Different ways of Presenting Photo Images Research

This post is to outline the different options available for presenting photo images;

Photo Book

The photo book is a simple way of presenting your photo images. There are many different companies available on the internet Photobox, Albelli and Blurb to name a few.  Once you have signed up all you have to do is upload the images you wish to use and you are ready to create your own photo book. I have designed a photo book in the past for my sister in law of her hen weekend. I then gave it to her on her wedding day as this kind of presenting photo images can make a great gift. Many companies will give you the option to design the photo book for you.  The books are available in paperback or hardback and text can be added.

Calenders and Canvas

The same companies that offer photo books also offer other gift ideas like calenders, mugs and canvas printing.  They do many different sizes of canvas so if you have that special picture that you would like to hang on the wall then canvas is an easy contemporary way to do this.  I really like canvas print especially really big canvas prints and black and white images on canvas.  Another really nice presenting idea is to have multiple canvas side by side all showing one image.

Photo Albums

Photo albums are a nice way to show photographs if you have lots of them to present.  Photo albums have been around for a long time and come in many different styles and colours.  Photo albums are not as popular anymore since digital technology like slideshows and photo books as these are easier options.

Slideshow

A slideshow created on a computer is a really easy and cost free way of presenting photo images.  Slide shows can be created quickly and allows you to view large images if you have a big monitor which is more cost effective than printing.  There is also the environmental benifits of not using any paper or ink. A computer also allows you to store lots of images for viewing easily without taking up physical space.

Frames

Frames are a great way to present your photo images.  This can be expensive but works well if your prints are all the same size and lay side by side as they can all be presented in a single frame.  There are thousands of frames on the market available in a range of different styles and colours.

Photo Mounts

Photo mounts can be used to display photographs.  They an then be used in a frame to create a professional look or used alone and mounted onto coloured card.

Photographic Collage

A photographic collage is created by using photographs or parts of photographs to create a whole new image.  A photographic collage can be created easily by image software.  This image is a photographic collage image of Paris created by Hockney in 1985.

Photomontage

A photo montage is a process of cutting and joining a number of photograghs together to make a final complete image.

Initial Ideas for Unit 107 Presenting Photo Images

When deciding which images should be used as my final images I had so many images to choose from and my first idea for presenting my final images was a photo book.  As I had so many images that a photo book was the best option to display all of my images.  However, time became an issue and I did only want to select six to ten really great images.

I managed to select eight images which I felt were great images to present.  I think that eight images are not enough for a photo book so I decided that printing would be the next best option.  I went to a local printers to get my images printed but for A4 size which I felt was a decent size would cost £ 4.50 per print.  Also, the lady in the shop did not know how to print landscape onto an A4 sheet of photo paper without missing off half of the image.

As time has become an issue I have now decided to print my own images on my own printer.  I now need to ensure I have enough ink and photo paper.

FINAL IMAGES FOR UNIT 108 DIGITAL IMAGE MANIPULATION

These are my four images for Unit 108 Digital Image Manipulation.  I have chosen my daughter Molly to be my theme as you will see she appears in all of the manipulated images.  I have used photoshop cs3 and cs5 to manipulate the following images.

I was inspired by Helen Sear's 'Inside a View' collection for this image.  This was acheived by two images being layered.  The first image is the sunset and the silhouette shape of my daughter Molly which was taken with a small aperture which has limited the light and shot a lovely silhouette shape and captured the sunset in the background.  I then layered the second image on top of the flowers.  The flower image was a butterfly which I had to remove as it appeared across the silhouette. To layer an image you select all of the image and copy and paste the image onto the first image.  I then played around with the Opacity until I got the desired effect.

This image was inspired by an image I saw whilst watching the television although the main elements of the picture are totally different.  I started with the beach scene applied a grid to the image to ensure all the squares were the same size.  I then used the filters Sponge and Rough Pastels alternatively to create the patchwork image.  I then used the magnetic lasso tool around the Image of Molly and copy and paste her into the patchwork image.  I then flattened the image to create the new final image. 

This image was acheived by desaturating the image and then using the history brush to paint the leaf back the original colour.  This image was acheived by going into Image then adjustments. Desaturate.  I then used the history brush tool and painted over the part of the image I wanted the original colour back.

In this image inspired by Julia Fullerton Batten I have copy and paste three images of molly into the original image.  I first loaded the background image shot in St Lucia.  I then loaded three seperate pictures of Molly and used the magnetic lasso around the outside.  I then copy and paste that image into the background image.  I then went into edit, transform scale and this allows you to adjust the size of the copy and paste image.  I then repeated this process with the other two images.

