Evaluation - Guide to my Photos

The picture on the left is a photo I took of the back of my ukulele. The main subject is the head of the ukulele and the tuners. I took this photo because I thought this would be interesting and has lots of detail. It means something to me because I enjoy playing the ukulele and it was my first proper instrument. The photo focuses attention on the photo because most of the shot is taken up by the subject and the small portion of background showing is not in focus so almost all attention is towards the subject. I also made sure no distracting objects were in the background, e.g., people, pets, bright coloured objects. I think the elements of design that make this photo work are colour and pattern. There is a small pattern on the instrument which is interesting and draws attention. Also, the colder,harsh colours of the metal tuners contrast the warm colour of the wood. When I asked people they said that they also like the warm colours and the out-of-focus background because it "draws attention to the subject." They did not like the contrasting wooden patterns so I could improve the photo by taking it without the wooden table and floor in the background. I think this photo could be improved by being a bit wider so you could better see the subject and what it is, but not too much so that it doesn't lose the detail and close-up focus. On the right is a professional photo I found of the head of a ukulele which is similar to mine. The differences of the photo is that the professional photo is a wider shot and has a white background. The white background is to focus attention to the subject, which would have been a good strategy for me to use (although I placed it in this are because I thought the lighting was good). The professional photo was taken for advertising purposes and mine was not, so I think these differences are to be expected in these circumstances. My photo has similar colours to the professional photo. 

















The picture on the left is a photo I took of a band called Reaper in Sicily. The main subject is the guitarist. It means something to me because this is the first time I saw this band and they are one of my favourites. The photo focuses attention on the subject because the subject is in the centre and the colour of the clothes and light on the subject contrast the dark background, although there are some things like instruments in the background that are distracting. This photo does not follow the rule of thirds, although I think having the subject in the centre attracts more attention. I think this photo demonstrates what a music event is like well because you can see the energy in the subject and the bright colourful lights. I also think this is a good photo because the person's facial expressions are clear and dramatic. And, I think that the texture of the wooden panels in the background is interesting, although doesn't draw too much attention away from the subject. When I asked people they said that they liked the green light on the person in the photo because it 'made it more exciting.' They did not like the 'boring' background, and thought it could have been more interesting. This photo could be improved by having less distracting object in the background, but that is hard to achieve at a music event. Below is the photo edited on Photoshop. I made the background slightly darker so it was less distracting. I think this version is better than the original, although it is only a small change. 

The picture on the left is a close-up photo I took of some tea light holders. The main subject is the beads and jewels on the holders. I took this photo because I thought there would be lots of interesting detail. It means something to me because these we're used at my Mum's wedding in 2012. The photo focuses attention on the photo because the entire shot is taken up by the subject and focused. I think the elements of design that make this photo work are texture and pattern. The beads create a pattern on the holder that is interesting to look at. I think this photo is too dark, and below is a brighter version that I edited in Photoshop. I think this improves the photo a lot as it is easier to see the detail on the subject. I like the warm, orange-brown colour of the photo as I think this makes it feel happier. When I asked people they said that they liked the shiny gems and beads because there was 'intricate detail.'. They did not like how dark the colours were because they felt it was 'hard to see the image properly.' On the right, next to my photo, are two professional photos similar to mine. The above one is a close-up on a tea light holder. This photo is similar to mine because it is very close-up and has similar colours in it (because of the flame). The photo was taken of the rim of the holder, and mine was not. I personally feel my photo looks better this way. The second professional photo below is a wider shot of two candle holders. It is different to mine because it is a wider shot and is only focused on one of the holders. The professional photo was taken for advertising purposes and mine was not, so I think these differences are to be expected in these circumstances. 

This is a photograph I took of my brother whilst on holiday, in which he is the main subject. I think this is a good photo because of the bright colours, like the blue from the sky, and the light and shadows on his face. Also, you can clearly see the person and their expression. It means something to me because I took it on holiday with my family. The photo focuses attention on the subject because the person is in focus whilst the background is not. Also, he is close to the camera in the foreground and nothing else is. I also tried to make sure no distracting objects were in the background, although there are some people in the background, I do not think they distract hugely from the subject. There is a large blue tent on the left in the background that is a bit distracting, so I could have improved the photo by taking it at a different angle. I think the element of design that makes this photo work is colour. There are bright colours from the sky and people/objects in the background that make this photo interesting and fun. When I asked people they said that they like the bright colours.  They did not like the distracting objects in the background. I think this photo could be improved by having a bit more light on the subjects face. I like the light and shadows on the subject, but the dark shadow across him makes it difficult to properly see his face. Below is a brighter version that I edited on Photoshop. I think this version is better because you can see the subjects face much clearer. 

Taking Photographic Images for Purpose - Music Events

This is a photo I took at a show in Le Pub, Newport of the guitarist of a band called Reaper in Sicily. I like this photo because of the high exposure and the strong green light on the guitarist. I also think this is a good photo because the person's facial expressions are clear and dramatic. This photo could be improved by not having the subject in the centre as this does not follow the rule of thirds. 

This is a photo I took at a show in Le Pub, Newport of the singer of a band called Manhattan Coast. I think this is a good photo because it has a lot of colour from lights and I think this demonstrates the excitement at the show. The photo is blurry but I think this shows movement and liveliness so it is not necessarily a bad thing.













This is a photo I took at a show in Le Pub, Newport of a band called Manhattan Coast. I think this is a good photo because it has lots of bright colour from lights and I think this shows the excitement at the show and makes the photo visually entertaining. I also think this looks good because you can see each member of the group and it looks as though every member has a different colour light on them which makes each individual stand out. The photo is also blurry but I think this shows movement and liveliness so it looks good.

