Concept:
My initial concept for my final project was to visualize nostalgia through a physical item, a vintage yellow telephone. Acting as a conduit, it is a way for the character in the narrative to reconnect with her past. She would be situate herself in locations that hold memories for her and try to dial herself back to those times.
In modern times, the word has evolved to characterise a deep yearning for the past – the happiness of remembrance and the ache of knowing those days are unreachable, in equal measure.
— Psychologist Clay Routledge, on the effects of nostalgia
Art Direction: Got a vintage telephone from cash converter and spray painted it with a yellow coating for this shoot. As for the wardrobe, I decided to get the model to wear a pastel pink blazer, worn over the earthy tones of her top and bottom.
Process:
I set out to give the photos a pastel and dreamy feel, in correlation to the nostalgic theme of the series. I interpreted this by toning down the highlights and I raising the shadows to give that matte shadow look, using the Curves Adjustment tool.
Using the Hues/Saturation tool, I desaturated the colours to a mute palette, to give a pastel look. I enhanced the look further by using Selective Colour to adjust the yellow of the telephone to right shade.
Before and After with Technical Decisions:
Comfort Room
Technical Decisions:
Canon 6DM2 with a 50mm
1/40 sec
f 2.8
ISO 1600
Playground
Canon 6DM2 with a 50mm
1/400
f 3.2
ISO 1600
Here is my workflow for this image
Here is my workflow for this image
Staircase Landing
Canon 6DM2 with a 50mm
1/200
f 3.2
ISO 1600
Here is my workflow for this image
Overall, it was a rather good exercise in using the masking tool taught in class, to show a realistic separation of the subject from the background.
Manually colour grading each separate layer masks proved to be challenging in terms of getting a consistent look through out, really have been to reliant on Lightroom and VSCO over the years. #basic hahaha
I found myself adding on more layers of Curves and Hues&Saturation to add on to what I have already done, to do minor tweaks.
Link to photos
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1LzSAS_7Mq0F05sI6Jq2BPJL0AtvzFaJY