Still life

 This time we were asked to research a still life painting, and to recreate it in the studio. I was working completely on my own, and tried not to ask for any help, but solve all of the problems by myself. By working on my own, I found I concentrated on the work a lot more.

I think, that this is so far my best photo shoot, which clearly shows that I am getting better by working in the studio and practicing more.

My photograph

Still life painting

Food photography

This time our task was to photograph food. I felt like I haven't thought about my composition, lightning and background well enough, and in the future I will definitely plan everything in advance.The images I produced look different to what I had in my mind, but I am still happy with the outcome. 

Sandal Castle

We went on another field trip. This time we went to Sandal castle. The weather was beautiful, which made me more enthusiastic about this photo shoot. I have never thought about photographing sandal castle before, because I never thought it was interesting enough.
I however produced a couple of images that I liked. This photo shoot taught me to really look out for the interesting things to photograph. 

Film cameras + darkroom

We were given film cameras over the half term, and our task was to photograph different things. After the half term, we were shown how to process and develop our own images in the darkroom. I was quite happy about it because I have used darkrooms before, and felt quite confident in this particular area of photography. I also love how the images look, and find the whole process fascinating and fun.

Sculputre park

We went on a field trip to the sculpture park. I can honestly say I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. That is probably partly because the weather wasn't so great. I didn't particularly find photographing the sculptures interesting, and didn't enjoy it as much as I for example enjoyed photographing live models.
However I would like to go to a place similar to the sculpture park again, and practice different types of photography a bit more. I think this trip was a good experience. Trying different types of photography shows me what I enjoy and what I'm best at.

Products

This time, we were given a list of products we needed to photograph such as; salt and pepper pots, towels and a kettle. It was up to us how we present the product, which I thought was quite challenging, but fun at the same time. I definitely feel more confident every time I work in the studio. Getting better is just a case of time and practice.
This time, I learned that sometimes photographs don't come out as well as you think they would. I was changing the compositions of the images constantly, because I could always find something that I didn't particularly like.

Dance students photoshoot

Our task was to photograph the dance students in different locations, wearing different outfits and doing different poses. The images we were required to produce, were for the dancers portfolios. I found the experience very positive and I have definitely learned a lot. I had to talk to the dancers, make them feel less nervous, as well as making sure the lightning and my camera settings were correct. It was a full day of shooting, which really showed us what a real photo shoot looks like.

Web design students photoshoot

Our task, was to take portrait images of the web design students. At first, I felt quite nervous because I still didn't feel like I understood how to use the equipment properly, and I have also never worked with people I didn't know. However, I got to work in a pair with one more person, so that made me feel more comfortable. The fact that I wasn't there alone, helped me a lot, because I could always ask for help. Overall I am quite pleased with the images I produced. I think this photo shoot wasn't as hard and stressful as I thought it would be.
This is one of the images I took that day. I think it is definitely better than the first photos I took in the studio.

Studio

Today we went into the studio for the first time. I have never used a professional studio before, therefore had no idea about the equipment we were using, such as lights, soft boxes and light meters. Throughout the session, I can honestly say I had no idea what I was doing, and had very little understanding on where to place the light, how to set it up, and I also still didn't know how to use the camera properly. We all divided into small groups, which I thought was very helpful, as the people I was working with have had worked in a studio before, so I didn't feel as lost and confused, as I would working on my own.

This is one of the photos I took during our session. You can clearly see, that I didn't really know how to use the equipment properly, as the image is over exposed.









The next day, we went back to the studio to practice some product photography. This was my second time working in the studio, but I definitely felt more confident than last time. I will surely get better, once I work in there for a couple of times, and get to know how to use all the equipment properly.

This is one of the photographs I took during that session. I know it still isn't perfect, but it is surely better than the images I took on our first session in the studio. I feel that I am getting better every day.

F stops and shutter speeds

Today we learned about f stops and shutter speeds. At first I fount it very confusing. I've never used my digital camera in manual before,so I didn't exactly know what F stops and shutter speeds were. For the most part of the day I did not understand how to use it properly, but after taking some photographs outside, I started to understand it a little bit more. I'm sure I will fully understand it soon, all I need to do now is practice.

Introduction

I have always enjoyed taking, and looking at photographs, but never thought of it as something to do as a career. When finished school, I decided to take photography as one of my subjec at college. I enjoyed photography the most, because it gave me the freedom to show how I see things. I also loved how everyone's work was so different. I fount it very inspiring. I then decided to take it further, and do photography at university.
In college, we mainly focused on fine art, using film cameras, and developing our photographs in the dark room. I decided to apply for this course, as I really wanted to learn more about studio photography, and the use of digital cameras. I don't have a favourite genre of photography, and I'm also not sure which industry I want to go into when I finish university. I'm hoping to learn more about photography and myself throughout the 2 years of this course.