I chose this theme as I feel that it allows for more freedom when taking my photos. It focusses on editing photos in Photoshop which is my favourite aspect of photography. I do not have many ideas for it but I am sure that I will get inspired by photographers and artists I see when researching the topic.
MInd map
Francesco sambo
This photograph by Francesco Sambo shows what appears to be a man with a wolfs head. The background is extremely dark which gives a dark, sinister fell to it. This is a very abstract image and there is a variety of ways that it could have been created. The most likely way is that he took two different photos, one of a man and one of a wolf, and then used a program like Photoshop to put is together. He has used the light effectively as he has illuminated the person and the background is pitch black. This means that the viewer is only looking at the man. The most interesting part of the photo is the face as it looks like it fits in with the body and it is not obviously edited.
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Francesco also puts heads of other animals on people to create interesting effects. I think that I will use the dark back ground and I will blend other objects, other than animals, on people.
photoshoot
I am planning to take photos of various objects that could be blended on to a person. I will take photos of people in different poses to make sure I can merge them with various objects. I will try to make sure that there is no visible shadow so I can make it easier. When I am taking photos of people I will try and get a uniform background so I can manipulate it. When editing my photos I will blur out the part where the objects meet to make the overall picture more smooth.
I didn't think that these were that effective as the colour schemes of the objects were too different from the skin colour. This meant that for most of them I had to put it in black and white. For the one in colour the colour of the head wouldn't work in black and white so I was forced to have it in colour even though I didn't think that it was very effective. Overall I thought that this photo-shoot was quite difficult because it contained a lot of editing which would take a lot of time. This is why I have a limited number of edits. I feel that I will not use these effects in my final photos as working in Photoshop with people is difficult.
To do the images that I have done I first got the picture of the person and then cut out the area surrounding them. Then I cut the head of another object and put it on the neck of the person. I resized the head to make sure it didn't look too out of place. If the original head was bigger than the toy head I would erase the head but keep the neck. If the neck of the toy and neck of the person didn't match up I would use the liquefy tool spread out the neck so it fitted well, a good example of where I di this was the dragon head.
To do the images that I have done I first got the picture of the person and then cut out the area surrounding them. Then I cut the head of another object and put it on the neck of the person. I resized the head to make sure it didn't look too out of place. If the original head was bigger than the toy head I would erase the head but keep the neck. If the neck of the toy and neck of the person didn't match up I would use the liquefy tool spread out the neck so it fitted well, a good example of where I di this was the dragon head.
I decided to change the background of this edit to make the colours stand out. This is more similar to the photographer as the dark background creates a mystical element which adds to the effect of the photo.
Vladimir kush
Although this is not a photo I can still try and replicate the effect. Vladimir uses natural patterns and then connects them to man made objects. I could easily use the sea or the sky to create interesting patterns. There is a lot of natural scenery in the photo and it is usually quite bright. This is an abstract photo that will be difficult to recreate in photography as it combines clouds with a man made object. I will have to digitally change the clouds to make them blend in with different objects. This way the photos will look like the paintings. The most interesting thing about the painting is the mountains in the background as they make the photo look more interesting.
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Photoshoot
In this photo shoot I will take photos of various landscapes with well defined clouds and manipulate them to make them look interesting. I will go to various places and use a variety of lenses to try and get the right effect. When I edit the photos I will try and up the clarity and contrast of the clouds to make them stand out.
I felt that one of these edits was more effective than the rest, this was the one of the houses and port. This is because it is an interesting effect overall and the pattern effect compliments the rest of the photo. I decided to just do interesting landscapes because I found it hard to create the artistic effect with the photos as the images I was looking at were actual drawings. This meant I had to use the features in Photoshop to try and create the same effect which worked better in some photos than others. The other two photos aren't as effective as they seem to be dull to me but they look abstract in the way they are symmetrical with different leading lines.
I used the patchwork effect in this photo to create the artistic style of the photographer/artist. The sea in the photo is in fact a rock that has been put on top. I was doing it as an experiment but I thought that you couldn't tell the difference so I thought I would stick with it.
