Still Life - Evaluation

Still Life Evaluation

Nicola Callaghan

I completed the assignment by first researching all of the mini- assignments given, Food, Product, Documentary, Nature Morte/ Vanitas and Photo Montage. I also attended some of the classes given, as each was a 2 week mini- assignment for each of the mini projects. For some of these mini- assignments I also used book research, for example for food, as well as using the internet to find out more about the subject and to additionally find artists relating to the topic as well. I shot all of the photos, except documentary, in the studio as the brief stated, using two flash heads, including soft boxes, reflectors and a high quality digital camera. I used a canon 6D, normal standard lens and a macro lens.

The concept behind my work is for food and product something that is and looks very simple but catches your eye and looks professional, something you would see advertised. For documentary it was about documenting something I have been around my entire life and would be the first time I've done something personal on a project, though the way I shot it, didn't have that feel or personal look to the photos. The idea for Vanitas came about in the studio when we had a look at what we had and decided on a girl’s night out. Finally for digital montage, I was stuck with an idea for but then tried to stop over thinking and think too hard and though of something which I like which is my country and the United Kingdom therefore I chose to recreate the Union Jack using roses, red roses as this was the flower for England, white roses as they were still roses and could be used for the colour in the flag and blue tulips as I needed the blue and tulips were the first flower that came in my head for the blue. I also chose the flowers however because when I hear still life I automatically think of flowers and thought using those will help fit within the theme nicely.

One of the problems I had was, though I was there for the first lesson of Nature Morte/ Vanitas, my group didn't get an image that day and not all of us where in, an attempt after that I missed and therefore didn’t have an image but luckily who I was shooting with, whilst getting my food, product and Vanitas done, Oneka hadn’t got her image neither and this worked out for the both of us as we were in each other’s group. During my tutorial I was told using a macro 100mm would be best for the shots I was trying to achieve however I didn't have one personally, was unable to buy one in time and there was only one in the university photography shop and it only fitted the canon 6D. I was able to resolve this by managing to take it out at the weekend however I had to share the camera with another student in my class, this was accomplished by me taking it out and having it Saturday and handing it over to Rachel on Sunday were she would return it on Monday.

Another problem I had was by not thinking properly I gave the man at IT a file to print out and it being JPEGs instead of printable TIFFs after asking which ever they use and he chose JPEGs. Due to this the quality was not very good and all but one, (which was product- the cans), were blurry. After initially worrying thinking I wouldn't have time to solve the issue, some of my peers, Oneka, Cara and Jess Walker said when Oneka’s print (which were TIFF files) out they will compare the difference to mine, as the IT man said it wouldn't make a difference with the printer they were using. They offered to do this for me as I had to pop home because my print sleeves were due to be delivered. Once the photos were compared it was advised by them to print my photos again in TIFFs. As the IT were printing mine off again it only got around half way done and there was a problem with the printer, most likely due to over- heating. The issue would have to be resolved the next day Jess told me when I went to collect the photos that had been printed as IT had left for the day. By the next day I didn't end up going to IT as many other people had their photos to print and though the printer hadn’t been fixed they were using another but by the time I got sorted and figured out which ones I needed I had a feeling mine wouldn’t be done in time because of the queue so I therefore stuck with what I had, the only photos I needed redoing where my cigarette images, though not all of these would be completely all in focus as I was using the macro lens so only parts of the images would be.  

The last serious hindrance I had was on hand in day when the Mac computer corrupted my ILA file which I needed to print. Luckily the hand in wasn’t early on the morning and I therefore had time to go back home and retrieve the file again, walk back and print out my ILA.

I don’t think I had too much influence for my work except for Irving Penn for documentary and ILA, his photographs of the cigarettes was the biggest inspiration I had for this project and the only main influence and inspiration I’ve ever had whilst at university. For food and product it was the simplicity of the shot that I liked from research and tried to recreate. With Vanitas I was influenced by the paintings, how everything had a meaning, could be personal to the person and worked and fitted together. Lastly for photo montage I was inspired by mosaics and other collages. Mosaics because they use many different pieces to make one image and that’s what doing this collage reminded me off and the fact that I like collages though haven’t ever really done one and definitely not a digital one.

