My Best 20 Photographs So Far

My Best 20 Photographs from Katy Bird

Research Log - David LaChappelle

I chose David LaChappelle's photography because it uses a wide range of formal elements, such as colour and depth. He is an American commercial photographer. I enjoy his work because is it very original and it sends a message but in a humorous way. The colours and patterns that he uses are very bright and bold which makes his work stand out. His photography influences me because he shows you can take bold photographs whilst still showing a message and creating an interesting photograph.

I like this photograph because it is very unique and a bit random, formal elements such as depth and colour are used, which gives the image a 3d effect. The contrast between the destroyed background and the woman makes this photograph stand out.

In this photograph, formal elements such as depth, colour and pattern are used. This image is very unique and not like anything I have seen from another photographer. The image is bold and bright which makes it stand out among the rest and it seems like this photo is sending an in-depth message.

The contrast between colours in this photograph makes the image stand out; the destroyed background is contrasted with the bright and colourful outfits of the people. The image also shows depth which makes the image look 3d.

This portrait has formal elements such as colour and pattern. The contrast between the background and the focal point of the image makes the photograph stand out. Also, in this photograph, you can tell that the image has a deeper meaning.

Overall, I love David LaChappelle's work because of how interesting and quirky it is and how he uses the formal elements to show off his photography.

Studio Form - Straight Images

Back Of Head Portraiture - Work Diary

In this session we had to go around college and shoot portraiture, where we had to photograph the back of peoples head. We also had to take it in turns to go into the studio to photograph the back of someones head. I found this task a little bit difficult because we had to make sure the pictures had a blurred background and because I wasn't using my own camera I found it more difficult to set the aperture.

This is my favourite photograph that I took when shooting portraiture. I took this picture when photographing in the studio. I like this picture because of the use of rule of thirds. Also, the contrast between the bright pink background and the dark coloured hair makes this photograph stand out.

This is my favourite photograph take I took when shooting back of head portraiture outside. I like this photograph because of the blurred background which is contrasted with the focal point of the image. This is the edited version of the original photograph. To edit it I changed the levels and curves to make the contrast of the image better.

If I were to go out and shoot portraiture again, I would make the backgrounds more blurred so the focal point of the photograph stands out more. Furthermore, I would also vary the backgrounds of where I took the back of head images. Here are some example that inspired me:

Portraiture - Definition

Dictionary Definition: a likeness of a person, especially of the face, as a painting, drawing, or photograph.

• People
• Features
• Eyes
• Central
• Vertical

In this portrait, natural elements such as form and depth are used to show off the person is the photograph. The background is very simple compared to the person in this image which makes the viewers of this image focus only of the person. The dramatic pose the person in this photograph is doing implies a deeper meaning behind this photograph.

In this portrait, the woman in the photograph is covering basically all the image. Her prominent features, such as her freckles and her eyes makes this image stand out. In this photograph, natural elements such as form and tone are used through the use of monotone colours.

In this black and white portrait, formal elements such as tone and depth are used. His eyes are the main focus of this photograph which makes the image stand out. The background is very simple compared to the many features on the child which makes this photograph stand out even more.

In this image the blurred background contrasts very well with the person in this photograph. The black and white effect, shows off the features of the focal point more. Formal elements such as tone and form are used in this photograph.

My Definition: Portraiture in photography is a picture of one person with little or minimal background.

Back Of Head Portraiture - Image Bank

Back of head portrait has been popular for a long time, as you can see from this old image.

This picture is very effective because of the patterns created in the woman's hair due to the fact of her hair being wet.

This back of head portraiture has a scenery is the background, this is effective because it looks appealing.

This photograph uses tone, which is very effective because it looks more 3d and realistic.

This back of head portraiture uses depth, which shows off distance, it also gives the photograph a 3d effect.

This picture is very effective because of the shape of the canvas; this really draws attention to the back of head portrait.

Back of head portraiture is when somebody photographs the back of someones head. This is effective way of doing portraiture because is does not focus on the features of the face. Typically, someones eyes would be in the centre of the photograph because it is the most noticeable feature of a persons face, but photographing the back of somebody's head creates the sense of mystery and also that the person in the photographs is looking backwards.

Back Of Head Portraiture - Straight Images

Portraiture - Image Bank

Portraiture is the photography of a person. It is usually just there face but sometimes, there whole body and a background can be included. Lighting is a very important aspect of portraiture as it shows off a persons features and gives them a 3d effect. Portraiture is used for a number of reasons in photography, from fashion work to street photography.

