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Introduction
Concept
The basic concept for my studio folio is to create aesthetically pleasing images that have a magical or fantasy feel. I am basing the images around story telling. I am fascinated by fairy tales and magical stories so naturally I wish to explore this in a portfolio that involves creativity and editing which allows you to create a greater fantasy element.
I will be creating four A3 sized images each from a different story and applying my own take on the story tale. I will be photographing both in natural environments as well as in the studio.
The four story tales I will be doing are;
- Up
- Cat in the Hat
- Willy Wonka
- Thumbelina
For each story I will be doing one image. I will be putting my own spin/interpretation onto the story to create an image that is unique. I wish to also put a fashion spin onto each image as I have strong interest in that area.
Here is a brief description of each image.
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
The scene I have chosen is the one from the factory where Charlie and his Grandpa have taken a lolly to make them float without Willy Wonka knowing. They are floating in the air surrounded by bubbles. I will be putting my own spin on his and combining a similar scene from Mary Poppins in which they are laughing and floating in the air. I wish to blur these to scenes together to create an atmospheric image floating in a timber house surrounded by bubbles. I would like to create a similar style in which Dave Hill uses in his photographic images. I wish to put a fashion spin onto this by using models to float in the air.
Up
Up is one of my all-time favourite movies and one I draw a lot of inspiration from small details to the whole story. I love the colours and themes displayed in a creative and light hearted way. The basic story line is about a house that flies by using balloons. I intend to do a portrait but to have the house floating in the background. Thumbelina
I will be doing another image based on the story of Thumbelina. The concept I will be taking from is the use of proportion. Thumbelina is a tiny girl in a large world. I will be displaying this through the use of a children’s music box but changing the ballerina figure and replacing it with a real person. I will be photographing both in the studio environment with a background being a natural indoor setting.
Cat in the Hat
When looking at stories you just can’t go past Dr Seuss. He is a genius at story telling for kids and I am exploring his most well-known story Cat in the Hat. Again I will be putting a fashion twist on this image. The basic concept is to create a portrait style image capturing a single person precariously standing on a number of objects as well as balancing more in both hands and on one foot. The objects will be classic Dr Seauss Images such as a cake, a goldfish, umbrella and suitcase. The colour theme will be red, white and blue. The model will also be holding a hat like the one in the book but having a little cat poking out of the hat.
Technical Information/Techniques
Editing will be the focus of this folio I will therefor need to use a range of editing techniques. This will include
- Consistent Tones
- Consistent Lighting
- Feathering
- Sense of realism (how to not look constructed)
- Use of light
- Layer Masking
- Adjustment Layers
- Selections
- Tonal Corrections
- Refine Mask
- Using all the different ways to make selections
- Shadows - eg sharper when close up then fades
- Consistent focal length, camera angle, distance to subject and DOF
- Different techniques used to create shadows.
- Blending Modes
- Adjustment Layers
New Skills
- Puppet Warp
- Extend on masking and merging photographs to be even more realistic
- Cartoon creation
Other technical aspects will be extremely important such as use of lighting both studio and natural outdoor and indoor to create a realistic image. It is extremely important to have consistent lighting across the images otherwise they will not blend convincingly together. All my images are from story tales and cartoon drawings for this reason I will be giving them a cartoon feel by airbrushing large areas such as clothing and blocking up the colours.
Photographers in the Field
Two of my favourite photographers are Annie Leibovitz and Tim Walker. They are both fashion photographers who have worked for vogue. They are both extremely creative and have amazing quality work. They have both explored fashion in fairy tales through use of props, elaborate set ups and lots of post-production. I will be drawing inspiration from these two talented photographers for my folio.
Dave Hill
I will also be trying to replicate the mood and style that Dave Hill uses in his work. He is an extremely talented photographer and does fantastic post production on his work. He creates series in which they tell a story.
Equipment
- Flash
- Backdrops
- Light Meter
- Tripod
- Reflector
- Gels
- Grey Card
- Lenses/Camera
- Speedlights
- Editing Software; Lightroom and Photoshop
- Computer
Props
Props will be an important aspect when styling my scenes. They will need to accentuate the story and be appropriate details in my images.
