My Idea - Catalogue Fashion PhotographyFor my final piece I decided to do some fashion photography. Given how I was already filming my Lolita dresses in the studio for my documentary, I decided to take full advantage of this convenience. The photos I have produced are in the catalogue style, as it is one of the few areas of fashion photography where you don't necessarily need a model. This was particularly useful as there would’ve been many complications if I had chosen to use a model, such as finding someone suitable with the same dress size as me. More information and research on Catalogue Fashion Photography can be found below My PhotographyThere were a few problems I encountered with my chosen genre of fashion photography. The main one being the creatively limiting nature of catalogue photography. Since after all, catalogue fashion photography is meant to speficially advertise the clothes for sale, as opposed to building a narrative or creating an aesthetically pleasing image like with other genres of fashion photography. As such many of the shots consist of a basic collection of "full body" and close up shots. Though some catalogue photography can be a tad more exciting this is typically done with the help of a model, something which of course, I didn't have. However despite these limitations I believe I have created a successful collection of catalogue fashion photography. As my images perfectly advertise the clothing with a range of both full body and close up shots showing off not just the style of dress but also the intricate detail of the outfit. These images would work perfectly for an online listing and/or a printed catalogue listing of the dress. As for the setup I specifically went with a simple background so as not to draw too much attention from the actual clothing. One slight downside of this however is that the actual photos aren't as apeeling as some catalogue photos that do feature backgrounds/ location shots. In postproduction I upped the saturation and exposure slightly to make the images both a bit clearer and truer to the actual colour of the dress. This was particularly important given how dark the dress is. I also put each photo into a portrait ratio to fit the typical online catalogue frame you see used. Health and Safety![]()
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Street PhotographyCharacteristics and UsesStreet photography is a genre of photography that focuses on taking images on the street and in other public places. Primarily these images feature random people the photographer walks past, sometime these are candid photos, other times they are taken with permission. The purpose of these photos is to tell story about the subject by capturing a moment of their daily lives. Typically street photography is taken and used for artistic reasons, however it can also be used in a commercial setting. This is particularly the case with street fashion photography which can in turn be used in magazines, websites and other such promotional material. Architectural PhotographyCharacteristics and UsesArchitectural photography is a genre of photography where there is an emphasis on capturing buildings and structures. This can be for a variety of reasons including commercial and artistic. The first permanent example of architectural photography is believed to be Nicéphore Niépce's "View from the window at Le Gras" from the 1820's, a simple yet powerful documentation of architecture. This trend of using photography to document buildings continued to be the primary aim of architectural photography up until the beginning of the 20th century, with Frederick Evans as he began experimenting with a more creative approach to the genre. My PhotosThis is a collection of architectural photography I took while on our walk around Birmingham. All photos were taken on my phone (Pixel 4a 5G). My main theme of the day was patterns, as I find myself drawn to patterns. A theme I tried to capture through a variety of architectural subject matter, ranging from classical regency to neo-modernism. All of which I found throughout the city centre. I have tried to edit each photo in such a way that accentuates the patterns found in each, adding contrast, deepening shadows and adding a little clarity. Within this overarching theme of patterns, I also have two sub themes, the first being regency architecture and the second being neo-modernism. In my first group of photos I decided to focus on regency architecture, as I find this kind of architecture very aesthetically pleasing, particularly with the symmetry and gothic patterns. When taking these photos I tried to capture the height of the buildings by angling the camera upwards and at a slant. The end effect I think was rather successful as it gives the buildings that grandiose feeling which I was going for. My only qualm being that perhaps the patterns I was trying to capture get lost in the overall piece. But yet with that being said I still rather like these couple pieces as outlyers. Meanwhile with the second group I tried to focus more on neo-modernism architectural features such as the fence-like statue outside millennium and the outside of Birmingham library. For these images in particular I have gone with high contrast edits, making use of complimentary colours and, black and white. I chose to do this to make the patterns really stand out from the background of the image, an effect I think has worked rather well. Health and SafetyGiven the nature of Street/ Architectural there is naturally a fair few health and safety concerns that follow it. A detailed list/risk assessment can be found below. Bibliography
Free Software
Editing Process Paid Software (Lightroom)
Editing process ConclusionIn conclusion, I believe both these softwares would work well in select scenarios. For example Lightroom would be an excellent choice for a wedding shoot, as it is better at handling a large quantity of images. Especially if the edits you want to apply to each image are very similar. Same could be said for editorial fashion shoots. I also believe food and product photography would be best suited for Lightroom as both may require some retouches from smudges and the like. Meanwhile I believe free software would be quite adequate for less formal photo shots such as family photo albums. As there is less need for retouching and other complex edits. The only reason I could perhaps see Lightroom being necessary for this case is making collections into books. But this is something that could be done with other free applications so Lightroom is not entirely required. Health and SafetyThe health and safety concerns for working with computes are as follows:
IntroductionAs with all art forms, there are a wealth of genres that make up photography as a whole. Some of these are featured in my mindmap below. Ghost PhotographyGhost photography (or spirit photography as it's known to some) is a type of photography originating from the late 19th century. It aims to capture ghosts, spirits and other supernatural entities. Though whether or not is actually does capture spectral beings or not is another matter entirely. The genre first emerged while early photographers were experimenting with analogue photography, unintentionally creating ghostly imprints in the photographic paper. From there the genre blossomed with some people trying to intentionally recreate the ghostly effect. Something that preisits to this day. Notable ghost photographers include William Mumler (1832-1888) and William Hope (1863-1933). Due to the nature of this photography it is rather controversial and some do not consider it to be a real genre of photography. Fashion PhotographyFashion photography is unsurprisingly a genre of photography that focusses on displaying clothing. This can be for commercial or artistic purposes, or even both. Though there are photographs of fashion dating back to 1850, fashion photography as a genre did not take off until the early 20th century with boom in the film, beauty and celebrity industries. There are four different types of fashion photography; those being, catalogue, high fashion, street and editorial. • Catalogue Fashion Photography
• High Fashion Photography
• Street Fashion Photography
• Editorial Photography
Portrait PhotographyPortrait photography is a genre of photography that focuses on capturing the likeness of a person, primarily the face and upper body. It is often used to capture emotions and comes in a variety of styles such as high key and low key portraiture (of which I previously explored). Portrait photography is used for a variety of different purposes, whether that be as headshots for actors, magazines, family portraits or even social media posts. Portrait photography is believe to have originated in the mid 1800s with the first example from Robert Cornelius in 1839. Landscape PhotographyLandscape photography is primarily about capturing the natural beauty of the earth, they can feature vast expanses or small microscopic details of the world around us. Typically they are shot horizontally though there are exceptions to this rule. Landscape photography is believed to have started somewhere around the 1830s. However there seems to be some discussion about who took the first landscape photograph. Bibliography
Characteristics and UsesBlack and white photography is a genre of photography characterised by exclusively greyscale images. It aims to redirect an audience’s attention towards the texture, shape and pattern of a subject by removing the colour of an image. These images are often very dramatic, with the use of high contrast to deepen shadows. However with that being said, there are also examples of black and white photography that are the complete opposite, with low contrast used to give the image a soft, subtle touch. Black and white photography can be used in just about any context, whether that be for a magazine, website or a social media post. My PhotographyThis is a collection of Black and white landscape photography I took on the college grounds. All photos were taken with a DSLR camera. When looking for scenes to take photos of, I find I was drawn to patterns. This is something quite evident from the many photos I took of tree silhouettes. I was also looking for texture, something I was able to find in the many old stone garden features dotted about the grounds. I decided to give my photos a very dramatic edit in post production, enhancing the contrast and exposure to bring out the shadows to achieve a multitude of effects. Primarily to bring out the texture but also to enhance the lonely atmosphere of certain images. Particularly with my photos of the old stone garden features, clearly from a time long pasted. To instil this atmosphere, I manually blacked out much of the background leaving only the stone features in frame. To which I also enhanced the clarity and contrast. I think this is all rather fitting for this genre of photography, since after all black and white photography is all about drama and contrast.
Bibliography
Characteristics and UsesFood photography is a type of still life photography often utilised by the commercial sector. The aim of which is typically to make the food look enticing and so prompt people to buy it. Often times the “food” in the photograph is heavily airbrushed and painted, ironically with things that are not even edible themselves. Food photography is primarily used to advertise restaurants and other eateries. Often printed in magazines, used on websites, social media, menus and other such advertisements. The standard setup types for food photoshop are flat lay, tabletop and product box, the same as product photography. Health and Saftey![]()
Studio PhotosEquipment List
Additional PhotosFollowing suit, I again decided to do some food photography outside of the studio. And it just so happened that my family and I were already going to a restaurant so I decided to take some photos of the food using my phone.
White Balance
BibliographyAll information taken from spoken lectures delivered by E.Jukes from Nov/2021
Characteristics and UsesProduct photography is a type of photography usually employed for commercial uses. Typically it is a small table-sized shoot consisting of products, backgrounds and accessories to enhance the products appeal. Many product photography shoots utilise colour relationships found in the colour wheel such as complimentary, harmonious, monochromatic, etc. Setup TypesProduct photographers make use of different setups for different products, usually either Flat lay, Product Box/Tube or Tabletop. A Flat Lay is a the name suggests when you lay the products down on the floor and angle the camera so it is putting down at the products. A Product Box/Tube is a type of softbox that you place the product in, very useful for casting soft light around the product. Meanwhile a Tabletop setup is when you place the the products on a table and take the shoot parallel to the table. Typically all these make use of tripods too. Images found online Health and Safety![]()
Studio PhotosEquipment List
Additional PhotosSimilarly with the colour gels, I also decided to take the ideas I had for the product photography and do a few at home. Using a couple of the tricks I had previously learnt with the colour gels I was able to manually correct the white balance of the light sources I was using while shooting.
BibliographyAll information taken from spoken lectures delivered by E.Jukes from Nov/2021
Characteristics and UsesA colour gel is a coloured transparent plastic cover that can be placed over light sources to change the colour of the light. Primarily used to create dramatic coloured lighting but can also be used to colour correct certain shots. Typically photographers use colours that correspond with the colour wheel in varying ways, whether that be complimentary, harmonious, triadic, etc. Health and Safety ![]()
Studio PhotosEquipment List
Additional Photos
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