Evaluation

Visual language-The composition of the photograph is made to look simplistic however it has been thought about in the way it is presented. Such as for example the photograph below was taken to form a pattern of symmetry as well as made to look more of an older image due to the monochrome style. The Sharpen tool was used in Adobe Photoshop for post production and used to sharpen the foreground of the image and bring the detail out of the football pitch the players are on. The shape of the image was thought about as I wanted to incorporate both players with background of the goal. In post-production the dodge tool was used to make the players and the ball lighter, the burn tool was also used to make the background slightly darker. To go with the burn, the blur tool was used to make the players stand out and make the image look more 3D.

The Photograph was made into a monochrome piece because it was to go along with a set of eight images, four of which that will be in the similar shade and the other four part of a higher contrast and much brighter photographs. It was designed like that to show the difference in the emotions and what affect the color can do to an image. The photograph itself has a good depth of field due to being able to see a far distance beyond the players; it has therefore been blurred on Photoshop rather adjusting the aperture to a higher F number. The images are made to document a game and to show the different stages that can happen during a football game.

The photographs are all Candid images as they have not been set up. As a documentary type of photography it was important not to be seen as acting. Manipulating with images could result in less people believing what you had to show them. A wide lens was used for all the images in order to take a lot of the scene and show to the viewer what exactly was going on. Natural light was used at first in the images however post production has been added to the photographs to give it a little edge and make the players stand out more from the photograph.

These two images are designed to show the individual technique used

This photograph is taken to show a person Scoring and celebrating a goal

This photograph is taken to show the Determination to get to the ball first.

This image is taken to show a Team talk from the coach.

This image shows a person trying to tackle the player who is going through on goal.

Audience- the Audience for this type of photography is younger people and a demographic of Boys aged 16-20. This is due to the documentary style and that of the location where the images may well be held should they be used to other purposes. Locations for the photographs may be the billboards found near the sports department at the college or located on the sports section of the college website. The Photographs will target the social groups of the sporty and outgoing as they can tell you a lot about what happens in the sport.

Context- Previous work that has influenced this type of photography was that of the Current Photojournalist and documentary photographer Steve McCurry. His work applied very well to the theme of the project, Discovery. This is due to being known as the man who took the famous ‘Afghan girl’ image on the National Geographic Magazine. When looking through the photographs he had taken it struck me that they had been thought about and that there was a story behind each image, Such as this photograph below. You can see the coach trying to send a message across to the players and ultimately here myself trying to get this across to the viewer of the photography. The Photographs are documenting how the sportsmen are coached and how what they have learnt is put into practice.

To compare two photographs, one that I have taken and the other by McCurry in the 1960’s. This first one below is a famous image from a baseball game in America. The style is a very good one as this is a good example of focus and how to make the foreground detailed with leading lines used to make the photograph more professional. You can read a lot from the image such as Rule of thirds as there is a foreground with the

players, a middle ground with the field and boundary line and a background of a full stadium with thousands of spectators.

Here is a similarity of the sportsmen in a line from one person in focus to the other. These Photographs also except the background and want the location to enhance the image. McCurry’s Image has a lot of people watching meaning a lot of expectation, which can be seen from the bowlers warming up. The image below also has the same dedication to impress; here to show the coach what they can do. This is seen by the battle for the ball from both sides. I believe that the McCurry’s images have influenced me when I have been taking the photographs and I had to think more about what techniques can be used rather than just taking an image.

Realisation of intentions- The aims set at the start of the project was to produce 8 photographs that documented people and how they did a certain subject. The original plan was to document Nunnington Hall and how the people there worked to maintain it. Many images were good however due to unforeseen weather changes and that the majority of staff was not working the images that could have been taken were not. Therefore the location and photographs changed but the application and aims remained. As a contingency was well thought through the photograph taking was quickly ratified. The aims were to take images of footballers in training and that was met at the end.

Fitness for Purpose- The images are suitable for the purpose as they do document what is going on and if you look at the photographs in depth you can start to see a story building from where the coach speaks to the players to moments of magic , which can be seen from the players reactions. Such as here for example, the players are all looking at the player celebrating a good goal. For this image light was added in parts through post production to show the parts where the player had moved before scoring and to make the existing players stand out more. This is one of many images that goes hand in hand with the theme of discovery.

The original Proposal underneath has not been kept to due to the contingency being started instead. It had been originally thought that the photographs would be more of an older style of documentation however as the location changed, as did the demographic. It had gone from a both gender style to more of a young male orientated style. This is because the images taken are of that age group.

Here below is an image that was part of a selection taken at Nunnington Hall. It has been decided that it will not be part of the final 8 images that have been chosen to go with the application of documentary. This has been post produced with the other photographs from the contingency plan just to experiment to see if they would be good enough for use. As many other photographs were not of workers it was decided that the eight images were of footballers instead.

