Experiments with Shutter Speed & Photoshop

Photographs taken experimenting with shutter speed: I used a high shutter speed to capture images of water droplets in motion. I then edited my images using Photoshop, increased the contrast and applied a blue tint to make the image brighter and more interesting (example: photo (2) below)

Photo (1)

Photo (2)

Photo (2) - edited

Heal Brush Tool

Before

After

Before

After

Using the Heal Brush Tool

To get rid of the women's spots and wrinkles, I used the heal brush tool on Photoshop. To achieve this work, I first had to make sure that I didn't lose my work if I made a mistake. Therefore, I applied a layer so I had access to changing any mistakes I may make. I then used the heal brush tool to smooth out her wrinkles and spots.

Composition Evaluation

Composition Evaluations – Blog

Line image

Line image

This image is a line image. Lines have man uses in photographs and many of these uses include drawing the eye into certain parts of the composition. I think that the composition could have been better throught through to get a better line image effect, and that I should have made the lines stand more in the middle of the image with railings on either side to add to the effect. I struggled to use the manual focus ring at first because I am used to using automatic focus on cameras where it focuses the image for me. I will improve the skill of using the manual focus by getting used to it being there and getting into the habit of focusing the picture before taking it. This image was in focus and I did not use the zoom as because it was an extreme long shot so I didn't feel the need to. An overall strength of my picture is it is in focus, but weaknesses include the composition, because I just randomly took a picture without thinking about it.

 

Tilt image

I used a tilt image in this picture. Tilt images are often used to make dull images stand out and have prominence. I think the image is well composed because there is not a lot going on and this makes you focus your attention on the clock. I think to improve the image I would have tilted the camera further up for effect and made it more interesting though with more going on in the background. I used the focus ring to make the picture good quality. An overall strength of this image is the high focus it is in, and the lighting. A weakness of the image is that it's composition is quite dull, and could do with more going on around it. 

 

Shot distance - extreme close up

 

This image is an extreme close up of a lock. Extreme close ups are commonly used to draw the viewers attention to a particular detail/details. I think it is well composd as because the lock is on the left hand side of the picture, it catches the viewers attention before the other background elements. My image was fairly in focus though part of the lock is blurry and I didn't use the zoom. An overall strenght of this image is that the colours are powerfull e.g. the blue against the white and the fact that it is in focus. A weakness of the image is that it's composition is quite boring and I think it should have had more going on.

 

 

 

Shutter Speed

Shutter Speed

Shutter Speed controls the length of time that light passing through the lens reaches the film. Using the correct shutter speed can improve the quality of your images. For example, fast moving objects require a fast shutter speed in order to prevent the picture from blurring, whereas slow moving objects require a slow shutter speed. Static objects don’t require shutter speed.

My images

Picture 1: Leaves

Shutter speed: 1/250
In this picture, I used a higher shutter speed and this therefore resulted in a higher quality picture. I used 1/250 but I think that I could have possibly used a shutter speed slightly higher to get an even higher quality picture. The light conditions were also temperamental so it was just luck that this picture had good lighting. If I was to take this picture again, I would make sure to take many shots to have a wider range of pictures to choose from. I would also make sure to possibly pick a place with a less crowded background to throw the leaves, so the focus is mainly on the leaves, and I would use a tripod, to hopefully create more steady shots.

 

 

Picture 2: Water in plughole

Shutter speed: 30/

I used a slightly too low shutter speed so this picture was slightly blurry. A problem I experienced whilst taking this picture was the underexposure. The lighting in the bathroom was very poor, therefore leading to a dull looking picture. To get a higher quality picture I would probably take pictures of water in natural lighting rather than the poor lighting conditions in a bathroom, and I would experiment with higher shutter speeds to get a higher quality picture. I would also adjust the focal ring to also increase the pictures quality.

Picture 3: Torch light in the dark

Shutter speed: ?

