Setting up equipment
I had to put the portraiture lens onto the camera to take this photograph.
Summary
I can use this image because it works for one of my final ideas I illustrated in my sketches, and fits with my theme of Sheffield: The Green City as the idea of identity.
Techniques
The shot type of this image is macro. We can tell this because there's a shallow depth of field and it's a close-up of the subject, the leaf. The angle of this photograph is high angle. This means I could include the other leaves in the background, which connotes the greenery of the forest.
The foreground is the subject of the photograph; the leaf. Other leaves and foliage are in the background, out of focus because of the shallow depth of field. The subject of this photograph is framed by the out-of-focus background. Again, this connotes the forest and greenery surrounding the leaf.
Composition and rule of thirds
I think the composition of this photograph is balanced because the subject of the photograph is in the very centre, between all the focal points. I could have tried to get the angle so that there would be no other close leaves, which would make the subject stand out even more.
Settings used
The shutter speed used in this photograph is 1/2000. This freezes movement, which is good because it was quite windy so there wouldn't be any motion blur of any of the leaves. This means I had to use a large aperture like f/1.8 to let in enough light so the photograph wouldn't be over or under-exposed.
There was an ISO of 2000 because I needed to keep the exposure correct, and with the high shutter speed the large aperture wasn't enough, so the ISO was high so that the photograph wouldn't be under-exposed. I used a portraiture lens for this photograph, as this allows me to see detail in a close-up.
Editing ideas
What I want to use this photograph for is the sketch where there is a picture of a cityscape superimposed onto an image of a leaf.
Setting up equipment
I didn't really need to do much setting up for this photograph because I only used the DSLR camera and the standard kit lens.
Summary
I can use this photograph because it is the city of Sheffield, and my theme of identity is Sheffield: The Green City.
Techniques
The shot type of this photograph is landscape/cityscape. It denotes the buildings and structures in Sheffield, and this connotes the idea that it is a big, bustling city. The angle of this photograph is eye-level; which means the photograph can denote plenty of the buildings in the frame in a manageable perspective.
The foreground in this photograph is the city, and the background is the sky. The city in the foreground connotes that it is the subject of the photograph.
There is a deep depth of field, which means that the background is not out of focus.
Composition and rule of thirds
The buildings take up about a third of the photograph, which means the composition is evenly balanced. The tall building to the right of the photograph could be a little more to the left, to make it land on the two right focal points.
Settings used
The shutter speed for this photograph is 1/200. This is quite fast, meaning that movement is frozen in the image. It was a bright day, so the aperture isn't too big at f/9.0. Anything larger would have left the photograph over-exposed.
The ISO is 100 because of the bright weather as well. I used a standard kit lens for this photograph, which means I could get a good scape without it being too wide.
Editing ideas
I want to use this photograph to superimpose inside a leaf, which is why I didn't want too wide a shot.
Setting up equipment
I didn't have to do much setting up for this photograph because I only used the DSLR and the standard kit lens.
Summary
I can use this photograph for my final pieces because it fits with the theme of Sheffield: The Green City, for identity.
Techniques
The shot type of this photograph is landscape/cityscape. This connotes the vastness of the city. The angle of the photograph is high angle. This meant I could get a lot of buildings into the shot and get the photograph to connote a bustling city. There is a deep depth of field for this photograph so that the viewer can see all of the buildings in the city.Composition and rule of thirds
The subject of the photograph - the buildings - are in the foreground of the photograph, which highlights the fact that they are the subject.
Settings used
The shutter speed used was fast at 1/160, meaning that the photograph freezes any motion. The aperture was f/7.1, which is an average aperture. This makes sure that the photograph isn't under-exposed. The ISO of 100 is ideal as it was a bright sunny day. The lens was a standard kit lens, meaning I could get a wide enough range without losing too much of the detail I needed.
Editing ideas
I want to edit this photograph to make a final piece that gives the impression of the buildings sitting on top of a log or tree branch.
Setting up equipment
I used a standard kit lens and a DSLR camera for this photograph.
Summary
This photograph fits with my theme because it features nature. My theme of identity is to represent Sheffield as a green city, so this photograph is ideal for the meanings I want to put across.
Techniques
This is a landscape photograph in terms of orientation. This meant I could fit in more of the log in the photograph than I would have if I had taken a portrait photograph. Landscape orientation connotes nature, which is another reason I chose to take the picture in landscape. The angle is eye-level. This is because I want it to connote a feeling of being actually there at the location to see the subject. The foreground denotes the subject, which is the log. The background is more trees, which further connotes the idea of nature.
