Portraits

As always, click the photo to view larger.

Manipulation Through Homonyms

In a recent photography assignment we were asked to create images that portrayed homonyms. A homonym is of course words that sound the same but have different meanings.
The first homonym I chose was band/banned. This image has been heavily manipulated using masking techniques and filling in with solid colours to achieve an image that looked similar to a sign.

My second homonym was hare/hair in which I tried to incorporate a hare into my own body. I need more practice in this area of manipulation but for a first try I'm fairly happy with it.



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As always, click on the image for a full size view.

Photographing Children

I have just finished the printing for the photographs I took of children at a childcare centre on the South Coast for the second consecutive year. They will be distributed throughout the centre next week.

Here is an example of one of the photos I took last year for the centre.

Visual Truth

Is the camera really an object of truth? I vote no. Photographs show only which the photographer wishes to be shown, photographs are a distortion of what is real and logical. Photographs provide an escape, an outlet for a person to be viewed in the way that they wish. The family snapshot does not necessarily portray what goes on behind closed doors, instead it depicts the way in which the family wishes to be seen, creating a posed and strangely unlifelike image. With the advent of photoshop and other digital manipulation software the 'untruths of the photograph' grew steadily more prominent. For example, take the photograph on the left. This is a self portrait of me holding a picture of myself. The untouched photograph I am holding is juxtaposed with the heavily photoshopped version of myself. This clearly demonstrates the blurred line of what is real in photography, and what is false. The photograph is still of me, that much is not a lie, but it is a photograph of me the way I would like to be seen, rather than the way that I am viewed. Modern portrait photography leads everyone to believe the world is made up of attractive people, when in reality, it is not. This brings the reputation as a photograph representing a visual truth into question.
Photo manipulation is also used by the media to sway the opinion of the public.Take this photo on the right for example. The left image is an ordinary untouched photo while the image on the right has been darkened considerably, making it appear menacing and even frightening. This sort of technique is used within in the media to distort the truth, particularly in alleged criminal cases.
This is why I believe the camera is not an object of truth, although it does have the potential to be. Images are often structured and edited in a way that does not represent an accurate view of real life.

Please Note: If you click the images they will open up larger so you can view them easier, also there are reaction buttons and comment sections on all my posts and I would love to hear some feedback, thankyou.

The One That Started It All.

This is the photo that started it all, the one that made me realise just how much I loved photography! All the way back in January of 2009. This photo will always be brilliant to me for that very reason, it wasn't taken on a dslr camera, it was taken on a Kodak point and shoot digital camera that I had had for several years, nor has it really been edited in photoshop at all (I turned it black and white though). But still, to me, it is an absolutely spectacular piece of photography.

Practicing Portraits!

This is my second attempt at masking with hair, but I am not happy with it. I am posting this on my blog to keep track of my progress so I can see how brilliantly I improve over time!

It's a working progress.

Here is the beginnings of a new assessment for uni! I felt that there was no better place to document my working progress than here, my own blog.
This photo is just one component of a bigger picture; and the first of many that will look like it, of course I must keep trying to create the perfect composition. If you like you can comment and tell me how you think it's coming along (: Don't forget to click if you want to see it bigger.

Macro Shots.

This is an example of one of my macro shots. Click on it to view it larger!

Portrait Shots.

This is a slightly different approach to the last portrait photo that I posted. It was originally supposed to have the models eyes open but out of the photos I took in this position I actually preferred the eyes closed look.

Portrait Shots

I have always had an interest in portraiture more than any other form of photography and love playing around with it. Here is one example of my work that I took of my brother. You can click on the photo to view it larger.

Photoshop.

Photoshop is the digital photographers best friend, it not only allows you to retouch and  fix things like lighting errors, but also allows you to draw on and manipulate your photos until they change meaning completely. For example, take the picture on the left, it's just an ordinary, badly composed photo I took several years ago in a 'omg I need a myspace pic' phase. I stumbled across the photo a couple of weeks ago and said, "Steph, what do you think would make this picture better?" To which I replied, "Using Photoshop brushes to change it into a Demonic Faerie."
You can see the result on the right, a demonic faerie. There are some obvious changes in the photo, the background has now faded into black and there is now a pair of wings growing out of my back, which is of course highly illogical. This is the joy of photoshop. To twist the meaning of a photograph, from a accurate depiction of the truth to something unusual and often interesting. Photoshop allows you to create fantasy whilst still maintaining a certain sense of reality, as it is still a photograph.
And it's as easy as collecting a few different brushes.
(Click on the pictures to view them larger!)

Welcome!

Welcome all to the creative lair that is my blog!
Here I will post all my photographic exploits and more.
If you like what you see please feel free to contact me, as I am happy to offer my services.
The main aim of this blog is to get my photographs out there and noticed, so feel free to share this blog on facebook or with your friends.
Thank you.