I aim to produce a chess template where every chess piece or token will be represented by different people using origami handmade little paper figures that I will make. I will take a picture of them all with both white and black iconography and then I will decide who is going to be whom in the board. On the image we can see a rough plan I made to get the ideas out of my mind. On it I kind of explain how I will settle every person and how will they pose for me depending on the role they’re playing. The final template will be displayed in a big canvas. People images will be small, but I aim to make them recognisable, so I won’t shrink down the image too much.
I want my final outcome to look like a mixture of people who are all together doing something in common, being a team, a big group of different people who feel equal despite their different roles and individual personalities. I want to convey the thought of unity and the importance of it when it comes to human nature and life.These are some of my ideas, but I might change my mind during the process. Light will play a very important role when it comes to the personal side of each individual image. Even though I want them to work as a whole, I also want my images to be able to be interpreted and have an own meaning if they’re not displayed in a group.
InDesign Template
Chess Pieces
To achieve this system of order I thought about using Adobe InDesign to create a template and then place my outcomes. In my opinion, it is an effective way to play around with the layout and if I change my mind, I can always rearrange the order easily. On the other hand, I noticed that not every square will be showing a picture. There are 4 lines that will be empty when it comes to chess pieces. Therefore, I thought about
creating a texture to fill those spaces by exploring the techniques I have already shown in this projects. For this, I would use Adobe Photoshop CS6. I will probably take a picture of the studio when it has no one in front of the camera (just the background) and then play with it blending it with itself until I create something I like. I might also use some images and fill them with transparency so there are not really disturbing the composition.
Origami Figures The idea of turning people into chess pieces was a bit challenging because I needed to figure out how I would make every single one of the people I would take pictures of to represent a specific role. After researching on internet and having in mind the materials available to me, I opted for Origami figures. I would only need A4 black and white paper and some skills at following instructions. I have always liked crafting and experimenting with creative materials, therefore, I wasn’t new to this world or folding paper pieces into figures. I regarded every chess piece that I needed to represent. Starting with the easier ones: the king and the queen. Both wore crowns. I just needed to make sure they both wore a different one. Then I thought about the bishops. I remembered that priests usually wear a collar around their necks with a little symbol. I thought about creating one of each version: black collar with a little white squared symbol in the middle and vice versa. My next task was to represent the knights. It would have ideal if I was allowed to use a knife or sword, but unfortunately I didn’t have any of those, and I didn’t want to put anyone in danger. So I decided to create a small version with paper. Again, I played with the colours and made it both in black and white. For the rock or castles, I decided to create a crown with spiky pieces. That way it would be different from the King’s and Queen’s but it would still be visible enough on the pictures. Finally, it was the turn for the pawns. I am a chess player, so I know about the functions of each piece. This knowledge helped me come up with ideas for the pawns. The other pieces were quite obvious, but the pawns were more difficult. Their only function is to protect, block and defend from the enemy. And just thinking about these functions it occurred to me to use a shield with their symbol.
Once I had all the figures made, I decided that it would be best to have a picture of them all using every tool and then being able to decide which role was everyone going to be playing. I wasn’t going to be lloking at genre when it comes to picking the Queen and King, but I really wanted to have a range of boys and girls to organise the template later on.
On the other hand, I also wanted to make sure that all itmes fit every people. For example, the bishop collar had a piece of cello tape on the back to adjust the lenght depending on the models size of neck. The King’s crown was difficult to maintein on the head, but with a bit of equilibrium, it all went fine.
Matthew Savage is an English student from Blackburn University, England. He currently studies his third year in a Photography degree and he is really passionate about landscape, time lapse and portrait photography. He has also tried commercial photography by taking some experimental pictures to cheese. During his talk at my college, he show-reeled some of his artwork. He explained the techniques he used and how comfortable he was using determined tools rather than others. His talk about going to Iceland and Italy or Andorra, was really motivational. It made me thought that photography can take you anywhere in the world and show you the fantastic side of a completely nature place. When I look at his work, I feel amazed. It doesn’t look real. His pictures seem almost as if taken from abstract paintings. I like the effect. It is mesmerizing because it makes you stay looking at the pictures for a long time, wondering how it would feel to be there, what would I have heard, smelt or seen. I envied the passion he puts on his work and I really think this talk was useful because, as I suggested before, it has definitely made me think about the amount of effort you have to put to show what you really have in mind. This has encouraged me to keep working harder to give some shape to my project.
