Photoset
November 11, 2011

These are the shots of my foreground for my poster of AVATAR.

1st photo 

This is the original and unedited studio portrait of my subject. It was taken on a 50D with a 85mm lens and with a perfect white background set at f22. A soft box was used to illuminate the subject from the above the subject to provide a soft and even amount of light to fall upon the subject. The perfect background white was produced in order to make it easy for me to cut out the subject from the photo during the next block of digi imaging. This was done by using two lighting attachments which were pointing from the right and the left of the white background and were suitably adjusted so as to provide a even f22 exposure. Two reflectors placed either side ensured that the subject maintained the correct exposure from only the soft box and not to get any reflectance from the background.  A make up artist painted the AVATAR look onto the model , with a variety of make up equipment including a large slab of moulding wax to distort the nose shape of the model as in the original Na’vi (AVATAR) featured different shaped noses from our normal perception.  The models hair was then tied back in order for easier editing in later stages and props including earings and hair extensions were included in order to relate back to the movie a bit more. After a few other make up touch ups were applied the model then took up their position within the frame and the photo was taken on f11 to allow enough seperation of the subject from the background. A few different poses and compositions were tried , however this turned out to be the most promising and moody.

2nd photo

With the original file obviously looking quite basic , i had to try find a way of making the model look more like the Na’vi from the movie. Therefore after research on the internet and watching of the film , allowed me to begin to construct and idea on how to approach the task.

The first thing that hit me about the Na’vi , was the massive eyes. In order for me to recreate this on my photo i searched for some method to increase the diameter of the eyes, and after some experimentation, i eventually stumbled across the liquify tab and within that the bloat tool. After some experimenting on how big each eye should be in order to maintain a natural perspective so as not to make the photo look so irregular, i eventually struck the right proportion. To fine tune this perpective the pucker tool was used to condense any irregularites. After increasing the hue and saturation of the eyes through means of a path, in order to turn them yellow  and sharperning, the eyes i feel were finished.

Now the major retouching of the nose. Due to the moulding wax, the make up / paint found it difficult to adhere to the wax due to its wet consitancy. This left cracked patches on the connection of the nose to the models face. In order to rectify this a mixture of liquify , cloning and healing was applied, in order to lessen the extent of the cracking.

Last on the agenda was the areas where the make up wasnt evenly apllied , such as the neck , the lips and the ears. This was rectified mainly using the clone and healing tools , which allowed for these parts to be filled in with surrounding make up.

The image will be cropped below the hairline and the chin in order to fit in with the background which later was found out to look better in landscape format.

The orginal image was then flipped to atain what would be the best postion for the image. It turned out that by flipping the image horizontally, the image perpective looked more natural, therefore the final image has been flipped.

After some hue/saturation and levels changes in order to increase the contrast and the vibrance of the cyans and the blues on the face, the image was complete.

Photo
October 23, 2011
For my potrait which is to be taken in studio, i wish to try and recreate this poster with the added background of the flower. By photographing half the face of the subject as the AVATAR then this will allow for the subject to become the main focal point of the photo. it will be taken on a macro lens in order to flow better with the background of the overall poster as the background was also taken on this focal length.  the portrait will be taken against a white background both full face and half face so as to forfill the brief but also to make the poster more visually appealing and striking. The subject will get her make up done by a make up artist on the studio session booked for thursday afternoon. This portrait will then be able to be positioned - if it is the half face - into the black space on the left hand side of the background poster.  The lighting will be coming from the right hand side of the subject as the light from the flower will be cast upon it. Later in photoshop the bright green and blue colours will then be brushed in gently in order to add a glow to the side of hte face that is facing the flower and thus allow for the image to become more evenly lit and the poster to become  more believable.