Introduction to Unit 107 Presenting Photo Images

In Unit 107 Presenting Photo Images I am going to present 6 thematic images.  I will be using the images from assignment 101 and the Theme is Nature.  My images will relate to a theme and I will outline how the images relate to the theme.

I will show knowledge of how to use media for presenting photo images.
I will present my images and outline various other ways to display and present images.

FINAL IMAGES

These are my final images for Assignment 101 Image Capture.  All these images are shot with my Nikon D90 and lens 18 - 105mm which is my only lens.  I always assure that my battery is charged fully and I have a spare memory card and my tripod if possible whenever I go out with my camera.

Reflective Swan 1/2500 F5.6 ISO 640

This image was shot on the River Trent in Stapenhill Gardens.  It was a beautiful sunny Autumn day with some cloud.  This is a really nice image, the swan is fluffing its feathers which catch the light and this reflects in the water.  I have used a large aperture for this image F 5.6, which has allowed me great focus on the swan.  The fast shutter speed 1/2500 was needed as the light shining down on the swan and the large aperture could have caused the image to be over exposed.  I have cropped this image across the top which allows the eye to focus on the swan making a more powerful image.

This image illustrates many of the key composition aspects as well as representing great shape and form with the light casting a shadow in the water.  Lines are present with the moving water and patten and texture is seen within the water movement created by the fast shutter speed.  This image was taken at a low angle to get at the same level of the swan and has a nice balance with the moving water, swan and the out of focus plant in the corner of the image.

Flower Focus 1/4000  F 5.3  ISO 400

This beautiful caribbean flower was shot in Bonaire in the caribbean.  It was shot on a very hot day in the bright midday sun.  I have used a large aperture which has allowed me to focus on the flower and the leaves as the distance remains out of focus.  I have used a high shutter speed which was needed to limit the bright midday sun into the large aperture.  I have cropped this image slightly across the bottom which allowed me to remove a dead looking leaf although it was still a great image without any cropping.

This image shows the composition elements of balance, focus and colour as the position, focus and colour of the flower is really good.  It shows a line element as the veins in the leaf are very focused and the sharp focus has showed the patten and textures within the flower off beautifully.  The flower has a nice shape and form with the highlights and shadows casting across the image.  I really love the bluring of the background of this image but I think this was helped with the humidity of being in the caribbean climate.

Lonely Lizard  1/400  F 10  ISO 200

This image of a lizard was shot in a bar in Bonaire whilst getting some shade from the hot caribbean sunshine.  There were a few lizards running around on a nearby wall with bright red and yellow building in the background.  Unfortunately I have just realised whilst finding the aperture and shutter speed settings using Nikon Capture that I think I have shot this on auto.  I am still including this image in my final images as I feel sure I could have shot a similar shot to this one using the manual settings and I have eight final images whilst only six are needed. 

I very nice image which illustrates the compostion aspect of focus and colour.  I have captured the lizard as he appears to be looking right at me.  I have still used manual focus as I remember doing so and have focused on the lizard whilst bluring out the surrounding area.  I have used the crop tool in photoshop to crop the top of the image making the lizard more powerful.




Sunset  1/2000  F 16  ISO 400

This image was shot just of the coast of Antiqua at sunset.  I have shot this image directly into the sun and the high shutter speed and smaller aperture have worked well together to give a good exposure.  I have cropped the image across the top of the picture which has removed the sun in the distance but a line of light still remains right through the image as the sun is shining down on the sea.

This image illustrates the composition aspect of colour showing the beautiful orange of the sky at sunset.  The aspect of lines and reflection is also present with the line of light through the sea which guides your eyes completely through the image.  The boat which is just entering into the line of light shows a nice balance being a third of the way into the image.  This image shows patten and texture within the sea and creates the feeling of calm.

Flight  1/3200 F 5.6  ISO 400

This image was shot on a fine sunny autumn day in Stapenhill Gardens by the river.  Whilst walking by the river some children came to feed the ducks which caused a frenzy of birds.  I set my controls using a wide aperture to enable me to focus on the birds and a really fast shutter speed was needed due to the bright day and the speed the birds were moving.  I took a few images checked the exposure, and spent a couple of minutes shooting birds at a very quick pace.

