Evaluation

Unit 9: Exploring Photography and Digital Imaging

Evaluation

For this unit we have to create a series of images that appeal to the target audience. I will use editing techniques, and Brightness and Contrast, and using the Lasso tool to carefully cut round images. Using Adobe Photoshop will allow me to use all of these techniques to make my final images.

The first task was to create 18 images for the audience and create questionnaires to get feedback for our work. I used Adobe Photoshop to create and edit my images to make them look realistic. We had to create 3 images for each of the following:

·         Advertising

·         Television

·         Print

·         New Media

·         Cinema

·         Radio

·         We then also had to create 6 images for the people and their Heroes.

Media and Their Audiences

I think my images for this brief went well because the ideas that I came up with really suited the target audience and the feedback from the audience was really good. I used editing techniques to make the images look realistic, I used the Lasso tool to carefully cut round images so there are no pointy ends. After finishing all of the images we did the exhibition to display our work for the audience. I did a questionnaire for 18 people to comment on what they thought about my images. Using the results from my questionnaire I know what to improve and what doesn’t need improving. There were a lot of great comments from the audience, they thought that my images where very creative, and the editing was good, and that there was nothing, for most of the images, that I needed to improve.

My strongest images would have to be one of the cinema images (Batman car) and another cinema one (Arms around Shrek). The reason why I have chosen these two images for my strongest images is because I think they are creative and the editing is very good quality. I have used the Brightness/Contrast for the images that I have taken, so it has the same brightness as the internet picture.

My weakest images are a bike coming out of a billboard (Advert) and the other image is dancing on speakers (Radio). The reason why I have chosen both of these images is because they are not good quality and they need working on. Most of the images needed time on editing. The image of the Bike coming out of the billboard I had to edit the bike very carefully to get round the edges and it was hard putting the image in the right place on the billboard. I had to use the ‘Skew tool’ and the ‘Rotate tool’ to get the image into the right position so I could make it look like the bike was coming out of the billboard.

When doing the 18 images we used software called Adobe Photoshop. We used this software to edit all images and make them into final images. I used the Lasso tool to carefully cut round every image; I used the Brightness and Contrast, I used the rubber tool to rub out pointy corners round the image. I used the crop tool to cut the image down. The images that I had chosen were easy to edit but some of them I had to use the Lasso tool to carefully go round corners.

The Brightness and Contrast of the images are in good quality. Most of the images are in good quality because I checked over everything to make sure that were no mistakes done to the images.

When making the questionnaire I typed questions that would relate to my exhibition. The feedback that I received was very good. Everyone said that they thought my images were creative, they fulfil their purpose, and they are good quality and that my editing techniques were very good. Most of the audience said that there weren’t any changes to be made to my images but a couple said that there could have been a few changes made to make them more interesting. The pictures that had the most positive feedback were someone was made out of an IPod, and someone stuck in a mobile phone. Out of the 18 images those images had the most positive feedback.

People and Their Heroes

The objective was to illustrate the images of our family and their heroes. I used my Mum, my dad and my four brothers for my images.

• Matty’s Hero: Jack Black
• Mum’s Hero: Jim Carrey
• Josh’s Hero: Steven Gerard
• Dad’s Hero: Muhammed Ali
• Lucas’s Hero: Fireman Sam
• Jamie’s Hero: Arnold Schwarzenegger

To make the final images I used Adobe Photoshop to edit and create the images. I used the Lasso tool to cut round the images and I used a variety of different colours for the fonts to go with the colours of the image. I used the crop tool to carefully cut the images. Most of the images had allot going on with the colour and the background so I had to carefully cut round the person on the image that I needed to use for my ‘People and their heroes’ image. There were other images just like the one was I had to cut out, I had to cut round the person carefully using the ‘Lasso tool’ and the ‘rubber tool’ for any rough edges. Some of the internet images were in good quality but some of the images that I took were blared so I had to use the brightness and contrast to make both the images look even in picture quality.

Taking the images of my family to use for the images, I took portrait images. The reason why I took portrait images was because it was essential. The season I had to make sure that the images had to be in portraits is because we couldn’t take an image of the full body. I took the images in a light area to fit with the chosen hero images. If the images that I have taken were too bright then I used the brightness and contrast to tone it down.

To create the final images I used Adobe Photoshop to edit and crop the images. Every image that was created was landscape; because with the page being A4 size the images that I have taken will look too close together and pixelated. I used the Lasso tool to have the images cut out neatly. I used the Contrast to make the all the images look in good quality.

I think that I have done really well editing because most of the pictures that I had chosen where hard to edit. But I think I did well with the final images.

I think that the quality of the pictures is good; they have good lighting techniques, and image resolution. The images are good quality because if one of the images were brighter than the other I would lighten it down so it would look identical to the other picture.

The audience really liked my 6 images; everyone thought my images were good quality and it fulfilled the purpose. They also thought that my images were really creative, and suited the target audience. Most of the audience thought that I didn’t need to do any changes to the images but a couple did think that there were changes to be made.

Story Illustration

I think that the pictures that I took for the book were suitable for the story because for each page had an image to show the story. I think the Illustration of the images really worked with the story, we had to do the images in black and white because it was for a book. I took an image of an old building and used it for the asylum and I used a crosswords book, and medical books. I used these images to fit in with the story.

I read the story and focused on what the story was about. I then wrote down a few things that I could take images of, for example:

• An old building for the asylum
• Someone doing a crossword puzzle
• A man holding a suitcase
• Medical books

I took these images because that relates to the story, because in the story there is a doctor so I used medical books and at the end of the story the main character is holding a suitcase, so I took an image of a man holding a suitcase.

Making the final images I used Adobe Photoshop to create a black and white image to suit the story. I took images and made them in black and white, and I used the brightness and contrast to make the images look lighter because some of the images that I got from the internet were a bit darker or lighter so I made them match. I have used some images from the internet:

• An olden time door/gate
• An image of a long road

Both of these images I have cut out using a Lasso tool to look the same colour and contrast and brightness to the other images. Both of the images were used from the internet.

I think the qualities of the images are good. I checked over the images to check the resolution and the brightness and contrast to make sure they all matched. The lighting is good, not too bright but not too dark.

I think that my strengths have been editing because I think I do the editing quite well because I know how to use most of the tools on Adobe Photoshop and when I’m cutting out an image I try to make it look as neat as possible. I think that my weakness has been the photography work because when I’m taking pictures I tend to change my mind a lot of the time. When I plan to take the images I forget what that image is, so I will have to improve on.

I have learnt how to use Adobe Photoshop and all the tools that you can use for example:

• The Lasso tool
• The magic wand
• The Brightness and Contrast
• The polygonal tool
• The Skew tool
• The quick selection tool
• And the gradient tool

When editing images I know how to make them black and white and change the fonts. The fonts that I chose allot is the ‘Arial font’ because it’s very basic. I know how to change the colour of the font and the colour overlay, the stroke, the inner glow and the outer glow.

The Conclusion

I hope I have done well this year, I have learnt a lot of new things and I have tried my best. Using Adobe Photoshop I think has been my highlight because I have really enjoyed using the software. I have learnt a lot of new skills while doing this unit such as:

• Using the SLR Camera
• Adobe Photoshop
• And QuarkXPress passport

Using the QuarkXPress helped me with the book called ‘Mr Loveday’s Little Outing’ because we edited the book and the final images that we made for the book we put in the book.