Studio Photography - Me, myself and my camera....

I have thoroughly enjoyed the City & Guilds Level 2 16 week course.  I thought at the start of the course what I wanted to get out of it and having already done a NCFE Level 1 which was a year course and quite in depth in to photography I wanted to learn/experience something I haven't tried yet....  Ultimately I chose Studio Photography.

Being in the studio was a totally different environment for me and learning about the lights, the props, working with models, using my camera skills on another level was a great experience for me.

From thoroughly researching each theme Portrait and Product by sourcing different photographers on the web, in books/magazines, on youtube and experiencing my first exhibition.  I ensured I had done detailed planning before entering the studio as my tutor says.... It's all about preparation, preparation, preparation.  Along with my research I had already had an idea in my head about the materials and props I was going to use along with the equipment being used i.e tripod, lights etc.  I have had the chance to go through each picture in my final selection to explain why I chose and the details outlining the frames by labeling with f stop, shutter speed and ISO.  Also what I like about each shot whether it being composition or technical wording or if I like the hat/scarf etc....

I think I enjoyed my time in the studio so much is because I love fashion.  Both of my themes are structured around fashion and are consistent throughout from research to my final images.  It was also good to experience the different health and safety issues that crop up in a studio environment.....  I have done a lot of location photography which is very different to studio health and safety as when your on location many things can crop up from natural considerations (weather, light/dark/rain/snow, people plus many different unexpected things that can come in to it) However in the studio, once you have acclimatized your self to your surroundings, lights, props, models, wires, cameras, bags, lens.... Its easier to control....

I have tried to use all of the various techniques I learnt in my NCFE Level 1, from using different depths of field, rule of thirds, using long exposure, varying my aperture to create different exposure for each of the images. 

I would also like to thank Steve for being a fab tutor and putting up with my strops when things weren't going my way - But I feel like after a lot of hard work I have got to the end with success.... I really hope that all of the above shows in my final images and look forward to adapting my skills even further.....

Presenting My Photo Images....

After my time in the studio I have used the blogger to present my final 22 images.  They are all of a similar size/shape and have a nice border around them and seems to be the easiest way to present my images.  They are all either been previewed on the mac and screen printed so you are able to see them all in one go and have also put them on individually so you can see them nice and clear in a row.  I have also put my pictures on a disk to be presented.  Being on a disk they could be presented on a computer or on a big projector for a group of people to see.  Being Fashion images, I would feel they would be suited to many different kinds of presentation such as.....

Media

For my theme I would think the images would fit to be presented in a fashion magazine like below.....



Magazines such as Vogue, Elle or marketing material for designer's to show their work....  That is obviously my target audience ladies and men who like the fashion industry and would be interested in seeing fashion products whether they be clothes or accessories or make up these would all be presented in different kinds of magazines.

Or on a fashion website for a designer or magazine.....

Youtube.....

This is a Louis Vuitton photoshoot with all different kinds of fashion products - I found this on YouTube and is another way to present fashion/images. 

http://www.youtube.com/user/louisvuitton?blend=2&ob=4#p/u/0/Z33hPiF0Ux8

Techniques

If a designer were to present these images in a meeting they could be presented in a portfolio book or mount card where you would decide how to place your images.... I.E 1 picture per mount or 3 and whether placed landscape/portrait. Images look nice in a portfolio book, however this is a little 'old fashioned' these days and most of the time are presented on the web or in a blog such as I have done for my themes.

Mounting.....

I have found this youtube video on how to mount pictures which is quite simple and effective.  From cutting, paste and placing your pictures is quite insightful for any beginner.....  If I were to present my images by mounting, I would probably do them A3 size and use black mount as I feel this would be more effective for the type of Fashion Shots I have done.

Photobook.....

If I could afford to get my pictures printed, I would probably have presented them in a professional photobook which you can get done at any professional printers such as jessops.  Pictures are printed on luxury premium thick paper and finished with a hardcover and a spine.

Presentation/slide show

Another way to present pictures could be using a slideshow method.... Microsoft do a powerpoint package where your pictures will periodically change on the screen - You could do it for a group situation like in the picture above or there are electronic photo frames which are quite nice which do the same thing but in something that could be put in your house.

