Connecting Essay 2

Internet Photograph

This is an online photograph that I used as inspiration for my own photograph below. The reason this photograph caught my eye is because of the black and red theme contrasting with the white, and the creative explosion that makes the woman appear as though she's fizzing away. Placing her in front of a white background was an effective choice of the photographers because it allows the bold foreground colours to stand out. Colour is a formal element that has being used sufficiently in this piece. I also liked that the model is placed directly in the middle of the frame because this allows her to be the main focal point in the image. Having her hand on her hip is effective body language in partnership with the explosion on the left because it avoids the right side of the frame from being plain and empty - if she had her hand hanging down there would be wasted space within the frame which would make this photograph less successful. The pattern of the explosion is a strong feature in this piece as it is a mixture of splats all of different sizes, shapes and colours.

My Photograph

I then captured my own photograph in a studio and used the splatter tool on Photoshop to create this large explosion of red. I originally photographed Danielle licking the large lollipop, making sure that all of it was on show instead of hidden behind parts of her hair - as the lollipop is the main subject of the image as this is what's causing the wild splatters. I left space in the left hand side of the frame, as this is where I intended for the splats to spread. Without the effect, the frame would consist of wasted space, therefore this artistic explosion is a very interesting feature. As you eat a lollipop like this, it gradually begins to lose it's shape and pattern, I wanted to convey this through the use of the splatter tool as you can physically see it fading away, making the photograph a lot more fun and entertaining for the viewer. I brightened the overall image immensely in order to make it pop if it were among other pieces of photography - bright white backgrounds stand out so I wanted to employ this into my work. The background faintly blends in with the lollipop, which exaggerates the fact it's fading away.

The Connection

These two photographs connect with one another in a great deal of ways. Firstly, both photographs have been captured in a studio, with a backdrop that covers the whole frame and allows the subject to be the main focus without any interruption from other props/features in the composition. Both photographs feature the colour red, which breaks up the bright soft tones in my photograph yet compliments the fellow dark tones in the Internet image. The main feature in the two of these photographs that share the strongest connection is the large quantity of splats that are coming off the woman's body and Danielle's lollipop. This splatter effect was created by creating extra layers of the same photo on Photoshop and using the splatter tool to remove parts of the subject you want to fade away and then using it to add in splats of the colours found in the subject you're "exploding". This way, the explosion appears more realistic as parts of the subject have blended into the background instead of just having random splats sprawled out in a random section of the composition. Overall, I was able to employ this effect into my photography as effectively as it had been done professionally online, whilst creating a wild pattern that links fully to my topic.