Every assignment has challenged me as, with previous projects, I hadn't done any of the mini projects given. I hadn't shot food, product, Vanitas or done any photo montages. Though only thing I may have done was documentary although at the time shooting I didn't think of that as I was shooting landscapes/ seascapes but all that is documenting as I’m recording what is there. I learned new techniques, like macro and gained new skills using Photoshop with the help from tutors and peers which I am pleased about and grateful for. I thought a lot more about composition as every photo had to be thought out precisely and exact, more than I had done before. I went outside my comfort zone completing all of the assignments especially documentary and ILA as I would never have thought I would be shooting cigarettes but glad I did as I am happy with the outcome.

I have previously mentioned some new skills I acquired one being on Photoshop were I learned how to be able to do a photo montage. Another ability I learned was a lighting set up we used in the studio for ‘product’ shots but could also be used for food for example. I also refreshed my memory on alternative set ups, resizing my images (which is very important for me as I have always forgot but now I know I’ll remember, though it took a while). New things that I learned was using the macro lens for the first time and also that whilst on Capture One you can take a photo by pressing one of the icons instead of the camera which enables you to stand out the way so you don’t become a reflection in your image.

I received help and guidance from both my peers and tutors. I always listen to what they have to say and try to use they’re advice as best as possible. The assistance for this assignment was really beneficial, useful and helped me immensely. I take in what others have said as they’ll have done it before me and will have the knowledge and experience. With receiving this help I also try my best to help out where I can and did what I could on this project.

The final outcome meets the requirements of the brief as I have handed in more than the minimum for photographs, have completed my ILA, presented photos labelled, in print sleeves and in an appropriate box. I have placed my photos in the correct folder on the student work- pool, written blog posts and written my evaluation like asked. I also shot in the studio with the correct lighting and used natural light when told.

I believe I have met the requirements of the brief and therefore been successful, as listed above all of the items l have finished.

Something I could improve on is timing with regards to my work, do things earlier so I have more time to complete other tasks like photo montage. Print all images off in TIFFs and try to make decisions faster so I can get to work quicker. That’s why when the idea for cigarettes came into my head for documentary I did it and it was a challenge for me and something I hadn't done before.

Like mentioned something I would do differently is making decisions quicker so I have more time. I would be in university more and print earlier like planned so I have time to resolve any issues.

Overall, though some photos printed aren't quite right as they’ll be blurry, I am very pleased with my outcome and the photos I have produced. I enjoyed the assignments given as all were a new challenge for me and very happy with the new skills learned and knowledge gained.

Through much contemplating and decisions, for my final year I would like to choose Fine Art photography to do.

  

Still Life - ILA (Individual Learning Agreement)

LEARNING AGREEMENT

Name	Nicola Callaghan
Programme	BA (Hons) Photography
Level	5
Module title	Still Life Photography
Module code	HPHF554
Credit points	40
Study hours	400
Module Tutor(s)	Jill Cole Antony Chambers Richard Whitehead

Synopsis of study

My idea for this final project is to take in what I have learnt, photographed and studied and try to recreate my own still life photographs for my finals. Out of all of the four separate mini – assignments I did I would like to do Documentary for my final as this is my favourite out of those projects I was given. I will present the work as a series of photographs printed on glossy or matt photo paper and A3 in size. Keeping within the theme which I shot for the documentary mini assignment, which was cigarettes, I would like to shoot/ document the used cigarettes discarded from my mother. I will shoot what is there before – hand; the packet of cigarettes lying about (plus a lighter) and then the aftermath of where the cigarettes are put out and how they look in the ash tray, inspired by the crumpled up betting slips series, (photographing them in the place they were left), that I saw by a photography I got shown. I will also take the cigarettes out of the ashtray and place them on a white base with a white background as I think this will look best and I was also hugely inspired by Irving Penn’s work photographing cigarettes too. I will use my own camera, which is a Nikon D5100 and also a Canon 6D with a 100mm macro lens for close up shots of the cigarettes. I will be shooting on location where the smoker lives using only natural light, shot at different times of day. I chose to photograph cigarettes as it is something I have never done, I have never used a macro lens, deliberately set something up at home to shoot using natural light and photographed something quite close to me, which is my mother smoking. Though I could personalise this and add in personal artifacts belonging to her I will keep it quite neutral, though I will try shooting that and adding a little personal touch, I will focus on shooting mainly the cigarettes and will furthermore include the cigarette box(s) and lighter(s) in addition. My main, and I think only, reason for me focusing on shooting the cigarettes and leaving out the personal touches is because I really liked and was inspired by the photographs Irving Penn worked on and therefore would like to try recreate and shoot my own shots. Photographing this will help my understanding of shooting with and using natural light, as well as the equipment (macro lens) and also help me gain experience using these. Broadening my knowledge from the previous mini – assignment Documentary and therefore expanding and developing from it and the conclusion drawn from my research of Irving Penn, I think using natural light will be a good process and technique to use on top of using the macro lens and creating myself a challenge as I have never done this sort of shoot. Photographing this will help me decide which path I would like to choose for level 6 as this is a fine art based chosen project and I enjoyed both fine art and commercial so far.         

