Lois Hill

During our workshop we were introduced to studio photography, the different lights available to use and how we may set them up for portrait photographs.

Above are the first five images taken as we were setting up the lights in the studio. It took several test shots before finally managing to achieve the images below, giving us the completely black background and backlit effect that we wanted.

We then started to experiment with colour filters over a spotlight which resulted in the effect shown in the images below.

Which of the words given in the brief document have you selected, and why?

The word which I have chosen for the brief is division. It was the word that interested me the most out of them all as I think division can be interpreted in such a variety of different ways. For me personally, I want to consider it in an almost literal sense, and take the word for its dictionary definition and represent separation in my images. The definition which I will be referring to is:

I would like to focus more on the physicality of division rather than disagreement or separation between people.

What do you want to point your camera at?

I am hoping to continue looking into structure and architecture; taking shape, contrast, leading lines and perspective into consideration to create eye-catching abstract images.

Why are you interested in this subject?

I particularly enjoyed doing focusing on architecture in an earlier task as it encourages you to be more alert and aware of your surroundings. It forces you to pay attention particularly to perspective, and how placement and angle can drastically alter the subject of an image. It allows you to make some of the most mundane places look really interesting just by taking a few moments to carefully consider how you are going to photograph it.

What do you hope an audience will take from your images?

I’m hoping an audience will be able to reflect on the simplicity which I am aiming for, and that they will be drawn to the images through the abstract shapes and use of colour.

What areas of research are you considering to help deepen your understanding of the subject you have chosen?

What practitioner(s) or visual resources would you consider to have influenced you? This not have to be photographic.

Matthias Heidrich has influenced my consideration for this project immensely. I really like the use of bold colours, stark contrast and shape which are consistent throughout all his images. He has a distinct style which I would like to recreate in some way in my own work.

What support or equipment might you need to achieve your goals?

I will be applying what I’ve been taught over the term, as well as utilising support from my tutor. Equipment-wise, I will be using my own Canon 550D to take the final photographs and editing them on Lightroom before uploading them to my blog. Since I’m focusing on buildings and structures, most of my images will be taken outside and off-campus rather than in a studio where the lighting and environment can be controlled, which is something I’ll need to take into consideration.

As an introductory task to photographing with Canon DSLR cameras, namely the 500D/600D/700D range, we were encouraged to take out cameras and practice with them. I took my Canon EOS 550D on a walk around the university campus photographing the different buildings; aiming to take angles, lines and perspective into consideration.

Some of the photographs were captured by standing close to the walls of the building and looking up, whereas others were taken from a distance, moving slightly to make different buildings or structures overlap to create interesting shapes.

 

 

Task

You are tasked with making an original image using pre-existing objects.

These objects must not already belong to you, they can be discovered on the street or countryside, borrowed or traded.

Your object(s) need to be given a new lease of life and context beyond the one in which they were discovered (unless it’s truly exceptional!) this is most likely to mean relocating them to an environment where you have full control over your lighting and staging. Your workshops will help to inform you of the techniques and methods you could employ here.

You may shoot individual objects or create compositions formed from multiple items, as seen in the image to the left.