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Photography Applications

Abygail Jones

Advertising and Promotional

The idea behind taking advertising photographs is to make a product look appealing and encourage the audience to invest in it – this particular application is widely used in many different forms and techniques.Looking at this Nesquik cereal advertisement photograph, we can already tell that there had been some editing: everything in the picture, except for the actual cereal box itself (the main product) has been blurred in to the background, this is to ensure that our focus is directly on the cereal box as soon as we look at the photograph. It looks like the photographer has used a wide lens to get the rest of the typical family kitchen in to the background, along with some healthy fruit to appeal to parents and children which is the desired audience.

The idea behind taking promotional photographs is to solely promote an item or a subject instead of making the audience want to buy it. It’s used to raise the awareness of a particular event, person or object. The photos taken are usually heavily edited with artificial lighting often used over natural lighting, there can be a range of different lenses used, depending on the desired effect.Looking at this promotional photo of the indie rock band, My Chemical Romance, we can see that artificial lighting has been used to highlight sharp features and create the desired effect that the band or photographer intended – for instance, the overall image is quite dark with light and the use of colours in specific areas that draws an audience in and gives them a sense of what kind of music the band makes. The photographer has used a normal lens as there isn’t much background and the photo is mainly focused on the band members’ stomach upwards, it also seems as if the band members have had their photograph taken individually and then put in to one final image.

The last image is a photograph by famous photographer, Chris Killip – he began his career as a photographer’s assistant but eventually left to ensue his own non-commercial work and returned to the Isle of Man to photograph it. After bringing out his own book, he was asked to take pictures of towns in Northern England and became known for taking his ‘gritty black and white images’ – some of his work was used in, ‘In Flagrante’ and has recently been recognised as ‘important visual records of 1980’s England.

PromotionalAmbient light – it’s natural, it’s outside.Wide lens you can see

the background just asmuch as the people inthe photo.

Controlled/manipulated – they haven’t just been found in that pose, they’ve been told what to do

High street studio application could also work due to the fact it’s a it’s a wedding/family photo

Has been edited only slightly – if you look around the edges it’s darker than the centre of the photo where the main focus is.

The photograph is on an angle – some may call this an ‘artistic angle’ this could be to make the photo have a desired effect – get better lighting etc.

The couple look extremely happy, this is probably more natural than controlled but it could also be manipulated too.

Tilt shift lens?

FashionThe purpose of taking these photographs is to advertise their clothes to the desired audience, they take pictures of items such as: clothing, labels, merchandise and so on to go in to magazines, newspapers, catalogues etc. they use the photographs to show off the items of clothing they have to offer which creates a desired mood for example: during Summer the clothing colours become very vivid and bright when during Winter, the clothing colours become sort of cosy, colours like browns and greens.

As we can see in the first photograph, the photographer has used a close up as we can hardly see any background and it’s a close up of the model from the chest upwards. There is definitely artificial lighting involved as it seems to block out any lines or imperfections on her face though it seems as if the model’s face has been heavily airbrushed during post production, the photo is definitely controlled/manipulated to look calm yet edgy thanks to the black and white, the photographer has told the model to pose in that certain way. The photo has also been taken on a set, in a studio because there is nothing in the background and the image is in HD.

The second photograph has been taken using a wide lens, it’s taking in a lot of the background rather than just the model, it’s definitely been manipulated so that the model is laying down in an array of different coloured material that almost seem to sparkle in some areas – suggesting there has been post production after the image was taken. There is a definite use of artificial light otherwise there would be a lot more shaded areas. This looks like it could have been taken in a studio, on a set because of the nature of the image, the way that the model is posing suggests the jewellery she is wearing is what the company is trying to sell, they stand out and catch the audiences eye at first glance, even with the bright colours – this also creates a calm, soothing mood, it could also suggest the beauty of the dress in the way that the material around her has been placed and looks.

The last picture is some fashion photography from the photographer, Nick Knight – he is amongst the world’s most influential photographers and is the director and founder of http://showstudio.com/. His work has been exhibited in places such as: Victoria & Albert Museum, Saatchi Gallery, the Photographers Gallery and Hayward Gallery – recently the Tate Modern. His work is definitely unique and eye catching, using the telephoto lens a lot and there is definitely a lot of manipulation during the post production process.

