Unit 51 Magazines and Double Page Spreads- My Page Layout

UNIT 57 PHOTOGRAPHY- Fine Art Photography

Introduction to this task
This task required me to delve into fine art photography by finding out what it specifically is and in a way learn myself how to take fine art photographs. By looking into this task I would have to look at specific examples of fine art photography pieces as well as who the key artists were that use this method of photography. This would be useful when taking my own photographs in order to imitate their work when it comes to my own.

What is fine art photography?

• Fine art photography is about an idea, a message or an emotion
• Through their work, the artist is trying to convey something to the viewer of the photograph
• Fine art is supposed to make artists think about the certain matters or messages consciously
• The photographer should usually have a vision of what they think their work will look like so that they will be able to convey these messages
• The choices the photographer makes with their photo to convey the messages will be clearly visible to the viewer and therefore the methods will be consistent with this photograph and with their work in general. 
• The choices that the photographer would make would not only be the different elements within the photograph itself but also choosing a specific frame/shot among several. 
• The appearance of the photograph is also key and will depend on the keying of the photograph, the saturation, the brightness and the filters used.

Examples of Fine Art Photography

Key Photographers

William Eggleston

Eggleston is largely credited with bringing about colour photography with the dye transfer process as a fine art form. This is printed images rather film. His colour photographs were on show at the museum of modern art and this was ground-breaking for photography. His artwork not only had colour but also had an observational style. His photographs showed everyday subject matter such as cars, hotel rooms and stores. His early works subject matter was the American South where he is from. His pictures had no political or social messages.

Eggleston was born in July 1939 into wealth and grew up on his family's former cotton plantation in the Mississippi Delta. He began to take photographs after a friend noticed his artistic side as well as his fascination with mechanics which encouraged him to buy a camera. Whilst at University Eggleston studied the style and compositions that photographers such as Walker Evans and Henri Cartier-Bresson who influenced his earliest work which he produced in black and white.

Walker Evans Example

Henri Cartier-Bresson Example

Eggleston began to experiment with colour photography itself in 1964 because of its association with amateur and commercial work but this had rarely been seen/appreciated as fine art. He decided to use this as an oppertunity and set out to capture images that showcased his surroundings which were devoid of negative messages. Over the next decade he produced thousands of photographs which focused on Americans, landscapes, structures and over environments. In 1974 Eggleston had a solo exhibition at New York City's museum of modern art. He was praised by a lot of people for his high saturation hues within his images which made every day objects or settings seem artistic.

What did I learn?

• Fine art photography takes the ordinary and the mundane and turns it into something that is artistic and interesting
• Through fine art photography the artist is always trying to covey a message of some sort even through something that might be plain and ordinary
• I also learnt about William Eggleston and how he got into photography as well as who his inspirations were
• I found it difficult to find key photographers due to the fact that there were so many and it was hard to choose a specific one who stood out. I chose Eggleston because he was essentially one of the first
• I liked the picture of the man inside the box in water because the message I get from it is about feeling isolated and trapped. The man in the box is a pale white colour and he stands out from everything else to show that really this is about him despite the scenic surroundings.

How will this help me in the future?

I will be able to apply the techniques that I have learnt by doing this research to my own work and it will also get me thinking/planning out my pictures on a deeper level. As well as this by looking at the different examples of photographs it gives me an idea of the types of photos I should be taking as well as something that I might be able to imitate/recreate when it comes to taking my own photographs.

UNIT 57 PHOTOGRAPHY- What do I need to do for my assignment?

Choose 3 areas of the following to research and produce a detailed report of how imagery is communicated:

• Documentary
• Fine Art
• Advertising
• Photojournalsim

UNIT 51 MAGAZINES- Content Checklist, Tracked Changes and Edited Page Layout for an article

Tracked changes

Content Checklist

Page Layout Comments

UNIT 57 PHOTOGRAPHY- My Portrait examples

Introduction

During this task I had to use a model as well as a backdrop/surroundings in order to take some portrait photographs from three different distances. I was asked to take three long, medium and close up shots of my model from different angles and then put them into photoshop using black and white effects and putting red, blue and green filters on these and then a selective colour filter on another picture. 