Printing
You can go to any professional printing shop such as Jessops or Snappy Snaps to get pictures printed.... 
For my shots for each theme, the pictures could be printed on a canvas, photo card or calendar or put together a photo album or put them on a CD. 

There are other materials you can get pictures printed on such as mugs, calendars, t shirts, bags, key rings etc etc

  It's nice to print images and have them to hand or put them in a frame or mount them but this can be quite costly but many professional printers have discounts the more you print the more discount you are able to get.

I think the overall visual impact of my images look good - I feel that my pictures would be shown on a fashion website/magazine/book or TV programme.  I like the fact all of my images are easy to see on the blog and the CD and really hope that they are pleasing to the viewers of them too......

Preparation and Shoot for Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter Product Theme

The product research helped me big time for this shoot.  I enjoyed looking for the different fashion/product photographers and taking the ideas forward for my shoot.  

As stated in my prep for the portrait shoot I did a survey for the seasons of what people associated with each season.... 

Reminder......

Winter

Christmas trees and decorations

Cold

Hat, Scarfs and gloves

Presents

Halloween

Skiing

Autumn

Wind

Leaves

Getting dark

Summer

Seaside

Shells

Sun

Sunglasses

Warmth

Spring

Flowers

Easter

Colours

So I decided to use Christmas decorations to represent the Winter party time.  Autumn I took along some leafs I gathered from my garden.  Summer I used shells, sun umbrella and the lighting in studio to represent the sun. And finally I used flowers and colours for Spring.

For the shoot  I took along my trusty fashion magazines for inspiration along with the research I had already done logged in my head!

Being in the Studio was very different taking pictures of a model to taking pictures of still life....  Having someone else there I think there was a little bit of a adrenalin rush and more pressure with the camera and to get decent shots.  I felt I had more time being in the Studio this time only having objects and myself to put me under pressure.

I used similar props to what I had used with my portrait theme as even though they are separate themes I wanted there to be a connection.

Again I used my Canon 20D camera for all of the pictures and made sure I had all of necessary props and studio time booked. All pictures were taken with a standard lens.....

With my pictures I tried to use as many different depths of field as possible and as may different angles to get different kinds of images.  I tried to use as many of the different lights and did concentrate on the spot light to create a warm softer feel in the Autumn and Winter months so used a higher F stop and shadows etc.

 For the Summer and Spring months, I want to use lots of light, so will try and use more of the studio lights and also work with my camera by using a low f stop t let lots of light in....  The ISO was kept at 100 to make the frames nice and fine and clear.

My pictures are very relevant to my theme..... Jewellery, shoes, glasses, Sunglasses are all fashion objects and would feature in any fashion magazine obviously to try and sell....

The lights were a lot easier to use this time round and new what buttons to press and which angles and where to out the lights to get which affects - this definitely came in handy for Winter and Autumn.

I took care while in the studio and made sure all health and safety procedures were met at all times and kept bags and props that were not needed out of the way.  Ensured lights were moved correctly.  Taking care when moving around the studio at all times.  I was also very careful with the cables/wires and took care when moving around to get different angles.  I also used the tripod for more of my pictures than I did with my portrait theme as wanted the pictures to be a bit more controlled.

Again I took around 20 shots for each theme and ended up with 2 or 3 for each Season making a total of 10.  I do feel the my portrait theme is the stronger of the 2 but am very happy with my final images and would believe you could see them in any fashion magazine on the shelves today!

The reason I picked my final 10 to be my final 10....

I took a lot of time deliberating over my final images for this theme and did find it harder which mean probably had more stronger images in my portrait theme.  However I am very happy with my final 10 and with the camera and lighting work done and feel the pictures chosen fit with each season and obviously my theme.  I will go through each image in depth in show of Unedited final images.

Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter - Stephen Eastwood Research.......

I came across Stephen's work and really enjoyed looking at it.... Not much is actually said about him as a photographer but wanted to mention him and show some of his work as this is the sort of work I would be interested in doing!  What I did find out about him was that he was born in Long Island NEW YORK!  He started out as a model himself, mostly body shots, fitness stuff etc.  His favorite kind of shoot is beauty and 2nd up is high end fashion.  On his website he has a Q&A session which provided an interesting read for his personal preferences on the photography that he does.....