TASK 2 PART 1 PHOTOS & ANALYSIS This photograph would be seen in various of ways by many people. It would be seen as a shorthand communication, through the combination of these colours it would represent a universal symbol of the denotation of the sunset. These colours will set a calm and relaxed mood for the viewer and connotes the end of the day’s work and a time for people to stop working and get ready for a long night. The beautifulness of the setting sun is symbolic of the beauty and the mystery of life itself. As the lights fades, which is representative of the forces of darkness. The shadow outline of the palm trees in the background suggest that it is set in a tropical country. The sunset over the island imply that the island is going through a new beginning. This would also be seen as a ‘money’ shot with the waves come crashing down with the island in the background. The composition of the image is a key factor of this, without the Rule of Third the island wouldn’t be in the same position as it should and the wave wouldn’t have come out as great as it should. This shot of a moving wave was accomplished by the shutter speed, panning, zoom, and focus. The shutter speed would have been below 160 with the camera staying still and panning from right to left. This night shot was accomplished by a long exposure of the camera and they might not have use the flash due to no reflection of the light showing back into the waters. This photograph denotes centres on a woman. The woman’s facial expression connotes sadness and sorrow. This could signify that she is stressing something but keeping it to herself. So, the fact that she is the only persons in focus might indicate that she is alone in the world. Her face positioning downwards is a universal symbol of disbelief, which could be disbelief in herself or the unfocused people around her. Additionally, some may disagree with me and say that all the signifiers in the picture could signify how she need to focus more on herself rather than the people around her. This could be the reason why she is the only figure in focus. However, others may say that she connotes society today, with all the crime and hate in the world she is the only light/ hope that can brighten up the darkness. In other words, the whiteness could represent the goodness of the world, whereas the blackness represents the absence of all of it. The man sitting beside the woman is fairly in focus in compared with the rest of the background. This would signify that he might have a close relationship with the woman but the fact that he is on the phone could connote that even though he is physically there, he’s not with her. Some might say that he is the denotation that she has disbelief in by the fact that he is in more focus than the rest of the people in the background, so they could a personal relationship and he is not giving the same effort as her. Correspondingly, the use of black, white and grey creates a serious and tense vibe for the photo. The over use of black/ dark grey in the background and the man connotes danger or secrets. However, the over use of white/ light grey produces a sense of hopefulness and innocence of the woman. The rule of third is beneficial with this photo due to the composition of the woman to the man. If
you count the columns from left to right, then column 1 and half of column 2 are blurred, in comparison to the other half of column 2 and 3 with the women in clear focus. This image could be used for photojournalism in a newspaper. One of the most obvious stories behind this photo could be “A Rise to Fame”. This image might base on baseball players past life. Alternatively, how the young player began playing the sport. The technique of how the camera focuses on the boy’s face; focusing on the ball emphasises how he is in his natural place in mind because he knows that this is where he is meant to be. It could also be about as humans we keep swinging at chances, the player represents us as people and the ball represent the chances that come our way. However, other views might see the ball as negativity, so as humans with the bat we hit them as far as we can away from us the protected ourselves. This just goes to show how one picture can relate to so many things in our lives, by our different interpretations of it. Taking photographs like this one can affects someone, who can’t convey their vision of the world and express their feelings as easy because it would be another way of impacting the world in their own way. The money shot of this photo would be the boy eyeing the ball, getting ready to hit it. The sports industry would advertise this image, so they could promote it more and people would get into the sports mood. This picture would be used on billboards and in magazines. The setting of this photo could an urban derelict area, suggested by the broken down building in the background. It would be seen as an uncontrollable conditions for a beneficial marketing. The black motorbike the subject is sitting on, might imply that she is a rebel and has the craving for adventure. It is also associated with masculinity, so with her sitting on it comfortably it challenges the stereotypical views on the delicateness of a woman. Her clothing is aiding on the challenged views of how women should look through the male gaze. The oversized grey top with the leather body jacket and black leather jeans is a typical biker look and not (through the male gaze) what a women should wear. Her make – up and hairstyle give a sort of rocker look due to the messy curly hair and dark eye shadow. The black connotes power and strength. Her serious facial expression sends the viewer an intimidating feeling. Her body posture bent over forward signifying she is very enclosed with herself, so people would define her as inverted. This magazine cover denotes all the top action movies in the world today. The intense image of Leonardo DiCaprio is anchored by the bold writing surrounding him. His low – key photograph creates shadows and darkness due to his half-lit face. Signifying mystery, darkness and fear. He would connote a person, who sees the world as a bad place. In contrast with the white glow emanating from behind of him. It implies that there is hope for the world after all, this person could be him due to it coming from him. His stern facial expression illustrations that he in focused on what he needs to do. It suggests that he is the only person he can rely on to get the job done correctly. The bold black write related to his bold
black suit. The black signifies his elegance, formality and foreshadows the death and evil that are coming his way. The bold red writing infers to the dangers he has to entail and his determination to the situation. The denotation of the gun in his left hand connotes a negative feeling to the view due to the foreshowing death it presents. The effect of the words being angled in that way creates a sense of dominance because of it.
This interior is stylized as a portrait. The setting of the barn would be seen as uncontrollable, through the use of the sharp wood pointing downwards, even though its shot inside the background is fairly low-key whereas the person is quiet high-key. The white glow shining on her suggest that she is underground and the hole in the sealing is shining the sunlight to her face. The fact that she is looking brings the viewers attention to the broken wood above her. The rough texture of the wood implies that the photographer used a high depth of field to give it a sharp look.
This composition of the photo is show by the rule of thirds. The grey line shown on the image make the photo become more balanced, so the viewer can relate to it more naturally. The main subjects of the photo line up with the vertical and horizontal lines. This exterior shot was taken in a rural area by as shown by the green mountains in the foreground and the sea in the background. For this shot the photographer wouldn’t have had to use the flash because it wouldn’t have had an impact on the image due to the natural light of the sun being enough.
This night shot in an urban area was achieved by a fast shutter speed, long exposure and a great depth of field. The slow shutter speed enables the photographer to capture the moving lightning as if it was still. The long exposure time permits the photographer to obtain as much of the light it could. The great depth of field was to focus the lightning bolt as much as possible from such a far distance. The composition of the lightning behind the clouds bring the viewer’s attention to it, due to the blue glow. The lightning is a universal symbol for ‘Lightning and Thunder’, when people see lightning they assume there will be the sound of thunder behind it. The image would be seen as the ‘money shot’. Paparazzi’s would aim to capture this kind of photo to sell to a print company for money. This photo could have been to publicize the event and inform the intended audience, like he artist fans, about what has happened. By the celebrity in the foreground and the most in focus, you could suggest that she is the main focus of the event, with the blurred group of people in the background you could tell that this event photo was for a concert. The photographer would have used a great depth of field to ensure that the subject was in complete focus. Thss moving shot of a wave cashing onto the rocks was captured by a fast shutter speed, so the water would freeze mid-air. The photographer edited the image grey to give it a more dramatic effect, hence the clouds being more noticeable than it would before it was edited. The cliffs in the background could imply that it was shot in a rural area. This photo has a shallow depth of field as shown by the rocks in the foreground being in compete focus. This would be seen as a shorthand communication of a country side, when people see this image think immediately think of somewhere cold and not somewhere hot. The colour grey is seen as control this would the contrast the uncontrollable situation happening in the photo.