For example, here we can see a photograph of the sea and some rocks and mountains. It is completely centred and Savagge has used the rule of thirds. The line on the horizon divides the sky zone from the ocean. In some ways, the waves create lines towards that pointy rock in the centre. This could be considered as leading lines. Savagge has also used motion to emphasize the movement on the sea. To me, this picture is relaxing.
This is a time lapse picturing star trails. I find this technique pretty amaizing. The colours and the fact that it is all composed by multiple pictures overlaid together makes me think it’s kind of magical. I guess Matthew manipulated the photograph digitally to show both sides of the landscape well illuminated. The upper corners of the picture are darker than the rest of the picture. This gives away that it was taking way before the sun rise. However the hills are lit by morning light. Symmetry is a really visual and effective technique.
Shauna Leigh Robinson is also an English student from Blackburn University and she is also focusing on her Photography degree. However, she likes best to photography nature, people, light and little details. After seeing some of her artwork and visiting her profile on Tumblr, I saw what she really meant. She doesn’t distortion the picture giving it unnatural effects. She tries to keep things simple and as real as possible when she works with people and portraiture in general. When she adventures to work with nature she approaches a dreamlike scenario using bokeh effects and blur. Her talk was effective on me because she paid attention to little details and turned them into something magical and beautiful. She also took light into consideration which attracted me to research more about lighting diagrams and its effects.
This is a commercial picture taken by Shauna. We can see how she has thought about composition and light before taking the picture. I would also say that given what the product is, she has decided to present it outside in a natural background to reinforce its freshness. To focus the subject of the picture and to give it more power, she has surrounded the vase with a field blur that bring more our attention to the front. The yellow flower, however, keeps remaining viewers of the background, as it is lit by a natural and yellowish light. I think the colour scheme presents an effective contrast when it comes to meanings and purposes.
Here we can see how she has angled the picture diagonally. In some ways, this could be interpreted as a more dynamic and powerfull drink. Again, we are faced against a completely blurred background. The use of colours are warm and welcoming. It invites viewers to like that lemonade. The subject is centred, despite the deviation of angles. We can appreciate the use of textile and lines in purpose to engage with the white and dark blue background. There are also hints of green inside the glass, matching the tones of those laves we see on the blurry background.
Finishing up the background darkness.
Adding some make-up with a new layer in “Multiply” mode.
Using Burn Tool to darken highlights on her face.
Making some spots dissapear by using “Spot Healing Brush Tool”
Applyin a “Levels” layer to bring light and shadows up.
Bringing general Highlights up with Brightness and Contrast Layer.
Adding a blur layer to soften the facial expressions and harsh light effects.
Adding a final “Curves” layer to intensify the drama and cinematic effect.
Darkening the background.
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These are three of the best images I could take of Sophie. Her face is partially lit creating the dramatic effect I was looking for. The iconography can be seen easily and the background doesn’t have any imperfections causing post-production editing problems. Her facial expression looks good.
She hasn’t been caught blinking or lauguing or doing any bizarre gesture with her face. All is in place, although, I would have liked some more light in some areas, but this can be fixed with Photoshop afterwards. In terms of composition, some pictures could have been more centred but they are generally okay.
Here I have some other pictures that, in my opinion, have less quality. The mayority of them aren’t well illuminated and therefore little details such as the crowns or necklaces can not be seen. There are other cases where lines of light bad positioned cross the canvas creating disturbing shadows that compli-
cate the simplicity of the composition. Her facial expression is sometimes troubled as if she doesn’t really know how to pose for the camera, and I didn’t want that insecurity to be represented on my pictures. Besides, the lighting doesn’t help in the background since it creates a gradient difficult to remove.
