Evaluation
For this shoot, I was capturing products that included patterns and artistic packaging. I shot these in the studio as I wanted the lighting to be of good quality and light up the subject evenly, instead of using the natural lighting in my bedroom which comes from just one window, meaning one half of the frame will be slightly dimmer. I therefore used two light boxes either side of the product with my camera in the middle on a tripod to keep the photographs steady and neatly framed. I used a table with a white roll extended down and across the surface, creating an infinity curve, which I captured a couple of pictures on. I then kept this set up, and placed a light box on top to produce a faint reflection of the products I was taking pictures of. In my opinion, the photographs with the light box were more effective because the contrast with the dark background and the bright white surface made the products pop from the composition. The only downfall with using the light box was that it had multiple scratches on, so I had to use the clone stamp tool in Photoshop to select clean segments of the light box and paste them over the scratches, blending it all into one. I also used the splatter tool in Photoshop for some of the Lucozade photography I captured. For this, I'd duplicate the layers of the original photograph, and liquify one of the layers, as shown below, expanding out the product in an irregular pattern. I'd then use the splatter tool on the original layer of the bottle to make white splats on the bottle. I'd then click on the liquify layer to use a splatter tool of my choice to make rainbow explosions emerging from the bottle and across the frame. This was fun and interesting to do for my first shoot with this technique.
For this shoot, I was capturing products that included patterns and artistic packaging. I shot these in the studio as I wanted the lighting to be of good quality and light up the subject evenly, instead of using the natural lighting in my bedroom which comes from just one window, meaning one half of the frame will be slightly dimmer. I therefore used two light boxes either side of the product with my camera in the middle on a tripod to keep the photographs steady and neatly framed. I used a table with a white roll extended down and across the surface, creating an infinity curve, which I captured a couple of pictures on. I then kept this set up, and placed a light box on top to produce a faint reflection of the products I was taking pictures of. In my opinion, the photographs with the light box were more effective because the contrast with the dark background and the bright white surface made the products pop from the composition. The only downfall with using the light box was that it had multiple scratches on, so I had to use the clone stamp tool in Photoshop to select clean segments of the light box and paste them over the scratches, blending it all into one. I also used the splatter tool in Photoshop for some of the Lucozade photography I captured. For this, I'd duplicate the layers of the original photograph, and liquify one of the layers, as shown below, expanding out the product in an irregular pattern. I'd then use the splatter tool on the original layer of the bottle to make white splats on the bottle. I'd then click on the liquify layer to use a splatter tool of my choice to make rainbow explosions emerging from the bottle and across the frame. This was fun and interesting to do for my first shoot with this technique.
This is a simplistic photograph from the shoot, yet still as effective. I used an infinity curve for this piece to connect the white surface with the white background, whilst the product sits in the left hand side of the frame. I have left space on the right as I was experimenting with the frame, and I feel as though it's an effective composition as it leaves plenty of space for there to be text and company logos if it were a piece of advertising. By using studio lights it has bounced off of the bottle and made it shine, which has the connotations of femininity, liking to its uses as hand cream. By increasing the curves, levels and brightness of this photograph in Photoshop, I have allowed for the product to stand out more against the white and for it's patterns on the packaging to be evident and vibrant. As a way for making this photograph more successful, I could have cropped off the top part of the frame, as there is unwanted shadow in the left hand side which interrupts the clear white background; I will amend this for my straight images post soon.
I had to do a couple of versions of this splatter photograph because I couldn't grasp how to perfect the pattern, and make the explosion look natural. I still am not 100% happy with the outcomes, however I believe both photographs were partly successful in their own way. The top one works extremely well with the explosion on the left side of the bottle, however the splatter on the right looked messy and less effective. In the bottom photograph, I liked the explosion on the left side of the bottle again, as this looked more natural, whereas the explosion on the right conveys the parts of the bottle that I have liquified. The colours in both photographs however worked extremely well, as the explosions matched the colours on the bottle, making the splatter effect more realistic. I like the unevenly distributed pattern that the splatter gives off as this provides a sense of movement in the composition; another formal element. This makes the product shout out to the audience, as it should, as I have linked my work to the theme of advertising which means photographs should grasp a customers attention.
Progression
For my shoot next week, I want to develop the splatter technique and explore this with other products/objects; definitely more food products and maybe people too. I will hopefully also be capturing photographs of pattern packaging in the studio again for my exam, as this has worked out effectively with the light box and infinity curve. I will make sure these products are full of pattern, colour and shapes as these are formal elements that are popular features in feminine products and fizzy drinks like Lucozade.
For my shoot next week, I want to develop the splatter technique and explore this with other products/objects; definitely more food products and maybe people too. I will hopefully also be capturing photographs of pattern packaging in the studio again for my exam, as this has worked out effectively with the light box and infinity curve. I will make sure these products are full of pattern, colour and shapes as these are formal elements that are popular features in feminine products and fizzy drinks like Lucozade.
a good post again here Ellie, you have explained your working process, in some places there needs to be more clarity and re wording e.g. ". By using studio lights it has bounced off of the bottle and made it shine, which has the connotations of femininity, liking to its uses as hand cream." Finally a little more analysis on why Random Patterns are used in advertising you could link this to the work of J Knowles... (connotation, context, denotation)
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