These will include;
- Hat
- Umbrella
- Fish
- Cat
- Clothes
- Kite
- Fish Bowel
- Gumboots
- Tea Set
- Bouncy Ball
- Toy Boat
- Suitcase
- Balloons
- Ballerina outfit
- Music Box
- Bubbles
- Furniture
Costing
I plan to keep this folio as low budget as possible. For props I am hoping to borrow most objects but am still allowing to buy some necessary objects. All photographic equipment I either own or can borrow from CIT. Printing for this folio will be reasonably expensive as I wish to print on a paper that I haven’t printed on before. I have previously done a test print on this paper and loved its qualities. It’s called metallic and costs $14.60 for a 12x16inch (30x41cm) print. I need to keep in mind that this is only printed on Wednesdays from digital works when planning my time and include postage costs. I will also need to allow time and money for mounting my images I wish to use foam core.
Timeline
Week 7- Proposal/Planning
- Submit Folio proposal
- Sourcing a place to print
- Sourcing a place to mount
- Sourcing Props/Locations/Products/equipment/access
- Practice shoots
- Editing Tutorials
- Update Blog
- Prepare for ‘Cat in the Hat’ shoot eg models, props, locations, clothes etc
Week 8 - Shooting/ Editing
The first week of shooting I will aim to begin shooting and doing the necessary post production on the ‘Cat in the Hat’ Image.
- Resubmit Proposal if needed
- Sourcing Props/Locations/Products/equipment/access
- Editing Tutorials
- Update Blog
- Begin shooting ‘Cat in the Hat’
- Start post production
- Prepare for ‘Thumbelina’ shoot eg models, props, locations, clothes etc
Week 9 - Shooting/ Editing
The second week of shooting I will aim to begin shooting and doing the necessary post production on the ‘Thumbelina’ Image.
- Sourcing Props/Locations/Products/equipment/access
- Editing Tutorials
- Update Blog
- Begin shooting ‘Thumbelina’
- Start post production
- Prepare for ‘Up’ shoot eg models, props, locations, clothes etc
- Feedback from teachers on ‘Cat in the Hat’ final Image shoot
Week 10 – Shooting/ Editing
The third week of shooting I will aim to begin shooting and doing the necessary post production on the ‘Up’ Image.
- Sourcing Props/Locations/Products/equipment/access
- Editing Tutorials
- Update Blog
- Begin shooting ‘Up’
- Start post production
- Prepare for ‘Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory’ shoot eg models, props, locations, clothes etc
- Feedback from teachers on ‘Thumbelina’ final Image shoot
Week 11 – Class Review
The fourth week of shooting I will aim to begin shooting and doing the necessary post production on the ‘Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory’ Image. Prepare for class review. My aim is to have all 4 images photographed and edited by week 11/12 so if there are any reshoots I have another 2 weeks to complete these. If not I can now send the images off to the printers or do a test prin. Final retouches would also be done this week to assure that the images are cohesive and consistent.
- Sourcing Props/Locations/Products/equipment/access
- Editing Tutorials
- Update Blog
- Begin shooting ‘Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory’
- Start post production
- Feedback from teachers on ‘Up’ final Image shoot
- Class Review
- Reshoots if needed
Week 12 – Editing/Feedback
Week 12 will be all about feedback and final editing. As well as reshooting if needed.
- Update Blog
- Post production
- Feedback from teachers on ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’ final Image shoot
Week 13 – Editing/Printing
- Update Blog
- Post production
- Feedback from teachers
- Best images prepared for printing and digital submissions including raw files and slideshow template
- Reshoots if needed
- Send to printers
Week 14 – Class Review/Printing/Mounting
This week I will aim to have all my final preparations in order to submit the following week. I will receive the prints this week and get them mounted at framing pieces in Mitchell or alternatively mount them by hand. Once prints are mounted they will be wrapped up and ready for submission so there is no last minute rushes in the week that they are due.
- Prepare for group review of work
- Week 11 I will be photographing the last image.
- Post production for best images from shoot
- Best images prepared for printing and digital submissions including raw files and slideshow template
- Class Review
- Final review with teachers
- Send to printers
- Prints returned by post.
- Reprint if any issues
- Mounting
Week 15 Submissions
- Digital Files ready for submission
- Submit final images digital and prints
- Present to panel
This folio is an opportunity for me to explore and express my creativity. Proper preparation and planning will be crucial to the smooth running of my folio leaving adequate time for any test shoots, reshooting and printing errors. I am looking forward to improving both my photographic skills and my editing techniques.
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