This week:

Aim for the end of this week:

My aim for the end of this week is to finish the two page spread for the listings magazine and to get at least half way through completing my website for the TV channel. I think that I really need to complete these aims otherwise I am going get very behind, therefore putting me in danger of not completing the the project on time.

Schedule update:

Now currently with just four weeks to go I am slightly worrying about finishing my product on time.

• I have now completed the newspaper advertisement
• I have made a start on the two page spread for a listings magazine
• I am in the process of creating my website

Newspaper Advertisement: I just need to check the newspaper advertisement and then upload it onto my blog under the name of final newspaper advertisement.

Two page spread for a listings magazine: I need to finish this off by completing the text and adding the images, then I will proof read it check it and finally print screen it or save it as a picture then upload it onto here

Website for the TV channel with minimum of 3 hyperlinked pages: I currently have three different hyperlinked pages, all of which are unfinished. I have sorted out the layout, logos and links e.t.c, however, I now need to add original images and text.

Beauty/Make-up Photo Shoot:

These photo's are the final selection that from the photo's that i took for my Beauty/make-up shoot. In order to create a professional appearance I took note of how make-up is shot professionally on a clear background. At first I did not know whether to use a sheets of white paper to create this effect, but then I had an idea to use a plain art canvas (which still had the plastic wrapping on it). The canvas proved a good choice for the shoot and the plastic wrapping has provided a suitable surface for shooting the products on. I think that it also helped that I have used the lighting from my bedroom, which is very bright as I have lights which are similar to that found in shops. I've also adjusted the brightness and contrast of all these images to create a really bright, clean finish on them. Overall I am very happy with the end result and I definitely think that these photographs are the best out of all the shoots that I have taken, so hopefully they will compensate for some of my more amature photographs.



For the shoot I used :

An small square art canvas (with plastic cover on)

Chanel Blusher wheel compact

YSL Eyeshaddow duo compact

YSL Parisienne Perfume

Dior Pure Poison Perfume

and a small selection of Bobbi Brown Make-up Brushes.

Potential photographs for my website:

Although I liked the idea of this photograph with the two makeup compacts facing each other I figured that when I took the photo that I woukld need to take it in a room with nothing else in as the shine on the cases reflects the room around them ( which does not look very professional).

In this photograph I had a similar problem to the previous one as the compact case shows reflections that makes it appear unproffessional, therfore I will not be using this photograph in my website.

I took this photograph by chance and then I edited the contrast and lighting differences on when I uploaded it onto my computer. i really like the misted effect that I have managed to achieve, however, although I like the image I don't think it will fit anywhere onto my website.

These three images are from the 'Spring Vintage' jewellery shoot that I did. They are just some of the examples of when I tested different settings on the my camera. For these particular images i have used the sketching setting on the camera, which creates the appearance, not of a photograph, but of the image being sketched. Eventhough I do like this technique I feel that these images will; not be suitable for the purpose that i am using them for; because they are for a jewellery shoot on my website, the sketching effect sort of defeats the object of the shoot as the purpose is to try and showcase the jewellery or selling it.

For these three images I have used the 'magic' setting on the camera, which accentuates colours making all colours appear quite exuberant and vivid. I also took these photographs using a white curtain as a backdrop, which I think makes the phots look a lot more proffessional. I will definitely consider using atleast one of these three images on my website.

On this photo I have used the pinhole setting on my camera which has created an illuminating effect on the birdcage which I think looks very effective. The only trouble with this image is that there is a fold in the curtain which is very close to the birdcage, therefore even if I crop the image the side of the birdcage may appear a little distorted and odd with barely any backdrop.

This is also another example of when I used the pinhole setting on the camera I like the idea that this shot is a close up, so the jewellery is fully showcased, however, I don't think it's the best image that I have took, therefore I don't think i will be using it on my site.

These two images are using the 'fisheye' setting on my camera. I think that this effect has definitely created an unusual perception of the jewellery, however, I think for the purpose that Iam using the images for it could appear a little sloppy and too amature looking.

In this image I was experimenting with different backdrops for the shoot. Here I have used a white currtain and a mirror to reflect the birdcage. I think that the yellow wall sort of spoils the image though, as the colour dettracts from the jewellery.

I really dislike this image and I definitely will not use it, as I think the use of lighting , the backdrop and the distance that the photo is taken from appears really tacky and messy.

I more-or-less think the same about this image as the one above and I will not be using it for the same reasons.

This image was for my 'Sea of Blue' jewellery shoot, however, I have decided against using it as I feel it looks messy and to like I have took the photographs, which I have.

I have actually took this photo using the fisheye setting on the camera, then I have changed the contrast and brightness on my computer at home. I think that the effect of this image looks quite proffessional and I will therefore be using it on my website.

I also really like this image which I have used the 'magic' setting on the camera, which has accentuated the colours displayed. I then edited the contrast and brightness using my computer and as with all the images that I toom I have cropped the image accordingly.

As the theme of this shoot was 'Sea's of Blue' I have tried to play up to this theme in this photograph by arranging the jewellery to look like a boat on the sea. Although I think the principle of the idea was effective, i do not think that the end result i8s very proffessional, therefore I will not use this image. I do howver, think that this idea would work very well if it was on a professional shoot and an unlimited supply of jewellery and equipment could be provided.

This is another shot for the 'Sea's of Blue' shoot that I think has worked very well, for this image I have used the pinhole setting on my camera which has really worked well illuminating and highlighting the jewellery. I also think that it helps that I have used some bedding as a plain white background, as opposed to the light blue tissue paper that I used for the boat photographs.

I think that this image is one of the more effective photos of this type where I have placed lots jewellery onto the tissue paper, but I still don't like the image and will not use it.

These three following images are some of the most successful images that i took and edited for my 'Spring Vintage' photo shoot and I think that I am definitely going to use these images on my website as I feel that they fit the purpose and display the jewellery in a clear, precise way.

Lighting effects research:

As I don't actually know any official terms for actual lighting effects I have decided to research this topic as I want to find out how the technical terms apply to when taking a photo.

B A C K L I G H T I N G:
light that shines from behind the subject. This is the effect that can make palm trees turn into silhouettes against a sunset

S I D E L I G H T I N G :
It is often used to create mysterious and dramatic portraits. It adds texture and depth to otherwise dull subjects.

D I F F U S E D L I G H T I N G :
This is a technique to soften the incoming light to take away some of the contrast of a good photograph

A R T I F I C I A L L I G H T I N G:
Is from a wide range of forms. Ranging from the flash setting on a camera to the. Unless you are using a black and white film regular indoor lights will often give the photos a yellow cast.

Schedule update

I have started taking the different types of jewellery photographs for the second time around, due to my camera dilemma. In the first photo shoot I used a desk lamp as a spotlight to shine on the jewellery hanging from the birdcage,but in the second photo shoot I have decided to use different sorts of lighting. As I have quite bright lighting in my house as a lot of the rooms contain lots of ceiling lights I think that taking some of the photos appeared more effective with just using these lights.

I will also be able to edit the lighting effects once I upload the photos onto the computer, therefore if the lighting appears drastically bad will be able to resolve the problem.

Because I have not yet took all of my photos I think that I may experiment with different lighting effects using the resources that I have at home in order to capture the best photos that I possibly can.

Postponed blogging

• I have not posted any blogs for a while due to the fact that it was the Christmas holidays. I also had three different portfolio's to create for university, which unfortunately took up allot of my time. I am also slightly behind schedule, I had previously took lots of jewellery photos using many different techniques/ using different settings on my camera, such as a fish eye setting, a pinhole setting and a sketching setting. My plan was to edit these photographs during this week ready to place them onto my website in the following weeks. However, due to the fact that I needed the images for my portfolio to be of a particular DPI I was experimenting with different formats on my camera and then accidentally deleted all the photos on my memory card.
• Unfortunately I did not save any of these images, therefore i am having to start again from the beginning.
• The only potential good thing about this situation is that perhaps with the benefit of hindsight I have the advantage of potentially taking better photos the second time around.