Shoots 1- 4

Ideas

For shoot 1, I will do a still life photoshoot. I want investigate my grandparent's photo albums that I inherited when my nana passed away, as well as her guitar which has been handed down to me from my dad. 

Shoot 1 Contact Sheet

Best Images

Evaluation

What worked? - I got some really nice close up shots of the album and guitar, and tried to play with the DoF on the guitar which I think looks really nice. The lighting was really nice to shoot in as I photographed in the hallway in front of the doorway.

What didn't, how could this be improved? - I think my shoot was a little bit repetitive, even though I tried to use different angles and ideas. I think this is because I had a limited amount of objects and time in the day to shoot as I took my photos in the evening. I like the afternoon lighting, so I will try to shoot earlier next time to allow more time to photograph, and I will also have a dig through to find more still life objects. 

What are you going to do next time to extend your idea? - Use artist models. I didn't use an artist model for this shoot which I think is a bit obvious because even though I think there are nice images in my shoot, there's no clear sense of direction yet. The artist models I would like to use in my next shoot are Ans Westra and Kris Sanford. 

Artist Model: Ans Westra

Key features -

Documentary

Māori Life

Black and white

Social

Shadows

Examples of her work:

Ideas

For shoot 2, I want to take photos at the empty house next to my friend's place. It's a tidy cottage that has a lot of old and fraying areas that I think would make some good photos. Though it has no significance to my nana, I still think it's a good location to shoot because of it's age as well as it's style. 

Shoot 2 Contact Sheet

Best Images

Evaluation

What worked? - I chose to shoot in the afternoon light, which worked well because the house was facing in the direction of the sun. There were also lots of little places that I could take photos of despite not being able to get inside. 

What didn't, how could this be improved? - I think I struggled a little to fit into Ans Westra's style, and went off on a bit of a tangent and took photos in my own way. It definitely helped having her work to base mine off of, but I think I need to keep looking for more artist models as well. 

What are you going to do next time to extend your idea? - To extend my idea, I am going to do a studio shoot at school. Though I've already done a still life photo shoot, this time I am going to use an artist model to shoot in the style of. For this one, we have a class supplied artist model, Andre Kertesz. 

Photoshop Editing - Caleb Cole

Photo Editing - Anne Shelton

I decided to use Anne Shelton as an artist model and explore some of her work to add on my board. For this, I just flipped an image I already had from one of my shoots to create a mirroring effect. 

Artist Model: Andre Kertesz

Key features -

Black and white

Still life

Shadows

Purposeful arrangement

Use of leading lines

Examples of his work:

Ideas

I want to use the photo studio at school to take photos of some of my nana's belongings, such as her guitar and her photos again. I can also use some of the items in the art store room to add to the still life, as some of Andre Kertesz' work can be a little bit busy or has a lot of still life items. 

Shoot 3 Contact Sheet

Best Images

Evaluation

What worked? - This shoot was not good, but the lighting was nice and though I didn't have a lot of objects to work with, I liked arranging the buttons and trying to use leading lines.

What didn't, how could this be improved? - I rushed this shoot to get it in on time even though I didn't have all of the right things I needed. Mrs West suggested I do a reshoot of this artist model with objects that are of emotional significance in order to stay in my theme.

What are you going to do next time to extend your idea? - I am going to use the classwide artist model, Jerry Takigawa for my next shoot. I used him a lot last year so I think my next shoot will go well, and will be a good way to incorporate my still life aspects.

Artist Model: Jerry Takigawa

Examples of his work:

Ideas

I want to use some of my nana's jewellery that I have to use as still life, so that I'm not just using the same things over and over. I also want to explore music a bit more, so I will use her guitar and maybe some picks and other accessories. 

Shoot 4 Contact Sheet

Best Images

Evaluation

What worked? - Doing a Jerry Takigawa shoot is something I know I can rely on as it's worked well for me previously, despite the theme I have. Even though I have been working mostly in black and white, I like the colours I have used for this shoot.

What didn't, how could this be improved? - There were some photos where I got a lot of the carpet because in one photo, my nana is very close to the left of the image and is slightly cut out. I also had limited photos so less to choose from for my board and best images. 

What are you going to do next time to extend your idea? - I want to explore music a bit more and go into detail of the history of guitars to extend my idea further from what it is so far, as I am playing it kind of safe at the moment and my board one currently looks very similar to my last year's work.