The process of turning a simple good image into something full of emotion and drama wasn’t easy. It is a long and delicate process in which you have to have a lot of details in mind. But I think the results are worthy, especially when you see how the image changes on every step. I have learned through this technique how to fix the highlights and shadows on a photograph, how to even the background and get rid off those little imperfections or shades. I even learned how to add some make up to her face to make it look fresh and, how to position the light sources so the image gains the most.
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IMG_0061.JPG These are some of the best images of the photoshoot with Hannah. I selected the ones that were more suitable for the chess-board project. I specially like the one looking directly at the camera because she is showing such a relaxed and natural attitude that it could represent the serenity of people when
concentrating enough to be strategic. On the other hand, I also like the way darkness surrounds her skin and hair. It makes the texture and little details stand out even more. It’s like a vignette framing the subject of the images. There is a noticeable contrast between the tone of her skin and the colour of the background.
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Open the original image.
Make the background black by Correct the spots on the skin on a new layer with the Spot Healing Brush adjusting the levels.
Do the same on the skin.
Apply a Blur layer on the face to Create a new layer and change the Blend Mode to Overlay to apply any make it more even. make up effects you want.
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IMG_0042.JPG These photographs have been discarded for multiple reasons. One of them is the lack of light, or the bad use of it. Sometimes I asked her to pose in a particular way just to try a new technique, a new lighting set up, but it didn’t always work. Even though all of them are framed correctly, sometimes the angle isn’t the
right one, and it gives the image a strange look. It doesn’t make important what I want to be seen firstly. Sometimes clothing absorbs all the light and the face remains in darkness. Those are some of the reasons why I didn’t feel convinced about these images.
Add a Levels layer and correct the lightning a bit.
Add a layer of Brightness and Contrast.
Add a layer of Hue and Saturation to highlight the brightest colours.
The shoot with Hannah and the editing process afterwards was both surprising and enriching. I learned a lot with her in the studio. She, alongside with Sophie, was the first person I took pictures off in a studio. I decided to spend my time on editting the photograph because I really wanted to create a unique outcome with her images. I enjoyed the experience, and so did she. To me, the post-production part was quite fulfilling because I could see how the image was changing with every step, and at the same time I was learning how to correct things that I didn’t know I could do before. I also had to do a little research watching videos online about how to correct certain aspects.
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IMG_0240.JPG I like these pictures because the background is naturally black and plain which facilitates the process of editting afterwards. I also like the facts that all iconography is clearly seen in every picture and that the lightbulb has illuminated them all correctly. I like the natural intensity of her postures and
the way she kind of looses her gaze into the nothingness. It gives her an interesting atmosphere to the compositions. I could have tried to take some portraiture-lke pictures by turning the camera vertically. That way I would have captured more space surrounding her.
Here I present some of the photographs that I decided to discard due to the lack of content or skipping essential rules. I would naturally capture her blinking because it is normal to do so. I tried taking a picture from a low angle point. I wanted it to represent power, but this didn’t convince me as when I imagined the pic-
ture being put in a chessbroad along with others, it didn’t look right. It totally missed the point on pernosality and appearance. Finally, the reason why I discarded the last picture is because the iconography wasn’t positioned facing the light, and this made the picture look amateur and out of place.
Open the original image.
Correct the highlights using Dodge Tool.
Correct her skin using Spot Healing Brush Tool
Add a layer of Curves to highlight the tonalities.
Add a layer of Levels to correct the lighting.
Add a layer of Brightness and Contrast to make the colours stand out.
Working with Aliee was a good experience because at that time neither of us had much experience taking pictures or having pictures taken, and we both shared this first time of being in the studio together trying to capture a unique moment. She volunteered to come and pose for me and for my project, something I am really grateful about. Despite the lack of experience from both of us, I am happy today looking at the photographs. However, I would have tried something else with her hair in some of the pictures. She naturally wears it in the front, so when I asked her to pull it back, she didn’t look like herself. But I quite like her looks on the final outcome because it’s a mixture of her style and what I was looking for.
