Photography Research and Thinking About the Final Photograph

 

Photography Research and Thinking About the Final Photograph:

Photography Research:

Photographs for calendars can be in the form of: (Day Pilot, No Date)

• ·         BMP
• ·         GIF
• ·         JPEG
• ·         PNG
• ·         PDF
• ·         TIFF

The 2 best types of image files are PNG and JPEG/JPG, the main positive of using a JPG is the ratio of the compression and quality which is 10:1 or 20:1, however, every time the image is compressed, some data is lost, and this cannot be recovered (Flat Icone,2019).

The main positive of a PNG is that no data is lost which means it can be edited and saved without losing any data so the quality will always stay the same, however, they’re usually a lot bigger than PJG files, it also lacks support for EXIF data (Flat Icons, 2019).

The file type that provides the highest quality if TIFF files as they’re uncompressed, but PNG files also don’t lose any quality when compressed so they are the best file types for high quality images (Flat Icons, 2019).

The Kryolan calendars have amazing photographs, and you can see the makeup clearly, so I have looked at the sizes used for their calendars, the most common size is 41cm by 59cm but for the ones that are closer and have more focus on the face are most commonly 45cm by 55.5cm (Kryolan, 2021).

When strobe lights are used, the best position for lights is on each side with an angle of 45 degrees, which prevents the face looking flat like a normal straight-on light does, it also creates soft shadows rather than very harsh shadows. Having a light in the background can also prevent harsh shadows forming behind the model which provides a diffused and soft light on the model. White lights also help to extenuate any colours (Pixpa, 2019).

Bibliography:

 Day Pilot (No Date) Image Export Available at: https://doc.daypilot.org/calendar/image-export-png-jpg-gif-jpg/ (Accessed: 22^nd April 2021)

Flat Icons (2019) JPG vs PNG – Which Image Format gives the Best Quality? Available at: https://flat-icons.com/jpg-vs-png/ (Accessed: 22^nd April 2021)

Kryolan (2021) Calendars Available at: https://uk.kryolan.com/search/calendar (Accessed: 22^nd April 2021)

Pixpa (2019) Understanding Photography Lighting - The Essential Beginners Guide Available at: https://www.pixpa.com/blog/photography-lighting (Accessed: 22^nd April 2021)

Thinking about the final photograph:

For my final photo I have been thinking about different backgrounds and I have considered a plain blue cobalt blue background to contrast the bright red skin, I have also considered a summers night sky so that you can see the stars, but the sky is still a lighter blue than during the winter. Another idea I have considered is a sunset as the reds and oranges fit my colour theme and the final idea I have is a stormy afternoon with clouds, rain, and lightning to fit with the personality traits of the Scorpio. These will most likely be CGI backgrounds. I then evaluated these and how they would work for my look and decided on a stormy background as it will compliment my look really well and it will make the colours used stand out so the focus will be completely on the makeup. 

From my research I have decided I would like a set up like the following: 

I would like a set up like this as there’s very little shadowing on the face and there’s very little shadowing under the chin which is useful as I will have a prosthetic on the neck so any shadows on the neck will mean that the symbol may not be seen very well. I would also like white strobe lights to be used as this will make the colours pop and be very bright on camera which is what I want.

I also want the photograph to be taken no lower than the chest so that the photo is quite close up and he smaller detail in the face can be seen, I also believe that a full body look would be too chaotic, so I have opted to have the photo taken this way. This also means that I need to think about the top half of the costume and as I have mentioned before I want a 1990’s feel to the costume, I have decided to go for a leather jacket as this fits with the edgy feel as there’s a stereotype that edgy people can be aggressive, so it fits with the personality traits. This leather jacket will be paired with a satin silky top as satin is referred to as a sensual fabric and this fits with Scorpio as this sign is the ruler of the sexual organs.

After having a meeting with the whole group about what size we would like the calendar to be, I will start to think about what file type I would like the photograph to be.

As this look is for a calendar, the edges of any prosthetics need to be seamlessly blended to prevent the paint clinging to the edges and it will prevent the camera picking up on any edges which would ruin the look as it will be obvious that it’s makeup. The prosthetics also need to be powdered to prevent any inconsistencies in the makeup.

The makeup doesn’t need to be on very long as it’s for a photograph, but I have still opted to not use face paint as if my model sweats at all then it will cause inconsistencies in the makeup and these will be very obvious on camera as the whole head and neck will be painted red. The face paint also may not cover the prosthetics correctly as it’s the wrong consistency to paint these materials.

I will also discuss my ideas with the photographer during a meeting before the day of the final look so that he can give me some ideas and help guide me as he has years of experience so he will be able to give me some further information when making some decisions. He will also be able to give me his opinion on what he thinks would look better for my makeup due to his level of experience. 

The moodboards that I created for my background ideas, lighting ideas, and pose ideas are in my sketchbook.