Aims 

A1 To develop and extend my knowledge and practice of still-life / product photography both in the studio and on location.

A2 To explore the links between my specialist practice and the relevant theoretical and conceptual frameworks that define my routes of enquiry through research, synthesis and problem-solving.

A3 To enable me to identify a potential future pathway and area of specialism for my own photographic practice in Level 6.

A4 To develop my organisational and team-working skills that will enhance independent learning and collaborative working.

Learning outcomes

LO1 Demonstrate knowledge and critical understanding of the well-established principles of still-life photography and its associated processes in both fine art and commercial contexts

LO2 Initiate, develop and realise creative ideas for a wide range of photographic outcomes based on the critical analysis of appropriate research and investigation

LO3 Identify and negotiate my own routes of enquiry appropriate to my career aspirations as a photographic practitioner

 LO4 Demonstrate the qualities and transferable skills necessary for employment through your individual practice and my ability to work with others

.Assessment Requirements

· Independent Learning Agreement or ILA

· No less than two A3 or 12x16 Prints (produced as a result of your ILA)

· No less than five A3 or 12x16 Prints (produced as a result of the workshops)

· A 1000 word critical evaluation

· Place all final prints in an appropriate print box or portfolio. Prints should be printed to a professional standard, in print sleeves and labeled on the reverse with your name, title of print, type of print and date

· Support your work with a blog showing your research for the module. This should include initial ideas, visual research, ideas development, technical theory, cultural influences and a final edit

· Provide copies of your images in the following formats

Web JPEGs                                                              Printable TIFFS

800 pixels long edge                                                 50MB

96ppi                                                                         300ppi

SRGB                                                                        Adobe 1998

High Quality JPEG (level 10 or above)                      Bit depth of 8 bits, channel

Bit depth of 8 bits/channel

Assessment Criteria

Knowledge and processes: Your work demonstrates an appropriate depth of knowledge and critical understanding of established and emerging principles of photography and specialist processes (LO1)

 Research and synthesis: Constructive and critical conclusions are drawn from research and analysis to inform the development and synthesis of your ideas (LO2)

Evaluation and personal development: Evidence of your ability to take responsibility for your development through evaluation and the identification of a Level 6 pathway (LO3)

Professional practice and employability: Evidence of your ability to practice at a professional level and to work independently and collaboratively (LO4)

Research Sources and References

Books

PENN, I. (2001) Still Life Little, Thames & Hudson. London.

PENN, I. (1991) Passage: Irving Penn Photographs. Jonathon Cape LTD. New York

PENN, I. (2005) Irving Penn: The Platinum Prints. Yale University Press USA

Internet

http://www.hamiltonsgallery.com/artists/27-irving-penn/series/cigarettes/

https://fraenkelgallery.com/exhibitions/irving-penn-14-cigarettes

https://www.behance.net/gallery/4936853/Cigarette-butts

Action plan/time plan

Action plan/ time plan

Week	Week Commencing	Module Syllabus
25	20/04/2015	Research Research
26	27/04/2015	Research Practice Shoot
27	04/05/2015	Research Shoot
28	11/05/2015	Research Shoot Assignment Hand in Friday 15th May 2015

Learning Agreement Approval	Date	16/4/15
Student name	Nicola Callaghan
Student signature
Module Leader/Tutor name	Jill Cole Antony Chambers
Module Leader/Tutor signature

Still Life - Final Photos

These are my final 10 handed in, I'm quite happy with what I have and have done better than I thought. Theses prints got printed out using Jpeg images at first but I went back and sent Tiff files and the quality is better, as you'd expect however the printer broke whilst it was going through my photos so although some managed to be replaced with the better image my ILA (Individual Learning Agreement) photos, which is the cigarettes (except the photo of the row of cigarettes from overhead as this is Documentary, never got printed so therefore the quality isn't as good. Though not all the cigarette would be in focus as I was using a 100mm macro lens. These are my finals for the mini- assignments and ILA.
Food

