3. Convert the original object into a “Smart Object”,
then create an “Adjustment Layer” and clip to the
original background image, this allows easy
changing if not happy with effect.
With this new layer, go to “Colour Balance” and start to experiment with a
mixture of tones and mixtures to see which best compliments the image.
Bright colours make the image more abstract and dynamic to look at.
Finally, go to “Selective Colour” and begin to bring more vibrancy and contrast to selected colours in
the image e.g. magenta. This also allows the detail of the water droplets and leave formations to
become more apparent and slightly sharper.
4. My initial ideas and plans have been to follow the theme of “Discovery”, through my planning
and development stages I was not fully certain on what approach to take. I had taken a lot of
inspiration from double exposure and found it a unique and dynamic perception on nature and
a visual of detail. This particular image is a demonstration of my ideas focusing around water
droplets and reflection, this relates back to my ideas of using a garden area as a location.
I really like this photo because I feel it gives a modern, abstract twist on nature photography
and also makes the water droplets stand out more intensely against the leaves of the plant. To
create this heavy balance of contrast colours I created a new “Adjustment Layer” and played
with the sliders on “Colour Balance”. This adjustments picks out segments of colour which can
be intensified or dimmed depending on the amount of each colour detected in the image. I
think I could of maybe improve the technical components of this photo by burning underneath
some of the leaves to give more shadows and depth.
The strengths of this image I believe include the complex shapes and layering of petals and how
the orange contrasts against the blue and also along the bottom edges of the leaves. I also think
the deep shades of blue in the background help to balance out the bright tones and give a “scifi” feel. Another strength to this photograph is how the water droplets reflect the central part of
the flower and also help to break up the separation of blue and orange. I’ve also added in some
smaller pink tones to create a gradient effect transferring from the orange to the blue.
A weakness of this image is how orange and blue are not classed as complementary colours and
in some visuals it doesn’t look very attractive and often a little bit overly colourful, but I chose
these brighter contrasts of colour to fit the theme of “Discovery” and new and interesting
things. Another weakness is that I think I have overly sharpened the image in some areas which
has created small amounts of noise that lessen the quality.
5. This photograph is one of my favorite out of the set because of the interesting formation of the
water and the way it travels to and from the surface. To do this I used a shutter speed of around
1/80th of a second in order to capture the falling water so sharply, this also meant I had to use
flash in order to not create a dark shot due to the small aperture. With this image I again, altered
the “Colour Balance” sliders to bring out the darker indigo shades and to intensify the red and
yellow shades. There was very little lighting available to me in this image which resulted in me
having to use flash to compensate for the lack, although using flash was effective – against a
metallic surface it create a harsh glare which I couldn’t disguise without effecting the full image so
I cropped it to a 4x4 square composition.
My initial focus here is the movement of the water droplets and the extension of water across
the lens, which is why I originally photographed this sequence off-centre to give all the viewers
attention to the water. I also thought the purple would give a little more dimension and abstract
to a bog-standard image, but towards the left of the image it fades more to a deep black and a lot
of the detail of the water droplets is lost. I could have improved this by experimenting with the
brightness or dodging around the black to try and resurface some of the more vibrant purples.
Another factor for improvement about this photo is some areas are more blurred than others, if I
could do this image again I would alter the sharpness of image to bring out more of a sharper
reflection in the water droplets. Or, used the “Iris Blur” to give an elliptical form of focus around
the originally point of sight so that the eye would not become distracted.
Potentially, I could see these types of imagery in adverts for healthy eating – with the balance of
fruit and water. I could also have not used flash and instead positioned some artificial lighting so
that the colours are not so heavily washed out and the vibrancy is more apparent. If I could do is
photograph again I would experiment with different tones of colour that compliment the object
e.g. blues, greens and oranges. In terms of “Discovery”, it doesn’t really give much initial relation
to the term but my original approach was to show the speed use of the apple as an object but I
needed a firm object of which water could land on from the tap and bounce from.
I could relate this photograph more to discovery by taking a similar shot with a similar approach
but in a more natural setting similar to my other photographs, for example the garden. This would
of made the sequence flow more fluently and show relation between the photographs and how
the correspond with eachother. Overall this image I believe is successful but if I could repeat this
project again I would plan my strategy more efficiently and use either a torch or a more intense
source of light to prevent the loss of detail.
6. Again, following the same steps of altering the “Colour Balance” sliders and also experimenting with the “Iris Blur” effect to focus the initial line of sight on the
detail of the flower petals. Another element I experimented with was creating my own water droplets using multiple layers and different “Blending Modes” to
create several formation of water on the rose petals. This photograph I think is successful because it demonstrates beauty nature and reflects “Discovery” in a
way of sowing a more modern, abstract interpretation of traditional nature photography.