Penny jensz
Penny Jensz has a unique style of taking portraits. She takes the original image and uses Photoshop to make the image have different layers that remind me of ripped up paper. This is an abstract style that fits with the topic. She also puts parts of the photo in black and white to create a separated effect. The most interesting part of the photo is the effect of the paper. This means that it creates a unique effect that I have not seen before. to recreate the effect I will use the paper technique to make other types of photos more interesting. I probably will not use people.
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photoshoot
To create these images I will take photos of various thinks and then I will edit them in Photoshop. I will also take photos of ripped up paper to make the same effect as the photo above. I will make some of it in black and white so the division is clear. I have decided not to use people in this photo shoot as I will being taking photos of people for other people and it means that I can have a greater variety of photos.
The main photos that I have used are from the other section of my photos.
The main photos that I have used are from the other section of my photos.
These photos are more like the ones I did for a previous project, fragments. I took the concept of the photographer and adapted it in my style. I decided against using paper as I felt I would be copying her too much. The way I created these photos were quite simple. I started by creating a black layer below the photo. I then, simply, Cut out bits and pasted them in smaller to create a black outline. I believe that if I were to do this again I would change the parts I moved to make them in black and white or at least change them to make it stand out.
Igor Morski
Igor Morski takes the silhouette of a face and changes the face into a texture. The image on the left of this contains natural things like butterflies and flowers. This makes the image seem more natural. It fits the topic as the image is done well as it has been changed in the way that it looks strange. The flowers are at the edge of the face to show the outline and the center of the face is more cleared to show a blue light which reminds me of the sky so it makes the viewer think of nature even more. The most important part of the picture is the background with all of the butterflies. This way the picture looks better and more natural. To create this type of image I will take images of natural patterns and use them to change other pictures.
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Photoshoot
During this photo shoot I plan to take photos of Lego heads and natural textures and then combine them in Photoshop. This way I can control the size and shape of the head to make sure that I can edit it in the best way possible. I will control the lighting so there is minimal shadows. I will also use a macro lens to get as much detail in the retextures and heads as I can.
The photos I have used in my photos are:
I thought that these photos were quite good as you could see the face and the flowers. I particularly like the Darth Vader one as you can see the shape of the helmet and the flowers. This made the whole photo look more effective. The edges look bad as they have been made using a brush tool, to fix this I will smoothen out the edges and use the feather tool to make the edges less sharp. I believe that this will help the effect of the overall photo.
To create these photos I started with the Lego helmet and cut out the background. I then used the quick selection tool to make the outline of the head. I then put flowers inside the template and made a solid colour go around he outside. I then used different overlays of the helmet to make them keep the shape and features so it is recognizable.
To create these photos I started with the Lego helmet and cut out the background. I then used the quick selection tool to make the outline of the head. I then put flowers inside the template and made a solid colour go around he outside. I then used different overlays of the helmet to make them keep the shape and features so it is recognizable.
Jerry uelsmann
Jerry Uelsmann takes pictures of trees and old buildings and then cleverly merges them together. He puts the images in black and white to make the colours easier to match up. His photographs match the topic as he changes objects to make strange hybrids. The most important part of the photo is the part where the house merges with the tree. If this was done wrong it would be obvious that it was done in Photoshop. I will try to recreate this effect by blurring the line slightly to make sure the colours are similar. I will also put the photo in black and white to make it all one shade so I can make the shades the same.
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photoshoot
For this photo shoot I will take photos of different rocks and trees to combine them with several different buildings. I will make sure to take a variety of photos to make sure I can merge different objects. I will use the natural lighting but if it is too dark I will use a fill in flash. This way the photos will look better and in detail.
The photos I used were:
Edits
Compare and contrast
My image, on the left, is of a rock merging into a tower. I have put it in black and white similarly to Jerry Uelsmann to make sure that the colours of the objects are the same. I have kept the background the same as the rock to make sure that the object does not look out of place. You can see that I have tried to blur the line between the rock and the tower to make the transition more smooth. Jerry's image is more natural but I still think that mine is effective.
