Task 1:moodboards

Final evaluation

For the first task, we had to research historical and contemporary food photographers. I enjoyed the researching of contemporary photographers as a lot more variety was there. This including the way the food was presented, how it was shot and the various foods. However, when researching historical photographers, I couldn't find a lot, if not one. So, I had to research artists instead, which I had a lot more luck with. But, I realised quickly that historical food artists focus more on the fruit and vegetables and there isn't much varied food. Understandably, after a while of researching and looking at the same type of images, it got boring.

The second part of the task was primary research where we got to more hands on and actually experiment with the images we wanted to capture. This part I really enjoyed as it allowed me to be creative however, I wish the places I visited were a lot more thought out as I would've gotten better quality images. 

For the second task, we had to bring biscuits in and photograph them with/without props. I decided to bring party rings in as they were colourful and pretty to look at. Intentionally, I just brought a white plate on as I thought that they would stand out however, when we got into the kitchen studio, I found a side plate with different compartments in with a small wooden chopping plate. I decided to use this instead because then I would be able to photography the biscuits standing up.

Using natural light, we learned how to use a light reader. We then moved into the studio. That was the first time going into the studio song really enjoyed played with different techniques and angles. I also really liked the professionalism of it. 

The third task was a task that had to be shot at home. I had vision of what I hoped my images would look like and I was very excited to shoot them. However, when it came to shooting, I realised that the images I hopef I would get, I wouldn't. Because I was shooting at roughly 5pm and my kitchen is located at the back of my house, the sun was by this time at the front of my house. Although I did shoot close to the window, my images just weren't as well light as I intentionally hoped. Overall, I didn't enjoy shooting and I didn't enjoy my end images. 

Task four was a Wednesday which again, had to be done at home however, it was a planning task. I've always disliked planning but because I actually wanted a good end result I tried and I actually really liked the feeling of knowing what I was going to shoot and where I was going to shoot. It motivated me to get everything done and edited. 

Task 5 was the photo shoot that we planned for. This by far was my favourite task out of all of them. It allowed us to choose what food we wanted to shoot, what proper we wanted, and we had a lot of freedom and let us be as creative as we want. I loved styling the foods and just the hands on feel to it. So much so, I decided to do two shoots of the complete opposite. 

The next task was a Wednesday task again so that meant doing it in our spare time. The task was to photograph posters advertising food. This task was pretty easy and was done within a few hours. There wasn't much else to the task besides a detailed analysis of each poster. 

Finally, the last task was to create a poster of your own choice. I choose to stick with my Halloween themed for one of the posters. I liked experimenting with the different use of images. I also liked the designing element to it. Again, so much I decided to make three. All contrasting with one an other so I had a varied selection of posters.

Overall, I really enjoyed this Unit. I loved working with other people and working with others opinions and ideas. I particularly enjoyed the practical side of shooting, especially experimenting with the studio lighting (artificial) and natural.

My favourite task was definitely the indipendant task where we got to choose a food to photograph. The freedom of that task really let me be as create as I wanted to be and I really enjoyed organising and setting up with the food and equipment.

The task I liked the least was probably the task where we had to go out and take pictures of the 6 posters. It didn't allow me to be creative however, I understand that it had to be done.

One thing I've learnt is how to use a light reader and I know I'll be using this piece of equipment again in the future.

Poster Power

To start off, I opened Photoshop. I then created a new paper by hovering over 'file' then clicking new. I set the preset to international paper and the size to A3. I then opened the image that I wanted the poster to be based on. I did this by again, hovering over 'file', selecting 'open' and then choosing the folder the image is in and then double clicking the image. 

Of course, because the first poster is Halloween themed, I wanted to add extra Halloween themed things. I went onto Google images and selected the image I wanted. For example, the witch. I then saved it into my pictures and then opened it in Photoshop. I then clicked and dragged the image over onto my poster and adjusted the size by hovering over 'edit' and then selecting 'free transform.' To keep the image looking the same when shrinking the image, I held down shift. This stops any dis-figuration to the image. I then repeated the same steps with the bats and the spider. 

To create my logo I simply added text and chose my font. To create the little cupcake, again, I went into Google images and searched for cupcakes outline. I then repeated the steps to add it to my poster. I then chose the knife tool to delete the white outline. To add a little more to the text, I lined the spiderweb of the spider to the 'R' in bakery. 

I did the same for all of my posters however, the last two have different themes. 

The second poster I chose to use my image of my model because it has the friendly appearance of customers. Also, because her face looks angelic, emphasised by the soft lighting, it is really welcoming to customers. 

Of course, I wanted to keep the soft feeling throughout the poster so I decided to use baby pink as a pop of colour. Obviously, I didn't want the colour to be too bright as it would've taken away from the main focus which was my product being modelled. 