 Product

 Documentary

Nature Morte/ Vanitas

Photo Montage

ILA

Still Life - Tutorial (8/5/15)

Whilst in the studio shooting on Thursday with Cara and Oneka I had my tutorial on the afternoon at 4.10pm. I spoke with Antony who had a look and read my Individual Learning Agreement, (ILA). He said it needed altering and tweaking on particular parts and to add more to certain areas and also to expand on my synopsis. He additionally spoke to me about my ILA itself and what I had chose to do for it, which I told him was cigarettes as I had already done this for my documentary mini - project. We had a discussion on this and he made me think about my idea more and he also gave me some advice on what would be best to use to shoot my images, his suggestion was to use a macro 100mm lens which will let me get very close up and create some of the shots I'm hoping to and also be more like my inspiration, who is Irving Penn's series on cigarettes. 

Still Life - Research Cigarette ILA

Here are the links to a few images of cigarettes I managed to find. Each image is varied and different, some a plain and simple (an image of a cigarette), others are more artistic and even more creative. The photos each have a different look and feel to them, some are set in a Noire style, black and white and others are a single cigarette with a modest, basic background but are effective in their look.

http://design215.com/photos/conceptual/cigarette_ash

http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?293531-Cigarette-death

http://imgarcade.com/1/cigarette-ash/

http://www.shutterstock.com/s/cigarette+smoke/search.html

http://imgarcade.com/1/cigarette-photography/

Still Life - 8/5/15 Shooting in the Studio

Today I went in to the studio again, this time with only Cara as Oneka was away however for the morning Rachel and Shannon had the studio 2 first, we were booked in after them at 1.30. Cara and I went in to the studio in Rachel and Shannon's time to help anywhere/ anyway we could and so they weren't on their own if they got stuck, also we would be there ready for when it was our time in the studio after them. After initially having a little struggle setting up, with the help of Tim, they managed to get the lights synched up and Rachel and Shannon began shooting. Once it was mine and Cara's turn I let Cara shoot what she had to and needed to then I reshot my food later on. I am happy with deciding to reshoot my food shot as I thought what I had shot from the previous night wasn't terrible but neither was it all that good, though I stayed til closing time the night before I was still a bit rushed for the food shot and therefore I decided to shoot it again. The first four photos are the set up we had, the first photo shows how we lit the backdrop up and the following three photos are Cara's shoots for her ILA, which was glass. The next set of photographs are the shots of my reshoot for food, where we set up the food to go around the outside of the bowl as well as in it to create more colour, fill in the space and to catch your eye and make you look around the picture. 

 

Still Life - Research Cigarette ILA

As I have chosen to shoot cigarettes as my finals images for my ILA (Individual Learning Agreement) I decided to do some research to see who else had photographed cigarettes as I was unsure if many would have done. One of the artists I found who had photographed cigarettes was the photographer I used for food research also, Norys Rodriguez. The link to see her work is the first one below. Her images are similar and remind me of Penn's work, I really like her shots because of this as well as the different angles she uses, I like how close up to the cigarettes she gets, a different perspective.
https://www.behance.net/gallery/4936853/Cigarette-butts

The link below is another photographer, Joanna Ference, who has shot cigarettes in a different way as these images show. She has shot them in the style of Irving Penn's work and you can see him as an inspiration through her work with the overhead shots, cigarettes lined up neatly and also the way they are placed individually. 
http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/cigarette-photo-series

Still Life - Alan Sailer

An artist I have found to coincide with my idea for my final chosen project (ILA) is Alan Sailer who has photographed cigarettes. His take is different to Irving Penn's work who I saw first. Sailer's images are colourful, vibrant and is more an action shot compared with Penn's shots of where he lines up all of the cigarettes or has them individually. 

The photo belongs to Alan Sailer.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturepicturegalleries/8850580/Alan-Sailers-photographs-of-objects-exploding-as-they-are-hit-at-high-speed.html

Still Life - Food Research

One of the books I looked at is Digital Food Photography from the Uni library. It had some very helpful tips, advice and information in it. It gave me an idea or two for me to shoot salad, which was simplicity. I photographed the salad in a glass bowl and also shots with the salad around the bowl, this way it focusses on the food, there is nothing else to look at and by using the glass bowl you are able to see more of the salad.  

