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Over the 30-day challenge, I tried shooting objects, landscapes, and people. In these attempts, I tried to use different lights to change the effect of the photographs. I found that I always stayed with my friends during the shoot, and they gave me ideas and support. This made me suddenly thought maybe I could take photos of my friends. After this 30-day challenge, I decided my theme to be 'Friends'.

As I decided to shoot a group of people, I shot photographs of four of my friends. Because in my daily life I spend a lot of time at home with my friends, we play games together and eat together. I wanted to convey our happiness to the audience through the photos. I hope to bring joy to the audience and when people see my photo series, they can think of their friends or many happy moments. I also want to document our daily life with photos, that is one of the reasons I chose this topic. While taking photos, I also took part in all activities, such as playing games. Because I want to capture the most realistic expressions and actions of my friends, and also bring myself into the emotions to make the photos more real. 

I did some research before I started shooting. I researched different photographers, articles, and videos. This included exercises in class and visiting art galleries to see exhibitions. During the research process, I learned about different shooting techniques and styles, which inspired me a lot. Take Elliott Randi for an example, known for his iconic photographs from the classic rock era of the 60s, he excelled at capturing the expressions of people. In his photos, I saw connections between people, even though most of the people in the photos were not making eye contact. He gave me an insight into the connection between the expressions and movements. I made plans before the photo shoot. I decided my tone to be fun and interesting. I got my friends to play the game together with pictures taken during the game. Because my location was home, the light I used was a household light. And in my photos, everyone dressed casually, which can show the warmth of being at home. My background choice was the living room. It was a bit cluttered but reflected the daily life scenes and hopefully to bring the viewer into my photos more. I chose to take the photos while the game was in progress as it allowed me to capture the most realistic expressions and movements of my friends.

In terms of technique, I mostly used medium shots. This is because medium shots are used to emphasise the characters and their surroundings, and to give the viewer an equal presence while reading. In addition, medium shots are good for capturing the expressions and movements of the characters, which can present a better sense of reality. However, I used a low angle for the second photo on the second page of my photo book. As I mentioned, I was a part of the game, lying on the ground when I took that picture. I wanted to show the close relationships among my friends and I, as everyone was relaxed during the game as well as me. I also used a diagonal composition because I wanted to avoid the dullness of a left-right composition and to create a balanced structure and spatial depth that would draw the viewer's eyes and highlight the subject. It enhances the sense of movement and liveliness of the image and breaks the dullness of stillness. Also, I used close-up shots for the photo on page 5 while my friends were arguing about the rules of the game. I only shot half of their bodies, so the viewer can see the UNO cards in the middle of them, because I wanted to show that they were having an intense conversation about the game. In photoshop, I toned down the contrast because some of my photos were a bit exposed. For most of the photos I just turned up the brightness and added some sharpness. Sharpen allows giving clear details, strong textures and clear layers. This is because I wanted to retain the realism of the photos which reflected our everyday life.

During making the photo book, I looked up John Szarkowski Looking at Photographs. "This is a picture book, and its first purpose is to provide the material for simple delectation," says Szarkowski in his introduction to this first survey of The Museum of Modern Art's photography collection. I think this book focuses on the images themselves. I learnt from his approach, focusing on the people themselves in the photos to show the most realistic visuals. The layout of my photographs is in chronological order. From the emotions of anticipation as we prepared to start the game, to the emotions of excitement as the game progressed, and finally to the emotions of someone being happy and someone being upset when the game ended. I want to present the viewers with a flow of emotions. As my tone is fun and happy, for my choice of fonts, I chose Azo Sans for the title and Narin for the body texts, which are two sans serif fonts that are relatively informal and friendly. In terms of choice of colour, I chose blue as the background colour. Blue also represents trust and reflects that we are very close to each other. In terms of layout, I put a photo on the cover that is not quite the same style as the photos that follow. It's a photo of us not yet in the house, so the background is dark. Because I took the photos in chronological order, this photo represents the beginning of our playtime. On the following pages, I put a different number of photos on each page, this is because I have divided the book into several sections. For example, on the first page I put two photos, this is before the game has even started. On the second page I put three photos, which is when the first game is being played. On the third page I put only one photo, which is the moment at the end of the first game. Because someone lost and I wanted to focus people's attention on the character's expression, so I put a separate one of it. The photos on pages six and seven are after I have played the cards and someone has lost, so this typography directs the viewer's eye and expresses the connection between the photos.

Reference:

Szarkowski, John. Looking at Photographs: 100 Pictures from the Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Abrams, 1973.

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WEEK 11 - 36 photos

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Reflection

After getting feedback, I may consider more about post production and lights control in the next assessment. And the photographs are a little out of focus point. I will try different camera shots, and try shoot single person and a group of people, instead of only shoot a group of people.

