Image Selection

I went through all of my images and flagged the images that I thought were the strongest to make it easier for me to edit them.

Basic Editing

CHOSEN IMAGES FROM THIS SHOOT:

Image Analysis

I decreased the exposure and highlights in this image as it was originally very overexposed and the highlights were bright. I also noticed that the blue tones in the image were very overpowering, the blue trousers and sky in the corner were strongly saturated and did not match the rest of my images so I tempered with that.

These three images are very similar, I edited them all but I am going to compare them to find the final image I want to use. I would put them next to each other in my photobook, however they are a bit too similar, if they had slightly obvious differences I’d pair them up. I also like how there is an obvious foreground and background. This is exaggerated by the luminance of the sky in the background but it also correlates with the blue trousers and brings the image together.

This is one of my favourite Images from this shoot. I feel it is one of the strongest as well. I started with straightening the horizon. I then decreased all the shadows and dark tones and increased the grain in the image

These two images I compared as they are also very similar but I feel they will look good next to each other, they display the theme of girlhood in my work well.

Task

Narrative: What is your story?
Describe in:

• 3 words – my nostalgic childhood
• A sentence – An exploration into my childhood memories, as well as a look into my linage.
• A paragraph – My story will begin with a showcase of old photographs which depict my family in black and while. To then link the story back to my memories I will add some blank photoshoots or blank areas to show my lack of memory of this time.

Design: Consider the following

• How you want your book to look and feel – I plan for my photobook to look like a mix of memories, gradually having more photos over time to symbolize that we are able to recall more memories the more recent they are.
• Paper and ink – I would like to use a semi glossy paper to help the images stand out as well as having my photos be in colour.

• Binding and cover – The cover of my book will be a hardcover, showing a collage of old images that I found in my families archives

• Title – The title of my book will be ‘Through the eyes of a child’
• Images and text – The text in my book will be ‘courier std’ at the size 13.4, the cover text however will be ‘eras bold itc’ as the bolder font helps the title to stand out against the more crowded background. I also added a pink tint to the title as it helps to preview the pink theme throughout the book

Cover editing

I edited the covers using publisher, turning my archive images into black and white before rearranging them in a collage. I plan on putting image one on the cover of the image since it depicts my parents and more recent photos while putting image two on the back cover due to it mainly being of my grandparents.

Layout

Contact Sheet

Selecting – I flagged all the images I wanted to choose to edit using ‘X’ and ‘P’

These are the photos I am going to edit from shoot 2:

Basic Editing

I used the preset ‘Flat and Green’ for these images because it means I can start with a basic edit. Each image will have the same colour and hues to start with, keeping a consistency throughout my images. I don’t want any to look as if they have been edited drastically different to each other. Kawauchi’s snow images are very white and exposed, I attempted to do this but less intense because I want to keep my editing style included.

I rated the images from this shoot with red, yellow and green so I can choose which images are the best.

Red Images (unedited or images I won’t use)

Yellow Images (ones that I might use but I don’t think are the best)

Green Images (photos that I will use in my photobook)

Moodboard of my final basic edited images

Further Editing in Photoshop

I want to do further editing on some of these images, adding light orbs and sun beams because when I took this shoot the lighting was not the best.

I experimented with ‘Filters > Render > Lens Flare…’ to add a light orb.

For this edit I duplicated the layer, added the light in a place where orbs were ‘created ‘reflected’ at another point on the image. I then used the Polygon Lasso Tool to select half the image. I then created a layer via copy. I hid the duplicated layer, and blended the seam with a low opacity eraser. This leaves some small orbs in the corner, subtly adding to the nostalgic sense.

I have done the same with this image

My Images compares with Kawauchi

Editing process of a handful of photos in my Fort regent photos collection for my upcoming photobook.

Fort Regent, what was once an iconic leisure centre, full of excitement and fun, is now a mere fossil of the past. While it remains open, Fort Regent hasn’t received much attention for the past few years, the hallways and corridors which used to have echoes of children laughing and cheering are now silent. The jungle gym which used to be full of children, empty. And all the cafe’s and restaurants, closed. Fort Regent, since it peaked many years ago, has only declined and will likely never reach the point it used to be at ever again. I wanted to go up and take some photos to revisit some old memories and to show the aging of the fort.

The sign above is my best example, the moss on it has been collecting for decades and started to cover some of the words too, I adjusted the colours a little to exaggerate this. In addition I made sure the trees behind it were visible too, to give off a more dead look. Of course I changed the lighting levels to bring the sign out more and darken everywhere else as it is the main subject.

I wanted to darken this image to bring the coloured light out more, this light would constantly change colour and I always used to like it, so I wanted this photo to show that.

This is a collection of posters, about shows and events that would take place at the fort, since not many things have happened lately a lot of these posters are very old. I wanted to darken this image and make it look like a torch is being shined on the posters, to almost make it look as if the viewer is looking into an old dusty cupboard full of old pictures.

I wanted to make the lights in the hallway brighter and more vibrant, to reflect that of how I remember them when I was younger. I also remember the very dark ceiling and a bunch of random tools and gear left out in the hallways.

I made sure to zoom in on the party room, and to make the entrance slightly darker. This was in attempt to convey the idea that the room has not been lit for a very long time because the party rooms are, as far as I know, not used very much these days.

This is my Virtual gallery for my nostalgia mock. I did this by uploading my images onto the website art steps and then positioning them around the gallery.

Art steps

The aim of this photoshoot was to get some staged images and some candid ones, this is because I wanted to capture my friends in a natural state but also stage them to exaggerate the girlhood theme. I wanted images of my friends in trees and looking playful.

Contact Sheet:

CHOSEN IMAGES FROM THIS SHOOT:

Image Analysis

I put these images next to each other to compare them as they are very similar and I want to use only one of them for my final photobook. The top image presents girlhood better as there are three girls in it, all in and around the tree however I prefer the tone and composition of the image on the bottom. The tree is more central and creates a nicer focal point.

These two images are very similar however I like the composition form and space of both of them. Therefore, I plan on maybe putting them next to or above one another in my photobook.

I decreased the exposure in this image but brought the shadows up a bit. This was because the image was very overexposed so I wanted to define the image more. However, with heavy shadows, it caused the seaweed to take over the image a lot as its the darkest component in it. Bringing the shadows up just lightened that a bit.

I started by rotating the image to straighten the horizon, I then cropped the image and this made it all more central. I like this image as it has very clear broken up foreground, midground and background. The foreground of the sand, midground is the two girls and the background is the sea horizon. The focal point of this image is the two girls and they also contrast the image as the tone of the background and surrounding of them are lighter and colourful and they are a darker tone so stand out.

Using Artsteps, I made a virtual gallery using my favourite images from the project that were also in the photobook.

link: https://www.artsteps.com/view/65c208d2251693181698b754?currentUser

Using the 64 images I had picked to be my favourites and the most suitable for the photobook, I started designing my photobook in the “Book” tab of Lightroom Classic.

I started picking what images should go in what order and resizing them to the pages of the book after picking the format (Portrait).

After narrowing the images down again, I ended up with about 50 pages in my book.

Final Outcome

Editing process of a handful of my photos taken so far under my ABANDONED chapter in my upcoming photobook.

During my earlier days, I would sneak into a collection of abandoned places throughout Jersey with my friends. I remember key elements that most of the places I visited would share. Such as danger warning signs, dark rooms being dimly lit by your friends torches, cold temperatures and the constant feeling of general unwelcomeness each building gave off, combined with the thought that we were going to be spotted or badly hurt at any moment. I wanted to reflect all of these in my images by adjusting light levels to low, having bad weather and slippery environments, making photos look grainy and damaged and overall giving the photos a sense of eeriness.

I made sure to change the lighting levels in this photo to have the sign appear brighter than the background to bring out the significance of it being the main subject of the photo. Also to imply that a torch is being shined on it. I’ve encountered many signs like this whenever I have snuck into somewhere, always saying something along the lines of “Danger” or “Keep out”. Attempting to deter people and make the site dangerous and less likely to enter, but accidentally making it more intriguing.

I wanted to make this image appear darker, I felt it had a more ominous look paired with the warning sign, to arise a sort of fear for the viewer. I also made sure to make it just bright enough to appear there was a flashlight being shone onto the sign too.

I liked the idea to just cut off the rest of the photo, because the rest was just wall, and make a box aspect ratio. I feel that the less the image shows, the little more mystery it brings about this door. Why has it been boarded up, and when? Where does it go? What caused the giant scratch on it?

I wanted to bring out the lights in the car park more, and make the steel beams more visible. I felt that by making the lighting more yellow it made the image look more appealing instead of just plain white, I felt it made it more cinematic looking too.

I wanted to also make this have a smaller aspect ratio because it focuses more on the doorway. I made the photo darker because I wanted the photo to look scarier and more serious, it makes the doorway darker and less inviting because you don’t know what is through it. I made sure the photo was straighter as it makes the fence look better and more satisfying to look at.