There is quite a deep depth of field as the trees in the background are in focus. This gives the viewer's eye lots to look at and shows that there is lots of nature in Sheffield. The framing is composed of leaves and the forest, which further emphasises the idea of nature.
Composition and rule of thirds
The subject that is in the foreground - the log - is in the bottom third of the image as it should be to make a good composition. It meets the two bottom focal points in the rule of thirds.
Settings used
The shutter speed for this photograph is 1/160, which is just over average. This freezes any movement in the photograph. The aperture in the photograph is f/16, which is very large and balances out the fast shutter speed to make sure the photograph isn't under-exposed.
The ISO of the photograph is very high at 6400. This is because the conditions were quite shady. I used a standard kit lens for this photograph, which meant I could easily make the log the subject without zooming too far into it.
Editing ideas
I want to use Photoshop to superimpose a picture of buildings onto the log, as if they are behind or sitting on top.
Setting up equipment
I used a DSLR camera and a standard kit lens for this photograph.
Summary
This photograph fits with my theme because it features nature and greenery to signify Sheffield being a green city.
Techniques
The shot type of this photograph is landscape. It's this orientation because it's what we associate nature with, rather than portrait. The angle is slight low-angle because I wanted to give the impression of looking up the field to the trees above, making us think how we can incorporate business like farming into nature.
The foreground the fence at the front of the field. The field is the midground, and the background is a stand of trees. I wanted to include this photograph because again, it shows how a field for farming ties in with nature, showing that our city is green.
There is a deep depth of field in this photograph so that the viewer can see the whole thing in detail. I wanted the trees in the background to be the focus as much as the field. The image is partly framed by the fence in the foreground, signifying further that this is a farming field.
Composition and rule of thirds
I could have improved the composition of this photograph by changing angle slightly to confirm to the rule of thirds. This photograph doesn't go by the rule of thirds as much because the foreground, midground and background aren't in equal thirds of the photograph.
Settings used
There is an extremely high shutter speed for this photograph at 1/4000. This freezes any sort of movement and would capture no motion blur, which was good because it was quite windy and the trees were moving around a lot. The aperture is f/7, which is an average aperture. It was very bright conditions, which is why the photograph doesn't need a particularly high aperture to balance out the very fast shutter speed.
Editing ideas
I want to use this photograph to put in the "reflection" of a city window to connote the city being green.
Setting up equipment
For this photograph, I used a DSLR camera and a standard kit lens.
Summary
It's a very simple image, but it's this way because it's based on one of the ideas in my sketches. It features a window on a city building, which will go into a final piece to signify how Sheffield is a city full of nature.
Techniques
This photograph's shot type is landscape. This is so that I could fit in more of the window instead of having the window small in the centre and then more wall at the bottom and top if I'd taken it portrait. The angle is eye-level, which is because I want to be able to connote the idea that the viewer is looking at the reflection in the window.
There isn't really a background and a foreground in this photograph because I wanted to use it for a specific purpose for one of my final pieces. In my final piece, the window will actually act as the framing.
Composition and rule of thirds
The window isn't quite exactly in the centre in this photograph, which sets the composition slightly wrong in the photograph. I can alter the photograph and fix this in Photoshop.
Settings used
The shutter speed for this photograph is quite slow, at 1/80. This is because there would be no motion blur because it's a window, and they don't move. The slow shutter speed means the aperture is quite large, at f/5.7. It didn't need to be much larger as it was quite a bright day, and too much of a larger aperture would mean the photograph would be over-exposed.
There is an ISO of only 100 because the conditions were very bright and too high an ISO would make the picture grainy.
Editing ideas
I want to use this photograph to superimpose another image over the window to give the impression that the window is "reflecting" the image.
Setting up equipment
I used a standard kit lens and a DSLR camera for this photograph.
Summary
I can use this photograph to connote the idea of Sheffield as a green city because it is a photograph of woodland. It fits with the theme of identity because I'm using it to describe the identity of the city.
Techniques
The shot type for this photograph is landscape. This has a connotation with nature which is good because I am trying to show Sheffield as a city full of nature. The angle is eye-level, which gives the impression of being there at the location. The foreground denotes some trees and a small meadow of bluebells, and the background denotes trees. This connotes nature and signifies in my images how Sheffield is a green city.
There is a deep depth of field so the viewer is able to see all the trees in the background. The framing of the photograph is composed of tree branches, connoting that the forest is all around the location.
Composition and rule of thirds
The composition seems to work in this photograph because the little meadow takes up approximately the bottom third of the photograph, which is a general rule of composition.
Settings used
The shutter speed for this photograph is 1/60. This is quite a slow shutter speed, and it was used because the lighting was a little dimmer. The average but slightly large aperture of f/5.6 makes the image slightly over-exposed. This, however, is something that can be altered at the editing stage.
