and moody image
Black and White
Desaturating an image is a great way to create an atmosphere within the image. This process is acheived through desaturating the image and then dependent on the mood of the image the photographer/ editor wants to give off, The contrast, exposure, shadows and highlights are altered to give off the desired effect.
For this image I desaturated all of the yellows, Greens and oranges within the image as these are the only colours present and turned up the contrast slightly and altered the exposure to create an effect involving the light and the darkness inside of the wall. I find that using black and white gives a great emphasis of contrast within the image
Once I was confident with my understanding of the lights and layout of the studio, I could begin taking photographs of the archival objects that were loaned from the Jersey Archives. I made use of the cameras already attached to the tripods but used my own SD card. After taking a series of images, I came out with the below series (unedited):
As some of the images were either overexposed, underexposed, or had the wrong composition, I uploaded the images into Light-room, and used the colour option to highlight which images I wanted to use, and which images I would reject. The following screenshot is the collection of all of my images after they had been colour coded:
Key: Green: Final images Yellow: Possible final images (need more editing) Red: Rejected images
Out of the images I uploaded to Light-room, I only decided to edit 14 of my best (those highlighted green). The final 14 images can be seen below:
I took some of these images with the knowledge I would most likely use them in a series/pattern (for example, the final 3 images are the same object at different angles, which I took under the assumption that I would use them in series)
As a further method of rating each image, I decided to rate each of the green images /5 in order to record which images I felt would work best, and which ones I felt needed the most editing during the development stage:
The ratings of the above images ranges from 3/5 to 5/5, showing a variation of images at different levels.
I then began the development process, in which I would edit the images that I had labelled green. I used the Light-room editing software, as I find it more detailed and specific than the Photo-shop software. I found that editing the colour gradients and contrasts of my images would be the most important part of this process, along with altering the orientation of some of the images so that the objects lay parallel to the bottom of the image frame.
This is the layout I used for the editing process of my images
For many of the images, I increased the contrast of the colours in order to produce bolder outlines and harsher colours. I felt that this helped to make the images appear more sharp and clinical, and gave harsher outlines and contrast in the colours and shadows. I decided to do this as I feel this harsh, sharp appearance reflects the atmosphere of the occupation, as the occupation of Jersey can be seen as a harsh and cruel event that made the lives of the occupants of the island much harder.
This is an example of the outcome of an image that I increased the contrast on.
I also increased the highlights of this image in order to bring out the contrasting lighter colours, and I reduced the shadows to get rid of the darker effect to the right of the image, caused by a lack of studio light.
Furthermore, I decided to increase the clarity of some of my images. I found that by raising the clarity, the clarity of every small damaged area/detail was emphasized, making the objects of each image look more worn and used. I decided to use this on a range of occasions to emphasize the time difference between now and the occupation, and to emphasize that, although these objects represent a time man years ago, the implications of this event is no less relevant.
Here is an example of an image in which the clarity is heightened, and the vibrance is lowered
I also decided to lower the vibrance of some images, as I found that this reduced the vibrance of the colours, and therefore provided a much more bleak image (which reflects the mood of the occupation more)
I also adjusted the orientation of some of my images, as the way the tripod was set out meant that the camera took some of the images at a slight angle, meaning the lines of the objects were not parallel to the bottom lie of the image frame. I found this to be a small issue which could have reduced the viewers focus on the subject itself, as their attention may instead have been drawn to the conflicting angles at the bottom of the image. I altered this using the crop option found on the tool bar at the side of the screen, and simply rotated the image until the lines were parallel:
Here, I had to rotate the image so that the object did not appear to be at an angle
I rotated this image so that the base line of the object was parallel to the bottom of the frame
After the editing process, I was able to save the below images as my final images:
For this photoshoot I intended to photograph objects from the war, which was given to me by the Jersey Archives. There is a mixture of objects such as Red Cross packages, Tins, Helmets, Newspaper’s, Letters and many more which symbolically represented the war. Having this many items, I used two set ups, the first for more flat objects (Birds Eye View) and one for 3-Dimensional objects (Straight on Angle). These two set ups required different lighting rigs, which is explained below. With my camera settings I put the mode to Manual, the ISO to 100 and the aperture to F16, allowing a wide depth of field to be utilised. The shutter speed for the Birds Eye View was between 1/250 – 1/200 and the straight on angle’s shutter speed was 0.5 – 0.8. The white balance for both was set onto daylight, with manual focus being used.
Birds Eye View Lighting Setup:
For the Birds eye view set up, I used two flash head lights, set on a 2.0 power output. The lights where paced either side of the table, slightly facing downwards towards the object. On my camera I used a transmitter which triggered the flash heads to operate as I captured my imagery. In addition, I also used a pilot light in order to position a and frame my composition, this was located at the back of the table (on right) and did not affect the colouring or the outcomes of my image. The camera itself was placed on a tripod looking down at the table.
Straight On Angle Lighting Set Up:
For the straight on angle set up I used a continuous light set up. I used a fill light illuminating the object, with a secondary (tungsten light) light source to reduce the shadows and clearly showcase the object. I also experimented with back lights, but felt that it was not successful and did not justify the objects, thus I stopped using the back light. The camera was on a tripod with a 50mm lens.
Edits:
First Edit – FlaggedSecond Edit – Star RatingThird Edit – Colour Rating
Straight On Angle Edits:
For my straight on angle edits, I began by cropping the photographs, to ensure that the object is in the centre of the composition. I then focused on adjusting the whites, blacks, shadows, contrast and structure in order to accurately portray the objects. This also ensured a complete white background, allowing the objects to be the main focal point within the photograph. Within each photograph, there is a sense of warmth through the artificial lighting, which presents a positive view point towards the contextual meaning of the objects.