What I initially like about the setting of where I decided to take the photographs was the way that the red, tinted windows stood out and that they almost have outlines around them already because of how they are built. Although the subject is the model at the centre the eye is almost drawn to the windows because of this. At the same time the colour of the trousers and the shirt that the model was wearing contrast the backdrop. His top is grey where the wall below is grey, on the flip side of that his trousers are red-ish whereas the windows above are red.

The blue filter on this image makes the scene a lot more depressing than it actually was despite the fact that the images were taken on a sunny day. The blue filter makes it hard to tell that there was any sunlight overhead and it makes the setting seem dark and overcast.

Using a selective colour effect I decided to make the model and the bottom part of the image black and white but left the rest of the image still in colour. The parts that are black and white contrast with the areas in colour especially because of how red the windows are. The black and white model almost looks out of place within this image and looks as if he should be in a different photo completely. In my opinion this image sort of shows how photography has evolved from it all being in black and white to now having colour photography instantly available.

What did I learn?

• I got an idea of how to take simple portrait photos
• I learnt how to use photoshop in order to enhance a photograph and make certain features stand out compared to others
• I also learnt the importance of taking pictures at different distances and angles
• One challenge I faced was making sure I had the correct equipment and forgot something that was essential to taking pictures (The SD Card)
• I also had to find an appropriate area to take the pictures due to the fact that it was an incredibly sunny day and therefore had to find somewhere that the light did not effect the pictures too much

How will this help me in the future?

• I now have experience using photoshop in order to enhance my images
• I have an idea of how to take portrait photos which will help me in the future with any portraiture that I have to make
• I will be able to take a variety of different photos in order broaden the quality of images that I take

UNIT 51 Magazines- Magazine Article First Draft

Four years on after initially chasing careers as solo artists who were thrown together as a group act on Britain’s biggest singing talent show- ‘Britain’s Got The Voice Factor’, Harold, Lionel, Lewis and Neil or as they're better known-‘Can't say no,’ have become one of the worlds biggest boy bands with their fan base spanning across 120 different countries on 6 different continents. Now tonight they're standing on stage, with instruments in hand ready to take down the house at London's O2 arena- one of many locations on their nationwide tour. Seeing them warm up their vocals and tuning their instruments so finely just goes to show that they’re truly in this business for the love of what they do rather than for the perks that come with the job- although they are an added bonus.

But if we step back in time only 4-5 years ago, you’d see a very different image of the boys; they’d be non-recognizable living their average lives with their working class jobs, performing either at home in the shower, in their bedrooms or in the evenings to audiences of less than 30 with hope of one day becoming stars. “We all came from different backgrounds with the same dream and goals of what we wanted to accomplish in the future, it was only a matter of being in the right place at the right time that actually brought us together” Harold told MTV in a recent interview. “We didn’t realize it at the time, but this was something special, something that was going to become big”.

So lets take a look at how the boys came to be on Britain’s Got The Voice Factor back in 2012. Well let’s start with Harold who from birth was surrounded by music with his father as a jazz musician and local celebrity in the town where they lived. Inspired by his father's dream as well as his own passion for music, Harold decided to begin to pursue music himself when he turned 18 and moved to London to attempt this. His career didn't take off in the way he initially wanted as finding a solid enough gig was tough, especially in a place like London, so he got a job in a restaurant, that often had live musical performances, waiting tables and washing dishes in order to get by. After hearing Harold sing whilst cleaning their table, a few customers expressed to him and his manager just how beautiful his voice was and after a while more customers began to notice the same thing. Eventually his boss gave him the chance and come October 2011 he was performing on stage to a small crowd every other night. But this wasn't enough for Harold; he didn't want to just be known as 'The Singing Waiter' all his life so later that month he signed up for the talent show that would one day make his career.