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IMG_0143.JPG These are, in my opinion, the three best images of the shoot with Emma. They are centred and they follow composition rules. The first image at the top looks quite powerful, though the light bulb had too much force, I think. But this can be fixed on Photoshop. The second image has the shield in
Open the original image.
IMG_0130.JPG the wrong position, but this can also be flipped horizontally to get the right position without altering any other aspects of the image. The third one is my favourite one because she looks directly to the camera, which is a method to arrive to the audience and make them feel more familiar with the character.
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Select the silhouette of the subject and refine it.
Inverse it and paint the background in black.
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The light on this pictures is all over the place. Emma’s skin is overexposed and it doesn’t look correct. These were things I couldn’t afford to spend my time on fixing on Photoshop. The origami hat she’s wearing in some of the pictures is supposed to be black, yet here it looks almost grey. Her hair has a really nice
colour, and I wanted to show it on my pictures, but, particularly here, her hair looks either too bright or lifeless. I wanted to capture the real tone of her hair. I also want to point out the importance of positioning the subject in the centre of the frame, which I clearly didn’t do in all of the pics here.
Add a layer of Levels.
Flip the image horizontally to correct the position of the shield.
Sometimes the process of editing and post-production in general gets easier when the picture itself has been taken decently or quite similarly to the results you are expecting to get at the end. For this photograph, I just needed to blacken the background and flip the direction of the shield to the left so she wouldn’t stand out with the other pieces of the chess. So, in this case, I think I got a pretty nice picture with the correct lightning and it only took me a few steps to achieve it as it is right now. For future reference, I would probably spend some more time correcting the skin, maybe adding some make up effects.
IMG_0232.JPG Open the original image.
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Add a layer of Level to correct the light.
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Select the silhouette, inverse it and fill the background with a solid layer of black.
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This are some of the pictures that I liked the most about this shoot. They are all well iluminated and centred. There aren’t any parts cut off the frame. Here I tried both positions with the camera, horizontal and vertical, just to see how was it better to frame the person. All iconography is easily
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seen and recognised and the background doesn’t have any lines of errors when it comes to lighting. I really like her facial expression in all the pictures. She transmits such a feeling of strength and integrity. At the same time, it goes with the theme because she looks strategic enough to make a lot of hard decisions.
These pictures are not so great because, for example, on the first one we can see how the light bulb’s position created shadows and disturbing lines on the sword. Added to the fact that she is holding the origami piece far too back away from the source of light to reach it and illuminate correctly. Her elbow is also cut
from the picture. The second picture is underexposed. We can see her face partially, but to me, it isn’t enough light as even though the face is what I focus on, I still want to be able to see what surrounds her. On the third picture, her hair is positioned in a way that creates shadows on her neck.
Add a layer of Brightness and Contrast to make certain colours stand out.
Finally, add a layer of Curves and change its tonality in a realistic way.
Working with Kate has been a really enjoyable experience because she, somehow, knew what I wanted from her and specially from her facial expression. I could get a lot of good pictures of her. At the beginning I had some difficulties with some afternoon light on the background. I couldn’t black the panel completely as the blinds on the room didn’t really helped, they were blended and old. However, Photoshop helped me solve the light problems I had by using levels and duplicating the background layer some times making sure I would definetely make it black. Appart from than, I didn’t encountered any other difficulties during the shoot.
Open the original file.
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IMG_0005.JPG The first picture shown here presents the subject, Josh, protecting himself with a shield. He plays the role of a pawn in a chess-board. I tried to angle the image in the right way but what impresses me the most is that even though conventions stablish that high-angled pictures make the
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IMG_0034.JPG subject look vulnerable, here Josh doesn’t look it, he rather looks ready for action, ready for the battle. He shows the same mischievous look in all the remaining images. He kinds of looks up with such a confidence that made all images suitable for any role in the strategic game of chess.