The image above is my top photograph from this exploration of still life photography. Visually, we are presented with a light used in the mines during the occupation of Jersey in 1940-45. This object is the main focal point due to the positioning of it in the frame, and it being the only item within the frame of the photograph. The use of artificial lighting allows reflection on the metal object creating tonal contrast of the rust and decay of the object to clearly be presented. When analysing the main formal elements within the frame, we are clearly presented with a sense of space, and emptiness (showcasing the lack of purpose the item now has within today’s society) form, colour and texture. The photograph captures the object at a straight on angle which works in harmony with the plain background, allowing emphasis on the conceptual and contextual factors.
Contextually, the photograph brings viewers back to the second world war and the impact it had on Jersey. It showcases the torch and how slaves, who were taken (from places such as Russia etc) and forced to work digging out tunnels, such as the underground hospital. This conceptually remind us of the importance of this object in Jersey’s history and enriches our understanding of what life was like for the slaves who were forced to work.
Technically, the photograph uses a slow shutter speed, allowing enough light to be presented within the photograph to emphasis the object, which did not create any blur due to a tripod being utilised when capturing the photograph. The ISO was kept at 100 to ensure that no noise is presented within the frame and the aperture was set to F16 which has let a wide depth of field to be used on top of allowing enough light into the exposure of the photograph. The white balance was sunlight, allowing a clear white balance correction which complemented the warm artificial light source used (a two point lighting set up, with a tungsten light).
Birds Eye View Angle Edits:
With my birds eye view photographs, I began by cropping the photographs, to ensure that the object is in the centre of the composition. I then focused on adjusting the whites, blacks, shadows, contrast and structure in order to accurately portray the objects. After ‘correcting’ the photograph I then decided to try and make the object stand out for it’s background, almost as if it has been raised and is separated from the background. To do this I looked at further increasing the shadows and blacks, although I achieved this effect, it has meant that the background now has grey tones, which slightly distracts viewers from the focal point of the photograph
Evaluation:
To evaluate my attempt at still life photography, I believe I have been able to produce clear example of my exploration with this style of photography. From taking the photographs at different angles with different lighting set ups, to applying my artist inspiration within my work, I have successfully been able to conceptually and contextually showcase the importance of these items to Jersey’s history. The simplistic editing used within these outcomes have worked well, as it does not distract viewers from the true values of the outcomes, which showcases my aesthetic for the photo shoot. To conclude, I am happy with the outcomes I have produced due to the high quality images created, through correct camera settings, and good edits. If I was to improve this I would look at producing another photo shoot capturing more objects, singularly, at a straight on angle, allowing me then to explore with typologies as a format for displaying the objects.
We had to present the Occupation objects from the Jersey Archives in a creative way and use a special still-life table and its translucent backdrop. I photographed the objects using different angles, both from above, side and front. I chose to either photograph each object individually or group together several objects for a more complex still life arrangement.
LIGHTING:
To photograph the Occupation objects in the studio, we experimented with different lighting set-ups, both continuous lights and flash lights. Continuous lighting has studio lights that stay on. You can power them up or down, based on what lighting you need. Flash lighting, lights up when you trigger it. You cannot see how the scene will be captured until the flash is triggered. When it is, a high intensity light will pulse for just a fraction of a section, lighting the scene.
TECHNICAL:
Continuous lights – To photograph objects three dimensionally
Camera setting: Manual Mode
ISO: 100
White Balance: Daylight
Aperture: F/16
Shutter: 0.5 sec to 0.8 sec
Lights in the room had to be switched off to avoid reflections
Flash lights – To photograph images, documents, books, newspapers, etc.
Camera setting: Manual Mode
ISO: 100
White Balance: Daylight
Aperture: F/16
Shutter: 1/125 – 1/200
Flash heads set to power output: 2.0
Pilot light was used for focusing
EDITING:
After photographing in the studio, I uploaded my images from the photo shoot on to Lightroom and made a rough edit of 6 images. I used the presets Desaturated Contrast, B&W Punch, Warm Contrast and Red Lift Matte. After selecting the filter, I adjusted the contrast, shadows and highlights. I also cropped unwanted areas to centre the Occupation objects in the middle of the frame.
MY RESPONSE:
FIRST PHOTO-SHOOT
To evaluate my first still life photo-shoot, I believe that I have been able to produce photographs that explore my own style of capturing Occupation objects. I have shot these images using different angles and lighting to contextually showcase the significance of these objects during World War 2. I believe that my outcomes turned out well since they capture the detail and textures of the objects. The minimal editing and central framing helps to draw the viewer’s attention, further emphasising the point that these items are of importance.
SECOND PHOTO-SHOOT
For my second photo-shoot, I decided to capture photos with a contemporary approach by using coloured backdrops which has been inspired by Rafal Milach’s work. Using his photographic style has allowed me to further develop my response to still life Occupation objects. Below are my 5 final outcomes for the colour photo-shoot that have been edited on Lightroom to enhance the saturation of backgrounds. I love how the coloured edits turned out because it makes the objects appear childish, as if it was a toy. This juxtaposes and camouflages the serious subject matter of World War 2.
To evaluate I believe that I have produced imagery which clearly conveys my own understanding of Rafal Milach’s work and my ability to apply his photomontage style into my own photographs. This new way of capturing still life Occupation objects has furthered my exploration since I am now presenting coloured outcomes which creates a strong link to Milach’s work.