Lionel’s story was different as compared to Harold he was at a disadvantage with his family having no musical background. Living in a place like Liverpool made it very easy for Lionel to find some inspiration from a few homegrown legends you may have heard of called 'The Beatles'. It is known fact that Lionel draws his musical motivation from 'The Beatles' however unlike his heroes, Lionel always lacked the confidence to sing in front of anyone so his talents almost went to waste especially as his father had always pushed him towards a more 'Practical' career. It was only when Lionel went to see the live auditions of the show that he actually gained that confidence. As it turns out he wasn't going to just watch the live auditions but in fact his mum had signed him up in secret without even telling him until a couple days before. Lionel rehearsed his heart out and despite a couple of minor mistakes due to nerves in his initial audition, he blew the audience away. Now he's gone from idolizing people like Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr to performing in front of them and going out for a drink with them afterwards. 

Lewis was in a much better position going into his audition. As a young child and teenager, Lewis loved performing in front of audiences whether it was in school shows or in local performances that they held in Dublin, so he already had performing experience. He was discovered by a small time talent agent at 13 and began writing and performing his own songs attracting a small fan base. He became quite well known in Ireland performing in small theatres however his career became very short lived after his talent agent dropped him at the age of 15 as he was no longer a profitable compared to artists like Westlife and Boyzone. This hit Lewis hard and he ended up becoming depressed. He just wasn't himself anymore. It took much encouragement and a lot for Lewis to be able to put himself back out there but as soon as he found out the show was coming to town he realized that this would be his final chance to prove not only to the judges but to himself that he deserved what he so much strove for. Since his audition it literally put him on top of the world and he became the fun loving and lively guy once again that he used to be in his younger days because he was given another chance at doing what he was meant to be doing.

Neil probably had the more normal story of the four that led him to his audition. Everyone that knows Neil has always said how much he always loved to sing whether it was around the house or when he was out with his friends, it was a surprise his teachers could even get him to work so it was only a matter of time that Neil eventually signed up to audition for the show. Coming from a place like Leeds there wasn’t much opportunity for him to actually prove himself so he knew he had to find a way. He drove himself to the London auditions and in fact he didn’t even tell anyone he was auditioning for the show, even his family didn’t know until it aired. He blew the audience and the judges away, not surprisingly to all to his loved ones. He knew he had the ability to do so and with confidence and zeal, walked out on that stage and absolutely owned it.

Although each of the boys individual auditions were in fact exceptional, the music mogul himself Simone Coyle thought that each of their unique voices would mesh together in a soothing harmony. After a few trial rehearsals they all decided that this group idea worked and they were all happy to collaborate with one another for the sake of their careers and to bring that extra something special to the show. After a successful run through the show and the live performances, ‘Can’t say no’ as they eventually became, finished in the top 5 but sadly did not win. Despite the fact, they got signed anyway to Coyles Record label SiCoy resulting in a more significant and successful career than any of the previous winners of the show have. ‘Cant say no’ are now in their fourth year as a group and are better than ever. But if anyone thought that they might be slowing down any time soon then come see for yourselves and look no further than their current tour. They open the O2 show by telling their 20,000 adoring fans “This is dedicated to all of you out there, without you we wouldn’t be able to do what we love each and every day and we’re thankful for that”. All the fans in the audience rejoice with one another, as the show is about to begin. I see their smiling faces and their eccentric movement around the stage; I know it and they know it that this is exactly where and who they are supposed to be.

UNIT 57 PHOTOGRAPHY- Portraits

Portraits

• Three different compositions
• Long Shot- The whole of the person
• Medium Shot- Waist Up
• Close up- Just face and Neck

• You should think about location:
• What is the lighting like?
• What is the background like?
• Where the model is looking
• What pose the model is in
• Where the model should be looking

• Take more than 3 shots for each composition. Try a range of shots and pick the best later on
• Take your time
• Talk to your model
• Get the eyes in focus
• Try and get off of the automatic setting

• We are going to take the portraits and use a range of techniques on them:
• Black and White effects
• Partial colour effects
• Basic adjustments
• 'Comic Book' Images

Aperture- How much light is let into the camera through the lense 

Tips

• Organise who the model is going to be
• Plan where and when the photographs will be taken