Fashion PhotographyWide lens – there is a lot of excess background image and not just the model

Definitely manipulated/controlled – the model has been told to pose like that – the balloons have been arranged, her clothes have been selected etc.

Artificial light – giving the desired effect and illuminating only half of her face

The overall effect seems to be based on ‘black and white’ – the clothing, the contrast of the photo

Her face seems to be almost faded in to the background – heavy editing.

The background makes it look like she’s in the clouds

There are many different ways a person could read this image• The balloons

have carried her in to the clouds

• She has passed away and is on her way to limbo

• She’s both good and bad – contrasting colours etc.

Could be used for a magazine, a gallery, catalogues?

Heavily edited

Location? Set?

PhotojournalismThe idea of these images is to tell a story for things such as the news, stories etc. – they are essentially a quick sum up in one photograph. A few examples of the categories that photographs for photojournalism are: paparazzi, photo caption and celebrity photography. The photographs are usually taken right there, in amongst the action.

In this photograph, we can see that the picture has been taken using a wide lens as not only can we see the celebrity but we can see some of the background, which involves ore paparazzi trying to take a photo. This picture is an observational photo, the photographer hasn’t asked the celebrity to do that pose for them, it’s a spontaneous moment where the photographer has taken it upon themselves to snap a shot of the celebrity, this can be for many reasons. The light is artificial, it comes from the flash on the camera and the other cameras, rather than from the scene where the celebrity is being pictured. There seems to be no editing with this picture which is the norm for photojournalism photographs.

As we can see in the second photograph, the photographer has used the telephoto lens to capture this image of Paris Hilton exiting a car, again the pose and the picture is spontaneous and observational, there is nobody telling her where to stand, how to pose etc. The light in this photo is more natural than artificial because they are outside and it’s day and it is not edited.

Eddie Adams is well known for the photograph, ‘Saigon, 1968’ which is the third image on this page. Eddie Adams photographed 13 different wars, his best work produced was during Vietnam. This is because he took various photographs of Vietnamese refugees attempting escape – this changed the American’s view on the wars and persuaded Jimmy Carter to grant asylum to over 200,000 refugees.

He served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War and was trained as a combat photographer, his mission was being sent to Demilitarized zone’s to take pictures one end to the other – he completed the task in over a month.

Photojournalism PhotographyWide lens as there is a lot of background

Observational it’s a snap of time – nobody told the people in the photograph how to pose or what to do, it’s what they were doing when the photo was taken.

The lighting is natural/ambient as it’s outside and some areas are quite dark

Can tell a story, pose questions:Why is he jumping over a fire?What’s going on?English flag in the background, why?What are they doing?

In black and white – old photo?Could be used in

magazines/newspapers

For the news?Not edited

PortraitureThis is the most common type of photography, it focuses on facial features and expressions and works on making features stand out. There are a few different approaches to taking these kinds of photographs: The constructionist approach: the photographer creates an idea around the portrait, for example a happy family or a trustworthy employee. This can involve artificial lighting and post-production.Environmental: The environment in which the picture is taken, whether that is: work, a social setting, a family household etc.Candid: This is taking a spontaneous photo at a random point of random people, letting the people who see it judge what is going on instead of knowing exactly what is going on.Creative Approach: Image manipulation is used to create pictures of people, this means heavy post production and editing.

As we can see in the first photograph, the image has been heavily manipulated – the producer has used a sort of gritty effect and played around with the saturation levels to make the final product look good and make the features stand out, the background of the photo has also been heavily blurred so our attention is directed entirely to the mans face. It’s a close up of the mans face, the light doesn’t look artificial, it looks natural. I’d say the approach for this portrait was a candid approach because we can’t justify what the man is doing or why he is doing it, we can see he’s smoking but we can’t explain why or even how the photograph was taken and for what reason.

The second image is still manipulated but it’s not as heavily edited as the first, you can tell that the family has been airbrushed, the picture is taken in a studio as the background is clear and has also been blurred so the attention is not taken away from the family members. Wide lens has been used here as it’s a close up of the entire family, the lighting is definitely artificial and the producer has used the constructionist approach.

