Photography Assignment three.

By Kayleigh Hickey.

My 10 best shots from London.The following pictures I took in London. Each slide will consist of the original image and the photoshopped version to show how I have developed my skills.

There isn’t a huge difference between these two photo’s. You can see that the photo on the left is the original photo. I edited it by putting it onto Photoshop, duplicating the existing layer, putting a simple black and white effect over it, and using the eraser to rub out the bits that I wanted in colour. I wanted the main bits in colour (eg. The McDonalds logo and the bin) because they were the focal point. The background didn’t matter to me and I thought it would be interesting if I only used some bits in colour.

Again, the photo on the left is the original one. I found this quite difficult to edit because there’s not a lot to work with in my opinion. So all I did was heightened the contrast a little. The overall effect made it look more vibrant in my opinion.

I thought that a simple edit would be more effective than going over the top. I adjusted the brightness and contrast. I turned the brightness down and turned the contrast up a little. Again, like the previous slide, the image on the right (the photoshopped version) looks a lot more vibrant than the original one.

This was quite simple to edit. All I did was I duplicated the original layer, then I put a black and white filter over the top. After that, I used the eraser on the parts I wanted in colour. This is my favourite way of editing a photo because it highlights the focal points.

Here is an example of effect I used on Photoshop. There is a bar in which you drag an arrow across. The colours changed rapidly. I used these colours because I thought they looked more effective.

This was simply a matter of putting a black white effect over.Personally, I prefer subtle editing, it makes more of an impact.

Although you cant really see a difference here..I was playing round with Photoshop and came across an option that said “curves” I altered the default setting at random and saw that it emphasised the colours. What I did was, I erased all but the lady, and noticed that the silver looks bolder and jumps out more, so I kept it.

Again, I used the black and white effect, then erasing what I wanted to be in colour. I thought that seeing as I took the photo in London, red is a very British colour as it’s on the England flag. I kept everything that was red in colour, and eliminated the rest.

This shot is known as a “panning” shot. I didn’t want to do too much to it anyway as I thought it would ruin the picture. So, again, I did the black and white erasing technique.

This was simple! I emphasised the highlights in this picture first, then I went over the background with the paint brish tool.

Street photographer research.

I found this photo on Shane Gray’s website. He has an album situated in London.

Although this photo wasn’t taken in London, I like it because it’s a good example of street photography.

I noticed that this photo is an example of a ‘decisive moment’ because if you look at the background, there is a model of a zebra. The woman in the photo is wearing a cardigan which resembles the model in the background.

The trick to capturing a photo which shows a decisive moment, is to show that the irony in the photo. The trick is to show that the decisiveness is an accident, this is what makes them so funny and entertaining.

Do’s and Dont’s.

- You must be ‘in the zone’ if you want to do street photography. Going outside can be a bad thing because there are so many things that can put you off or distract you.

- If you see someone on the streets whom you think would make a photo, ALWAYS ASK PERMISSION. Although it isn’t against the law to take someone’s photo without permission, it ‘s always good to ask.

- Weigh up the scene, think about what the subject is going to do next.

- Don’t creep up on the subject, it’ll look creepy and the subject will avoid you taking his/her photo.

- Don’t lose patience.

- Don’t stop trying, it takes a great amount of patience to be there at the right moment.

Ethical and Moral

When doing street photography, you need to remember that you can’t take any photo’s that may be considered offensive or racist.

You always need to ask for permission of anyone you’re photographing.

Don’t single out anybody disadvantaged such as homeless people or disabled people.

Distribution of compromising photographs.

Avoid taking photographs of children without permission.

Take into account how others may feel about you taking photo’s of them on the street.