Setting up for my shots, food. 

 

Sorry about final image was unaware it was blurry until it was too late to take another pic. 

Sill Life -- Research Food

One of the things I came across whilst researching food was these great food shots by Norys Rodriguez. They stood out to me as the colour, lighting and composition of the images really look good and appealing, which is the most important thing within food photography, it has to look good and makes you want to eat it as most if not all food photography is for advertising. The images are something that I can hopefully take some ideas and techniques from and, though I've already shot food, use in my own work still. The link to the photos is below.
https://www.behane.net/gallery/10466563/Editorial-Food-Still-Life-2013

(7/5/15) Still Life - Shooting in the studio

Today I went to Uni with the intention to shoot 3 of my mini - assignments, Product, Food and Nature Morte. I shared the  studio time with Cara and Oneka, we all chipped in and helped each other with ideas, setting up and just general things within the studio like helping place various objects for shots and checking the images for being in focus as we focussed manually and also making sure we were keeping safe, i.e wires were made aware of. I got in for about 10.30 and stayed till 9 at night. Oneka and Cara shot most of their images first and I got one or two done in between, as I was booked in after. We put all our names in to book the studio together so we could all work within the studio together and have about 6 hours all together, which works best as we don't get disturbed, can keep our set up and luckily no one was booked in after so I was able to stay till late, meaning I didn't mind at all letting them get on with their ideas and shoot, though they still let me shoot in between here and there, a team effort! One of the biggest things I like about this course is the people, my peers, helping each other get the work done, people don't mind because they know if they need the help it's there, the help gets returned. At dinner time I popped out to get the salad for my food shop and also got flowers for mine and Oneka's Vanitas/Nature Morte as we had decided to do a photo together, as we were both actually in the original group we got given and both had missed the group's final shot, though I was there the first day, we didn't end up shooting anything as not all the group was there and therefore didn't have all of what we needed, so we brainstormed some other ideas, Jodie, Grant and I. I bought both white and red roses though in the end only used 1 white rose throughout various photos and vanitas. The shoot went quite well and I am happy with the outcome and glad I stayed till 9 as it allowed me to have a few hours working on my own and so I think I did quite well, I did a few shots using a perfume bottle(s) and a single flower, which can be used for product potentially as well as the cans and chocolate bar. Overall it was a very productive day with 3 assignments shot, Vanitas, Product and Food. I've already done Documentary and I'm now left with Montage. Below are a few of photos just to show the set up today, fairly simple but effective. 

Still Life - Documentary/ Practice, Ideas shoot

Unedited/ Untouched photos.

These photos are from the same shoot, (the previous two posts). I like the look of these photos quite a lot and I am pleased with how they turned out. The lighting, in my opinion, was good and I like the shadows created. I like the look of the first image's angle however the paper edge which is visible would need to be fixed, with a simple resolution, possibly a longer piece of paper where the end isn't visible and that would then take out the background currently used and the longer paper would become the background. The second photo is where it starts with the overhead shots, more like Irving Penn's photographs of Cigarettes, which is the inspiration for this style of shot. The third and fourth shot are in the same style. Like previously mentioned, I like the lighting on all photos except the first one as the shadow, I personally don't think quite works, mainly because of the angle of the shot however regardless of the shadow I do like the angle though. The third and fourth shots are my favourite out of these four and out of the third and fourth I'd have to say the fourth photo was my favourite because of the variation in the ash lying about within the shot, I think it makes the difference and I think it works well for the shot. I like the positioning of the cigarettes as well, though not too dissimilar to the previous shots, in this image they're not quite as straight and lined up as equally. The top and bottom needs to be cropped otherwise I think it is a good overall image.

Still Life - Documentary/ Practice, Ideas shoot

Unedited/ unaltered photos.

Within the same shoot I shot the same style as before (previous post) the only difference was the ashtrays. Like mentioned in the previous post, this is the white, Union Jack ashtray. I did the same shots, same lighting and setup. I used more cigarettes in the majority of the photos in this ashtray, the least I used was 4 cigarettes in the 3rd photo down. I think the last photo, out of the white ashtray is the best as it is central, unable to see the edges, fairly symmetrical and has good lighting on it. There is a part of it at the top of the ashtray where it is slightly darker however I don't mind that as the shadow would be naturally there as it is natural light.