Copyright Š 2010 Jenai Kavarana
Digital Photography Elective Assessment 10th Decemer 2010
Jenai Kavarana
Student ID: KAV09269781
BA (HONS) GMD
Information Design, year 2
Copyright Š 2010 Jenai Kavarana
Brick Lane, textures of the wall.
Copyright Š 2010 Jenai Kavarana
The Assignments 1. Studio Portraits Produce two studio portraits of the same subject expressing distinct and distinct moods through compostion, lighting, posingand/or expression 2. In the Style of: Edward Steichen Research a photographer before the digital age and shoot a picture influnced by his work 3. Editing Produce two images that clearly demonstrate the use of digital imaging software in post production. Your portfolio needs to include the before and after images for each photograph. 4. Other Images Up to four images that demonstrate exploration and experimentation of digital camera use.
Copyright Š 2010 Jenai Kavarana
1. Studio Portraits
Copyright © 2010 Jenai Kavarana
Studio Shots, the ones that didnt’t make it
Shooting in the studio was a thrilling and exciting experience as I was in complete control. Before coming into class that day, I had just broken my full length mirror and was on my way to dispose it when it dawned on me that it could be used as a prop on my ‘set’. I uploaded some of the studio shots onto facebook and requested my friends to comment on them so that I could make sure the mood of the photograph has been correctly represented.
Copyright Š 2010 Jenai Kavarana
The first portrait shows my subject looking at herself in the crack of the mirror giving the audience a semi distorted view of her face which adds a hint of depth and enigma to the photograph. The intensity of the subject’s expression revealed a darker layer to the photograph which inspired me to edit the contrast and the colouring of the image where I decreased the saturation and added a blue sub tone to the image. The crack in the mirror gives adds another layer to the photograph. The audience could interpret it as a split/double personality representation... The hard light enabled me to have dark shadows... however, the reflection of the light.
Copyright Š 2010 Jenai Kavarana
Copyright Š 2010 Jenai Kavarana
The second portrait has a completely different feel to it - the expression on the subjects face is serene, calm and happy... The subject looks like she is shy or blushing about something. The lighting is soft on her face... I edited the photograph as I feel that the photograph comes alive in this colour scheme.
Copyright Š 2010 Jenai Kavarana
Copyright Š 2010 Jenai Kavarana
2. In the Style of: Edward Steichen
Copyright © 2010 Jenai Kavarana
Photography in the late 1890s saw 2 types of photographers... those who saw themselves composing moral montages and sentimental allegories and those who saw themselves as artists. Edward Steichen was part of the latter. “Nearly every photographer worthy of a view camera joggled his tripod for a muted blur, bathed his lens in water or glycerin to produce a misty glow and manipulated his prints and negatives for a paintery effect” Stellakis Aivaliotis, Commercials Director. I decided to keep the subject of landscapes the same and to add an extra eyrie feel and make the photography feel a bit dated, I changed the saturation of the image and added a lot of noise to give it that “paintery” effect.
Moonrise, Mamaroneck, New York, 1904 Edward Steichen
What inspired me when I looked at Steichen’s book from the History of Photography Series was the simplicity of the reflection and the faint lighting that all added to a mysterious, gloomy look. As we have now started the winter season I decided to photograph some bare trees and make them looks as threatening and uninviting as the trees in ‘Moonrise’ do. The modern day technology of seeing the photograph as I clicked it enabled me to make sure I was focused on the branches. Once I uploaded it onto my laptop I was able to quickly and efficiently play around with different filters and saturations on Photoshop until I was happy with the results.
Copyright Š 2010 Jenai Kavarana
Copyright Š 2010 Jenai Kavarana
This page and opposite: Trees on Baker Street, London, 2010 Jenai Kavarana
Copyright Š 2010 Jenai Kavarana
3. Editing
Copyright Š 2010 Jenai Kavarana
I recently visited my best friend in Canterbury, the lifestyle there was so different to the one I lead here in London. This photograph captures my friends playing a game where you look for a stick you’ve thrown in the lake. What I like about the photograph is the body language as it looks spontaneous and fun. - Edited contrast by playing around with the levels on Photoshop. - De-saturated the image to make it black and white, gives the photograph a wintery feel. - Sharpened the image so that the texture of the bricks and the bare branches would stand out more.
Copyright Š 2010 Jenai Kavarana
Copyright Š 2010 Jenai Kavarana
Creating a Montage... On one of those rare days where the sun came out this November, I was walking to London Bridge when I cam across this beautiful crack on the pavement. I wanted to see if anyone was in fact affected by it but no one seemed to notice it. I took a series of photographs of people’s shadows to demonstrate how we have stopped noticing the little things in life... - Edited contrast (levels) however I forgot to save them as a copy so I actually saved over the original files - Layered them on top of each other with a 50% opacity so that we can see each layer individually. This added a sense of movement to the image.
Copyright Š 2010 Jenai Kavarana
4. Other Images
Copyright Š 2010 Jenai Kavarana
St. James’ Park, November 2010 The natural sunlight shining through the trees over this sculpture gives this photograph a glowing, almost out of worldy feel. I made this photograph black and white as I wanted the main focus to be on the sculpture... the stark white amidst the black. I also inceresed the contrast as I wanted a harsh difference between the blacks and the whites in this photograph. Having the sculpture and the sun light off center helps brake up the monotony of the photograph.
Copyright Š 2010 Jenai Kavarana
Byculla, Mumbai, August 2010 Whilst driving around in Mumbai this summer, I decided to take a series of photographs, this girl really stood out to me as her outfit and her skin tone clashed against the background of her home on the streets. Her expression was so calm, serene and delicate... I am presuming she was lost in deep thought. The natural sun light hit her face so beautifully it was hard to resist taking this photograph. What amazed me with the outcome of it was that she was not posing as she did not even know I was watching her.
Copyright Š 2010 Jenai Kavarana
London Bridge, November 2010 I love the idea of texture, so to make sure I was able to truly bring out the surface of the pavement. I played around with the contrast and the sharpness of the image until I was satisfied. I also made sure that the square was slightly off center and slightly crooked so that the photograph would not be symmetrical.
Copyright Š 2010 Jenai Kavarana
Copyright Š 2010 Jenai Kavarana
Copyright Š 2010 Jenai Kavarana
Digital Photography Elective A mini portfolio of some photographs and skills that I picked up along the way whilst studying digital photography with Simon Leiowtiz at the London College of Communication as part of my BA (HONS) Degree, Graphic for Media Design Information Design Pathway. All photographs are subject to copyright. Jenai Kavarana Š December 2010