As the lighting was slightly dimmer there is a higher, but still quite small, ISO of 500. This means the lens can detect light more sensitively from the surroundings. The lens I used was a standard kit lens, which means I can get a detailed wide shot.
Editing ideas
I want to use this image to blend into an image of a cityscape of Sheffield, which will connote how it's a green city.
Setting up equipment
For this photograph I used a DSLR camera and a standard kit lens.
Summary
I can use this photograph because it's a cityscape of Sheffield, and I am trying to show the identity of Sheffield as a green city in my photographs.
Techniques
The shot type of this photograph is landscape/cityscape. This connotes the fact that the city is large and bustling. The angle is a slight high angle. This is because I wanted the picture to include a lot of buildings to further connote the idea that it's a city.
The foreground consists of lots of city buildings, and the background is the sky and green hills. This further connotes the idea of a city, however the trees here and there and the field behind connote the "greenness" of the city.
This photograph has a deep depth of field because the background is in focus. This means the viewer can take in the whole scene with the buildings as well as the rolling hills.
Composition and rule of thirds
The foreground of buildings takes up around a third of the picture at the bottom, which complies with general composition rules of where the foreground, midground and background should go.
Settings used
The shutter speed used for this photograph is 1/250. That's quite a fast shutter speed, and it freezes any movement. The aperture is quite large at f/10, which balances out the shutter speed to make sure the photograph isn't under-exposed.
The ISO is only 100, which is because it was a bright day and too high an ISO would have made the image grainy. The lens I used allowed me to get a picture of the city without losing the detail I need.
Editing ideas
I want to use this image to use the shape to blend with an image of woodland.
Setting up equipment
I used a standard kit lens and a DLSR camera for this photograph.
Summary
I can use this photograph because it's a cityscape of Sheffield. The focus of my theme is to portray Sheffield as a green city.
Techniques
The shot type of this photograph is landscape/cityscape. This meant I could fit in more buildings, which connotes how large the city is. The angle is slight high-angle. This is because I wanted to be able to see many buildings to connote further that Sheffield is a huge bustling city, that really can get along with nature.
The foreground consists of large buildings and the background denotes green hills and the sky. This connotes how Sheffield is centred inside greenery like forests. The depth of field is deep, meaning that the viewer can see the trees and greenery in the background.
Composition and rule of thirds
I could have improved the composition for this photograph by making the foreground fit more to a third of the photograph more than a whole half.
Settings used
The shutter speed used for this image is 1/160, which is just over average. This means there is minimal motion-blur because movement is frozen. The aperture, at f/8, is average, and balances out the shutter speed to make sure the photograph has the right exposure. It was a bright day, and anything larger like f/4 would have made the photograph over-exposed.
Because of the bright conditions, the ISO was small at 100. This made sure the image wasn't grainy as a high ISO would have caused. The lens, a standard it lens, meat that I could get enough detail without zooming in too much.
Editing ideas
I want to blend this image into an image of woodland, and superimpose another image on top.
Setting up equipment
A DSLR camera and a standard kit lens were used for this photograph.
Summary
I can use this image because it denotes the nature that I want Sheffield to be represented with in my final pieces.
Techniques
The shot type of this image is landscape. This allows more trees to be denoted in the image, contributing to the connotation of nature. The angle that was used for this photograph is eye-level. This is because I wanted to connote the feeling for the viewer of actually standing among the trees.
The foreground denotes a patch of grass scattered with bluebells and a gnarly tree. The background denotes trees extending into the distance, and this all connotes the idea of the forest being full of nature and life. The depth of field is deep, because the background is in focus. This allows the viewer to see all of the trees further towards the back as well as the parts in the foreground. This photograph is framed by tree branches, which connotes the idea that the location is completely surrounded by trees and wildlife.
Composition and rule of thirds
The tree on the left hits the two left focal points by the rule of thirds and the little patch of grass that's in the foreground takes up about a third of the image, which is the right sort of thing concerning composition.
Settings used
The shutter speed I used in this image is 1/30. This is quite a slow shutter speed, which meant I had to hold the camera quite still to avoid motion blur. The aperture that was used was quite large at f/3.5, which makes it surprising that the photograph isn't overexposed. However, the conditions were quite shady, so maybe that meant these settings would create the correct exposure.
The ISO was low at 100, which is good because a high ISO would make the image grainy. Because the exposure was correct with aperture and shutter speed alone, the ISO didn't need to be any higher.
Editing ideas
I want to use this photograph to blend with a cityscape image, then superimpose another image on top.