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IMG_0003.JPG Even though he was a really good model and had a lot to give to the camera, I didn’t take all the pictures in the right way. Sometimes I had the zoom to close to his face and missed the other details that usually compose a good image. Sometimes, the iconography wasn’t on the right position and I had to correct
Burn the most highlighted areas with Burn Tool.
Add a layer of Brightness and Contrast.
Try to isolate his silhouette.
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IMG_0042.JPG him after realising both that the light didn’t fully reach it or that it was all too squished in. Naturally, there were times where I caught him blinking, so I had to discard this images. On the image 0003, the symbol of the crown was facing backwards so you could only see the crown without knowing what it represented.
Finish darkening the background.
Add a layer of Levels to correct the light
Add a layer of Colour Balance and highlight the tones that most interest you.
Finally add a layer of Curves to enhance the tonalities.
I am really happy with the results of this shoot because the final outcome looks intense and vibrant. From the colour and the contrast between his figure and the dark background to the look in his eyes and the light litting up half of his face. Besides, the subject is completely centred in the middle of the frame and the tonalities of the image merge you into a mysterious athmosphere that sets up the mood of strategy and makes you think already about what the project is about. I had fun editing the picture because I enjoyed seeing how it turned into something great from what it was.
Open the original image
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Select the silhouette of the subject and refine it
Open your backgroun image and replace it
Make sure the silhouette is well cut off
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IMG_094.JPG IMG_0123.JPG These are some of the best pictures I could get of Adam, who kindly accepted to volunteer to be my model when I asked him to. As with the rest of subjects I asked him to hold certain objects that I had previously made for the shoot. I explained the positions on how to hold them and after some triall and er-
ror, we achieved the right results. Even though he seemed relaxed, I didn’t tell him to straighten up because the posture of his body looked right for the roles I had him planned to fulfill on the chessboard. I used the rule of thirds and tried to highlight the contrast of his hair and the background as well as the texture of it.
Here I present the pictures that didn’t fullyconvince me. The first one shows the sword too close to his face and has a shadow due to the position of it. It should have been put forward so the light bulb positioned at his left side could reach the object without problem. There was also a gradient of light going from
darker to lighter in the background. It didn’t bother me too much at the time but I thought it would be better not to have so the edition process would be faster. The facial expressions are really important in this project, and here he is smiling. I require serious gestures to convey the values of strategy.
Add a layer of Brightness and Contrast
Fix up the levels of the image
Make the background layer visible again.
Given that the original background was light coloured, I had it easier to remove it and replace it for the image I had thought off. However, it seemed difficult to me to select the little bits of his hair. I achieved a nearly good enough result after loads of concentration and time spent on refining his silhouette. I applied previous knowledge when it comes to levels, brightness, contrast and curves. The shoot wasn’t complicated either and it served me as experience talking to models and arranging the positions they had to make. I would recommend more practice on editting just to speed up the process.
Open your original image
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IMG_0130.JPG These are some of the best images of the shoot. I asked her not to smile since I wanted a serious face to transmit emotion but restrained. I tried to follow the instructions given by my teachers and take the pictures vertically to conform to portraiture conventions, but I also wanted to experiment
for myself and see what results I could get if I took some in landscape mode. I concentrated all the light source on the upper side of her body, from her head and surroundings to her elbows. I didn’t pay too much attention to her legs or hips because I knew I was going to cut off that part of the image.
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Add a Levels layer to bring up the light
Emphasize this by adding a Brightness & Contrast layer
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IMG_0006.JPG Taking pictures to girls with long hair can sometimes be complicated because they cover the iconography or create shadows very difficult to remove later in post-production. On the first picture, for example, we can’t see the necklace, so I discarded the photograph and asked her to pull her hair back. This worked
Enlighten the shield’s symbol by using Dodge
and I got a very neat picture including her face, her hair and the necklace. I also had to set up the camera correctly because the light conditions had change since I had set up the studio, so some of the pictures were too dark at the beginning till I noticed. Sometimes it was the angle what didn’t convince me.
Select the silhouette and then refine it.
Cut it, open your background and then paste it
This is how the final result should be looking like.