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At this point I had blended the stone and tower together, but there was still a clear divide. This is when I used the brightness and contrast to make the colours similar. I also put the photo in black and white to make the colour scale the same. This made the photo more effective as the morph looked more natural.
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Next step
The next step in my work is to do one final photo shoot on the topic and create three final photos to make a triptych based on the topic fantastic and strange. I have decided to further my work in morphing objects together. I think that it would be good to use opposites as they will be effective.
I believe the best way to get opposites is to use something man made and something natural. I believe that to do this I will use cutlery. I have different types of these so I will have a variety of photos. I will morph them into flowers as they are natural and the stem is a similar shape to the cutlery.
I believe the best way to get opposites is to use something man made and something natural. I believe that to do this I will use cutlery. I have different types of these so I will have a variety of photos. I will morph them into flowers as they are natural and the stem is a similar shape to the cutlery.
I chose the theme fantastic and strange because it allowed me to look at various photographers and many different styles of photography. This allowed me to experiment with different ideas and try new things. I like editing in Photoshop and I thought that this theme would allow me to be free with what I want to create. I looked at doing other themes like food but I felt that fantastic and strange would be the best for me.
During the experimentation I liked the idea of merging two objects together as it looked effective and it fitted well with my topic. I looked at various photographers that did this, most notably Jerry Uelsmann. I found that the majority of the photos done like tis were in black and white so I decided to do mine that way as well. When analysing Uelsmann’s photos I noticed that his background’s didn't change when the object did. This made the object look as one as it fitted in with the background. To create the same effect in final outcomes I decided to create a gradient in the background to make the image flow as well.
I have recorded my ideas in my written work. I have written a statement of intent for my next step and I have annotated my edits. I planned out my photoshoots before I did them to be sure that I knew what I was doing. In these annotations I outlined my ideas and plans. I used screenshots to show the development of my edits and annotated them to show the evidence of my process. I recorded my ideas at the start of the project by creating a mind ma. This had various photographers and their wok in to give me inspiration throughout the project.
As my final response I have decided to create a grid of nine photos that show my personal response to fantastic and strange. I decided to do this as I liked the idea of merging opposites together. Before I had tried buildings into stones and trees but for this I decided to use the studio to create a different effect. I used cutlery and flowers as they shouldn't be together normally.
To conclude, I am happy with my final edits as they show my response to fantastic and strange. I feel that they blended together well although some worked better than others. As a set I feel that they are effective as they show my understanding of the process and photographic elements.
During the experimentation I liked the idea of merging two objects together as it looked effective and it fitted well with my topic. I looked at various photographers that did this, most notably Jerry Uelsmann. I found that the majority of the photos done like tis were in black and white so I decided to do mine that way as well. When analysing Uelsmann’s photos I noticed that his background’s didn't change when the object did. This made the object look as one as it fitted in with the background. To create the same effect in final outcomes I decided to create a gradient in the background to make the image flow as well.
I have recorded my ideas in my written work. I have written a statement of intent for my next step and I have annotated my edits. I planned out my photoshoots before I did them to be sure that I knew what I was doing. In these annotations I outlined my ideas and plans. I used screenshots to show the development of my edits and annotated them to show the evidence of my process. I recorded my ideas at the start of the project by creating a mind ma. This had various photographers and their wok in to give me inspiration throughout the project.
As my final response I have decided to create a grid of nine photos that show my personal response to fantastic and strange. I decided to do this as I liked the idea of merging opposites together. Before I had tried buildings into stones and trees but for this I decided to use the studio to create a different effect. I used cutlery and flowers as they shouldn't be together normally.
To conclude, I am happy with my final edits as they show my response to fantastic and strange. I feel that they blended together well although some worked better than others. As a set I feel that they are effective as they show my understanding of the process and photographic elements.
Other photos
These are other photos that I have that I may use in the editing process. Although some may seem unrelated the still can be used as textures or teplates.