CAGD 112 - DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY

HYPER REALISM / SURREALISM

               For this assignment we were instructed to compose a surrealistic, or hyper-realistic, photo composited from two or more images taken ourselves to recreate the inspiring concept we chose. Using our knowledge of compositional elements and the photoshop tools and elements we learned in the tutorials, we were instructed to use those skills to make our own surreal photography. My intention for this photo was to recreate one of Aykut Aydogdu’s digital paintings by way of real-life photos, hoping to convey a narrative that is usually present in the surreal art movement.

               The intended composition was to be centralized around the split portrait of my own face, since I had no other subject I wanted to photograph. Using layer masking techniques and reverting the photo to black and white, I was able to split the portrait and allow the tea cup of coffee to give the illusion of a inner pool, using the rim of the cup to create the outer rim of the bottom half of the face. From there I copied and resized a smaller version of the full portrait and placed it betwixt the tea cup and the bottom portion of the face while using the burn tool to create a false shadow which would give the illusion of a 3d space.

              The hardest part of the project was determining, after compiling the final image, what to use as a background since the original image had a painterly texture to it without any details. I cycled through several options, ranging from a photo take of one of the pride flag I have and a simple geometric pattern I have on a calendar. Ultimately, the choice to use a photo of my bare wall seemed to match the simple texture which was presented in the original and didn’t clash with the overall composition of the edited composite image.

               I’m satisfied with the end result, though there are many things I would do differently if given a second chance. The angle of the cup and the tilt of the head would potentially create a better end result if they matched so that the lip followed the angle of the cut better. If I felt I was allowed to implement more drawing techniques in the work,  might even go in and add a lip around the split face to give the same feel that the painting has of the two halves being akin to an open jar. 

PORTRAIT

               For this assignment we were instructed to create an aesthetically pleasing photograph with a person as the subject while practicing with the compositional elements we’ve learned about and endeavor to capture not just a picture but a mood, an attitude, or a visual introduction of the subject. For my intended composition I wanted to try my hand at creating a baroque style of lighting around the main subject of the photo by taking the photo outside at night with a single street lamp as my light source. I wanted to create dramatic shadows around the whole subject and let the highlights on the face carve out her features to create these nice facial shapes.

               The compositional elements I used were mostly the control of my lighting and exposure so that the contrast on the image would and could be made more prominent in the final photo. Since the original photo was also quite blurry due to my meddling in the manual focus setting, I also tried to sharpen it with the sharpen features while also using the patch tool to remove larger blemishes and under eye bags from the final portrait. 

HDRI 

               The assignment parameters were to take four to five photos at different exposures of the same composition and to merge these photos together into an HDRI image using Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Bridge. Merging the photos together allows for the HDRI to have more tonal range and can give the final product more interesting shadows and highlights while also creating a wider colour range. I was supposed to accomplish the creation of an interesting HDRI photo with this wide range of tone and colour through the use of different merged exposures while also creating an interesting source of lighting in my photo.

               

               The intended composition of the scene was to use the leading line of the train tracks to draw the eye of the viewer to the beautiful complementary colour sunset horizon which cast some beautiful warm highlights on the trees that frame the image. The lighting casted from the sunset in the creates these warm highlights which compliment the cool shadows and the green of the trees and the blue of the sky. The reflection of the sky into the railroad track also helps in drawing the viewers attention throughout the whole composition as it pulls the eye towards the focal point of the sunset which then pulls the viewer into the framing trees around them.

               The shoot was relatively problem free since it was simply a landscape a sunset at different exposures. The different exposures made it easy to not focus solely on lighting since I would be merging the together in Bridge and then editing them in Photoshop to which I made several adjustments. Most of the adjustments were to increase contrast, the curves, and the vibrance of the final photo through layer masking techniques learned in class. These adjustments really helped to strength the complimentary colours and the overall contrast of the lighting to create this more baroque style of lighting which formed a very beautiful end result. 

PANORAMA

               For the Panorama assignment we were tasked with taking several single photos that we would then stitch and edit by hand in Photoshop to create a seamless panoramic photo of either a horizontal or vertical composition of our choice. To accomplish this assignment, I took several vertical shots which overlapped significantly so that the stitching process would be easier as I lacked a tripod and wanted to get as many shots as I could to ensure I had enough. Ultimately, that worked in my favour as when stitched together the image was almost completely seamless and allowed for only a few spots that needed brushing together before I moved onto adjusting the photo lighting and saturation levels.

               The intended composition of this scene was meant to be a simple balanced subject matter which used complementary colours and line to help strengthen the image visual impact and convey the size of the structure in the scene. To achieve this I adjusted the levels of the photo to help push the shadows which help to create leading line along the bottom of the photo that draw the viewer’s eye up to the focal point and then up the tower and into the light blue of the sky; this also helped to bring out the highlights on the tower and give it more shape and volume throughout the large disks which also brought those warm orange tones further into the picture. 

