Monthly Archives: September 2017

[4D] Ideation: Task 2 – My World

Leave a reply

Again, I made a little table to compare some initial ideas I had about my choice of space.

Location Pros Considerations
Home Convenient Just got renovated fully so not really the home I’m familiar with
Little India Variety of things to shoot
Raffles Institution ? Not really the same without my friends – they were a huge part of why the school is so special to me

I chose Little India in the end. I felt that my home and Raffles Institution could not be captured without my old furniture and friends, respectively. Also, I hadn’t visited Little India for almost a month, so I was pretty eager to go back to shoot and refamiliarize myself with the area.

[4D] Final: Task 1 – Which narrative?

Leave a reply

Earlier on, I wrote that reading “The Fairy Kitten” made me feel two ways: comfortable and yet also transported into a magical world. Hence, I explored both narratives by doing two shoots. However, the time came for me to decide between the two, and I made a rubric for myself to finalize on the narrative I wanted to submit.

These are my three chosen pictures from both the narratives.

“Comfort” narrative:

“Magic” narrative:

Criteria:

Criteria “Comfort” (1-10) “Magic” (1-10)
Cohesiveness 7 5
Aesthetic qualities 7 6
Successful in expressing narrative 7 6
Visually exciting framing/angles 6 7

Upon closer analysis, I found that going with the “Comfort” narrative was a better choice. Even though the “Magic” narrative took more effort with the props and took a longer time, I felt that I relied on the background too much for the narrative, compared to the “Comfort” narrative where I could express the meaning with clarity although it didn’t have as many props.

 Final images chosen + write up

Something that is always cozy and I’ve been doing the longest time is reading.

I love reading. I love curling up in my bed with “The Fairy Kitten” by Enid Blyton, especially – as the first Enid Blyton book I bought, it gives me a lot of warm fuzzy feelings. The day I got it at a book fair, even though I came back from school exhausted, I didn’t take my usual afternoon nap because I couldn’t wait to start.  I remember falling asleep on it because I could not stop reading. I still fall asleep whenever I take it out and read it – it’s almost become a habit, the way my body tells me that “Hey, this is familiar, and easy, and it’s okay to fall sleep if you don’t want to stop”.

That’s the sense of comfort I aim to portray with this series. I hope that the framing pulls the viewer into the image, like you’re there with me – I feel that the angles are really unoffending and friendly, almost. I chose these three photographs as I felt that they told the story of what I feel and do when I read “The Fairy Kitten” – the story draws me in at first, then I get comfortable reading it, then (I get too comfortable) and fall asleep reading it.

I used subtle compositional techniques, such as the pyramid in the first image, the leading lines (with the placement of the blankets) leading to the subject in the second image, and the rule of thirds in the third image.

I used warm, pinkish tones overall to convey a sense of nostalgia as well, hoping that the viewer will also be taken back to times when they felt happy and serene with a good book in hand. Thank you for coming on this journey with me for this task!

[4D] Process: Task 1 – Object & Representation of Self

Leave a reply

Shoot 1.2: “Whimsy, Magical” narrative

I went to Punggol Park near my house for the lush green backdrop. I love that it has a wide variety of backdrops for me to shoot against – lakes, bridges, small clearings, a lalang field – I spent a full day shooting there, and it was super fun.

Close up shots

 

Close up shots of myself with object

Artist Reference
(Stylistic) AR5: Alex Benetel

His use of pastel colors contrasted with dark greens, blues and purples gives off a whimsical vibe that I enjoy a lot. I shot against the lampposts around 8pm to capture similar lighting.

 

 

However, I felt that this photograph was edging on more dramatic than whimsical due to the low angle and strong contrast in the lighting.

 

 

Full figure shots

Artist Reference
(Stylistic) AR6: Alex Currie

The greens here are cooler-toned, which gives off a mysterious, alone-in-the-woods feeling, much like the one I experience when reading Enid Blyton books. The vast fields also convey a sense of magic, and I tried a wide angle shot with my book inspired by this.

(Stylistic) AR7: Kyle Thompson

The red balloons give off a sense of whimsy and really pop against the green and yellow background. I got some red balloons, tied them to the lalang stalks for a makeshift Kyle Thompson background and shot against it.

 

(Stylistic) AR7: Mikael Aldo

 

A large proportion of the photographs is dark, lending them a mysterious quality. I shot the photographs below at night, with flash to see how a predominantly dark background could affect the mood of the narrative.

 

Other full figure shots that explored angle and framing:

Mid range shots

Artist Reference
(Stylistic) AR6: Olivia Bee

The stronger blues clearly signal that it’s evening time – I enjoy the moody atmosphere created. Hence, I shot some mid range shots around 7pm, when the sky was a darker blue. Coincidentally, there was some mosquito fogging going on, which gave a mystical vibe.

Other mid range shots

I tried to explore some more extreme angles, as well as more poses.

 

Other things I tried but didn’t really work out

(Photos from left to right are labeled 1 to 4)

  1. Tried tying all the balloons to one lalang stalk but it drew too much attention. Hence, I decided with spacing the balloons out, like the photos from earlier.
  2. Tried shooting here but the lampposts in the background interfered with the forest-ey atmosphere 🙁
  3. Tried focusing on the lalang stalks instead of myself and the book, but felt that again, too little attention was on the main subject.
  4. Tried posing with the lamppost, but I realized only natural things, like trees, and grass, go with the narrative.