Task 1
HIDDEN BEAUTY
EVERYD AY
MUNDA NE COMMON PLACE
CLOSE UP
ORDINA RY
Whilst exploring the range of images within the genre of Everyday Objects, I created this Mood board collage. From this, I discovered that I am partcularly interested in the images with dramatc colours and that include wity elements.
// IMAGE BANK
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// ARTIST RESEARCH / MEDIA & TECHNIQUES The photo has been taken from a short distance so the main field of view is taken by the colourful sweets and thus is the main focal point of the image, at a first glance the hand may be overlooked. The sweets form the mid, foreground and the background. By doing this the viewer’s eyes are lead towards the centre of the image to notice the hand. I believe this photo has been taken in a studio, possibly with LED lights to emphasise the colours used. The light source is placed above then over the sweets creating a vibrant celebration of colour.
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// Contact Sheet
Vanessa To begin my research into everyday objects photography IMckeown explored // ARTIST RESEARCH
the work of Vanessa Mckeown. I am partcularly interested in Mckeown’s unique take on food and objects and her fun and bright shoot style.
// INTENT I feel the photograph offers a lifting of spirits through its witty use of shape and colour. In my opinion this image successfully achieves the clever play on words that the title implies, an ideal inspiration for my project.
// SHOOT PLAN To emulate this photograph myself, I would assemble a selection of bright sweets. In this image she used typically dramatic colours such as vibrant yellows, striking oranges and intense blues. I would set up my LED light above the scene and use a tripod to stabilise the images taken. I would be looking for a close up with a good depth of field to capture the textures of the sweets. I will experiment with LED lighting and the camera flash for a lighter and brighter image.
Vanessa Mckeown is an English photographer known for her colourful food and humorous arrangements.
In this image the photographer has chosen a contrasting, brightly coloured background to draw focus to the humorous centrepiece.
// ARTIST ANALYSIS / SUBJECT / ELEMENTS The title of the Photograph I have selected for analysis is named ‘Candy Crush’ and the genre of this image is still life. Looking at this image, it is apparent that the intent of this photograph is to amuse the audience with the comical play on the name of a popular game. The props I can see in this picture are brightly coloured sweets, carefully arranged over a child’s toy to generate the image of getting ‘crushed’ by ‘candy’. The composition of the photo shows an assembly of colourful sweets, ordinary everyday objects that have been carefully overlapped and presented. A variety of colours have been selected to add more vibrance to the image and the overlapping of the sweets add depth Vanessa Mckeown, Candy Crush, 2019 and texture to the final image.
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The viewer’s eye is lead around the photo because of the clever use of dramatic and striking colours that frames the eye-catching, amusing centrepiece. I am drawn to the centre of the photo because of the use of the discrete doll’s arm, vibrant colour is suddenly interrupted by the witty use of an arm belonging to the doll being crushed. The perspective that Mckeown has taken the photo from is above, this is effective because as viewers we are drawn towards the hand reaching out and from the short distance used to capture the image the hand is clearly visible yet still small enough to look lost amongst the sweets. The background gives off a vibrant light giving joy to the photo. The Photographer employs a range of visual elements in her work. The most striking elements are colour and shape as seen by in this image with bright circular objects overlapping, adding depth and texture. The image celebrates the beauty of colour and vibrance whilst including childish humour to amuse the audience.
// FINAL EDITED IMAGE
// EDITED PICTURES X3 All images edited using SnapSeed
My shoot was successful to an extent because the natural light beautfully captured the intense blue in the windows, however my background was unstable and dull in colour which I had to improve during the editng process. Furthermore, the natural light caused for shadowing in the image which Vanessa Mckeowen evoided in her photography. Next tme I would experiment with LED lightng and try to erase shadowing from my images.