The object of this assignment is to produce a photographic image to
illustrate an imaginary book or magazine cover. Explore the areas of adjustment
and (possibly) manipulation that would make the image successful as a cover.
Accompany the finished image with a description of the techniques you
considered using and finally used, and also your ethical justification.
While working on the preceding
exercises I will always have the following assignment in the back of my mind so
that when it comes to starting it I will not have to rush deciding on the
subject. This time things have not gone to plan and I am still struggling to
think of a suitable topic. I have therefore decided to research examples of
‘fake’ photography in the hope that inspiration will strike.
Research.
My first example, I
am sure everyone is aware of. It is the story of two young girls, Elsie Wright
and Frances Griffiths who produced a series of five images which supported the
argument that fairies did in fact exist. The girls started taking photos in the
beck that was behind Elsie’s house in Cottingley by using her father’s camera.
Their most famous image (shown below) pictures Francis in the background behind
a group of fairies. This whole concept plays on the fact that if there is a
photograph of an incident occurring then that is deemed as evidence.
The cousins did confess many years later that four out of the five
images were fake, achieved by creating cut outs of the fairies and then placing
them in front of the lens while the photos were being exposed. Elsie did insist
that she had seen fairies and that the fifth image (below) was in fact genuine.
While they maintained their story for decades there is a sense of
innocence around this story. I do not think that the girls were out to do any
harm. Maybe they themselves believed their own story and that fairies do exist
and that is why they were reluctant to admit the truth. On the other hand, even
though they were only young when they first created the images, children of a
similar age would either write stories or draw pictures to illustrate the same
point. The lengths these girls have gone to seem much more sophisticated, does
that strip away the innocence?
Another
example of ‘fake’ photography that I remember would have to be the image by
Jose Luis Rodriguez. He became the 2009 Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award
with his photo called ‘The Storybook Wolf’.
The judges ruled that the wolf was most likely to be a tame ‘model’.
Rodriguez was quite rightly banned for life from entering the competition even
though he still insists that it was a wild wolf that he photographed. This type
of photography is completely dishonest and considering the prize money of
£10,000 the guidelines should be strictly followed.
Planning.
Feeling suitably inspired I started to think of my own subject. I
immediately wondered about using a children’s book as my canvas. I started
googling children’s books and while I was looking I suddenly thought that my
choice should be The Borrowers. I don’t know why this had not come to me
before, as someone who is ‘vertically challenged’ I am used to being called a
borrower myself!
I came up with two ideas, the first being to have my finished cover as
someone sat on a bookshelf in front of a row of books; my second would be to
have a pair of legs filling most of the cover with someone sat on the floor
very small between the feet.
Ideally I was hoping for a dry day as I was not overly keen on having to
balance on a wet fence!
Giving equipment consideration I chose my 18-105mm lens and tripod. I
realised I would not need a long lens but the distance between the tripod and
myself would depend on and even areas of ground I could find.
Before
setting out I reset my camera settings. I have started shooting in RAW and JPEG
fine so my camera makes two copies. I also wiped my memory card so that I would
not run out of space, made sure my camera lens was clean, checked the memory
space on my laptop so that I would have room to transfer the images over and
charged the cameras battery. I knew that I would not need to take a spare
battery as I felt I would be able to get my shot with minimal attempts.
The
Shoot.
The
shoot went well. I had to try out a couple of locations. The first I went to
had a fence with just one bar to sit on and I found it impossible to balance.
Luckily my second location was perfect. I tried out a couple of sitting
positions, one with my hands on the fence which would look like I was holding
the shelf and the other with my hands in my lap.
Downloading
the images.
I
downloaded all of the images onto my laptop in the pictures folder and then
viewed them all using Adobe Photoshop Elements 9. I am carrying on with my
labelling system and can easily locate any images I need.
Pictures>
Digital Photographic Practice> DPP Assignment4
First
Edit.
As
I was unable to balance on the fence successfully at my first location I did
not get any images. At my second location, next to a park, I was able to get 10
shots. I have edited out any which are quite similar or that I knew would not
work for a final image. This left me with four shots. I tried out a couple of
sitting positions and also with me looking in different directions.