I think that this picture turned out well due to the dark lighting in the corridor and a fast shutter speed. On the other hand, I think I could increase the pictures quality I should have gone further away from the wall, which might have focused the light more, and used a higher shutter speed to catch more of the letters I drew in action. I could have possibly also used a darker wall to shine the torch against and the continuous shoot mode to get more shots at a fast speed.

 My overall targets for taking pictures next time are:

·         Take my images with the right shutter speeds/a variety of shutter speeds.

·         Spend longer choosing a location to take a shot before shooting.

·         Take shutter speed shots during better light conditions to increase the quality of my images.

 

 

Print Skills Audit

AS Media Production: Technical Skills Audit Print Production

Name: Alex Ord            Tutor group: 1.35                  Date: 16^th September 2013

Photographic Skills

Which of the following photographic features/equipment have you used on a camera before:

Feature	Yes	No	Comments if yes – where have you completed this skills and to what level
Manual Focus features Creative writing classes	Yes		At home.
Shutter Speed		No
Aperture control		No
A tripod	Yes		At home.
External flash		No
Self timer facility	Yes		At home.
Light meter		No
Composition grids		No

Photoshop Skills

Which of the following features of Photoshop have you used before:

Feature	Yes	No	Comments if yes – where have you completed this skills and to what level
Text control		No
Filters		No
Brushes		No
Layers	Yes		School
Opacity control	Yes		School
Shape creation		No
Brightness and contrast control		No
Dodge/Burn		No
Clone stamp tool		No
Colour curves adjustment		No
Magnetic lasso, polygon lasso tool		No
Cropping tool		No
Retouch tool		No

In Design Skills

Which of the following features of In Design have you used before:

Feature	Yes	No	Comments if yes – where have you completed this skills and to what level
Margin and column guide creation		No
Inserting text in ID		No
Inserting images in ID		No
Resizing images in ID		No
Text manipulation – resizing, rotation		No
Text manipulation – controlling kerning and leading		No
Text flow creation		No
Text effects – drop shadow		No
Drop cap insert		No
Using transparent imagery in ID		No
Shape creation In design		No
Text wrapping		No
Exporting to PDF from In-design		No

Evaluation

Evaluation

When I took the pictures for my front cover, I struggled to use the manual focus as I am mostly accustomed to using auto focus on the cameras I have at home. I now know how to use the camera's focus properly and the zoom, so my pictures will be less blurry and more in focus. Next time I use the cameras I will make sure the right settings are in place and to use manual focus properly. I didn't really think carefully about the background for my image, which presented a problem when I wanted to add the masthead. The colour of the bushes and trees behind him were very dark, as it was an overcast day, meaning I couldn't use the masthead I wanted. As the background was so dark after I applied black and white to the picture, I faded out the background so you could just see his face. That way I could use the masthead I wanted and it made it easier to apply the cover lines. I will make sure to consider the background more carefully in future photographs.

I think that I handled my subject well and gave him clear instructions, but I think I could take control slightly more to be able to experiment with new angles and lighting. I struggled to use Photoshop properly as I am very new to using a programme like it. I found it difficult to work with the layers, though they came in handy when I made a mistake and wanted to remove something. I used a variety of tools, but mostly stuck to the basics, such as crop and applying text. I also experimented with a range of tints on the photograph. Cutting out my images went quite well considering I hadn't done it before on Photoshop. The effects I added were basic black and white and I did this on Photoshop also. I downloaded a font from a website because I wanted one to suit the magazine, as I didn't feel the other fonts on Photoshop made the magazine look the way I wanted it to.

The main colours I used were black, red and hints of yellow because I thought these colours contrasted one another and stood out. To improve my front cover, I think I would make it higher quality and take better quality photographs for it (e.g. use the manual focus properly) and I would also add more cover lines and experiment with font styles. The magazines strengths were that it stood out and the masthead was strong and powerful.

Bad images

I didn't like this image because it was out of focus and set in a dull background.