This shoot was sucessful. I feel I accomplished all my goals with it since I got enough footage to edit and use in my project. I experimented new techniques in Photoshop when selecting her silhouette. I didn’t make too much changes on her skin or face in general because they were no needed and also because I wanted to keep her as natural as possible. It was a challenge to change the background to white because it was originally darker, though not completely black. However I am happy with the results. I could investigate more methods of changing the background just to speed up the process of editing.
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Open your original image
Add a Curves layer and play with the tones to bring up the colours
Darken the background correcting the Colour Balance
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IMG_0026.JPG Alex is a drama student so he already had some experience being in front of cameras or people asking him to pretend to do something. Working with him was easy and fun. He had no problems posing for me, and what I liked the most was the way he gazed the lens of the camera, with that mischievous look. It made the pictures
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IMG_0038.JPG more interesting. Even though he was wearing his Christmas hat, the iconography was perfectly seeable so I didn’t make him take it off. Plus, it was part of his style and personality, so I didn’t want to change that. The photographs are all centred and they all show colour and joy, another value.
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I generally regret having the light bulb so close to my subject because he having a white skin, the light reflected on him really much. Sometimes the positions of his head wasn’t the correct one and the light messed up creating shadows were it shouldn’t or lines on the iconography. This was a good experience though
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because I understood what I was doing wrong and it prevented me of making the same mistake again. It could be said that this shoot particularly taught me some basic things I applied in all the shoots afterwards when it comes to positioing the model and arranging the light bulb position in the studio.
With a layer of Brightness and Contrast get rid off the exessive lighting in certain areas
Finally add a layer of Levels to enhance the dramatic effect and let the shadows surround the silouette a bit.
As I have mentioned before, this shoot was crucial. I had so many problems with the light that I was constantly wondering what was the cause of it. It made me apply all the theory I had studied about working in a studio, and this I consider a good experience because I had to draw upon my knowledge and experiment till I found the solution to my problems. When it comes to editing, I can say that I struggle with light again, but I could fix it adding layers of Brightness and Contrast and changing the amounts of each one to a considerable figure.
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IMG_0306.JPG What I like about this photographies is the seriousness of his facial expression. It enhances the power of the images and helps me transmit part of the main message of the project. In terms of composition they are all suitable for the final purpose as the lighting is correct and all iconography can be
Open your original image
Select the silhouette of Add your background the subject
Deselect the silhouette leaving it only with the background
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IMG_0270.JPG easily seen. The subject is centred using the rule of thirds which is always convenient when it comes to portraiture photography. I like the way the light reflects on the fabrics of the jacket he is wearing and how the same light creates shadows on his face, making everything more mysterious and dramatic.
IMG_0263.JPG However, in this shoot seen at all. In some of the images the objects there were some pictures that didn’t fully acomsuch as the crowns or the sword are misplaced. mplished what I was exFor example in the picpecting to achieve. Sometimes the gestures or the ture 0263, the crown is body language didn’t about to fall. Or in the convince me at all and we picture 0333 the sword is too close to his face. had to reshoot the same None of this pictures photograph. Sometimes the light didn’t cover the transmit the feeling I would like to convey at subject enough and the the end of the project. iconography couldn’t be
Add a layer of Curves to correct the colour tones and add more intensity to the image
Finally crop it in square form so it fits with the final template
The shoot and edition of these pictures was a new experience for me because not only didn’t I know the person I was taking pictures to but I also encountered several impediments at the editing process. Selecting the silhouette took me some time but after refining it and putting against a plain white background everything got easier. I am happy with the result because in comparison to other of my outcomes, this one didn’t end up having an aura of blur surrounding it and I would say that the mayority of the details are sharp. I’d say that for the next time I shoot I should try to be less shy and ask for what I really want even though I don’t know the person. That way I would get more confident results.
