Work Diary - Shoot 10

Evaluation:
For this shoot I decided to go into the forest with the same boiler suit and gas mask whilst holding a knife. I had lights set up on the side at first to have a side flash on the person so that only part of them was seen. I then decided to have the flash on the camera and have the person on the edge of the flash so all you could see was their shadow. I have also decided that the person will be holding a reflective knife in one hand. This means that we will see silhouetted figure and then when you follow along their body you will see a massive knife. I believe that this will make a great image because it will put fear into people and make them scared.
I believe that these images will also have a certain level of mystery to them and will make people feel curious about what the person looks like. From this I will also have images of them slowly leaving the shadows so people can tell what they look like and also make to scared because it will seem like the person is walking up to the viewer because the person is walking to the camera slowly.

Here we see a black and white image of the axe murderer. I have cropped the image slightly to the tilt to the right because it makes it look the the person holding it has dropped it and the camera has continued to take photos of the person silhouetted in the forest.  

Here we see a close-up of the mask the murderer is wearing with the background shadowed and only a tree lit up to add to the affect. I also had an offset light shining up at the mask and then in edit changed it to look blue because I believe that it makes the image more interesting and adds to the affect of the mask.

Progression:
In my next shoot I would like to do some more silhouetted piece but less on humans and more on animals silhouetted because I think that it would make a rather interesting image. I believe that even though trying to use animals in this way would be rather hard to set-up I still believe that it would make a rather interesting photo and still be worth the pain of setting it up. This is because the images I would get would be very strong images and be extremely interesting.

Here we see an elephant that is silhouetted against a sunset in Africa.  This is a rather interesting image of  an elephant and also haas an interesting affect on the viewer. I believe that this is a rather interesting way to take a photograph of an elephant which is also rather creative to photograph animals in Africa.

Here we see the same sort of image as above of a lion that has been photographer at a rather cloudy image with the sunsetting and the silhouette of the lion on a hill. The image itself is rather creative because it only shows us the basic outline of the lion and gives us no detail. This means that there is an element of mystery to the image itself.

Straight Images - Shoot 10

Overall Project Evaluation

Evaluation:
I enjoyed this project because I had a lot of freedom to do what ever type of shoot I wanted because the title I chose allowed for a lot of freedom in the project. It allowed me to explore some of the aspects of forensic photography and also some of the aspects of horror photography. I enjoyed the shoots I did because they were very enjoy to shoot and also to create costumes and use of the fake blood. It was a very entertaining experience and also it was very fun to edit the photos. I also enjoyed the 5 hour exam we had to do.
I also enjoyed the exam where we had a lot of freedom to do whatever we wanted to do for exam and also had lots of freedom to edit it. I also enjoyed creating all of the props I needed to use for the exam. It was a lot of fun to do because there was a lot of things that I could do.

The points of this project that I didn't like were at the start of the project because I had to slowly build up to the more excited forensic evidence. I had to begin with the basic evidence like parts from a murder and then I could move off to the actual murder scenes. I also didn't like the the computer we used in the college because they were very slow to do any of the process that I wanted to do.

Final Photos

Work Diary - Shoot 9

Evaluation:
In this topic I decided to get a person in a blue boiler suit and then got them to wear a gas mask while holding lots of different types of tools. I decided to make it look like the person in the boiler suit was coming after me with the different types of tools. I had the model make it look like they were first swinging it at me and then made them have it look like it was just about to hit me while I had the camera pointing at the tip of the weapon with only that in focus and the person behind out of focus. This made the person look like they were about to murder me holding the camera which I think makes it look rather interesting.
The main point of the shoot was to have the person look like they were threatening me with the weapons because it makes it rather interesting. The main reason behind this was to make it look like I was being attacked and to make it seem like I was the victim and it looks like it was though the eyes of the victim being attacked.

Here we see that I have added a black veneer to the edge of the image. This was because even when I decreased the exposure and added some noise and changed to contrast it was still to bright so by adding the veneer it makes the image seem a lot darker then it already is. This worked very well I think because the image is dark and also because of the veneer it makes the viewer focus on the face of the murderer and also the 4 spikes in the murder tool in front of their face. 

Here we see the murderer in mid swing at the camera making it seem like the viewer of the image is actually being attacked by the gas mask psychopath. Also in this image we see that there is no veneer like the one above because some clouds moved in front of the sun so it was easier to make it darker when editing.

Progression:
For my next shot I decided to have the same person waring the same gas mask standing in the shadow of the tree line holding a knife. I thought that this would make a rather interesting image because it is a rather horrific image. Also along with the images of the person lurking in the shadows I want to have a flash to only light up everything before it actually reaches the person. This is because it adds to the affect of the person lurking in the shadow. I think that this image would be rather interesting because it adds an element of mystery to image which makes it really interesting to do. Another reason I think that it is an interesting thing to do is because in the images you can only make out their outline.

Here we see the person is against a wall in the shadows and you can only make out their outline which makes the image seem rather mysterious because you can't really tell much about the person. From the image all we can tell is the person is wearing a hat and thats about it. This makes the image rather interesting because it allows the viewer to make their own assumption on what the image is and what the person looks like. This adds to he fun of the image because by doing that you can make it even more mysterious. Also this image was made in to black and white because it makes the person look like they are in more shadow and also helps to hind any features of them. 

In this image we can see a blurred out person on the edge of the shadows blocking a path. This image much like above acts in the same way in that you can make lots of your own opinions of features of the person and because it is also blurred that removes any more of the features that a person has meaning that even more assumptions on the image can be made. 

Straight Images - Shoot 9

Portfolio

Connecting Essay 5

Reference Image

In the reference image above I thought the dripping blood was very provocative. This image could be horror related but equally could be from a medical manual. I like the composition as this adds emphasis to the hand and also leaves room for any message. I notice that lots of images crop like this especially in photo libraries so designers can add messages. 

My Image

In my own photograph I wanted to show the cut in the vein and the amount of blood that would result in a cut like this. I added lots of contrast and saturation to the fake blood until the got what i felt was as close as possible to real blood. This image actually had someone poring blood over the hand just above the cut. I retouched this out in Photoshop. I asked the model to make here hands as limp as possible but still show her nails. 

The model had blood red fingernails to add to the drama and colour co-ordination of the shot.  

The Connection

Both images show blood on hands. I took my inspiration from the reference shot but wanted to take it further and push the boundaries to the edge of believability. The red nails are believable but add a lot to the overall feel. The amount of blood is believable - Just. The fake cut in the wrist (done in photoshop) after the shoot could be real. Overall I think my shot is better than the original.

Connecting Essay 4

Reference Image

In the reference image above the wide open eye coupled with the reflection shows the fear of what might happen. The blue cast adds to the threatening feeling in the shot. This gives a feeling of suspense and menace. The blood shot eye and the veins show that the person is probably already captive and could have been kidnapped and held for some time and has been badly treated.

My Image

In my own photograph the bandaged eye shows that the person has been treated for some kind of head or eye injury already or is being restrained in some way the veins in the eye add to this feeling. The reflection of the person with a knife (from a previous photoshoot shows) what is about to happen. Turning the image to black and white adds to the menace and feel of the shot. I have also added a vignette to direct the viewer to the action in the reflection. The fact that the eye is not wide open can be read that the person has been so mistreated that nothing is any longer a threat to them. 

The Connection


Both images portray a threat of what is about to happen in the reflection. They are both in the genre of horror images and although similar both can be interpreted in different ways. But it's unmistakable that both are eyes and both show immanent threat. Both also show blood shot eyes and both are heavily manipulated and retouched to evoke a similar feeling and to lead the viewer to look more closely and guess what is going to happen. So both images have an element of suspense.

Work Diary - Shoot 8

Evaluation:
In this shot I decided to do a large range of possible horror images that would be viewed as being horrific. I decided at first to get images of someone with white bandages wrapped around their face. I also had them wearing different clothing though out the shot and at the end had blood on the bandages seeping though from the face to make it look more realistic. I thought this would be a good idea because in older horror movies the thing that installed horror in the viewer would be covered in bandages which though out the movie would slowly build up blood on them. The reason I did this is because the people most likely to view these images are of that generation and would appreciate it and also find it to bring up old fears that they had when they were younger.
The main point of this shot was to instal fear in the older audience because the techniques of showing fear I used were all from classic horror movies which I thought would still be rather interesting and horrific to shot. Most of the images are over exposed because it highlights the whites in the images.

In this image I decided to darken the blood in the image by making all red more black, this was to make the blood look more like blood because it was a darker shade of red then I had used. I like this because it looks like something for a vampire TV show poster. I like how the blood is also very dark and also that I managed to capture the blood dripping from the hand. Another point to make on this image is that you can still see where the person stated bleeding from which is the wrist. I think that this makes the image rather controversial because lots of people cut their wrists so this image would make certain people feel rather uncomfortable.

In this image I decided to take a photo of a persons head covered in bandages and then crop it to cover half of their face. I also decided to turn it into black and white because I think that it makes the image look better. Also by doing this you can more easily see the distinction between the sections of the bandage. In this image the criss-cross also looks good and also the small slits for the eyes make it look even more creepy. When I changed the image to black and white and changed the blacks and whites it made the eye slits fully black which made the image look even more creepy then it already was. 

Progression:
For my next shot I would like to have more classic horror. The way I am going to do this is have a person covered in blood dragging tools like a pickaxe or sledges hammer covered in pieces of people. The reason I think that this would be a good idea is because it reminds people of older horror movies and also is still pretty scary now. For another shot I would like to have them wearing a gas mask and is possible to be in a black mining suit or something along those lines to make it look like it was from a movie. Also the gas mask I use would be an older one from possibly the wear because it comes with a tube which I think that if i covered that in blood would look really interesting.

Here we see an image from the movie "My Bloody Valentine". This is someone with a gas mask with a pickaxe covered in blood. This is the sort of image I would like to get because it is a horrific image of a person with a gas mask and has a gas mask. The person also has a black mining suit which is exactly the sort of image I would like to do. This is the exact image I would like to try and re-create.

Here is another sort of image I would like to do because it looks rather  horrific  and all shows a murder scene. I would like to re-create this image but also with lots of different sorts of tools because I believe that all of the images would be rather interesting. These images would be done outside because they would create a rather erie atmosphere. I would also like to get an image of a person in mid swing so I could also get the fear in someones eyes just before they get hit by one of the tools. I think that this would make some rather interesting images.

Straight Images - Shoot 8