Technical Qualities- When looking at the photographs taken it becomes clear that the techniques taught by the tutor have been taken into consideration such as controlling the depth of field and the exposure to light. A smaller aperture was used on the camera to provide as much clearer image and detail across the full photograph. Natural light was used at first to keep to the documenting style; however post production was needed to ensure the viewer knew where to look on the image. As the Photographs were part of a contingency I did not have enough time to set the camera up like I did on the field trip to the National Park. But I do feel the photographs did come out well. A much smaller shutter speed was required as the movement of the players and the ball could not be seen as blurred nor could camera shake be risked. Here on the photograph taken below movement was added through post production to experiment with the smudge tool and see how the photographs can be manipulated.

When looking at Documentary photography you should not change the photograph as you want the viewer to believe what you have taken and for it to be taken seriously as it is reporting a certain matter. Post production has been used on these images to show what exactly you can do to enhance a photograph. Should these be used to professional purposes then no adjustments would be used with the exception of the crop tool.

Aesthetic qualities- When looking the photographs you can start to see some sort of inner meaning to them and a documentation of a sport. However as it is only a record of events and to do with people working it cannot be classified as art or of artistic quality. The images are nice to look at due to the colors being altered though the levels button on Adobe Photoshop. The reds and blues were brought out more to make the image look more interesting to view and to bring out the color of not only the red bushes but the blue kits the players are wearing. The framing of all the last 8 photographs were altered and cropped. This is due to how far the images were taken from and needed to get closer than the zoom allowed. Post production has been used to change the color as well in each of the images as they needed a boost.

Skills and Knowledge gained- The skills and knowledge I have gained from doing this project are that of knowing in a lot of detail how to prepare for a shoot and to know the difference between many key aspects such as Shutter speed, F Numbers and Aperture. Now I can take an image knowing what the outcome will be without having to look through what I have taken or change the settings numerous times when out with the camera. This therefore has saved my time which can be spent on producing much better quality images. To get a better understanding of depth of field I need to keep practicing with the settings and try to start with a lower aperture in order to see the difference.

The production process- My technical competency has improved as I can apply what I have learnt to my own photographs. Before the project I had an limited understanding to the photography settings and what goes into making a good image however now I feel I have become more creative when taking a photograph and thinking of many things instead of just the settings. The time was managed well throughout the project as two sets of images were taken in the days given to produce them. The first set was not of a certain standard wanted for the documentary application as staff was not working so having a contingency helped giving time to produce a new set of photographs more appropriate. It was not the time management that delayed the image taking in the project. This photograph was taken on the Trip to Nunnington Hall. This again is not part of the collection of 8 chosen to be part of the documentary application but it does show evidence of the techniques in practice when taking the pictures.

Responding to feedback- After taking into consideration the circumstances of how and when the photographs were taken I have been given positives remarks about the images in particularly the added movement on one of the monochrome images. If I was to give the work a criticism it would be to get a wider variety of shots from different angles such as a close up on the player and from next to the ball. If I was to do this again I would spend a lot more time on the planning of the photographs and to get the settings to exactly what I want. (Add feedback from others)

This image above it taken off the internet and this best describes what one of the photographs would look like should I have more time to o the project again. To capture the detail in the feet and ball is something that would have looked better in the collection of images.

Here is another photograph taken off the internet. This is one that I like and again if had more time to look into the application again of documentary photography then action shots would look better to add variety into the images.

Comparing my work with another person’s in the group shows the vast difference a certain application can do to the style of the images taken. All photographs meet the requirements for the theme that is discovery however having a particular application such as Landscape/ Nature will determine what happens in the image. Here there is much more colour in this image as it is of the natural environment and includes all the different types of texture the trees and grass offers. Unlike the photographs taken on the football, this includes natural shades and colours and a simplistic observational photograph however the image taken by myself was of an artificial pitch and with players wearing similar kits and bibs. These add to the photographs and bring out more colours then needed, thus meaning why some of the images have been made into monochrome ones to show the difference.

To conclude, the photographs produced are of a certain quality to be seen as documentary and ultimately the theme, Discovery. They have been taken with the incorporation of the techniques learnt throughout the process of the project. Also the images have been taken with consideration for the target audience and who will look at the images. Due to taking part in this project new skills have been leant such as knowing how to control the amount of light that comes in the lens of the camera which can help you have a grasp on taking photographs with the knowledge of what you will produce. After looking at past and present photographers in that field,

inspiration has come from them and now I have a much better idea of what to take photographs of and from what angle. In conclusion the eight produced images were well done as not only did they meet what was set on the brief, they included parts from previous tasks and they can share a fitness for purpose, that which can be on the colleges website to advertise a game or to get more students into the sport. An example of the purpose of the photographs can be found on the extension task.