Shutter Speeds & Front/Side Lighting- Lesson 2

We continued from last week, experimenting with different shutter speeds. This time we used a torch to draw shapes, on a slower shutter speed, so that we could see the shape that had been drawn. We also took pictures, where there was side or frontal lighting, to see what it looked like.



Shutter Speed: 1/40

This image captures Chloe doing a star jump. I set the shutter speed to 1/40. The quality of the image is not that good, as the motion blur does not look effective, and if anything, spoils the picture. I think the motion blur has been created, as I haven't kept the camera still. The photo also has a low contrast ratio, and there is poor framing as the subject is too far away. To solve these problems, I could set the shutter speed a bit faster to lessen the effects of the motion blur , but increase the ISO speed so that the image has a slightly higher contrast ratio. I could have also zoomed in, or got closer to Chloe, so that the image is more focussed on her.

Shutter Speed: 1"

This image captures Chloe drawing a heart with a torch. I set the shutter speed to 1" so that I could capture her drawing the whole shape. The quality of the image is quite good, but there is poor framing as parts of the shape have been cut off. I also think the picture would have looked better if it was taken portrait instead of landscape. To solve the framing problem I could have got slightly further away from the subject or zoomed out slightly.

This image captures Chloe outside, with light coming from the sun, which acts as frontal lighting. I took this on the auto setting as we were just focussing on the lighting coming in from the front. Frontal ligting is lighting that is above the subject or face on to the subject, and it can emphasise annd soften female features. I think this is quite a good quality image, but I could have got a bit more of Chloe's body in it.

This image captures Chloe outside, again with light coming from the sun, but this time it acts as side lighting. Side lighting is light that is shone on the side of the subject, and can often connotate a darker side to someone. However, it better accentuates the features of males rather than females, mainly being the jawline. Again, this was taken on the auto setting, but i think it could have had a higher ISO setting, in the hope that the contrast ratio becomes higher, as this photo doesn't look very colourful.

Targets for next lesson are:

• Review images as and when I take them, and take another if necessary
• Again to experiment with ISO speeds more.
• Experiment with manual focus also

Shutter Speeds- Lesson 1

Shutter speeds determine the amount of light let in by the shutter of a camera. Shutter speeds let different amounts of light in by setting different times for the shutters to open and close. There are both fast and slow shutter speeds, and these are used for different purposes. In a dark environment, you would use a slow shutter speed, so more light would be let in. In a lighter environment, you would use a faster shutter speed, otherwise the picture would be too light.
A slow shutter speed would also create an effective motion blur, whereas a fast shutter speed would work better to capture a freeze frame.



Shutter Speed: 1/25

This image captures Chloe jumping. I set the camera to a shutter speed of 1/25 so that I could capture chloe when she was in the air.  The quality of the image is not really that good, as there is motion blur which doesn't look very good, and the lighting conditions are also poor, so the photo is underexposed. To solve these problems I could set the camera to a slower shutter speed so that more light is let into the camera, and the motion blur would  look more effective.



Shutter Speed: 1/250

This image captures Chloe walking. The camera was set to a shutter speed of 1/250. I set the camera to this so that I could capture a freeze frame of her walking. Again, the image is underexposed, and the image is close-framed because of the water feature. To solve the underexposure problem, I could increase the ISO speed of the camera. Next time, I would also take the picture in a different place so that Chloe doesn't look so close framed.



My targets for next time are to:

• Review images as and when I take them, and take another if appropriate.
• Record shutter speed times more accurately
• Experiment with ISO speeds more
• Experiment with auto/manual focus
• Think about the weather, before I take pictures

Introduction Project

Evaluation

During this project, I have used a digital camera to take pictures for both my storyboard and my print advertisement. I also used Adobe Photoshop CS4 to edit my photo to make it stand out more to the target audience. In our group, we were given a rainhat, and had to rebrand it so that it would appeal to another segment of the target audience. Before we rebranded it, a rainhat would typically appeal to older women over 65, but we rebranded it so that it would appeal to teenagers in winter.
 Before we started the project, I had no skills on a camera, but I took some photos for the storyboard, and also took one for the print advertisement. I used the manual focus, to focus in on Alice, who was wearing the rainhat in the foreground. When we took the pictures for the storyboard, I also used different shot types, to make the advert more interesting, instead of just having one shot type. I have used some skills on Photoshop to edit the photo. The skills I have used in the print advertisement include text control, filters, brightness/ contrast control and the quick selection tool.

In my opinion, I think I used the manual focus quite well, to focus in on Alice in the foreground so that she is the focal point of the image, and to leave Emily less dominant in the background. I think I used the text control quite well, and used the bevel & emboss effect so that the text stands out against the image. I also used the ‘stroke’ effect to give the text an outline. I used the quick selection tool to select the area around Alice, then inverted the selection, and applied the black and white filter so that Alice was still in colour, but Emily and the background were in black and white. I then used the brightness controls to make the background darker and used contrast controls to make Alice look more vivid in the foreground.

The work I am blogging shows my progression in a variety of ways. At the start of the course, I didn’t have a clue how to make the text look as effective as I have made it look on the print advertisement. I have also progressed, in using the quick selection tool, and learnt how to invert the selection so that the area around what I had just selected was now the selected area, therefore allowing me to make it black and white. The print advertisement also shows the way I have used focus when I took the picture, although it is not obvious, but this is something I plan to work more on. I also progressed in using the brightness and contrast controls to the best effect I could instead of just turning them all the way up or all the way down. Other features of Photoshop I have learnt since the start of the course is that the international A4 paper size is 210mmx297mm, as well as holding down ‘shift’ when changing the size of a picture, to keep its aspect ratio. Also since the start of the course, I have learnt what different various shots are, e.g. an Establishing shot.