This is a photo I took at a show at Cardiff Solus of the singer of a band called You Me At Six. I think this photo is good because you can clearly see the person in the photograph and can see it is a show. The bright blue colour in the background from the lights looks good against the dark of the subject's clothing and I also think the light and shadows on the person's body looks good.

Taking Photographic Images for Purpose - Portraits

This is a photograph I took of my brother whilst on holiday. I think this is a good photo because of the bright colours, like the blue from the sky, and the light and shadows on his face. Also, you can clearly see the person and the expression on their face.







This is a candid shot I took of a friend. I think this is a good image because of the bright colours of the person's shirt and the background. Also, you can clearly see the person's face and expression.















This is a candid shot I took of my friend, Rhiannon. I think this is a good photo because you can see the texture of her hair and fabric of her clothes with contrasts well to the smoothness of the background and her face. I think this photo would be better if it wasn't in black and white so there would be more colour. Also, you cannot see this person's face very clearly.

Taking Photographic Images for Purpose - Concept - Close-up/Macro Shots

This is a photo of a rock on the ground in a forest. I think this is a good photo because of the rough texture of the rock and the ground. I also think it is good because of the bright green colour of the moss and leaves contrasts nicely to the dark colours of the rock and the shadows. I think this photo could be improved by being closer to the subject of the photo (the rock) because I feel a lot of focus on the subject was lost because of the background. 

This photo is a close-up I took of the back of the tuners on a ukulele. I think this is a good photo because of the small pattern on the neck of the ukulele. Also, the colder,
harsh colours of the metal tuners contrast the warm colour of the wood. When I asked people they said that they also like the warm colours and the out-of-focus background because it "draws attention to the subject." They did not like the contrasting wooden patterns so I could improve the photo by taking it without the wooden table and floor in the background.

This is a photo I took of two beaded candleholders that were used at my mum's wedding. I took this photo because I thought the beads and stones would have a good texture in the photo. I think this photo could be improved by better lighting so it is clearer what the subject is. When I asked people they said they liked the pattern of the beads but thought that the photo was too dark in some areas. I agree and that is how I would improve it.

This is an ornament in my living room. I like it because it reflects a lot of light. I think this photo works because of the irregular pattern of the glass and warm colours. I also like the reflections in the small pieces of glass.

This is a close-up shot of a clock in my house. I think this photo is good because it follows the rule of thirds well because the subject is not centred, but further to the left. There is not much colour in this photo and it looks dull. I could improve it by introducing more colour into the photo.

This is a photo of a silk tie. I think the photo looks good because of the lines of the pattern of the tie and also the texture of the silk. I also like the lighting and shadows in this photo. I think the colours are a bit boring, apart from the vivid red, so I could improve the photo by making it more colourful.

This photo is of a frosted window. I think this photo looks good because of the pattern on the window and also the windowpane divider follows the rule of thirds and is on the right rather than in the centre. I used Photoshop to straighten the image so that the divider is straight and therefore easier to look at. I also used Photoshop to brighten the image as the colours were too dark at first.








This is a photograph of a broken pane of glass in a telephone box. I think this is a good photo because of the pattern of the broken glass and the bright red of the telephone box and very light blue of the glass. I also like the angle this photo was taken at. I think this photo could be improved with better framing. I think the photo would look better with some of the red telephone box showing at the top of the photo as well.

This is a photo I took of a Momiji message dollop my window sill. I like this because most of the photo is black and white apart from the bright red heart and the doll's face. I made the view outside of the window black and white using Photoshop to draw more attention to the subject, because the bright colours outside were distracting.

Take photographic images for a specific purpose

For my final project, I will take photos for three different purposes.
My three purposes will be:

• Event 

• Concept 

• Portrait 

The event I will be taking photos for is a music event/concert. I think things like lights will be good for colours and patterns in my photos. 

The concept for my photos will be close-up/macro shots.

Cropping Images

This is a wide shot that I took in school of some bike rails. I think this image has a few points of interest that I would like the focus on. I will crop this image into four seperate smaller images, using the cropping tool in Photoshop. 

This is the first image that I cropped. I think the texture of the ground and the worn out pattern on the bike rail make this photo good. 

This is the second image. I had followed the Rule of Thirds and placed the subject of the image more to the left than the centre. 

This is the third image that I cropped. I cropped it this way because I believe the contrasting textures from the ground and the grass  complement each other well.

This is the final photo that I cropped of the bike rack. I think this photo is good because of the repetitive lines and pattern that is made by the metal bars. 

On all of the photos,  increased the exposure, brightness and contrast to make the textures stand out a little bit more, but kept it subtle.

Adjusting an Image

I found this image to adjust on Photoshop. I decided to make the image black and white, leaving one colour. I chose blue to keep. 

First, I duplicated the layer and made the background black and white. I then selected the blue parts on the second, coloured layer. I copy and pasted this and hid the second layer so that only the blue was in colour. Using the eraser tool, I tidied up the edges. 

This was the end result:

Here is another example. I used the same process, except this time, I kept the red in colour instead of the blue. 

How to Upload/Manipulate/Store Photos

This is a diagram I drew demonstrating the steps to transfer images from a camera to a computer and save them digitally. I am then able to review these images and manipulate/edit them using Photoshop and upload them to my blog. I have followed these steps to upload this photo.

Rule of Thirds

This picture is a bad example of the rule of thirds because the subject is in the middle. The eye is automatically drawn to the left or right side of an image so I should crop this according to the rule of thirds.

I have cropped this image in Photoshop so that the subject of the image is more in the left and better to look at.