For my potrait which is to be taken in studio, i wish to try and recreate this poster with the added background of the flower. By photographing half the face of the subject as the AVATAR then this will allow for the subject to become the main focal point of the photo. it will be taken on a macro lens in order to flow better with the background of the overall poster as the background was also taken on this focal length.  the portrait will be taken against a white background both full face and half face so as to forfill the brief but also to make the poster more visually appealing and striking. The subject will get her make up done by a make up artist on the studio session booked for thursday afternoon. This portrait will then be able to be positioned - if it is the half face - into the black space on the left hand side of the background poster.  The lighting will be coming from the right hand side of the subject as the light from the flower will be cast upon it. Later in photoshop the bright green and blue colours will then be brushed in gently in order to add a glow to the side of hte face that is facing the flower and thus allow for the image to become more evenly lit and the poster to become  more believable.

Photo
October 23, 2011
This is my background to my film poster AVATAR. I took a picture of a flower with a 100 mm macro, to match the focal length of the lens i will use when photographing my portrait subject, thus allowing for a more natural blend to the subject and background.Due to the macro lens and the lighting this allows for the flower to have a spiky and surreal texture and glow. The original photo was taken at the botanic gardens and was originally bright pink , however this wasnt as visually appealing. So i took the original file into photoshop and extremely adjusting the levels and the colour channels in order to allow the luminescent look to the flower. this i feel works better with the theme of AVATAR as in the film the plants and nature are all bright, bioluminescent and surreal colours and tones. The overhanging portrait frame of the flower helps provide a natural frame to the photo whilst the block black space on the left hand side of the photo allows space for the studio portrait to be inserted. The frame will also helps lead the eye into the portrait subject .The striking neon greens and blues would compliment the make up of the subject and provide a natural and even vibe to the overall poster. UPDATE : Cant use this as my background as it doesnt forfill the digital imgine part of the next block when the foreground and background are joined together, due to the block black, however the original image is useable , so i shall either use that or reshoot during next block to find something better.

This is my background to my film poster AVATAR. I took a picture of a flower with a 100 mm macro, to match the focal length of the lens i will use when photographing my portrait subject, thus allowing for a more natural blend to the subject and background.Due to the macro lens and the lighting this allows for the flower to have a spiky and surreal texture and glow. The original photo was taken at the botanic gardens and was originally bright pink , however this wasnt as visually appealing. So i took the original file into photoshop and extremely adjusting the levels and the colour channels in order to allow the luminescent look to the flower. this i feel works better with the theme of AVATAR as in the film the plants and nature are all bright, bioluminescent and surreal colours and tones. The overhanging portrait frame of the flower helps provide a natural frame to the photo whilst the block black space on the left hand side of the photo allows space for the studio portrait to be inserted. The frame will also helps lead the eye into the portrait subject .The striking neon greens and blues would compliment the make up of the subject and provide a natural and even vibe to the overall poster.

UPDATE : Cant use this as my background as it doesnt forfill the digital imgine part of the next block when the foreground and background are joined together, due to the block black, however the original image is useable , so i shall either use that or reshoot during next block to find something better.

Photo
October 22, 2011
This is the best photo of the day from the botanic gardens shoot and with some photoshoping i may be able to turn it into something more striking and AVATAR - ish . i do however like the positioning of the flower as this will provide a good base for a background and the natural frame will allow the eye to flow into the subject.  this flower i feel would work well as the texture appears to be unatural to what we come to expect in flowers. most tend to be soft and delicate whereas this is more fierce , spiky and above all surreal. this unusual flower will work well in the overall poster.

This is the best photo of the day from the botanic gardens shoot and with some photoshoping i may be able to turn it into something more striking and AVATAR - ish . i do however like the positioning of the flower as this will provide a good base for a background and the natural frame will allow the eye to flow into the subject.  this flower i feel would work well as the texture appears to be unatural to what we come to expect in flowers. most tend to be soft and delicate whereas this is more fierce , spiky and above all surreal. this unusual flower will work well in the overall poster.

