Death- Work diary

Basic information:
Date: 31/01/17
Camera used: Macro camera
Props or subject: Object
Editing program: Photoshop CC 2014
Camera settings: 1/125, f/9, ISO 200
Technique used: Standard lighting
Camera set up: (Diagram created using www.lightingdiagrams.com/creator)- Soft box x2, Tripod

Favourite image

This is my favourite image from this shoot as I like the way that the subject the lily appears central in the image which draws the viewers eye to it opposed to the person who is holding the lily.  The lily is able to effectively stand out as a result of subtle shallow depth of field as whilst this image was shot at f9 a mare camera was used with a low depth of field.  The fact that the lily is a contrasting pale beige against the persons deep plum jumper also helps to make it stand out from the rest of the image.  This use of colour is particularly important is there is no shallow depth of field present in this image.  I feel that the framing of the image which cuts the persons head from the frame also helps to add a sense of ambiguity to the person and therefore draws the viewers eye to the flower being held.  This image is similar in style to Brooke DiDonatos work in its muted colonisation as well as its composition.

Least favourite image

This is my least favourite image from this series as I feel that it doesn't follow the same style as the other images in the series.  It still appeals to me however due to it's use of muted colours and the way that the fragmentation of the joiners can be seen as symbolic of the fragmentation caused by loss and death (traditionally focused around white lily's).  I feel that the image may possibly have been improved had it featured more of the lily and less of the subjects arm or had featured sections of the lily thought the decay process.

Death- Connecting essay 5

Photographer- Brooke Di Donato

My Image

The image by Brooke Di Donato is interesting to me because of the way that the artist leaves the subjects face obscured only showing her hands this is intriguing to the viewer as it creates an element of mystery.  The central positioning of the subject in the image immediately draws the viewers eye towards the flowers and subject in the image.  The flowers present in the image as well as the pink tones featured throughout provide create an air of femininity in the image something which is particularly interesting as the setting of the image is a living room which is historically a female dominated area.  The mid shot camera positing of the image is interesting to me as it allows for more setting to be visible in the image whilst the shallow depth of field allows for the flowers to remain in the images centre.  The muted colour scheme creates a sombre and serious air in the image, the addition of blues in the image adds to this effect.

In my image I choose to incorporate the muted tones of Di Donato's image in order to convey the sombre nature of my series which focused on incorporating the historic symbolism of a lily being linked to death imagery throughout language.  I have also chosen to incorporate the shallow depth of field in order to draw the majority of the viewers focus to the Lily.  The lily I have used in this shoot was largely decayed and I choose to use this in order to create a greater emotive effect and better translate the concept that a Lily symbolises death.  I choose to use a navy blue backdrop and also a place the Lily against the subjects purple jumper as beige and muted purple are contrasting colours this makes the Lily stand out further from the subject.  I have also chosen to keep the theme of the subjects face being obscured in order to create an element of mystery and anonymity.  I chose to alter the framing of the image however kept the Lily in a central position with a close shot of the subjects torso.

If I were to revisit this shoot I would consider making the lighting more even and possibly experimenting with various other kinds of flowers that relate to different emotions.  I feel that whilst I could have used a standard camera lens that the use of a macro lens provided an additional level of detail in the image.

In conclusion I feel that that this shoot was largely successful with the coloration and positioning used creating a striking image.

Death- Straight images

This image is a photo joiner composed of numerous images of different sizes in order to create the larger and final image.  The image was shot in a  studio with two soft boxes and a tripod in order to prevent camera shake this equipment set up as well as the use of a macro camera was used in every image from this shoot.  Both this image and the one below were edited in photoshop to reduce their saturation creating muted tones, contrast was also increased and curves were altered to create a more striking image.  I chose to use a dark blue background in order to prevent the image from appearing overly dark whilst still maintaining the dark and sombre imagery associated with lily's.  

This image features a shallow depth of field focused around the dead lily in the images centre with a subjects torso and the backdrop out of focus.  The image uses overall dull muted tones in the image this helps to maintain the sombre imagery associated with white lilies.  The fact that the subjects head is not visible in the image gives the image an air on anonymity and mystery which intrigues the viewer as well as reminding them that death and loss could happen to anyone.

This image was created by increasing the images contrast but decreasing it's saturation and altering the colour levels present individually.  This creates a crisp image with a deep range of tone and shadows whilst drawing the viewers eye directly to the lily in the subjects hand due to the strong contrast of colour between the light subject and dark image background. This image was shot with a macro lens allowing for a great deal of detail to be captured in the image.

Death- Contact sheet