Open your original image
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I liked the way this model was dressing that day. He had such an intelectual look. This is one of the values I wanted to convey within the project because, after all, intelligence is needed to use strategy and to play chess. Technically speaking, I am glad to be able to say that the pictures all conform to photogra-
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Select and refine the silhouette of the subject
Open the background you’ve chosen
Cut and paste the silhouette creating a new layer
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phy conventions since I have had in mind rules such as the rule of thirds, centering the subject and specially, making sure all iconography can be seen properly. I like the first picture (0187) because of the shape his silhouette produces in the picture overall. I think it would be a stunning token of the chess
The first image starting from the left side looks really dark. I wouldn’t have minded retouching on Photoshop but I preferred to take a good picture so the looks are more natural at the end. The second photograph has been well taken in terms of composition and light, and angles and so on. However, I wasn’t convinced with
his body language and position in general because he looked too stiff. So I decided to make him pose again till I got the result I was looking for. The thir image is a bit curved to one side because I didn’t hold the camera steadily and the subject was looking too up, so I decided to discard this one too.
Deselect the silhouette
Add a layer of Brightness and Contrast and decrease the Brightness so the background stands out.
Finally, add a layer of Curves to make the final tweaks.
The editing process of these set of pictures has been one of the simplests. The mayority of the pictures were easy to take as the subject cooperated and had a natural look that made everything easier. With practice, I am feeling I get better at defining the silhouettes and once I have made people pose for me on the same positions, I feel more confident knowing what I have to do. For future reference, I would recommend trying to schedule models to come all in the same day at different times as this time I achieved greater results having the studio set up on the same conditions for several shoots.
Open your original image
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IMG_0021.JPG I have selected some of the best images of this shoot to show how I have used certain techniques. When taking portraiture pictures, it has been said that it is better to do it vertically. However, I have deviated from this a bit because in some ocassions (such as the image 0021) it came more suit-
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IMG_0075.JPG able to take it horiontally. The lightning was set up to partially illuminate his face and the iconography he holds with the other hand (IMG 0021). I tried to catch the shadows on the little details of his hair or clothes. This way it would be easier to enhance them in the post-production phase.
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Select the silhouette of the subject and refine it
Inverse the selection
Fill the bacground with a plan black colour
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IMG_0065.JPG Sometimes the picture itself can’t be clasified as a bad picture. It is just that it is not convenient or appropiate for the purposes it has been taken. Here, I have selected some of the images that, in my opinion, aren’t that bad but I can’t use them on my project due to the lack of seriousness or strenght in the picture. In other aspects
we can also highlight that certain techniques doesn’t work. For example, when taking this pictures I didn’t realise that it would have been better to back off a few steps just so I got more detail on his surroundings. For the final format I needed his whole body composition, including shoulders.
Deselect the selection by pressing Ctrl+D
Add a layer of Levels to increase the light source in certai areas.
When having a nearly plain background already when shooting the image, it is easier to edit it later. This is a clear example of fast and easy post-production of images. Here we originally had a easy background, we only had to make a good and refined selection and then colour the blackground with black. I have also learned that it all depends on the model. Sometimes their hairstyle helps a bit when it comes to making a clean selection, sometimes the colour of their skin and the background they’ve been posing against makes it easy thanks to the contrast created between the different colours. Here it was a matter of playing with different tonalities.
Open your original image
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IMG_0364.JPG For this shoot I decided to apply some of thecnical rules that I had learned throughout the course. For example, I founf really useful the rule of thirds since everything gets into place and you don’t miss any detail. As with the rest of the images I have been working on, I tried to lit his face partially to
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IMG_0405.JPG create this sensation of mystery. The images are well focused and all iconography can be easily seen which tells me that their position was right. Unintentionally, I created a vignette effect that surrounds him creating a gradient of light. In some ways, this will help with the enhancement of the shadows and highlights.
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Select the silhouette of the subject and refine it
Open your background image
Cut and paste the silhouette
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IMG_0400.JPG The studio where I was working wasn’t fully blacked out, therefore some bits of light could entered through the blinds sometimes. There were other students working in there too so the model was distracted sometimes, but this is normal. There are some facila expressions that we couldn’t avoid making
when I tried to explain what I wanted from him in the pictures. Even though I like these pictures, they are not suitable for my project because they show confussion and a sensation of being lost or missunderstanding sometimes, which aren’t values I wanted to convey.