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Final photos

In terms of technique, I mostly used medium shots.This is because medium shots are used to emphasise the characters and their surroundings, and to give the viewer an equal presence while reading. Also, medium shots are good for capturing the expressions and movements of the characters, which gives a better sense of reality. But the photograph of the third in the first row (second photo), I used a low angle to take the picture. As you know from the previous post, I also took part in the game. I was lying on the ground when I took this picture. I wanted to show that we were close to each other and didn't need to worry about sitting or how we spoke, so we were relaxed while playing the game. I also used a diagonal composition because I wanted to avoid the dullness of a left-right composition and to create a balanced structure and spatial depth that would draw the viewer's eye and highlight the subject. It enhances the sense of movement and liveliness of the image, breaking the dullness of stillness. Also, I used close up shots for the last photo in the second row (second photo)because the people in the photo were arguing about the rules of the game. But I only shot half of their bodies, so the viewer can see the UNO in the middle of them, because I wanted to show that they were arguing about the game.

While in photoshop, I toned down the contrast because some of my photos were a bit exposed. For most of the photos I just turned up the brightness and added a little sharpening. Sharpening will give clear details, strong textures and clear layers. This is because I wanted to retain the realism of the photos and reflect that this is our everyday life.

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Research - Looking at Photographs: 100 Pictures from the Collection of The Museum of Modern Art 

Originally published in 1973, this marvelous collection of photographs with accompanying texts by the revered late Museum of Modern Art photography curator John Szarkowski has long been recognized as a classic. Reissued in 1999-with new digital duotones-this volume is now available to a new generation of readers.

"This is a picture book, and its first purpose is to provide the material for simple delectation," says Szarkowski in his introduction to this first survey of The Museum of Modern Art's photography collection. A visually splendid album, the book is both a treasury of remarkable photographs and a lively introduction to the aesthetics and the historical development of photography.

Since 1930, when the Museum accessioned its first photograph, it has assembled an extraordinary and wide-ranging collection of pictures for preservation, study and exhibition. Among the outstanding figures represented here are Hill and Adamson, Cameron, O'Sullivan, Atget, Stieglitz, Steichen, Strand, Weston, Kertész, Evans, Cartier-Bresson, Lange, Brassaï, Ansel Adams, Shomei Tomatsu, Frank, Arbus and Friedlander.

Some of these photographs are classics, familiar and well-loved favorites, many are surprising, little-known works by the masters of the art.

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Research - Tips of making photo book.

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Some photos I shot

Photo 1 - I used mid close-up shot to shoot this photo, because they were auguring about the rules, I would like to express their concentration about the rules. You can see a space between them, with UNO on the floor, what I wanted to convey that is they each had their own point of view and were arguing for the UNO.

Photo 2 - used the top-down shot because I wanted to convey that I was playing the game with everyone in the same pose. We're all looking at Jenga.

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Research about photo book

layout and make a grid for the photo book.

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Photo book research

Has connection between photos.

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Yvonne Todd (born 1973) is a contemporary New Zealand photographer known for her manipulation of conventional photographic techniques and genres.

Her wardrobe is a tale of flannel shirts and Victorian-era gowns. As for the eminent photographer’s subjects, with their heavy eyeliner and doll-like lashes, like divas of a demi-monde in the 60s, 80s or today, how they’re dressed is vastly removed from my everyday world. As one of New Zealand’s foremost image-makers, she describes her photos as a lens through which glamour, the psychological, perversity, aspiration and the ridiculous can be interpreted.

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WEEK 9 - Define a topic

As my boyfriend has work to do, I decide to shoot four of my friends. Because we usually stay at home together, we know each other's very well. So I would like to show the fun and happiness to the audiences.

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Inspiration from art exhibition

I went to the Auckland Art Gallery for inspiration. The photographs all capture the expressions of the people and use light and shade to express their demeanour. I will be studying their techniques.

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Research Elliott Landy

Elliott Landy is an American photographer and writer. Best known for his iconic photographs from the Sixties Classic Rock period, Elliott Landy was one of the first "music photographers" to be recognized as an "artist.” 

He excelled at capturing the expressions of his people. In his photos I saw a connection between people, even though most of the people in the photos were not making eye contact.

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WEEK 10 -36 photos

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WEEK 9 - 36 photos

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WEEK 8 - Define a topic

I would like to choose "friends" to be my topic. I will shoot me and my boyfriend and another couple of my friends. I want to show that we have a good relationship and record the moments when the four of us stay together in our lives. I will record our most authentic daily life, including expressions, movements, and reactions. I hope readers can appreciate the happiness in our daily life.

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WEEK 8 - SDL

Visiting a library and look at photobooks and familiarise with photo book editing, sequencing, and design.