Mythology- I feel this topic is very interesting and enjoyable to create. It shows off the surrealism aspect very well.
Adventure- This topic goes well with the Mythology even though they are different topics altogether. This also is a very interesting composition to develop on and proved to be very successful in the first attempt.
Love of reading- This topic has good potential to my developments and experimenting more with this could show bigger improvements to this.
Sleepless- I am intrigued in the lighting within this composition, therefore I feel by experimenting with this I could then improve from my first attempt and make this work. This then will be different from my other compositions due to the lighting, creating variety.
Love of animals- I feel this composition will be very successful. Making improvements to make it look more realistic and to incorporate the character within this will then make the surrealism very effective.
Nude art- This one is an obscure topic and describes Oliver very well. The very odd meaning behind this works well in 'judging a book by it's cover' as you wouldn't think this was an interest.
Creativity- This is a massive part of Oliver's life and a possible career path and I feel my first attempt was successful enough, to then make a few improvements and re shooting to finish this topic off nicely.
Obesity- I chose to take this forward because it was a big part of Oliver's life in the past and that it has left memories to this day about it, that, with the over exaggeration, enhances the surrealism.
Seasonal Affective Disorder- Not many people would know this about Oliver as he doesn't show this massively, yet because this is something he suffers with, I feel it is an important part to Oliver's life. This composition needs improvements, due to making it more realistic, however the concept is interesting.
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| As my development for love of animals, I stayed with the same idea. This time, I shot Oliver in the studio. I made Oliver look excited, as a dog would, I then placed a dog lead and attached it to his shirt so it looked like he was about to go for a walk, then his excited expression would link with this. I wanted to keep Oliver mainly human to portray the message. If I had made Oliver more of the dog, I feel it would take away the element that Oliver is a human and loves animals rather than it becoming to overwhelming that it looks like I have just done this for fun. The top photograph with the side profile, is not as effective as the front profile. With the front profile, you can see the expression fully and I found it easier to edit and add more than one element of the animal to Oliver. The side profile, you see a good amount of expression, however, when it came to edit this, I could only use the ear to incorporate with Oliver. I experimented with using the nose area of the dog like the front profile, however this did not seem to sit well on Oliver's face resulting in it not looking realistic as it could have been. As the front profile contains two elements of the animal, I feel that it will be the one to use or take forward. To improve, the lead could be tighter around Oliver and more prominent as if there is a person holding the end of the lead, encouraging Oliver to go for a walk. If this became one of my final pieces, I would make the background white so that the grey does not distract from the subject. |
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| My development for mythology shows the same idea also. This time, I have a different background photograph. This photograph, shows a more mythological feel, there are no other distractions within the composition. There is a path that is leading from the centre of the composition leading off to the back of the composition where I have placed the book. I have then placed Oliver as a mythological creature off centre but at the front of the composition. This whole composition has a more magical feel die to the shaping of the trees and bushes in the background photograph. The book was difficult however to place into this photograph, I experimented with different angles of the book. I originally placed it from a side angle also in the front on the opposite side of Oliver, however it did not look natural in the composition. It was then I placed the book at the back of the composition at a front angle as if looking into the book, it then seems as if Oliver has then walked out from the book and down the path. I have used the same photograph of Oliver as the previous one as I feel this looks as if he is curious, he has come out of this mythological book and is then trying to figure out where he is. I added a filter so that all the elements together could look complete in the composition. I did not add in the 'magical dust' as I feel that it would not look realistic. Although it is an extra element that would enhance the meaning, I felt the difference in angle from the first initial photograph does now not work with the dust. |
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| This is my development for nude art. For this I have used a black backdrop compared to my initial photograph of white. This was to compare both and to see which one was most effective. I used the same method as the other photograph using different photographs. The painted photograph on the canvas uses a different filter of 'watercolour' to show that Oliver is painting himself. Comparing to the original experiment with the white backdrop, I feel that the black backdrop enhances the sketchbook, making not just that, but all the subjects more forward and clear within the composition. I also have cropped this photograph differently, making the composition more enclosed and compact, thin then also helps with the enhancing of the elements as there is no spacing around to distract the eye. I prefer the use of the black backdrop as it portrays the message better. *Unfortunately due to my subject not being comfortable with this being on display, I will also consider a new composition. |
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| These are my two developments for nude art due to needing to create a composition that wasn't as exposed to Oliver's body. I wanted to keep Oliver as the main subject in these and so I created 3 new compositions which are similar, however I wanted a choice in when I choose which one to use. The first one is the essentially the same as the original however Oliver is clothed. I have used a different photograph to place onto the sketchbook. I have changed this, making it look more like a sketch rather than a painting making it slightly different to the composition of creativity. The second composition shows Oliver looking at the camera looking as though he is thinking about the nude art he has created. I feel this attempt is not as effective as I would have liked. Both elements in the composition seem separate and do not compliment each other, it is as if they belong in different photographs and not together in the same one. The last experiment shows Oliver holding the sketchbook with the sketch on. For the sketch, Oliver allowed me to use just his back as he felt this exposure was acceptable, therefore I used him as the drawing also. Oliver's expression and positioning in this composition shows interest in what he has produced, telling the audience of his genuine love for nude art. |
