Shallow Depth of Field #2 - Hello Kitty

Focal Lengths

Taken using a 28-80mm zoom lens.

28mm

35mm

50mm

80mm

28mm

37mm

50mm

80mm

Shallow Depth of Field

Today i decided to have a go at doing the shallow depth of field image, i cut out some hearts from paper and coloured them in red, so i could stick them to trees - to give me something a little more interesting to focus on. I think these images effectivly show a shallow depth of field and i like how interesting the out of focus branches in the background look!

This is the final image i chose. i desaturated the blue and cyan colours and added a slight texture.

Motion Blur #2

I decided to have another go at motion blur, as i wasn't particularly happy with the ones i did before. This time, as i only had myself as a model to hand i had to do self portraits. I have also decided to start the 365 project on flickr - basically one photograph every day, for a year! hopefully i will give it my best and not give up.

Firstly, here are some motion blur images i did the other week, although i wasn't that pleased with them. They were taken in daylight outside so i've got a feeling it was a little to bright to get a decent exposure.. especially using slow shutter speeds. Most of these images were taken with these settings - ISO 100, f/22, 2.0 sec.

I quite like the second image since it's quite surreal, even though i seem to be missing arms. I like how my shoes are quite sharp and in focus but the rest of me is a blur. I decided to experiment with this image in photoshop, i added a texture, which is one of my own! The scratches are one of the plastic sheets i used for this, i scanned them in and adjusted the contrast. I also added a border which was taken from one of my old prints.

These are the images i took today, i think they are alot more effective. They were taken indoors with one continuous light source. The settings used are ISO 100, f/22, 2.0sec.

Slow Shutter Speed/Motion Blur

These images were all taken with either a 5 second or 4 second exposure and so the model is a little blurry and not very well lit. I think next time i try this i will use some fill in flash - which with illuminate the model and also freeze the action of him, so he wouldn't be as blurry.

5 second exposure

5 second exposure

This image is very blurry, although quite effective, since all the other images there is just a slight blur.. but this is obvious and looks intentional (even though it isn't intentional) I like it.

5 second exposure

4 second exposure
This image is my favourite out of the ones i took, the model isn't too blurred in this image, and i really like the bus in the background... and how you can faintly see someone walking across the background! 

Different Light Sources - On Location (Sodium/Fluorescent)

So, today i went on location to photograph some different light sources, i chose to go to Blackpool since there alot of interesting lights. The model is Jordan Shepley, it's my 3rd time shooting with him, so it was quite relaxed. Jordans facial structure works really well with this kind of lighting.

The above image was taken with the model stood under a Sodium light, although there is a mixture of different light sources in this image - a neon sign above his head and the fluorescent lights in the shop. I think this image is really effective and the colours from the light sources give an almost cinematic feel..

These two images were taken under two sodium lights. Sodium light seems to be quite overpowering in an image, especially because of the colour of the light. But i think in this instance the lighting is quite nice.

 

These images were taken in front of a shop window, with lots of red light.. i'm not quite sure what kind of lighting it is, but due to the colour it's not a very flattering light source anyway.

These images were also taken in front of a shop window, although this time with very bright fluorescent lights. I think these images are quite effective as portraits, because the light is so bright it illuminates his face and there isn't any unsightly colour casts. 

 

These images were taken in a phone box, i'm pretty sure this is also fluorescent.. but it seems to have a yellow cast. These images also seem a little cinematic to me and i think the way the light hits the models face in the first picture is quite flattering.

This is also using fluorescent lighting, it was shot outside the train station and the light was fairly bright.. but directional, so i positioned the model under it. This almost reminds me of Film Noir - minus the glamour and smoke machines. I may see how it looks in black and white!

Drop Focus

For part of the systems & processes brief i have to take a photo using the "drop-focus" technique. At first, i was a little confused as to what this was since i couldn't find anything about it online. Andy explained to us that drop focus is - in macro and close-up photography - when you get a band across the image in focus and the rest is blurred, this usually happens when shooting across the subject.. rather than shooting from above, where you would get more of the image in focus. I decided to use some tiny confetti/sequin stars, these things are really small.. and tend to get everywhere! I thought they would be interesting to use, because they are 'sparkly' the out of focus highlights give a bokeh effect.. which looks quite magical! I took these images using extension tubes with a combination of different lengths.

This image is a clump of stars i found which were stuck together, i decided to photograph this on its own on some glittery paper. I think this image looks really nice, and the bokeh effect really adds the the image.

These 3 images were all taken of just the stars, again i feel the bokeh effect really adds to the images. I edited the colours of the images using Adobe Lightroom, and added a slight vignette.

Incandescent, Fluorescent and Halogen Lighting

Fluorescent

These images were taken using a Fluorescent energy saving bulb. 

Halogen

These were taken using a desk lamp/spot light with a halogen bulb. The light is alot harsher since its a very direct light, it also has a pink tinge since the lamp head is pink (see second image)

 

Incandescent

 These were taken using an incandescent bulb, The images seem to have a yellow tinge, which doesn't look so nice with the pink.

 

 

 

Daylight Balanced (5500k) Bulbs

These images were taking using my 5500k continuous lights, I have included this lighting to use as a comparison.