The last image is a photograph by portrait photographer, Angus McBean – he became the official photographer for: the Old Vic, Sadlers Wells, Stratford-on-Avon and Glyndebourne theatres. For a long time he didn’t take photographs professionally but in 1985, one of his earliest portraits of Vivien Leigh was turned in to a postage stamp thus giving his career an almighty boost, he died at the age of 86 in 1990.

Portraiture Photography

It’s a close up – I think they’ve just used a normal lens

This looks controlled because it looks as if this photograph could have been taken in a studio and she’s a model, being ordered how to poseIt’s been

manipulated, she’s been airbrushed

It looks like ambient lighting rather than artificial

Could be used in a magazine, catalogue or on a web page

Constructionist approach used – not sure why she’s making this face or why – kind of looks aggressive/angry – desired effect?

Maybe used tilt shift lens?

High Street StudioThis type of photography in particular involves a range of different types of applications such as: portraiture and wedding photography. This type is used to take family photos to use as wall art, the end product has usually been through post production, artificial lighting is generally used along with a wide lens – this type of photography is difficult due to high rent making it hard for photographers to afford studio’s and ending up having to use home studios.

As we can see in the first photograph, it’s a form of portraiture as it’s a wide lens and it’s mainly focusing on the face of the current ‘model’. It seems as if the image has been heavily manipulated due to the pose but it could be spontaneously as it’s a baby and they’re effectively unpredictable, but that could just be the effect of the artificial lighting although certain things like the bright pink headband seem to be more vivid than the rest of the photo, even if it is the only thing vividly coloured item in the photo, it still seems Photoshopped.

The second photograph is an image taken from someone's graduation day, the lighting is artificial but it’s not nearly as strong as the artificial lighting in the first image. The photographer has used a wide lens and although the person being photographed has been told how to pose, the photo doesn’t seem to be heavily manipulated and it seems as though there has been little or no post production at all, the photographer has used a wide lens to capture the background and the main focus.

Venture is a High Street Studio photography service that offers customers pleasing, high class end products for use of wall art or to display to others. They ‘capture your precious moments in time and beautifully present them I our stunning hand-crafted product’.http://www.venturephotography.com/ The images produced by this company use artificial lighting, some post production techniques, artistic camera angles, wide lens and a professional studio to capture the right image with that high class look.

High Street Studio

Portraiture

Use of wide lens – close up

Controlled – most likely told to pose like that or chose the pose himself

Manipulated – the background seems to have been edited

Also – his tattoo’s have a certain effect that has been put on to them making them stand out most in the image

Artificial light – shining in areas that accent his features Seems to have

been airbrushedPost production?

Could be used as:Wall artIn magazines/newspapers/catalogues

ArchitecturalThis is photographs of structures, buildings or statues etc. these photographers are usually skilled in using certain equipment and special techniques such as: they control perspective, emphasise vertical and parallel lines by positioning the camera in such a way – view cameras are usually used because they are easy to manoeuvre, normal HD cameras can still be used along with tilt shift lenses to ensure a perfect end result. The images are then processed and used by architects, surveyors and different companies, the end photo may or may not be edited depending on the use.

Looking at the first photograph, it seems that the fish eye lens has been used due to the curved shape that isn’t the original image – it could have been taken with a normal wide lens and then later edited during the post production period – but it looks more like a fisheye lens has been equipped. It looks like the photographer has depended on ambient light rather than artificial. This photo looks like it would more likely be for a web page rather than for a company, it has a certain beauty about it that would appeal to online viewers but it doesn’t look professional enough to be used in magazine/newspapers etc.

In the second picture we can see first off that this picture was taken using a telephoto lens as it’s far away and still has a substantial amount of background in it – the light that the photographer has depended on is ambient, natural. The picture seems candid and spontaneous but it may have also gone through some of the post processes – the lighting may have been tweaked to make the photograph look more professional and eye catching, it looks as if it’s ready to be put in to a brochure or a magazine.