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| Same with the nude art, a development on this topic creativity, I used a black backdrop instead of the original white. This has proved to not be as effective of the nude art turned out. This composition contains the same elements as the first experiment, however the angle is slightly different. The camera is placed slightly above the eye level and slightly further away. The way the elements have been placed almost seem distant from each other so the composition does not come together as one. As I edited Oliver into this photograph with the oversized paintbrush, I used the same technique as before and this worked well. Oliver is seen to be smaller than the art elements, however because of the slight angle of the camera, I feel the surrealism effect I wanted to create does not come across as much within this composition. The white backdrop contained a more compact composition and this is something in which I wanted to achieve. With this experiment, there is too much spacing in between the elements and in the whole photograph. The positioning of Oliver in the first experiment is different as he is dipping his paintbrush into the watercolours and not painting the canvas. For this one, I made it as if he was painting the canvas. I feel that this is too similar to the nude art one and that the other composition is a different concept altogether to the nude art. Developing on this I will take forward the ideas from the original attempt and refine that to create the final photograph. |
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| The three above photographs were taken for the topic love of reading. I had the idea of the 'eat, sleep and breathe,' so I decided to experiment with this idea. Each 3 photographs are quite simple only containing Oliver and the book as the main subjects. The breathing composition shows a series of books coming out of Oliver's mouth as if he has exhaled them. The eating composition shows Oliver with a plate of book and a book on a fork as he is about to eat it. The sleep composition shows Oliver wrapped in a blanket cuddling into a book (The Hobbit) which is one of his favourites. Reflecting on these, as a trio I don't feel that these are strong enough. The breathing and the eating are not as strong as the sleeping composition. Going back to my original idea, the sleeping composition is very similar without the lamp and Oliver is not lying down. The quality of these however are much better than with the lamp. In the sleeping composition, Oliver's position is more clear and shows his expression of love more clear as he is cuddling the book, compared to my first composition, as he was lying down this was a difficult position and it didn't seem as balanced. Thinking forward to my developments, the breathing and sleeping one will be complete in creating a series for this topic and re shooting will improve the quality and will display the message effectively. |
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| As a development on the topic child obesity, I got Oliver to place a pillow under his shirt. This then already over exaggerated the obese look before I even went to edit. I then decided to have him hold empty wrappers of unhealthy foods, (crisps and chocolate). Oliver's position and the way he is standing also helps the meaning for this photograph. He is looking as if he is tired and sluggish, which is a common symptom to being overweight. As a child you would think that they would be active and running around, however to enhance this message, Oliver is seen to be the opposite. This is not necessarily what he felt like when he has his 'obese' stage, however, this is what society would see people who are overweight to be like. I then edited the photograph on photo shop using the liquify tool to widen the parts of Oliver to make him look more large. The quality of the photograph is not the best that it could be. To improve, I would need to re shoot, and edit this so that the background does not distract you from the subject. The background would need to be white and once that has been done I would then experiment with the brightness and the contrast. |
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| These are developments for the topic adventure. For these, I have chosen slightly different backgrounds however still similar. These are also similar to the background photograph of my initial idea, this is because the angle in which they are taken are to help the surrealist effect that I am trying to achieve. I took some new photographs of Oliver, instead of him standing up, I had him lying down. I feel that the position of Oliver lying down enhances the meaning behind this. As Oliver loves adventure, him lying beneath the grass with his magnifying glass creates a more intimate feeling between Oliver and the topic. The first of the two developments shown here is a little less realistic. For both of these I used two different background photographs for experimentation. Oliver is seen to be looking curious away from the magnifying glass, as if he has found something interesting. The first one however, we see more behind the grass across the field, this doesn't look far enough into the longer focused grass at the front of the composition. Along with this, where I have placed Oliver in the composition he then does not seem to fit comfortably within the grass as I have made him smaller than normal to create the surrealism. The second experiment however shows Oliver looking into the magnifying glass at something present within the composition. The background photograph of the grass is the main element that takes over most of the composition. I placed Oliver smaller and in the centre, this seems to work well and has complimented the photograph of the grass, he seems to sit well and is embedded in this and this is what I wanted to achieve. |
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| My Seasonal Affective Disorder development contains the same photograph containing the sky. This time, I have placed Oliver in two different positions placed on the cloud. I found that having Oliver hanging from the cloud became very difficult to edit and for him to look natural whilst hanging, therefore I decided to get Oliver in a different position which could be placed on top of the cloud. I took a variety of photographs with Oliver in different positions that I could use. I chose these two positions as I felt that these represented the fear of the darkness better. Out of the two compositions, the first one looks the most realistic. The position of Oliver in the first composition shows a more edgy look. You can tell that Oliver is unsure and is apprehensive about the darkness below. The second experiment shows Oliver sitting on the cloud peering over, this is supposed to have the same effect that the previous one has, however I do not feel convinced that this is a fear of Oliver's from this composition. Both compositions contain all sky, therefore, because Oliver is smaller, it can almost seem as if he is lost within the composition, this could easily be improved by cropping the photograph so there is less negative space and then Oliver will be a more noticeable subject. |
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| This development is for the topic of Oliver not getting enough sleep. For this, I wanted to keep the same lighting as my initial idea by the laptop being the main source of light. With this lighting, I feel that it enhances the mood and the message with it being about not getting enough sleep. Initially, I found it difficult to incorporate different elements within this composition, so I felt I had to think of another way to create a surrealist element. When shooting the photographs I came across an angle which made the laptop look much more larger than normal. Oliver is then looking tired in the background, he is seen to be yawning which explains the reasoning behind this photograph. What I have learned from this is that I believe simplicity is better, I feel throughout this project I have a mixture of different photographs and that some are busier than others containing different elements. Having a variety of simple and not so simple photographs will keep my project interesting and this particular photograph should be kept simple. |
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