Scott Eccles

Mark Will

Six of the Best

Image One: High Key. fstop - 2.4 shutter - 50 ISO - 50 Analysis This image was shot in the Lake Tuggeranong College photography studio. What is being shot is a white bowl full to the brim of marshmallows on the white floor of the studio. I cropped the image to make the bowl appear straighter compared to the raw image. While editing the image, i desaturated it to make it more difficult to tell which marshmallow was which colour. I shot this image while towering over the top of the bowl. In camera, i lined up the bowl so that the middle and its contents would be the centre of focus. The image was adjusted in Photoshop so that it would be generally whiter and brighter. The image was taken in a controlled environment. There were two lights shining on the bowl. This made me correct my ISO and shutter to fit. The ISO was set to 50 because of the amount of light that was getting fed into the lens. The shutter was also set to 50 because the image was still quite bright and over-exposed (beyond high key). My initial intention was to create an image that was both aesthetically pleasing and fitted the criteria of the assignment. The image took inspiration from me attending art shows around Canberra. A lot of the pottery/ceramics entries are usually placed in a way where you’d have to look at the object top down and on a white background. The positives of this image is the general composition. How the image is in the centre of the frame. The image fits in black and white because the image is mostly white anyway and it just looks better. The negatives were that i shot this on my iPod touch 5 and the device has limited capabilities.

Image Two: Low Key. fstop - 2.4 shutter - 15 ISO - 100 Analysis This image was also taken in the Lake Tuggeranong College photography studio. The person in shot is Ryan Mulquiney dressed in all black wearing sunglasses on a black background. The image was shot at eye level for no reason other than the model was standing and it seemed fitting at the time. Like the High Key photo, i wanted to have the object in the centre of the frame. The image was shot in camera quite dark(as shown in the histogram above), so in Photoshop the levels were only adjusted slightly. The shot was also taken in the same area as the first image. Inside, in a controlled studio environment. There was only one light on in the room and it was facing opposite the subject. The ISO was left the same from the first image. The black clothing on the black background already blended so the ISO didn’t need to be adjusted. The shutter was lowered from 50 to 15 because of the low light in the room. In Photoshop, i desaturated the image to match with the High Key image, and it gave the image a sort of Film Noir look. The only things that’re really missing from that “Film Noir” look is the dutch angle and the harsh shadows. The overall idea for this photo was to replicate Low Key. There’s something i’ve always appreciated and loved in film and photography, and that’s when someone comes out of a shadow and you can only see their face. I tried to replicate this. The positive thing about this image is that for the equipment i had available it turned out quite well. I used the same iPod touch as the first one. The negative thing about this image was the fact that it was shot on an iPod touch and it has limited capabilities.

Image Three: Slow Shutter. fstop - 2.4 shutter - 2 ISO - 100 Analysis The image was taken in a car on the way home at about 8:00 at night. The image was shot with a two second shutter to create the wicked crazy lights. The image was shot in the backseat of a car, leaning into the front part of the cabin. If you look closely on the first (before) image you will see the dashboard and its instruments quite clearly. On the second image the instruments were removed. The only thing that was really added to make this image better, was more vibrance and sharpened. This made the colours of the light stand out more and them appear sharper. The photo was taken in almost pitch black so the shutter was dropped to as low as my camera could. The ISO was left at 100 because though the viewfinder it looked good. In Photoshop i made the image more vibrant and sharpened it. The intention with this photo was to make some ridiculous light effects against a very dark background. The positive of this image is that the Slow Shutter effect worked really well for the time and the place that it was taken in. The negative was the fact that it was in a car and was not a steady shot.

Image Four: Fast Shutter. fstop - 2.8 shutter - 60 ISO - 189 Analysis This image was taken in the Lake Tuggeranong College photography studio. It was taken with a GoPro Hero 3 Black+ with a wide angle lens. The image was propped up on a tripod for two reasons, one to maximise stability, two because both of us were participating in the photo. The image was carefully framed so that the corners of the studio walls would be right where the 2nd and 3rd third lines would be, and the back wall would appear to be in the fifth square. The shot was taken in a controlled studio environment (like many of these). There were two lights set up on either side of the camera and no lights on (roof lights) behind us. Unfortunately I did not have control of the ISO, shutter speed or aperture on this photo. In Photoshop i adjusted the levels just enough to make the image have deeper blacks, i also cranked up the vibrance to make the colours stand out more. The inception of this shot came with me surfing YouTube for cool GoPro tricks to get an awesome looking photo. The video i ended up watching showed putting your camera on burst and jumping then selecting the best frame. I basically replicated that. The positives of this image is how fun and epic it is. There were about 90 photos to choose from the bunch and this one was the best. The negative is the fact that i couldn’t tweak the ISO or shutter speed manually. Which did impact on the quality of the photo no doubt.

Image Five: Wide Angle. fstop - 3.6 shutter - 197 ISO - 100 Analysis This image was taken at the Wanniassa Hills Pre-School. The person in shot is Conor Power. This photo was shot locked onto a tripod, and the camera that was used was not a stills camera. I shot this image at around chest height for me to simulate anyone looking at someone sitting on a bench. The tree that’s roughly in the middle of the photo had to be adjusted (in Photoshop) to appear closer to the middle. The image was adjusted in levels to make the colours darker and deeper, it was also made more vibrant and sharpened. With the tree in the middle and both of the chairs either side it shows some nice symmetry. The image was taken outside so there was a lack of control with the environment and there was no control over the shutter, ISO or aperture. The camera was restrictive. The initial idea of this photo was quite vague, I was working on another one of my assignments (a short film) and Conor and I had dressed up to act in this short. While i was checking if what was shot was alright and didn’t need a re-shoot, he was just sitting in that pose. I quietly moved the camera as well as the tripod and took a quick photo. The positive thing about this image is how symmetrical the photo is and its general composition. The negative thing, again, is the lack of control i had over the image’s ISO, shutter and aperture.

Image Six: Shallow Depth. fstop - 2.4 shutter - 30 ISO - 100 Analysis This photo was taken in the Lake Tuggeranong College photography computer-lab. The image is of my infamous GoPro Hero 3 Black+ camera. The image was shot front on towards the camera. The camera was matched to fit the rule of thirds respectively. The image was adjusted in levels to make the image more vibrant in colour, sharper, made the blacks deeper and made the image appear a little flatter (stylistic). The shot was taken in the controlled environment of a classroom. The blinds in the room were open so i had to adjust the shutter and ISO to compensate for the bright reflections of monitors and desk. The intention with this photo was to highlight how much I adore this camera. I’ve had this camera for a little over a year now and it’s my favourite bit of kit. I thought i’d use this photo as a little bit of a tribute to my favourite camera. The positive of this image is that it achieved the acquired goal of having a shallow depth of field and representing a subject in focus. The negative of the image is that i would have liked i to be in a more controlled environment then the one that i was in when taking the photograph.