Randy Scott Slavin from New York is widely known for his unique photography of city skylines, instead of the traditional view of a cities landscape following the horizon line, Randy distorts familiar American cityscapes by joining hundreds of photographs together to create this desired effect which: “Reminds us that photography does not always depict things as they actually are.”http://www.complex.com/art-design/2013/02/the-25-greatest-architectural-photographers-right-now/randy-scott-slavinThe photographs seem to depend on ambient light using a telephoto lens to get the whole picture in, the end products have definitely been edited and manipulated to fit the desired effect.

Architectural

Ambient light because it’s the only light available?

Artificial light because it’s the theatre’s lights?

Wide lens – the whole room is in one picture

Observational – it doesn’t seem to be manipulated in any way.Catching the scene as it is

Doesn’t seem to be edited

Really simple

Could be used in:A brochureNewspaperMagazineOnline review?

IllustrationPhotographs are often aided by text – this is to give the reader the story and the visual representation at the same time, this can be used to influence the reader in different ways – the use of captions can also come in handy here. The readers overall view can be changed with the use of illustration.

The first image is a newspaper clipping with a snapshot of the event – of a local skater who is performing a trick for the cameras. The photograph is taken with a wide lens as it gets most of the background in along with the overall focus – the photo seems to be candid and observational and not in anyway controlled or manipulated because there are no effects and for images in news stories, the photographs are rarely edited anyway, the light seems to be ambient and with the use of the image amongst the text, it gives the reader an idea of what occurred during the event and also something to look back at whilst they read the story.

The second image is actually an image of my own – the text that accompanies the image tells the reader the prices and the sizes of the clothing in the catalogue/magazine of EMP. The images are clear yet are most likely edited – creases may have been edited out of the clothing and the models have probably had their photo-shoot in a studio and possibly the end products have been through a post production phase. There is definite use of artificial lighting and it seems like a wide lens may have been used, although it could be a telephoto lens considering the image has almost a full person in it.

The last image is another example of illustrious photography, the image is of the damage done by the Earthquake but the story is relatively un-related – it’s about a woman who was cut off from the outside world when communication went down during a storm – the image is of the destruction but it still shows just how bad the storm was. The photograph is clear, un-edited and observational.

IllustrationText accompanying the picture

Wide lens – there is a lot of the background in this image

Controlled – the family has been told how to stand and where to standNo sign of manipulation, just a scenic view

Old photo? The colour

Relying on ambient light – it’s outside

Could be used in a magazine, on a web page, newspapers, even a gallery

Medical PhotographyMedical Photography does not involve any post production techniques, the images are usually of medical procedures, injuries and diseases, patients, doctors and bodies in post mortem rooms also medical areas like: hospital wards. The photography uses a range of complex equipment and techniques, photographers use microphotography (close ups) to truly capture every detail, thermal imaging is used if needed (picks up heat spots etc.), time lapse is used, possibly to show the healing process of a particular injury – to show the process of a particular procedure and so on.

The first image is of a nurse checking the heartbeat of this baby in the maternity ward, the photographer has used a wide lens to capture this, it is a candid/observational photo as the nurse has not been instructed to pose in any way, they are going about their duties as usual. The lighting is ambient, maybe apart from a flash on the camera – but there doesn’t seem to be any use of flash here and I doubt there would be any flash due to some patients medical conditions. As mentioned before, there is absolutely no post production techniques used in this photograph as the images are supposed to be 100% trustworthy and essentially un-touched.

The second photograph is taken during a medical procedure, the photographer has used a telephoto lens to get a detailed end product from a short distance away, the photo is again candid/observational as the surgeons have not been instructed to pose like this, this is their job and they are just going about their daily duties as usual – the light is ambient and there would be no flash photography used in theatre as it would distract the surgeons and maybe even obscure the image, again there are no post production techniques as it would deem the end product un-trustworthy.

Lennart Nilsson started out as a photojournalist in the middle 1940’s, publishing a few photo-essays in Swedish and foreign magazines, he arrived in New York in 1953, publishing the first images of the human embryo, encouraging him to take more – he has devoted his attention to photographing the creation of a human being (pregnancy).

Medical PhotographyCandid/Observational – they are going about their duties – haven’t been told to pose in any way

Telephoto lens – from a short distance away – still captures the main part of the image

Natural/Ambient light – the only lighting is from the lights in the operating room

No post production – no photo manipulation

Could be used in:MagazineNewspaperWeb PageBooks

Background is slightly blurred?