Some elements of this photograph that I think could be altered is the amount of darkness and shadow engulfing the image which destroys some of the
necessary detail and takes away some of the natural light leaving an artificial look. Some of the water droplets don’t look very realistic and hang strangely off
the flower petals, if I had, had more time with this image I would align the water more naturally and maybe extend the gaps to look as if it is the results of
fresh rainfall. I think the purple colours used in the background complement the petals and intensify the red and pink tones giving a more depth and contour
to the flower’s structure. It also helps to bring a more modern visual to traditional nature photography.
I think I could of improved this full set of photographs by experimenting more with artistic techniques and methods, e.g. double exposure. Even though
“Colour Balance” gives a good and creative effect, it doesn’t really express my knowledge and what I have learnt about Photoshop. In my next set of images I
will look more into using fast shutter speeds with moving water or other objects related to “Discovery”, I will also look into experimenting with reflection
using water surfaces to demonstrate my ability to adapt my photographic skills throughout this project.
7. Experimenting with Photoshop (Reflection)
To add more originality and creativity to my standard images, I wanted to show
more methods of including water and water effects that perhaps couldn’t be
achieved in-camera. Here I worked with creating artificial reflection of a standard
object by duplicating the original layer, extending the canvas 100% height wise
and flipping the layer vertically to create the symmetrical image. From here it
was time to work with creating a realistic dynamic of the object creating a
natural reflection in a pool of water.
A lot of this effect was made up of extreme dense noise and sketchy filters found
in the filter gallery e.g. Bas Relief – on a new layer that would be used as a
texture for the final image. This created short wave-length patterns depending
on how thick I wanted the waves to look, the “Gaussian Blur” tool was used as a
further method of softening and reducing sharp edges of the texture to give a
realistic looking dimension of water. This was my first time attempting this
method of advanced Photoshop, if I had, had more time I would of perhaps
found a brighter image with more of a central-composition as this would have
provided more of a clearer perspective of water.
I also created small ripples in the water using the elliptical marquee tool and a
similar method, although this time I used a form of distortion known as “ZigZag”
to create pond ripple effects on the water’s surface. I felt this would be an added
touch of detail to my reflection as it gives a more dynamic realism of the object
been near water. Also in works well in relation of the splashes of water coming
from the object, as if they are dropping and disruption the water below.
In terms of discovery I think this gives an adequate dimension of how we
perceive water and it’s abilities. Being able to catch the movement of water at
close range but also a form of symmetry gives more elements to this image as I
believe it symbolizes beauty and nature but also the abilities of speed and
formation. Writing “Discovery” was a form of giving an insight to the viewer what
the sequence of images was themed around although is was not completely
necessary, although I think the warping around the able allows the text to be
quiet elegant and discrete.
8. I also experimented with reflection and symmetry using portraiture, this is an
example of how I have developed my knowledge and stepped out of my comfortzone in terms of interpreting different formations of reflection. I originally took a
sequence of images in the studio to try and work with double exposure, as I had
previously done some research into how I could effectively use it in my final
imagery.
But after taking inspiration from my previous images and my overall approach being
to show the formations of water, I decided to follow a similar sequence to my
previous reflective image. Although this image does not fit in with my three final
images based around high-quality macro, detailed photography – it is a potential
starting point to a new development of ideas if I had, had more time or had to
develop more than 3 images. I could relate this photograph to “Discovery” by
demonstrating it’s relation to discovering an inner self hypothetically, often people
can become unfamiliar with the person they see in the mirror and delve for mental
and often spiritual help to seek the person they are.
To make this photograph more interesting and dynamic I could have perhaps
changed the features of the reflection by taking a similar image but with either a
different facial expression, different make-up/hair – to give insight into telling a story
of how the subject sees a different being in the mirror rather than herself, hence the
term “Discovery”. I created this photo montage using the exact same method as the
apple photograph but did a slight alteration of the contrast and brightness of to give
a mystical visual. I also used the gradient tool fading from foreground to background
tones to give more depth in the water, although I think I could have used less white
tones as the subject has blonde hair and it washes away any tones or shadows in the
face that give realism to the entire image.
Shooting in a studio with light boxes and a white backdrop is useful in-camera as it
eliminates all shadows and allows more attention to be drawn to the subject. It also
works especially well with fast shutter speeds and small apertures as there is a large
amount of artificial lighting that can be let into the lens compared to an area with
only dim lighting or natural light. The studio would have been a useful area to
photograph fast moving water or objects similar to my previous three images,
although it would not have given the same dimension related to capturing nature
and detail because of the harsh white background.
