For the first exercise in this course we are to devise and put into practice a work flow that suits us for a specific short assignment. We must then make notes of the experience in our learning log.
Thinking about work flow and the process I go through before a shoot, I think that I to a certain extent plan my images but not in as much detail as required here. I tend to go out and see what I come across a lot of the time. I have a horrible habit of not resetting the settings on the camera after a shoot and then going out the next time and wondering why the images are not coming out as I expect. I then tend to overcompensate with other settings to make up for it. I am hoping that this exercise and the next one will focus me.
We are asked to shoot a portrait session which is limited in time. My client had half an hour for the shoot so I was on a tight schedule.
Pre shoot planning.
Before I started shooting I thought about what was necessary to ensure everything went efficiently and smoothly.
Preparation.
- Chose to shoot outdoors for lots of natural light and prepared my chosen area.
- Check all equipment needed - batteries charged, plenty of space on memory card and on laptop for transferred images, check camera settings such as ISO and WB.
Ideas.
I then thought about potential poses for the shoot.
- Close up of face, front on.
- Close up of face, side on.
- Head and shoulders.
- Full body.
- Portrait/ Landscape.
- With/ without flash depending on lighting conditions.
- Various focal lengths.
- 3/4 length shot of body.
The Shoot.
I wanted my client to look relaxed and natural, I don't particularly like images where the subject has been forced to smile or looks uncomfortable.
I began the shoot photographing from a distance, this was so that my client would have time to relax and could feel at ease before I starting shooting close ups. Several of the images seem a little tense but she quickly warmed up and started to look more relaxed.
I shot 22 images in total and stuck to my half hour deadline. I only have the one lens at the moment so I have tried to vary the focal length to suit the images I was hoping to achieve. I probably could of done with taking my tripod with me as some of the images were a little blurred. I had avoided doing this as the area I had chosen was actually where racehorses are exercised and a lot of people take their dogs there. I wanted to be able to move quickly if I needed to. I had chosen the area as it is nice and natural and I like how the light falls between the trees.
Uploading images.
I imported all of the images into Photoshop Elements 9 and without digitally altering any of them I viewed them all on one screen. I put them all into a file with the exercise name as a title, within my DPP file. I find this much easier when it comes to navigating where certain images are.
First Edit.
I then edited down the images from 22 to 11. I wanted to edit out the images that had a fault such as being out of focus. I also chose to remove images that looked similar to others, keeping the better photo.
Second Edit.
I then reduced the number down to 5 images looking at the composition I find works best, how the client looks and then decided which images to work on.
Final Edit.
1/640 f5.6 ISO 2000 105mm
I chose this image as I like how the light falls across the face and where the wind has blown her hair. I needed a high ISO as under the trees had become quite dark and I didn't want to use the flash to ruin the shadows that had been cast.
1/640 f5.6 ISO 2000 66mm
I chose this image because my client is what you immediately see but when you look to the left of the image you notice someone has carved into the tree. I like the added interest in the image. I had no input into what my client was wearing for the shoot but I think that the colours actually go rather well.
1/640 f5.6 ISO 2000 34mm
This image made the final edit because I particularly like the composition. Who says a portrait must be a close up of someones face?
Conclusion.
I really got into this assignment. In some ways I felt it would be much easier because I thought that I had some kind of a work flow before shooting anyway. I think there is a lot more to think about than I originally realised and I don't think that I review my images as thoroughly as this exercise has led me to review. I am overall happy with the images I produced and the work flow that led up to it. I think paying more attention to the set of my shoot is important particularly regarding lighting and the time of day. I also only worked on the images that I had selected in my final edit. Maybe I should had tweaked all of the images and then made my decisions but I wanted to pick out the images I felt more strongly about without having digitally altered them. I have really enjoyed the first exercise of this course.