Second
Edit.
I
really wanted to get down to the one image on this edit. I decided that the
better images had me looking at the camera, otherwise the viewer is left
wondering what I am looking at and it makes the overall image appear
unsettling. I also felt that I look much more relaxed with my hands on my lap
as opposed to being balanced on the fence.
Second
shoot.
Having
decided on how I would be positioned, I turned my attention to my background. I
decided to use the area on my bookshelf that held a few of my photography
books. I needed to create a small gap in-between them which would be the area
where I would sit. This shoot was more a case of getting the lighting right.
The room I as photographing in leads from another room so has no natural light
source of its own. I definitely needed the tripod to prevent camera shake as I
needed such a slow shutter speed to let in as much light as possible.
Adjustment/Manipulation.
Now
that I have decided on both elements of my front cover, it was time to put them
together. I altered the exposure of the bookcase slightly as well as cropping
the sides so that the cover would be more in proportion.
The
bit I found hardest was working out how to superimpose myself onto the
bookshelf. I watched several tutorials online to give me some tips and
experiment with various techniques. To create the effect I first opened the
layers window and then added a duplicate layer. I used the polygonal lasso tool
to go around my outline. Once I had done this I was then able to right click
and layer via cut. I could then select the image of myself and drop it on to
the bookcase background I had previously opened. After some careful positioning
and resizing so that I was a little smaller, all that was left for me to do was
to crop the image as a whole to appear like a book cover and then add on the
text.
I
watched other tutorials with various techniques on how to achieve the same
result but I found this one the easiest to follow. My other options can be
found in the references showing which tutorials I watched.
Final
Image.
Conclusion.
This
assignment really was a challenge for me as I had to do a lot of other research
to find which method I found easier to create the effect I was after. It has
made me realise that I am better with the shooting of an image than I realise
and that what may hinder me slightly more is my ability with things like
Photoshop. Like I have said many times before, these exercises and assignments
are all part of our learning processes. I have still tried to draw on elements
that I have learnt throughout the course, particularly with showing my
workflow. I have also tried to show more of the images that have led up to my
final piece, where as I am sometimes guilty of showing my last image but not
the process that went in to creating it as well as why I chose not to use other
shots. If I was doing this assignment again I may try and rather than use an
existing book, use my imagination a bit more and come up with something
completely different. I also think that the perspective may be slightly out and
that my knees should have been a little more bent to really show that I am
sitting.
I
really enjoyed researching for this assignment, not only finding out how to
create my final image, but also looking at how other students had approached it
and what they had created. Come the end
of the assignment I achieved more of a sense of satisfaction than I had with
any of the others. I really felt that I had learnt a new skill and would be
happy to carry out the whole thing again. I have come to realise that there is
a place for manipulating images in this manner. I personally feel that as this
image has been so obviously altered it is still honest. I think that when
someone is trying to deliberately mislead the viewer into believing an image is
completely genuine, this should not be allowed. I do find the whole concept
very interesting and can see why a person may want to use these techniques
particularly with regards to advertising.
Reflection
I
have re-read the assignment criteria and tried to gauge how well I have done.
Demonstration
of Technical and Visual Skills – I think that at the start I was unsure how to
achieve the result I was aiming for because I lacked some technical ability.
Through research I feel I have improved and have become competent in this area.
I still believe I am continuously learning and always try to apply new skills
where I can. I believe I have good visual skills and may be more confident in
this area.
Quality
of Outcome – I always try and present my work neatly and have been improving on
showing my workflow. I think that I produce well written note to accompany my
images. My research contributes to a more well rounded and knowledgeable
outcome.
Demonstration
of Creativity – I always try to be original and creative with my shots and I
think my imagination has shone through more with this assignment than any of
the previous ones. This is another area I have tried to work on.
Context
– I have been carrying out more research both online, through visiting
galleries, viewing other students work and undertake further reading. I believe
I am good at reflecting on my work and can always find areas for improvement. I
carry out my own research, visit galleries, work on my own projects and
undertake further reading. I have also tried to view other students work more
to see how others approach the same projects.
References.