This image shows narrow depth of field as only the bird is in sharp focus.  I have cropped the image across the top which has produced a more detailed and powerful image within the bird.  I love the detail in the wings which has a nice patten and texture and the colour of the beak and legs.  I think the image has nice shape and form of the bird against the out of focus background.  I also love the way the light seems to shine through the wings, highlighting the patten and texture within the image.

Birds  1/3200  F 5.6   ISO 400

Another image shot at the same time as the previous image whilst walking by the river on a sunny autumn day.  More birds are captured in this image but there are two which are in sharp focus at the forefront of the image.  The detailing on these birds shows lovely patten and texture and it shows good tonal balance of the birds against the background.  I have cropped this image at the top which has resulted in a powerful image.

Winter Road  1/125  F13  ISO 640

This image was shot on a winter morning at Hoar Cross.  This shot was taken early in the morning just after the sunrise.  I set my ISO at 640 because it was quite dark when I first started shooting.  Shot with quite a small aperture which has given a wide depth of field and also ensured exposure which can be a little tricky in extreme weather conditions like snow.   I have desaturated this image using digital manipulation.

This image illustrates the composition aspect of lines with not only the road guiding your eyes through the image but also the tyre tracks in the snow on the road.  The tyre tracks also add patten and texture to the image together with the trees.  I have shot this image at a really low angle which allowed the detail of tyre tracks in the road and also to capture more of the road going through the trees.  This image also shows a nice balance within the rule of thirds and has a nice tonal range.

Catch of Light  1/320  F 13 ISO 640

This image was shot on a winter morning as the sun was rising in the sky.  This image shot with a quite small aperture allowing for a wide depth of field.  A fast shutter speed was needed to gain the correct exposure in the extreme weather conditions.  The sun is shining through a circle shape within the tree where two branches cross over each other.  The fast shutter speed helped with shooting into the sun and I love the way the sun shines out in a star shape.

This image shows really nice patten and texture thoughout the image with a good tonal range. The patten of the snow coloured branches are all around the image guideing your eyes around the image. The tonal value between the trees and the snow is really nice and I love the way the snow lays on the top of the tree trunk.  The sun shot through the trees shows a nice balance within the image being shot at a third of the way across the image.

Health and Safety

Whilst taking these images all health and safety aspects were considered.  Every care was taken whilst photographing near water and on the snow.

Research on types of Lenses

Lenses are measured in millimetres and this is known as the focal length of the lens.   The standard lens for a 35mm camera is a 50mm lens.  If a lens has a shorter focal length than 50mm it is considered to be a wide angle lens and with a longer focal length than 50mm is considered to be a telephoto lens.

Wide Angle Lens

Wide angel lenses are good to use on landscapes allowing you to get more of the image within the frame of the picture.  They are also good for focus on objects in the foreground and fading out the distance beyond.  The most popular wide angle lens are 24mm and 28mm.

Telephoto Lens

A telephoto lens is really good for sporting events or wildlife allowing you to zoom in on the image from a distance.  At a distance the telephoto lens allows you to focus on a subject and shoot that subject in sharp focus whilst the surrounding area of the image is out of focus.

Macro Lens

A Macro lens is used for close up photography and allows you to focus a lot closer to the subject.  The quality is very high with a macro lens allowing you great sharpness within the image. 

Fisheye Lens

The fisheye lens look like a fisheye and distorts the image so that the outer edge of the image appears to be further away whilst the centre of the image almost comes out to meet you.

Shift/Perspective Contol Lens

This lens is an expensive lens which will move the perspective of a building without having to tilt the camera backwards.  This type of lens is good for shooting tall buildings.

Idea's for Image Manipulation Assignment

When researching famous photographers for image manipulation I researched Helen Sear, Julia Fullerton Batten and Faye Heller.  I liked these photographers as I found their work to be more art based than some of the other more humourous manipulation photographers.  I would like to base my Manipulation on the photographers I have researched.

I was never really interested in manipulation in photography before but after researching Helen Sear I found that manipulation can be used in a very artistic way.

Idea's for a Theme

• Molly my daughter to appear in my manipulated images
• For the Sea to be my theme
• For Nature to be my Theme

After looking through my photographs and deciding which photographs to use along with my artistic ideas I have decided that I will base my theme on my daughter Molly.   I have ideas that have materialised through the research that has inspired me and also through images seen in books, magazines and on the television.  I would like my manipulation to be on a more artistic level than a humourous one as when researching I found that Helen Sear and Julia Fullerton Batten inspired me most.