               Once I had pushed the lights and darks, I was relatively satisfied with the lighting and began to mess with the saturation of the photo as those cool tones in the shadow and sky were too warm to really create any contrast or interest in the image. To do this I used the Selective Colour and Colour Balance tools help create more striking cool shadows and far warmer light tones which gave the image just the right amount of saturation and contrast using complimentary colours. To finish the image and help to create a much more prominent focal point of the image, I cropped the original to be more centrally balanced and to give the tower that feeling of reaching into the sky as it felt when I saw it.

               This was comparably an easy project to create vertically, as I originally wanted to create a vertical panorama for a more interesting experience and composition, but discovered that when I tried to stitch together my horizontal photos it was much harder to create a seamless shot without bowing or other problems with the image that I couldn’t correct. Thankfully, I had this fantastic shot so there came no headache.






THINGS

                

               For the Things assignment the intended requirement was to capture a subject matter from a close distance of less than around 5 feet to get a very tight and interesting image by playing with depth of field and manual focus. To accomplish these requirements, I focused on mostly playing with depth of field around the objects of my room and just trying to see how I could compose a composition which also held some sort of narrative as well, which was the purpose of my photo of a close up shot of my coffee mugs which I had on my shelf.

               The intended composition of the image was to create a definite focus on my favourite mug, displayed in the foreground, while playing with depth of field and keeping the details of other two mugs which had much more colour. This was why I chose to make the white mug prominently displayed in the foreground and instead used the mug handle to frame the detail of the background mug which still was readable regardless of the blurring. Along with the mug handle, I used the Colour Dodge and Burn tools to really push the lights and shadows of the photo to bring the foreground mug forward by dodging the highlights and burning the deeper shadows around the mug and the background to help push it further back in the composition. This coupled with the increase saturation, to bring back more of those vibrant colours, really helped to create a stark contrast in both the subject matter from the background elements while also adding more visual impact to the subject matter in the whole photo.

               My biggest problem with this assignment was solely focused on really pushing the depth of field as it became harder to push the background while also keeping the focal length so short since the mugs were relatively close together. To solve this problem I had to clear away all the other items on the surface they were sitting and bring the white mug as far forward as I could without it falling off the surface so that I could get just that touch of blurring to the background which really added to distinguishing the focal point of the image. 

ON THE EDGE

               The On The Edge assignment was meant to create an asymmetrically balanced image where the subject matter was some distance from the photographer and arranged in a way that it drew the viewers eyes along an edge. This assignment had an aspect of allowing the photographer to create a composition which focused primarily on the subject matter being balanced upon an edge which creates a sense of both tension on the viewer while also only being able to keep the photo in black in white to help better use the compositional elements that were intended for use.

The intended composition of my scene was to create an edge which pulled the viewer further into the photo, though in doing so my subject matter was not clearly defined. The most prominent compositional elements I utilized to obtain a visually compelling image was contrast, as shown in the difference in value betwixt the foreground rocks and the rest of the wall, and visual lines to draw the viewer’s eye further into the background of the photo which were created by the sharp contrasted values of the wall against the darker values in the rest of the photo.

The focal point of my image is not clearly defined as the edge of the wall created lines to draw the viewer’s eye but vanishes into the tree line. A potential focal point could be the darker rocks upon the wall which make up the foreground of the photo as the contrast betwixt the other rocks that make up the wall are much lighter in value compared to the frontal rocks which makes them stand out prominently in the photo. If I establish the foreground rocks as the focal point of the image, then I believe I did achieve drawing the viewer’s eye to the point as the contrast betwixt the rock values pulls the viewer to the dark rocks before then drawing the eye down the wall itself and into the tree line.        

            The only complications I faced was creating a photo that both worked within the compositional elements and the assignment requirements, as it was hard to find something that I liked and wanted to take a photo around. As I also came to find that I didn’t fully understand the requirements of the photo assignment, I ended up taking many shots based solely around creating this sort of compositional edge which was made more prominent when the image was converted to black and white as the edge of the rock wall meeting the grass not only is made prominent in contrast but also in texture.

            Much of the post-processing Photoshop procedures I used were the Colour Dodge and Burn alongside adjusting the Brightness and Contrast. My intention was to create a lot of visual contrast within the image to create a distinct focus and balance in the image which would attract the viewer’s eye and then pull it further into the photo. Since my image lacked a distinct subject my intention was to create a something of a subject by adjusting the contrast and value within the detail of the rock wall to make it more prominent in the shot. These adjustments enhanced the visual elements of my photo by giving my photo clear lines that direct attention and help to bring more detail to the smaller pieces such as the leaves of the left bush and the scoring on the rocks themselves.