Work Record Two (prep shoot two)

Work Record Two (prep shoot two):
Plans For Shoot:
I will use lights and skulls to create a Memento Mori. I wanted to use the lights as a symbol for life and the skulls a symbol for death, this relates to juxtaposition as the lights look like fireflies, which glow in darkness. I like this symbol of life as they shine in the dark night to find a mate, even if it alerts predators to where they are. I wanted to change this shoot to contrast my last shoot with these images because my last shoot was of skulls and death, consequently representing our Mortality in a Memento Mori. For this shoot I wanted to show life and death contrastingly directly, and because fireflies weren't available to me I decided to use lights. 

For this shoot I was experimenting with my camera settings, mainly F-stop. F-stop changes the depth of field and focus. I wanted to use this low F-stop as I have already experimented with it and I like the focus I creates on the subject of the image, along with the intense atmosphere. 

Contact sheet(s):

Images that need improvement:
D726365.JPG:
This image was too dark because I held the shutter open for too long. I was holding the shutter because I wanted to experiment with different exposures and so changed the camera setting to BULB. This means for as long as I kept the shutter pressed the pictures would be exposed. Due to this setting I was manually opening and closing the shutter myself which resulted in my overexposing the photograph, or rather more than I'd like.

D726440.JPG:
I had the camera settings on BULB still which meant that I was controlling the camera's exposure. For this image I didn't leave the shutter open for long enough, which resulted in an underexposed photograph showing only the lights.

Best Images:
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My main ideas for juxtaposition were to contrast life with death. I chose this macabre route as I feel most people think death is something to fear, however I think death is just closing one door and opening another. My main idea for this shoot was to pair lights and skulls to create juxtaposition between light and dark/ light and death. I also used Bokeh as I like the focus it gives the images, and I needed this focus for my images as I want to make people think about death etc. My main influence for the style of Bokeh was Jordan Parks as she uses it to photograph special moments like weddings or anniversaries. 

For this shoot I was using a Nikon DSLR with a remote release and a tripod. I used the remote release so I wouldn't move the camera when I pressed the shutter, which was particularly important in this shoot as I was using the BULB setting. This means I was manually controlling the shutter, because of this if I was to move the camera during a long exposure then the image would come out blurred.

To improve my images I will edit them in Photoshop:

Once I'd opened the image in photoshop I duplicated the layers so that if I changed or applied a filter that was irreversible then I'd be able to delete the layer and keep the original. 

I then selected FILTER GALLERY in FILTERS. 

Once in the filter gallery I experimented with different filters and the effects they create. The first filter I chose was Chalk Sketch. I chose this because it was very light and would allow me to choose darker filters to add on top, such as the the Neon Edges. I then changed the opacity to be able to see the layers beneath.

After I'd added the other filters to the images I wanted to add more texture to the image so I chose a stained glass filter and applied it on top, then lowered the opacity so the other filters I'd applied could still be seen. I then merged the layers so the changes would be fixed.

 Here is the final image:

I like the stained glass filter I added to this image as it makes it look like honeycomb. 

I edited my other images using the same process.

Final Images:

In in my initial ideas I pictured myself using everyday objects as if it was still alive, not dissimilar from my Cheech Sanchez shoot. 

I feel I have responded well to the theme of Juxtaposition as I have contrasted life and death in this shoot. My initial ideas for this exam project were to use skulls and contrast them with different objects and ideas. I wanted to do this as I feel skulls have a vintage reputation of being a reminder of death, which I wanted to juxtapose in my work. I feel I have achieved my main goal I set for this shoot, create a colourful and beautiful series of Memento Mori. I wanted them to be beautiful and bright as this juxtaposes the classical image of them reminding people of death and twists it into the celebration of death.

I wanted to try to change the viewers opinions of death. It shouldn't be dreaded, but celebrated as it is inevitable so why worry?