Photo
October 21, 2011
as we can see from this movie still from AVATAR bright, surreal glowing colours appear alot in the movie and help set the visually stunning scenes. these luminescent colours would really look good as part of a poster to represent the film. they would immediately grab the attention and help provide a mystical and magical mood to the poster. the only place really where such flowers may be found in such a wide and surreal looking range woul be the botanic gardens. so i will plan to take some photos there and see how they look.

as we can see from this movie still from AVATAR bright, surreal glowing colours appear alot in the movie and help set the visually stunning scenes. these luminescent colours would really look good as part of a poster to represent the film. they would immediately grab the attention and help provide a mystical and magical mood to the poster. the only place really where such flowers may be found in such a wide and surreal looking range woul be the botanic gardens. so i will plan to take some photos there and see how they look.

Photo
October 20, 2011
As one of my favourite movies of all time and to date THE highest grossing in movie history , it was natural for me to attempt to recreate an AVATAR poster. This is what i will attempt to do .

As one of my favourite movies of all time and to date THE highest grossing in movie history , it was natural for me to attempt to recreate an AVATAR poster. This is what i will attempt to do .

Text
September 22, 2011

Self Portrait Feedback

GOODTIMES

My self portrait seemed to go down well with class. i was interested to see how the photo would go down, as this was more about a more serious and contrasted side to my personality as apposed to the happy go lucky, opinionated and layed back person they have seen in front of them in class- please comment if im not any of those things lol. it seemed to work though as some of the words used were “funny”, “studious”, “worried” and “serious”and the mood coveyed seem to suggest that with the dark contrasted tones and the composition of me the subject and the shot itself. The choice of books appeared to tell alot about me. The contrast from frankie boyle to the art of writing changes the mood of the photo, with my shit life adding some comedic and intersting values to the photo.

BADTIMES

the overall feelin was that the image may be just a bit to ark , and even though a reflector was used to try and fill in some of the shadow detail , it wasn’t quite enough and it did turn out more contrasted than i wouldve liked, however that did add to the overall mood of the shot. again the reflections and shadows come into it this time with the light maybe being to focused on the arm and the book rather than the face, a slight lighting change would correct this though.

OVERALL

A good attempt at a self portrait which forfills the brief and which presented challanges along the way with focusing, lighting and composition, however in the end they seemed to come together nicely apart from few minor errors.

Photo
September 17, 2011
1 note
The phrase “Knowledege is Power” is over used but it still holds meaning behind it. However due to my occasional difficulty in retaining information in the books i read , i find it hard to get engrossed and interested in books i read.This means that i may not be as “intelectually supperior” to that of the people  who can visualise and comprehend the books they read. In order to illustrate this i have created two self portraits which convey my idea of occasional confusion and memory loss in the books i read. Portrait 1  TECHNIQUES Books, A chair made entirely of books was constructed in order to help illustrate that we are surrounded by books and the significance of them in life, education and general society. Side lighting. I placed one of my reading lamps upon a side table and placed it directly to the right hand side of myself in order to illuminate one half of my face and some of the books within the photo. In order to maintain shadow detail on the other side i had to incorporate a relfector.This came in the form of my white tshirt and an old piece of wood painted white in order to reflect some of that side lighting onto the shaded area and to soften the divide of light on my face. The light was adjusted in distance from subject and intensity of light in order to determine the approprite level of light on order to keep the subject and the book illuminated without casting too many harsh shadows with little detail within them. Depth Of Field An extended depth of field was used in order to help keep the detail from the foregroun to the background of the photo. This allows for the books in the foreground to have just as much focus as the book im reading and myself as the subject. My S**T Life So Far by Frankie Boyle - although this book may seem to be purely inserted into the photograph for comedic effect, this book does hold some meaning within the photograph apart from giving a slight chuckle. Apart from some photography books and comics ,this is one of the few books i have read in my own free time, so for me it does illustrate the need for me to improve my quality and range of genre of my reading material in the future. Black and white, the image was originally taken in coulour but by taking it into photoshop and desaturating it , i fell it has more visual and dynamic impact. the sheer array of colours from the surrounding books took away the focal point of me reading and ponering the main book in the photograph.

