Response to Tutor Feedback Assignment 4

Assignment 3 Reshoot

My tutor had suggested that I revisit Sutton Scarsdale Hall and retake some of the images. This I did, and resubmitted .She thought my images were much stronger. I learnt from this that it is worth reviewing my images and retaking if I am not entirely happy with them. She advised it would be useful to bear this in mind for assignment 5.

Assignment 4 Feedback

•  "What is pleasing is that you have worked through (and documented) your work process.  Seeing the process of moving the shoot from outdoors to indoors allow for the challenges to be explained that you faced on this shoot.

• You have also realized from the outset the considerations of the layout for the cover – and then explored various options on how to place the text.

• The final composite image shows a realistic attempt at merging the images 

• In addition this assignment has allowed you to explore Photoshop further.  It is very easy to look at an image and say ‘that has been Photoshopped’ however often the skill taken to undertaken realistic composite images is not realized.

• You have made considerations of the ethics of image manipulation.  What is perhaps missing in your write up is an artistic appreciation of your image.  Although the artistic considerations are not made a key part of the course, an appreciation of the aesthetics of images is implicit throughout all the photography unit

• Your log is continuing to develop well.  Exercises are well documented and explained.     The DPP course can lead you to be quite technical about your own work in the write-ups.  Don’t forget the artistic considerations as well – this is particularly important for assignment 5 as the final assignment.

• The research on photographers section is starting to expand – do keep adding to this as you complete the final assignment.

• For this assignment you have referred to research into existing publications throughout.  It could be worth making up a sheet of images to show some of this research visually.  One of the best methods of interacting with this type of research is then to annotate the images – just arrows with bullet points are perfectly fine.  This can be a very quick and effective method of pulling out the key technical and artistic considerations of research images and can help you to identify key themes (for examples cars placed on the diagonal).

I was pleased with this feedback. To me this was the one assignment when reading through the folder initially that I thought would be the hardest to do because I had to learn Photoshop skills and be able to use them creatively. I found that once I had added the skills to my repertoire, it became easier to look at an image and think about how I could enhance it. 

Having re-read my assignment, I now realise that an  artistic appreciation of my final image is missing.

So, what I like about my final image is that it looks realistic. I deliberately positioned the car so that there was some space around it, and the sandy track I placed the car on kept the car grounded. By positioning the car on a diagonal it adds drama and impact to the image. The car has somewhere to go by leaving track visible. By blending in a little shadow and using natural lighting, it gave the appearance of being taken as a single image. The green and red colours are harmonious and work with the autumnal leaves and slightly misty weather. The aerial on the car links the image to the title of radio control cars. In my opinion, the scale of the car is reasonable - it doesn't look out of place.

I had kept a record of research and development but hadn't included them because they were untidy. 

The initial hand drawn images were my ideas on how I would position a car for a magazine before I researched what was on the market.I find it easier to write notes because my drawing is very rough. 

To do

• Photograph pages of hand drawn images from my jottings book (Done march 2014 see above)
• Continue with Assignment 5 - personal project (Done)
• Take note of comments re aesthetics and make sure I include in assignment 5 (Done March 2014)