Deselect the selection made before
Cut and paste the silhouette
Crop into desired format size
This was clearly the first time my subject posed in a photography studio but I was happy to tell him what he needed to do and we got to an understanding. Once things were explained, everything went smoothly. This can be considered as experience working in the studio for both of us. In terms of composition and technical aspects of the shoot, I think everything was well set up. I didn’t have any problems, only the natural light that came sometimes from the door or the windows as I wasn’t working on a completely blacked out room. For future projects, I should consider practicing cutting silhouettes in a more realistic way and booking a studio at a convenient time for all the models to come.
Open your original image
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IMG_0271.JPG he looked different, and Here I hace some of the best pictures I got from had his own style. Having in mind what I want this shoot. I liked workto convey I think it was a ing with him because he looked really photogengood decision. I achieved the lightning effect that ic on the camera and he looked relaxed during I was looking for and I even got this sparks on the shoot, as if it wasn’t his hair which give more the first time he went through it. This relaxed detail and sharpness to me too and made things the photograph. easier. I chose him to be on my project because
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Select and refine the silhouette of the subject
Get rid off the background
Fill the layer with a solid and plain black colour
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IMG_0249.JPG However, not all the picphy was very important to me, so I discarded tures were exactly suitable to add into the final these pictures because I wasn’t fully convinced template. Some of the about the position of reasons are the angles in which I took them (0245) the sword, the shadow on the shield and the or light cutting off details or creating shadows. curved necklace of te bishop. Also, there are Sometimes I was too areas on his skin that close to the subject and cut essential bits withare too bright because of the light bulb being out intention (0249). The too close. position of the iconogra-
Cut and paste the silhou- Deselect the the silhouette Add a layer of Curves to ette into this layer by pressing Ctrl+D make tonalities stand out
Final tweaks, Brightness, Contrast and Levels
This shoot ran smoothly than others because he was one of the last ones so I already had some experience in the studio and this worked in my advantage. Looking at the photographs now in the computer I feel conformed with his facial expression and the seriousness of his body language. He seems really sure and confident with himself, and these are values I wanted to convey within the hidden messages of my project. I am also happy with the edition of the pictures. One impediment I encountered was cutting off the edges of his hair.
IMG_0274.JPG Open your original image
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Select and refine the silhouette of the subject
Fill the layer with a solid and plain black colour
Cut and paste the silhouette into this layer
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IMG_0194.JPG These are some of the best images I could take of Ruari. I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to capture him as a part of my project because he represents a lot of things that link back to my project. Starting with his appearance and personality, I can say that he shows certain level of
respect and dignity, seriousness and experience, as well as strength and wisdom. All these characteristics are well transmited through the way he gestures with his face and body language in general. I decided to use the rule of thirds and to take photographs vertically so I conformed to portraiture conventions.
At the beginning of the shoot I forgot to mention that he needed to get his ID badge off so the pictures looked more realistic. So there were some pictures that I could no longer use in my project, but there was no problem when I suggested to re-take them. Because he was paying attention to a lot of things at the same
time, I got him off guard explaining things to other students that were on the same room. These pictures won’t be used on the project. When it comes to lighting and facial expressions I have to say that it was a pleassure. He is different to the other subjects, he has style and a unique personality.
Deselect the the silhouette by pressing Ctrl+D
Add a layer of Curves to make tonalities stand out
Crop into desired format size
Working with Ruari, my photography teacher, has been a unique experience. I have to say that I was nervous to take pictures of him in front of him, and it might sound odd, but I really wanted him to see that I could take good photographs and that I knew how to use the studio, how to set the lighting and how to manage models leading them to do what I needed. So the preassure was on in this shoot, but it wasn’t a tense moment. I have now a lot of footage to include as a possibility into my project. In terms of the post-production phase, I only had difficulties cutting off a clean silhouette of Ruari’s hair, as it is curly and a bit tricky to get properly in a silhouette selection.