Fine Art PhotographyThis type of photography involves using a wide range of photographic techniques to get a desired effect/message from the image. As much as fine art photography can be any variety of things, it’s usually more popular with: nudes, architecture and wildlife, final images can have a lot of post production techniques added on to them or none at all, again depending on the desired effect – the end product is usually sold in contexts such as being printed and put in to books. The images are usually made just for viewing pleasure rather than for putting it in to contexts.

The first image is a landscape photograph of an exotic stone-filled beach, the photographer has used a wide lens to capture this, at first glance this looked candid and observational however, it seems to have been manipulated during the post production process – the light would have been ambient but it seems as if it has been made artificial through post production, possibly in Photoshop. I think both the light and the colour may have been messed around with to create this desired, exotic look – for all the viewer knows, the original image could have had a grey and overcast sky.

The second image is, first of all, in black and white – the overall image seems to have been captured using the wide lens as it’s got a lot of landscape captured in the background. The picture seems controlled/manipulated – I don’t think this is the type of situation someone just stumbles upon, it’s too perfect, too controlled. What poses a question is, is there any post production techniques here? Has the tree and the person swinging on the tree been photoshopped in to the original landscape image of the sea? Or has just the person swinging been photoshopped on to the tree in a flooded field? Has anything been photoshopped at all? It does seem as if the saturation levels have been played around with to make some areas darker than others, the light looks originally natural and ambient but I think because the levels have been played around with, some light may be artificial.

Florian Ritter is originally a German photographer who captures rough landscapes and ‘people far from known civilisation’. He also offers babies, toddlers, products, furniture and interior photography, he recently moved to Shanghai with his family. The image that I have chosen to show you by Ritter is called: Barn America. His images are usually edited with different contrasts – they are usually in colour, only a few are in black and white.

Fine ArtWide lens? There is a lot of landscape

Telephoto lens? There is a fair bit of background – not very close to the main focus of the image

Seems candid/observational – seems to capture the image as it is

Could be controlled? The colours could be altered, some of the tree’s could be cut back to see more of the structure

Ambient light – could be artificial, don’t think there has been any Photoshop or change

Could be used for :A web pageGalleriesBooks

Documentary PhotographyDocumentary photography is usually capturing images for long term products and multi-strand narratives, maybe for a news story, an article, a newspaper story, a blog, subjects like this. The images captured are usually observational rather than manipulated, a range of lenses can be used during this. Using this, it gives the photographer the chance to show aspects of life and everyday situations for certain places, people or items – essentially telling a story through images.

The first image is from the photographer, Jason Florio, he has used a wide lens to capture this image of children in a foreign country playing English football. The photograph is observational, the children in this photograph have not been asked to pose like this, this is a spontaneous moment during a random football game, the light is ambient – the image is in black and white which could suggest either age or because the image may be used in a newspaper. It doesn’t seem as if there has been much, if any post production at all, maybe just a change in the contrast or maybe even the colour.

The second photograph is by Claire Martin, she usually captures images of everyday situations from the streets of Vancouver. All of her images are alike, they’re very real and each has a story – however, each is edited in some form, whether it’s blurring the background making the main focus stand out or whether it’s changing the contrast/colour. Her photographs are usually taken with a wide lens, letting the viewer see a lot of the background, some of her images look a little staged and manipulated but the majority are observational, the lighting is usually ambient although depending on how edited the photograph is, it could be artificial.

The third photograph is by Steve McCurry, he explored the country of India taking photographs to document the people of India’s everyday life – his work is usually captured with a wide lens, the images he produces are usually observational – taking pictures of everyday life, the images look like there have been a change in the filter but other than that it’s natural and relatively un-touched.

Use this slide to annotate an archetype image

Captured with a wide lens

Observational – capturing the image in the moment

Natural/ambient light

Manipulated?The colour?Could have been taken in black and white?Contrast?Contrast could have been changed so if it’s put in to a magazine, the image isn’t affected by it

Could be used in:MagazinesNewspapersWeb pages


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