Shape
Definition and theory
Shape: an area enclosed by a line. It could be just an outline or it could be shaded in.
Andy Goldworthy
I selected this image for this setion because i think it clearly displays the idea of shape. It is a shape made out of smaller shapes, which makes the image more interesting than just a shape. The surface the shape is made on is the negative space in the picture.
Irvine Penn
This image shows a deteriorated glove, which makes a different to the outline of the shape if it were a new glove. The connotations from this picture suggest its and falling apart, making the image not so simple. The negative space in this picture isn't too obvious as the background is white, but this would be the negative space.
Bill Brandt
The image above shows a lot of negative space, which is the areas in the picture with nothing in it. The image shows a woman resting her arm on her face, but there is also an appearance of her bare breast. Some viewers might interpret this image as sexual objectification rather than art. The connotations of her body language, resting her arm on her head and her facial emotion, suggests she might be upset.
Research
Edward Weston
Edward Weston was born in 1886 in Chicago. He was given the label "one of the most innovative and influential American photographers..." and "one of the masters of 20th century photography." In the duration of his photography career, Weston captured an increasingly expansive set of subjects, including landscapes, still life, nudes, portraits, genre scenes and even whimsical parodies. In 1937, Weston received a Guggenheim Fellowship (a grant awarded annually to those who "have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts"). He was the first photographer to have ever received this award.
Weston's father gave him his first camera, a Kodak Bull's-Eye #2, for his 16th birthday. At the age of 21, Weston moved to California. He knew he wanted to be a photographer from an early age. The photographs he initially took were typical of the soft focus pictorialism that was popular at the time. He abandoned that style of photography within the following few years and progressed to be one of the foremost champions of highly detailed photographic images.
Weston was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and stopped photographing soon thereafter. He spent the last 10 years of his life overseeing the printing of more than 1000 of his most famous images.
I have selected the following images as a representation of Weston's work:
Edward Weston was born in 1886 in Chicago. He was given the label "one of the most innovative and influential American photographers..." and "one of the masters of 20th century photography." In the duration of his photography career, Weston captured an increasingly expansive set of subjects, including landscapes, still life, nudes, portraits, genre scenes and even whimsical parodies. In 1937, Weston received a Guggenheim Fellowship (a grant awarded annually to those who "have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts"). He was the first photographer to have ever received this award.
Weston's father gave him his first camera, a Kodak Bull's-Eye #2, for his 16th birthday. At the age of 21, Weston moved to California. He knew he wanted to be a photographer from an early age. The photographs he initially took were typical of the soft focus pictorialism that was popular at the time. He abandoned that style of photography within the following few years and progressed to be one of the foremost champions of highly detailed photographic images.
Weston was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and stopped photographing soon thereafter. He spent the last 10 years of his life overseeing the printing of more than 1000 of his most famous images.
I have selected the following images as a representation of Weston's work:
This image shows a bell pepper that has a strange shape. The focus of this image is of the shape it takes, which is very irregular for a pepper. It looks as though it should be inedible as this is not how peppers are supposed to look, which gives off negative effects of the image.
This image is a closeup of an onion. The shape shown is not of the onion as a whole, but of the rings that are formed inside. These are 2D shapes rather than 3D shapes.
This image is of a large cabbage leaf which is on a surface of some sort. The whole leaf is not in shot, therefore there is less negative space than expected. The shape is irregular and has lots of shadows forming on it which makes it seem mysterious.
This image is of the top of a bell pepper. There is a lot of negative space. The shape is very irregular based on the way the stalk is sticking out. Similarly to the previous image, there is a shadow formed around the pepper which adds mystery to the image.
This image is of a mushroom. There is very little negative space. The shape that the mushroom takes is regular for a chopped mushroom, but not a basic shape.
I mostly found images of vegetables and the natural shape they form. Images such as the onion (second image) show the shapes formed inside the onion, leaving no negative space in the capture. Weston's work is in black and white, so I have planned to edit my upcoming photographs the same way. I used these images, and my research as a whole, to inspire my own photography work.
Image bank
The following images were found using Google Images, which I carefully selected as part of my visual research:
I selected the above images because I thought they looked similar to the images I selected in my research for Edward Weston. I have gained the idea to use these images and the images from researching Weston to inspire my photography work in capturing shape. I intend for some of my images to use negative space and some without, like Weston has done. I feel like I would be able to capture these types of images at home using a variety of different items.
With the fourth image from the 'best images' section, I intended to capture a close up of an onion, just as Weston had done (2nd image in research section). This image inspired my work to capture the shape that the inside of an onion forms, without leaving any negative space. I took the image without the use of the zoom tool, because I intend to remove the negative space using Photoshop by cropping the image. The image I took has a lot of negative space, but after Photoshop editing, the image won't have any negative space and will have less of the item shown itself. I took the image from a bird's eye vie, angle the camera downwards above the onion. The lighting wasn't too good, but when edited in black and white, the lighting isn't much of a problem.
The following images have been taken from my best images and edited using Photoshop to add to the style being like photographer Edward Weston's work:
Selected images
Contact sheet
Best images
The following images are presented as my best images that I have selected from my contact sheet that I think best relate to the definition and theory of shape:
Images that need improvement
With this image, I intended to take in the same way that Weston had taken his picture of the same item, but I didn't get the output I was hoping for. I was taking inspiration from the 4th image in the research section of the top part of a bell pepper. The reason I didn't quite get the same effect was because of the angle I had taken the picture at. I should have gotten closer and from a slightly lower angle rather than how I took it. Another thing is that the lighting isn't too good, as there is quite a big shadow and very little highlight in the picture, whereas Weston's photo shows highlight.
I decided to improve this image by retaking it in a different lighting and at different angles. This improved image is displayed in 'best images'.
I decided to improve this image by retaking it in a different lighting and at different angles. This improved image is displayed in 'best images'.
I used Weston's images that I found in my research of him to inspire this picture (5th from research section) but didn't have the right type of mushroom. This made the difference between my image and Weston's even greater. This picture shows quite a few bad aspects, one being the perspective. I don't think I should have taken the picture from a bird's eye view; I think it would look better from a different perspective and at a slanted angle so I could capture the shape differently. Also, the focus wasn't right when I captured this, which made the image very blurred. Despite the angle and perspective not being similar to the way Weston captured a mushroom, I do quite like that the image forms a simple shape but has other details on it.
AO3 Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions, reflecting critically on work and progress
My idea for recording shape was to capture things that show shapes differently. I also tried to capture different quantities of negative space amongst the images I took. For some items that I was taking pictures of, I would take at a completely different angle because it showed a completely different shape. As an example of this on my own work, I have 14 images of a bell pepper in all different angles and from various perspectives. I also used different peppers and adjusted them by doing things such as cutting them, so that I could get multiple shapes of the pepper.
The first image from 'best images' is one of the images of the bell peppers. I captured this because in my research of Edward Weston, I found an image of a bell pepper. I tried to capture the pepper that I was using in many angles so I could imitate Weston's image. The lighting wasn't the best, but it was better than any of the other images of a pepper I had taken. I took the photograph from standing and slightly tilting the camera downwards from a close-up frontal perspective. I intended to take the picture at a similar angle to the image I was inspiring from (4th image in research section) and I think I succeeded to do so. There was a lot more of negative space than the actual item, so I edited the image in Photoshop and cropped the image, reducing the amount of negative space. The edit made the image visibly look more like Weston's image.
The second image from 'best images' is of a lettuce leaf. I took this picture with inspiration from Weston's image of what looks like a cabbage leaf. It takes a completely different shape to Weston's image (3rd image in research section) but the idea was to capture the way the leaf forms shape. To capture this I used the zoom lens at a bird's eye view, standing in front of the item and tilting the camera downwards. On the image, there is a gap in the background surface, but I intend to crop the image in Photoshop to remove the gap, or else remove the gap by editing it out. I would prefer not to crop the image as I would like to show an image with a fair bit of negative space, opposing to the first image in 'best images'.
For the third image in 'best images', I captured a peach to present 'shape'. My inspiration was from Weston's image of a misshapen bell pepper. I left a regular peach in a dark space for about 1-2 weeks then, then captured it to show the fruit with an uneven shape, such as the pepper. It didn't completely change shape, but it did start to shrivel which made the change in shape. To take the picture, I placed the peach on a plain white piece of paper and took the shot from a downwards tilted angle and from a frontal view.
The first image from 'best images' is one of the images of the bell peppers. I captured this because in my research of Edward Weston, I found an image of a bell pepper. I tried to capture the pepper that I was using in many angles so I could imitate Weston's image. The lighting wasn't the best, but it was better than any of the other images of a pepper I had taken. I took the photograph from standing and slightly tilting the camera downwards from a close-up frontal perspective. I intended to take the picture at a similar angle to the image I was inspiring from (4th image in research section) and I think I succeeded to do so. There was a lot more of negative space than the actual item, so I edited the image in Photoshop and cropped the image, reducing the amount of negative space. The edit made the image visibly look more like Weston's image.
The second image from 'best images' is of a lettuce leaf. I took this picture with inspiration from Weston's image of what looks like a cabbage leaf. It takes a completely different shape to Weston's image (3rd image in research section) but the idea was to capture the way the leaf forms shape. To capture this I used the zoom lens at a bird's eye view, standing in front of the item and tilting the camera downwards. On the image, there is a gap in the background surface, but I intend to crop the image in Photoshop to remove the gap, or else remove the gap by editing it out. I would prefer not to crop the image as I would like to show an image with a fair bit of negative space, opposing to the first image in 'best images'.
For the third image in 'best images', I captured a peach to present 'shape'. My inspiration was from Weston's image of a misshapen bell pepper. I left a regular peach in a dark space for about 1-2 weeks then, then captured it to show the fruit with an uneven shape, such as the pepper. It didn't completely change shape, but it did start to shrivel which made the change in shape. To take the picture, I placed the peach on a plain white piece of paper and took the shot from a downwards tilted angle and from a frontal view.
With the fourth image from the 'best images' section, I intended to capture a close up of an onion, just as Weston had done (2nd image in research section). This image inspired my work to capture the shape that the inside of an onion forms, without leaving any negative space. I took the image without the use of the zoom tool, because I intend to remove the negative space using Photoshop by cropping the image. The image I took has a lot of negative space, but after Photoshop editing, the image won't have any negative space and will have less of the item shown itself. I took the image from a bird's eye vie, angle the camera downwards above the onion. The lighting wasn't too good, but when edited in black and white, the lighting isn't much of a problem.
AO2 Explore and select appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques and processes, reviewing and refining ideas as work develops
To take my images for shape, I used a Fujifilm Fineopix 5200. For these images, I used a piece of paper as a background as I wasn't able to use a studio and the items were small enough to fit on. I used the paper because I wanted to have a plain background so it would be similar to Weston's images and the only other surface backgrounds available to me had some kind of pattern on. I didn't use a tripod, however I do think my images would be better with the use of a tripod, which I would consider for future use. To take pictures, I would either stand or crouch to get different perspectives of the items. I would also move the camera around so that I could get different angles for the items. I experimented with the angles on each item because for most of my items, they had a completely different shape when taken at a different angle. I used the zoom lens for some images that I wanted to take closer up, but for most images, I physically got closer to the item as it gave a better effect.
I used Photoshop to edit my best 5 images that I captured. Below are print screens and explanation of how I edited the images:
I opened up one of my best images into the app and the first thing I did was crop my image. I did this because there was too much negative space than I had anticipated when taking the image. I cropped this image by selecting 'crop' from the toolbar.
I dragged the corners of the original until it made more of a square shaped imaged. I tried to make the gap between the fruit and the edge of the photo equal for each of the 4 sides.
Next I selected 'black and white' from the adjustment panel. The image automatically changed to black and white rather than the original colour it was taken in.The colours for red, yellow, green, cyan, blue and magenta were all changed by default, but I decided to change it even further by adjusting the level of each colour.
I intended to make the item fairly light and make the marks on it darker. I did this by increasing the amount of red and decreasing the amount of yellow. I figured this by experimenting with all of the colour adjustments until I found the colours I liked best.
I dragged the corners of the original until it made more of a square shaped imaged. I tried to make the gap between the fruit and the edge of the photo equal for each of the 4 sides.
Next I selected 'black and white' from the adjustment panel. The image automatically changed to black and white rather than the original colour it was taken in.The colours for red, yellow, green, cyan, blue and magenta were all changed by default, but I decided to change it even further by adjusting the level of each colour.
I intended to make the item fairly light and make the marks on it darker. I did this by increasing the amount of red and decreasing the amount of yellow. I figured this by experimenting with all of the colour adjustments until I found the colours I liked best.
The last thing I did was darken the image as a whole. I did this by selecting 'curves' from the adjustment panel. I moved the line from two points and dragged it around to see the different ways of darkening the image. I experimented until I thought it looked right and similar to the style that Edward Weston would do. From this Photoshop, I have been able to edit the image to enhance the bruises and marks on the fruit.
AO1 Develop ideas through sustained and focused investigations informed by contextual and other resources, demonstrating analytic and critical understanding
The research that I did on photographer Edward Weston really helped towards my own work. I was able to take inspiration from his photographs to take my own in a similar style and approach. The images that I found and added to my research were a great help as I could visualise what kind of things I should be taking pictures of. I could also edit my images in the same way that Weston's images look. The images I found in my research of Weston helped me focus on the shapes of different items, such as vegetables (which Weston often took images of). I found that the research of his life wasn't helpful in any way towards my work, but it is interesting to know the things I found out about him.
AO4 Present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions, and where appropriate, make connections between visual and other elements
I think I have taken and developed my images well using my own techniques and items. My photography for 'shape' was inspired by Edward Weston, who I researched before taking my images. I inspired all of my images on the contact sheets from this photographer, taking into consideration the items used and the angles and perspectives he used. My intention was to take pictures of fruit and vegetables on a plain background and I managed to do this by using pieces of paper as background. For images taken from a bird's eye view, I would place the fruit/vegetable in the centre of a piece of paper, which would be on a flat surface. For images taken at an angle, I would place the item at the very bottom of the paper so that most of the paper would be shown behind it. however, some images were too big to use this method, so I would stance another piece of paper behind to form a back drop, then capture the item so that the the original background wouldn't show. Quite a few images show small gaps of the background, but this isn't such a problem as they can be edited in Photoshop to remove the gaps and background. I intended to take some images with part of the background showing so that I could do this as it would be easier to crop the image in Photoshop than to mess around with the item. I edited all of best images to be black and white so that they would look more like the style of Weston's images.
The following images have been taken from my best images and edited using Photoshop to add to the style being like photographer Edward Weston's work:
hello marcie you have worked really hard on this post particularly in the write up and planning and presentation of the work having sourced a variety of fruit/vegetables. There is a need to improve on your method of image taking, this is where e.g. the use of a tripod and a better camera would benefit you. some of your images are out of focus or have a narrrow depth of field. You will need to work on getting the object in focus and on the selection of an aperture which gives a wider depth of field. Finally the use of lighting and composition could be i,proved/developed further..
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