In my work, there are also various weaknesses that need to be improved upon. In the photographic storyboard, the majority of the shots are mid or long shots. We would have done better with more close-ups, possibly an extreme close-up at the start or end. We could have also tried to use more angles in order to make our advert that bit more interesting. We could have also used some props, in order to give the images on the storyboard a bit more variety. The print advertisement also lacks props, so this would be another weakness. I also have limited skills on Photoshop, and factors of the image, including text don’t really look that effective in my opinion, although my skills have progressed since the start of the course.

If I were to do this project again, I would bring in props for both the storyboard images, and the print advertisement image. In addition, I would also get specific models for the storyboard, as some of the people we used walked away halfway through, which restricted what shots we could take. I would have also liked to use the shutter speed on the camera to see what effect this would have on the images, and experiment to see which shutter speed produces the best images. I would also like to experiment more with the manual focus, so that the image is of the best quality possible. It would have been interesting to see what different depths of field are, and I think the print advertisement would have been greatly improved with the use of studio lighting. I wish I had been more confident with the camera, so that the images were more attention-grabbing. There are also skills that I would like to look into more on Photoshop, and experiment with. One example is the filters, because the only one I used was the black and white filter, which is used in a lot of images and I think there are other filters on Photoshop that increase the effectiveness of the image a great deal more than black and white. Another feature of Photoshop that would make the image look more interesting are brushes, and I could possibly implement and controlled colour palette so the colour scheme matches.

To move towards the standard achieved in professional working practise, I could learn how to use a camera properly, e.g. use aperture control to control the depth of field, or use a light meter to measure the amount of light in the image. Another key element of professional work is studio lighting. In Photoshop, media professionals use the clone or retouch tool to make the model look as good or bad as the need him/her to, and I think I should consider using this in my next project. I could also use the unsharp mask tool, as I did in this project, but learn what settings make the picture look best instead of just guessing. Another tool that I could use is the load selection tool, so that I can manipulate the text and images. If I was to make a moving image advertisement, to achieve a professional standard, the first thing I would do is use a tripod or a stand, so that the camera is stable and not shaking when the video is taken. I would also get the depth of field right, as zooming can pixelate the image.

Given that the audience for this product is female teenagers, I think there are various elements of the image that work in engaging the audience’s attention. In both the print advertisement and the storyboard, the girl is the focal point of the image. Alice, who is wearing the rainhat, is looking happy, and she is wearing fashionable clothes, so acting as a role model for the audience. I also think the text that I have used works, as it is colourful and contrast to the black and white background. They are also modern fonts used, not old looking ones. There are also elements in the storyboard that work, for example, the models used in the pictures are all teenagers, therefore the audience can connect to the image more. The position that the models are in, is another way to connect to the audience. A lot of teenagers are waiting around a bus stop for ages, and sometimes the weather does turn bad and there’s nothing you can do about it. The storyboard shows the rainhat keeping Alice warm, therefore through functional positioning, we are reaching out to female teenagers.

However, there are also elements of the advertisement that do not work. Teenagers like to see variety in adverts, and in our moving image advertisement, we have failed to meet this need. We didn’t use many close-ups, so if the advert was aired on TV, it would like slightly boring. We needed to use close-ups so that we could establish key points in the advert. The print advertisement also has elements that do not work in connecting to the target audience. Although, the black and white background contrasts to Alice, I don’t think teenagers would really want to see a black and white advert as opposed to a colour one. I also think that Emily, the girl in the background of the image, should have been more focussed on, so that it is easier to see the comparison the advert is trying to make.

The project we have created is tailored to meet the demands of the target audience, but only to a certain extent. The models used are the same age as the target audience, although the product would not typically be aimed at teenagers as it is not particularly ‘cool’. The pictures were also taken around the college, so the geographic variables meet the needs of the target audience. In the print advertisement, Emily shows the audience how it is to feel bogged down at college, with loads of bags, and being soaked in the rain, whereas Alice shows what all teenagers should be like at college- happy. These 2 models are tailored to the target audience because they are both examples of ordinary students. On the other hand, teenagers enjoy experiential positioning adverts better, but the one that we did, was only functional and possibly symbolic.

In the next project, I plan to make the advert use experiential positioning, in order to grab the audiences attention more. We could have also done it in a more prominent place in Darlington so that it is recognised by more people. To make the product look even better to the audience, we could have tried to get more female models so that the product looked even more popular. Next time, we could have also taken the images/ movie on a rainy/cold day to actually see the effects of the products.

The work we have done demonstrates our understanding of audience segmentation systems in many ways. For example, we are only trying to appeal to female teenagers, narrowcasting the audience so that there is less risk of failure. We are also geographic variables, as we would show these adverts in the North East, and on the moving image advert there would be a Yorkshire/ Darlington accent, and the background shows various places in Darlington e.g. Vane Terrace and the bus stop on Abbey Road. We would also like to aim the product at ABC1 socioeconomic group. We would also be supplying the products to teenagers, who would therefore be in the bachelor stage of life.

Initial Skills Assessment