The phrase “Knowledege is Power” is over used but it still holds meaning behind it. However due to my occasional difficulty in retaining information in the books i read , i find it hard to get engrossed and interested in books i read.This means that i may not be as “intelectually supperior” to that of the people  who can visualise and comprehend the books they read. In order to illustrate this i have created two self portraits which convey my idea of occasional confusion and memory loss in the books i read.

Portrait 1 

TECHNIQUES

Books, A chair made entirely of books was constructed in order to help illustrate that we are surrounded by books and the significance of them in life, education and general society.

Side lighting. I placed one of my reading lamps upon a side table and placed it directly to the right hand side of myself in order to illuminate one half of my face and some of the books within the photo. In order to maintain shadow detail on the other side i had to incorporate a relfector.This came in the form of my white tshirt and an old piece of wood painted white in order to reflect some of that side lighting onto the shaded area and to soften the divide of light on my face. The light was adjusted in distance from subject and intensity of light in order to determine the approprite level of light on order to keep the subject and the book illuminated without casting too many harsh shadows with little detail within them.

Depth Of Field An extended depth of field was used in order to help keep the detail from the foregroun to the background of the photo. This allows for the books in the foreground to have just as much focus as the book im reading and myself as the subject.

My S**T Life So Far by Frankie Boyle - although this book may seem to be purely inserted into the photograph for comedic effect, this book does hold some meaning within the photograph apart from giving a slight chuckle. Apart from some photography books and comics ,this is one of the few books i have read in my own free time, so for me it does illustrate the need for me to improve my quality and range of genre of my reading material in the future.

Black and white, the image was originally taken in coulour but by taking it into photoshop and desaturating it , i fell it has more visual and dynamic impact. the sheer array of colours from the surrounding books took away the focal point of me reading and ponering the main book in the photograph.

Photo
September 17, 2011
Portrait 2 TECHNIQUES Question Marks These question marks were manipulated by photoshop into the text of the book in order to further convey the analogy of my mind. When i read i sometimes forget and ask questions. In order to incorporate both these situations, i inserted and orientated some question marks and made them the same colour as the page in order to blank out some of the words in the passage and thus illustrate the idea of me not knowing what the words mean and the questions that i ask of the passage that i have just read. Shallow Depth Of Field The shallow depth of field used helps to lead the eye into the text passage on the page. Black and white helps to add dramatic and visual effect and also helps the question marks to contrast and stand out from the background text in order to make them more noticable. Lighting Same side lighting as previous photo. Viewpoint A lower viewpoint to the book allows for the shallow depth of field to work and show the gradual progression of the text down the page. This also allows for the text to become better focused and allow for detail than a further away photo.

Portrait 2

TECHNIQUES

Question Marks These question marks were manipulated by photoshop into the text of the book in order to further convey the analogy of my mind. When i read i sometimes forget and ask questions. In order to incorporate both these situations, i inserted and orientated some question marks and made them the same colour as the page in order to blank out some of the words in the passage and thus illustrate the idea of me not knowing what the words mean and the questions that i ask of the passage that i have just read.

Shallow Depth Of Field The shallow depth of field used helps to lead the eye into the text passage on the page.

Black and white helps to add dramatic and visual effect and also helps the question marks to contrast and stand out from the background text in order to make them more noticable.

Lighting Same side lighting as previous photo.

Viewpoint A lower viewpoint to the book allows for the shallow depth of field to work and show the gradual progression of the text down the page. This also allows for the text to become better focused and allow for detail than a further away photo.

Quote
September 08, 2011
"

“Photography helps people to see” - Berenice Abbott

Abbott is is saying that photography allows people to see something through the camera that they may not see with their eye. Be it through manipulation or raw images the camera allows a different outlook on life.

"

— http://www.photoquotes.com/

Tags: berenice abbott photography see