Making of props

 The first prop - paper plates. The reason why I brought these were because they fitted in with two of my themes very well. The themes of a kids tea party and also the theme of Britain and the flag (Union Jack.) At a kids tea party you always have paper plates and these tie in with the flag because they have them on it. The colours will tie in with the rest of the rest of the props.

This is the first image of the bunting. It was a D.I.Y. one so I am going to take you through the stages of how I made it. This is the first image. It came with the triangles already cut up and some string so all you had to do was assemble it. This was easier said than done!

So to attach the two triangles together with the string you had to tie a not around it. In the instructions they made no sense so I made it up as I went along and it worked - held them together.

I continued to do this alternating the colours between all three so I had a pattern going - red white and blue. As you can see in this image I still had a way to go with it, but it was progressing.

This was the finished thing and is go further down in the post you will be able to see it hung to, to get the feel of how long it was.

This is all the props together. They are all the same colours to relate back to my themes and they relate back to the idea of a kids party because they remind me of my childhood.

The finished paper chains hung up to try and see what they looked like. They look effective because you can see the colours clearly, and they remind me so much of my childhood.

The length of the paper chain. It was a decent length and looked good like that - so that is how I am going to place it in the location of the party rooms.

This is the finished look of the bunting. Red white and blue - the colours of the Union Jack.


The image below shows the length of the bunting. Both of these props are going to be using in the photo shoot that I do in the kid's party rooms.

Edited photos from Photoshoot one.

To edit this image I had to change to original to black and white. This was too dull for my liking so I increased the contrast and saturation to bring out the colours (make the black darker and the white brighter. To then make the edges stand out a look better I edited it so there was an inc outline. By doing this it brings out the edges of the bubbles and makes them stand out. The tea pot and tea cups really work and looks so delicate however the grass has lost all texture and is too dark - meaning it doesn't look like grass anymore.

I changed this into the sepia mode on Photo shop. I then increased the contrast and saturation to make it brighter and stand out more. This doesn't work for this image and doesn't give it the correct effect I was looking for.

Here I have changed the image to sepia. Then I increased the contrast and saturation twice to give it such a strong effect. I added a slight but subtle lighting effect to the bottom of the tea cup. This was so it made the tea cup and tea pot lighter and made sure it was the main focus was on them. This is my favourite one because the colours work and look amazing.

This is the same image as the one above, with the same editing, however I added in a harsher lighting effect. This looks a lot better. It has darkened the corners and the edges from the image nicely, drawing the on-lookers eye into the centre. It emphasised the bubbles in the tea cup making them the centre of the focus as they are different but it still the colour of tea in the cup so still makes sense.

This image is the same as above apart from I have added in a lens flare onto the tea pot. It is an average sized one because I didn't want it to stand out to much against all the other components of the image. This emphases the point that the tea pot is the centre of attention and makes it the main focus. I have used the rule of thirds to compose this image and also I have used leading lines - making sure

I have changed this image so that the colours are brown and dull. It gives it that old look. If I was to redo this I would make the background darker (the grass), so it wasn't such a big party of the image. The aspect of this image that doesn't work is how cropped in it is.

Tea set.

For this photo shoot I have used a different tea set, a set of 3. This image was a standard one just to capture what they looked like. The location wasn't great because it wasn't easy keeping the tea in the cup as the grass was unlevel and kept spilling everywhere. However it gave the correct backdrop.

Here I have done a close up on the tea cup. The spoon in it works as a leading line drawing your eye into the cup. The only aspect which doesn't work about this image is how the depth of field is wrong - the foreground is out of focus and the background is in perfect focus - it would work a lot better if it was the other way around. The lighting in the backgrounds is harsh sun light however it works although the little bit of cup showing is meant to be the main focus of the image and it's not. I have tried to compose this using the rule of thirds.

There is too many bubbles in the cup. It over powers the subtleness of the cup. I don't like the tight cropping and how you don't get the whole cup. Once again the spoon works as a leading line. The colour of the grass is so vivid it brings out the pure white in the cup. The bubbles have over spilled and are on the source. There is too much background.

This image would look a lot better with a blurred depth of field. Also there needs to be a few more bubbles on top of the cup, to have more of an impact that there are bubbles. The posing of this works well because you can see the whole pattern on the cup and the background compliments that. The rose looks correct in the grass.

The tea bag is too much and over powers the image. There is too much background, and even though it was composed using the rule of thirds, it hasn't had an impact on this image or worked well. There needs to be a few more bubbles on top of the cup and slightly more background around the cup, just less on the top section.

Here I have tried taking the image from a different angle and it hasn't worked. You can see the house in the background and the grass overtakes the image. The grass does give the image texture and makes it look 3D however it wasn't the look I was going for.

Here there are more bubble, however I am still not happy with this image. I would have done a higher angle so you get more of an impact out of the bubbles, also I would have got the houses in the background. This would look better with a blurred depth of field, so you could just get the colour of the background and not the actual texture.

Photoshoot one - simple

This photo shoot I wanted to be simple and just go with my first idea, of person view of society - a tea party/ elevensies. I wanted to use proper china, to make it look upper class and had put in though. I want to try and recreate some of Marin Parrs work, because he keeps it plain and just photographs what he sees.

This was one of the first images I took and it isnt brilliant! To improve I could have used a blurred depth of field. I don't like the surroundings, and where the props are placed. Being inside doesn't make sense and doesn't show it to be a tea party. This image is also too tightly cropped. I have (by accident) cut off the handle of the cup, tea pot and cut the flowers on in the vase. The curtains do compliment the flowers and the flowers on the tea pot however they look out of place. There isn't any texture in this image, the flowers look very flat.




 This image isn't as bad as the image above. The aspect which doesn't work is the wood effect on the table. As well in the top right hand corner you can see the spout of the tea pot, if this wasn't there then you could see a flower on the vase and it would work really well.  The background works, by having the arch working as leading lines, because you can't see the end, it finishes on the corner of the cup. The lighting is very simple and plain and the cropping is too close, I have cut out the side of the plate. This would be improved if there was a blurred depth of field. I should have cleared the table before taking the photos you can see tinfoil and a piece of paper in the background. The vase gives the image height and texture from the leaves which are pattern on.





This is two images of the same picture, however I have changed the lighting. Both images don't work and are awful! The table is a mess and detracts from the main focus, there is too much background, the flowers should be in the picture, not just the vase. The background looks better in the second image (>) because it isn't so clear however it would look a lot better if there was a blurred depth of field.  All together both of these photos don't work, and I won't be using this idea for my final piece.




Here I have moved the photo shoot outside into the garden. This image would work so much better if I had used a blurred depth of field, and the shed was out of focus with the grass but you just had the colours and the outlines.
This image looks better than the ones before because I have included the flowers on the top of the vase. They add colour to the image and make it brighter. To improve this image the tea pot should be further back on the table and the vase should be at the end of the spout, so it works as a leading line. The flowers and trees add texture to the image and the flowers add height to the image, however the perspective is wrong and the flowers are bigger than the shed.





Here I have used height to my advantage (putting the props in height order. However there is a shadow on the table which detracts away the focus from the props. I have shown that it is tea in the cup by having the tea bag at the top of the cup however once again this image would be improved with a blurred depth of field, so it was out of focus and not so clear. I have tried to use the rule of thirds however it hasn't done anything to this image.






This image has a slight blurred depth of field, however not enough. The handle of the tea pot really detracts the focus from the cup, however the cup should be turned around so you can see its handle. I like how the liquid in the cup has a shimmer on it, and how you can see the tea bag sticking out. I have taken Marin Parr's inspiration by having it a plain image with the cup in the middle of the image (not using rule of thirds) and I think its too plain. The soft lighting in places makes the image bright and the harsh lighting in the background makes the colours stand out. Personally I feel this photo is too plain and simple - there isn't a lot going on.

The lighting in the image is too harsh. The foreground (the cup) is out of focus and blurred, making the colours not be so bright, however  the background is in focus and sharp, it should be the other way around. I don't like the vase being in the background and I don't like how close up the camera is to the main focus. The shimmer on the liquid works well . The view of the table doesn't look good, so if I was to redo this I would move it onto the grass so the background wouldn't be so distracting.




This image is too dark however I like the positioning of it. The handles line up and the china matches. I have tries to use the rule of thirds. This image has texture by the grass. The bubbles in the cup are a very subtle element however works really well because they add a shine to it.  The lighting is very directional and reflects off the tea pot. When I come to edit this I would photo shop in some lighting and lighting effects to improve it. A positive about the image being dark is the white of the china stands out.
When I come to add on the lighting effect I would make it be across the china to make that stand out more and keep the grass and background dark.



I have captured this from a high angle, to capture the bubbles and the shine on them. This is exactly what has happened. I don't like the positioning and the angle and I don't like how you can see the tea pot in the top right hand corner, however the bubbles have worked well.
The bubbles were done by having tea in the cup already, so it had the dark colours and then adding in washing up liquid, and using a straw to get as many bubbles as needed.







These two images have different lighting however I prefer the darker one because in the lightest one (>) you can see the shadows which makes it look non-professional.




The tight cropping on this image works really well because the main focus is on the bubble in the cup. I don't like how there is some (a little bit) of spilt tea on the bottom of the courser. Where it is put white, the orange colour stands out.

The positioning of the props works well however I don't like how you can see the legs of the table in the background. This would look better if there was a blurred depth of field. Also if I was to edit this I would up the contrast and brightness to make the colours stand out more and look brighter. I would also sharpen it to make the whole image look sharper.

The spoon works as a leading line however it draws your eye out the image. The bubbles look really good because there are the correct amount, it covers the top layer however you still get the colour of the tea coming though. The aspect of this image which I don't like is how there is spilt tea on the plate and how much it stands out because of the colour of it (orange) against pure white.

I have composed this image with having the tea pot in the background, however it would look a lot better with a blurred depth of field and if there wasn't a table leg and an airier in the background. The rope running along the background works as a leading line drawing your eye towards the tea pot. The green of the grass stands out and looks more vivid against the white of the tea cup. Also it clashes with red on the cups.

This image would look a lot better if there was a blurred depth of field because at the  moment everything is in perfect focus. There are too many bubble on top of the tea cup, which means you don't get the colour of the tea through and it doesn't work correct because the bubbles take away the main focus which is the idea of the tea set.

The light leaks in this image take over and make it look too light. The background doesn't work however I like how you have the clump of grass in front of the cup giving it proportion.

Editing photos in phone app - vintage photos

This is another phone app which I was trying out and once again one way of editing worked and another didn't, it's all about learning how to use the app and how to edit properly. This takes a time but I am slowly getting there with them.
This app is called vintage cam, and you can either take the image and edit after or edit straight after taking it.
The outcome:

Both of these have worked so well, and now considering editing my photos on this app, for my final piece. Like i said before I would take them on a proper camera though, however neither or these look too bad (quality.)

Editing Photos on my phone's photoshop.

Above is the original image which I took on my phone camera. I know it is not a great image and not one of the best ones I can take however it will do for testing out different ways of editing as it has different textures going on (in the cup and on the grass.) I have decided not to do my final photo shoot on my phone because of the quality of the images aren't as high as I would like, so if it is better to edit them on my phone then I will take with a proper camera and then transfer onto phone. As you can see this picture is quite pixelated and grainier.

This was the first way of editing and it doesn't look correct. What I have does is to sharpen the image and brighten it. The reason why it doesn't work is because it has made it more pixelated and granulated. It is also too bright and isn't the vintage effect I wanted to get out of it.

This is the second way I edited this photo. It wasn't what I was expecting and what I wanted the outcome to be however I feel it works really well. I upped the saturation, lowered the brightness, added a dark boarded and changed the contrast to create this effect. It took some time however the outcome was worth it. It is really positive for editing photos on my phone.

Editing Photos on my phones app - Old photos.

This photo was edited on an Iphone 3GS, with an app called old maker. This app does most of the work for you and I just wanted to see what would happen and what the effect would be. As you can see I am going to try and find many different ways to edit my photos to see which has the best effect. I will use to same image  (the one above.)
This effect is a bit too light and the wrong colour for what I was looking for.