I loved the outcome of the second poster so I decided to do something similar however, all in colour. I wanted to carry on with the light airy feel to my posters so I chose a close up of a pink cupcake with a white background. By having no noise in the background, the focus is strictly on the product.

 As the cupcake case was red, I wanted to choose a similar colour that complimented the red without contrasting with it. If I chose a contrasting colour, it would make them harsh and that was something I wanted to avoid so, because of that I chose a light grey. 

Social media is probably one of the main factors for advertising so for each poster, I added a social media tag so 'Buttons Bakery' can be easily found.

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Wednesdays task- October 7th

Contact Prints;

6 Posters; (primary)

I liked this poster mainly because of the typography. The bold simple text is eye catching in itself but the bright red against the white draws your eye even more. The bun of the burger looks fluffy and smooth which is attractive to the eye therefore looks appetising. Also, the brightness of the yellow pulls everything together. It also has the classic mcdonalds logo in the top left hand corner which everyone knows so they know where it is sold. 

The familiar face of Kimberley Walsh gets the attention initionally, hence why she is the main focus in this poster. However, it's still advertising the product of 'slimfast.' The words 'slim' and 'fast' appeal to woman and men which is the second reason why it's eye catching. However, I don't like the fact the main focus is of the celebrity, rather than the product it self. Using celebrities is a good selling point bun for me, the more important thing is the product. 

The muted colours of the light wood and the White is complimented well the the specks of bright blue and red. Both in the main label of 'greggs' and the price. Although the attention is drawn to the bright colours due to the rest of the colours being natural, the main focus is still the product. The main selling point of this poster is how cheap it is as the rice is so much bigger than the rest of the text and its in a red box which is the only red on the poster. Overall, I enjoy this poster. 

This Costa poster dos have the logo in however, it was awkwardly placed within the wool frame so I decided not to include it in the image. Overall, this image is advertising that Costa wants its customers to be as happy as possible. Although the text is upfront and the first you look at, the golden tones of the coffee looks outstanding against the black. Especially with the art. Also, it's showing the customers that the coffee is freshly made in front of them with is appealing. 

The neutral colours throw out this poster makes nothing really stand out as much as the other parts. Although the freshly baked everyday is a little lighter, the packeted butter is brighter so it takes the focus away from the corner. The bread looks as though it's fresh, especially as it's placed in what looks like a kitchen instead of a studio. It gives a homely feed to the image which is appealing. 

Although this one isn't of a poster as such, it's still advertising food. I chose to write about this one because it's obviously welcoming but it's obvious that it's a food store as the food is placed within the wording. The words stand out because of the blue against the brown which are contrasting colours, but also the food is white, therefore standing out against the blue. 

(secondary)

Cupcake shoot & extra shoot

Risk Assessment;

Contact Prints;

To start of, I wanted to creat a well put together, organised set up. I almost wanted to create leading lines with the others to lead to the main focus. This image was shot with artificial light as i wanted full control of where everything was placed, including where I wanted the light to hit. I had light coming from the left and right so it illuminated everything and earesed shadows. The texture of the icing contrasts to the bun casing which contrasts with the smoothness of the paper it's placed on. The light has also hit the plastic  sprinkles scattered around the muffins which has mirrored the colour onto the cases of the muffins. 

As well as grouped muffins, I wanted individual images. Again, this was shot in the same place. I love the contrast of the brown of the bun with the striking black of the icing. Especially when it comes to the texture. As the muffin if light and fluffy, the roughness and the sharpness of the icing really comes to life. Also, the colours with the plastic sprinkles really compliment well with with the colours on the icing. 

Because I personally thought the black looked so good under the artificial light, I decided to do a close up of the icing. I really wanted the light to illuminated the high points of the ridges in the icing and I think it did exactly that. Due to me actually decorating the muffins myself, the icing isn't perfect but I think it adds it the theme even more.

Cupcake shoot 2;

Because my theme was Halloween, I wanted to do something the complete opposite. Again, shot with artificial light, I wanted to create a depth of field but I also wanted as much cupcakes in as possible. This is why I chose to do it in a diagonal line so the front cupcakes will still be there and the detail will still be noticeable but the main focus will be the middle cupcake. Drawing the attention straight to the middle then will automatically work work its way up/down the image. 

I liked the outcome of that image so much, I wanted to test it again but with fewer cupcakes. Although it still works, it's not as intense as I would've liked. 

Unlike the last two images, this image was shot with natural light. My model naturally tiled her hair to the right so I thought that if I tilted my camera the same way the littlest bit, it would make the image look as natural as possible as it would be following the natural lines.