This portrait is in black and white; this shows off tone which makes the image look more realistic.

This is a very creative way to show off portraiture as there are two people in this photograph. 

Depth is shown in this portrait because of the blurred background, this ensures that the make focal point of this image is the girl.

Reflection is shown is this image, this is a very creative way to photograph portraiture because it is abstract and unique.

In this portrait, detail is shown very well; this is because the photograph is in black and white, which shows off tone more.

Shape - Work Diary

In this session, we had to photograph shape. I found this task quite difficult because although shape is everywhere, it was hard to decide what to photograph. Also, after about 40 minutes of shooting photographs, they all deleted so I had about 10 minutes to quickly photograph shape, which was disappointing because I took some good photographs but they deleted. After we took the shape images, we had to edit them on Photoshop, to edit them we changed the levels and curves to make the images brighter and to make them have a greater contrast.

I believe that this is my best photograph because is shows off shape well. I also like this lighting in this image because it gives off shadows which makes a 3d effect. Diagonal lines are used in this photograph which makes it effective because it shows off the whole subject. Furthermore, I like the use of form in this photograph which you can clearly see because of the shadows.  

I really like this photograph because it shows off shape really well, even if it is a very simple photograph. In this image you can clearly see the theme of this image is shape. The photograph have one main shape as the focal point but it also has different shapes all around the rest of the image, for example, in the curb and the paving on the background. Patterns are also used in this image which creates a 3d effect.

If I were to photograph shape again I would try and take pictures of more abstract things, although it was hard to do that because we were just in college. I would also include more colour to make the photographs stand out more. I would also experiment with lines, as they make up shape it would be fun to experiment with abstract lines and shape. Here are some photographs I took inspiration from:

Shape - Definition

Dictionary Definition -  the quality of a distinct object or body in having an external surface oroutline of specific form or figure.

• Square
• Circle
• Round
• Straight
• Edge
• Form
• Mould

Shape is shown in this picture through the use of circles and lines. You can see shadows in this image which gives the shapes a more 3d effect.

Shape is shown in this photograph through the use of circles and tubes, as the images shows shadow, the shape stands out more and it has a 3d effect.

Shape is shown in this photograph through the use of spirals, the bright yellow object contrasted with the dark grey makes the shape in the image stand out.

Shape is shown in this photograph through the use of lines. This picture shows off shape because of the monotone colours.

My definition - Shape is a 2d or 3d object made up of lines.

Shape - Straight Images

Photo Joiner - Work Diary

In this session we focused on photo joiner, photo joiner is when multiple pictures are taken of a single object and then the pictures are then put on photoshop and all joined together. When taking the photographs, we had to do a person, a building and an object. I found this task quite easy because all we had to do is stand in one place and photograph a certain thing from different angles and zooms. Although, I found it quite hard to edit it on photoshop because I had never done it before and trying to work out the correct measurements were pretty difficult.

This is my favourite photo joiner edit because it uses a lot of pictures and I believe it looks good.  The different angles of the book case all put together five the image a 3d effect. This photojoiner used a lot of formal elements such as lines and colour. This image has a wide variety of colour which makes it stand out although to improve I would try and make the colours in this photojoiner bolder. Furthermore, I would also try and remove the reflective light from this image and make it brighter because the colours of the overall image is quite bland.

If I were to do joiner edits again I would do it of a scenery or landscape because I believe that they are the best things to photograph when making a photojoiner image. Furthermore, I would have like to do more photojoiner photographs as I only made one. I took inspiration from these photographs:

Texture - Work Diary

In this session we had to go out and photograph texture, I found this task quite easy because the sun was out and shadows are vital when photographing texture. Also there was many things that could be taken photographs of. After the photographs were taken we had to edit our best ones in photoshop. To edit it we changed the levels and curves to make the image have a greater contrast and to brighten the photograph.

 This is my best picture because it shows off texture very well. The texture and the converging lines give the image a 3d effect. There is good contrast in this image because of the black and white colour scheme. As mentioned before the use of converging lines make this image have a direction which is pleasing to the eye of the viewer.

I like this photograph because of the way it shows off texture in the bricks, there are many different varieties of texture in this image from the bricks to the cement. Form is also used in this photograph as you can see from the shadows, this gives the photograph a 3d effect. 

If I were to photograph texture again I would try and photograph something else rather than walls and floors. I would also try and incorporate some colour into my photographs because all the pictures taken had little colour. Furthermore, to improve my texture photographs, I would try and also use more form to make the images more 3d. These photographs gave me inspiration for texture photography: