Christening

As part of Work Based Learning, I had to complete a commission, whether it be with a photographer on a placement or an event. I competed two commissions during the project, the first being this christening I attended, I also photographed the party afterwards. I will be printing off two example photos for my file for work based learning as well as contact sheets, here are some examples:

PS....why do babies never look at the camera...

Studio Lighting Techniques

I recently attended a lighting demo at college, the purpose of this was to help us with the production of our portfolios, however, I am shooting on location rather than in the studio. We were shown a number of different techniques using gels and different lighting setups, we then were split into groups and had to choose a photo to recreate, I was working with Jade (http://jadelyonsphotography.blogspot.co.uk/) the photo we chose was a portrait of the model only lit on one side of her face the backdrop only lit with one light creating a gradient effect. 

This was our lighting setup:

We used a large softbox to light the models' face and a flash-head with a small reflector dish pointing towards the backdrop, we measured both lights to give a reading of f8, shutter speed 1/125th, ISO 200. We took a number of different photos to get the lights just right for the image, here is our final image:

 

Jesse Wine Exhibition

On my visit to The Baltic last month, I also visited the Jesse Wine 'Young Man Red', it runs until the 22nd of February. This exhibition showcased a variety of over-sized ceramics suspended from the ceiling, rather than being the usual ceramic pots and plates, ceramic garments such as shoes, shirts and hat filled the gallery space.

Letterheads

After making and choosing my final logo, I was required to letterheads, originally I wanted my logo and letterheads to be bright and colourful with a theme so they would stand out but after making my logo I thought it looked better just black and white and simple, so this is the theme I have used for my letterheads and business cards. I created 4 different but similar letterheads in word rather than photoshop as I didn't think it was necessary, I put all 4 letterheads in a table and created a poll t see which one people liked best, I would then use that letterhead for any documents I send out such as an invoice, here is the final letterhead:

Business Cards!

I recently ordered business cards using www.moo.com, I bought 50 cards and got fast delivery for £23, it cost this much because I stupidly left buying them until a week before the deadline for my project and had to pay extra to get them delivered in time. Moo was really easy to use, you can upload a variety of different images so all your business cards don't have to same image on them, you can also design the back of the card with your contact details and logo if you wish. I only went for two different designs, one image and one logo so in total I got 25 business cards with an image on and 25 with my logo on, but you can upload lots and they will send you and even number of each of your designs. 

Here are mine:

Here is the reverse:

The also arrived in a business card holder which is really handy for storing your own cards and other peoples cards also:

I would recommend using Moo if you are looking into designing your own business cards, you can choose from square edges, rounded edges, gloss card, luxury card, it has a lot more options to be creative than some other websites that allow you to create cards. Before buying, you can also request a sample pack which includes all of the types of business cards and other items to choose from.

I ordered one before deciding on my final design:

How formal should a blog be?

When I started this blog, I wanted it to be an informal, chatty blog rather than a structured piece. I'm aware that people who make a living by blogging and vlogging have a method behind their blogs, whether it be planning them, scheduling posts, making timeplans and that's what I wish I could do, instead I write a list 5 minutes before saying "blog about college, blog about photos" and then I'm like "BLOG ABOUT WHAT?" I can ramble on for days talking about nothing of any use...like this! Anyway, I sometimes write posts and then delete them because I realise I just go on and on and on. If it hadn't have been for my PPD project at college I probably wouldn't have blogged again, but it has made me want to continue blogging, even if it is about useless stuff. So my question is: How formal should a blog be? Should it be a smooth running blog that links through the sentences and photos or should it be a more relaxed, spur of the moment sort of job? Personally, I prefer reading blog posts that are quite casual and chatty, with the odd joke thrown for a laugh.

Life after college...

After looking into three different progression routes I could take after college, my decision has been made...I'll have to get a job! Oh the horror...I was interested in applying for the final year of the course however after learning more about it I realised it wasn't something that I wanted to do as I've been studying at college for nearly 4 years now. Also, my life will have to be put on hold for basically a year as I need operations on both feet so applying for the third year wouldn't have worked out, employment is the way forward!....Only after my feet are fixed though, here I come 2016....

A new logo!

I imagine this logo malarkey will keep changing but for the moment, this is my logo I have designed, i'm aware it's a bit sketchy but I quite like that. I'm in the process of designing letterheads and invoice sheets using this logo, yay for PPD!...

Graeme Durant Exhibition

I recently visited The Baltic for research for my PPD project, there was only two gallery spaces open, neither of them included any photography so i initially thought it would be a wasted visit however I still plan to include these visits in my file for PPD.

 One of the exhibitions was by Graeme Durant and was called 'When in Roam.' The first thing you saw when walking into the space was a.....massive rotating gherkin! Obviously I found that hilarious as any slightly immature person would, his explanation behind the gherkin was "it's the hot-dog or burger that gets pride of place. But the gherkin is the unsung hero and that's why I've put one up there" The exhibition also included a set of blinds that opened and closed to reveal different paintings of a cat. Other pieces included a flashing eyebrow which links to the work of John Baldessari who "finds photographs and manipulates them".

Here are some images of the exhibition at The Baltic:

Ellen Von Unwerth

For a recent essay I was asked to study the work of a photographer and look into how their work has influenced the photographic industry, i researched into Ellen Von Unwerth's work, her images have been published in magazines such as Vogue and i-D. Her images are reminiscent of the 60's and 70's with dramatic, heavy makeup, this style is one that influences me as I enjoy the styling and makeup side of photography and...everyday life.

 These are a few of her my favourite images of hers: