Tutor’s Feedback for Assignment Two: Elements of Design

I received my tutor’s feedback for my Assignment Two: Elements of Design. Due to it being Christmas and New year, I haven’t been able to act upon what she advised me to change until now.

I took her advice and realised that some of the photographs for my final assignment could be changed in order to create a better photograph.

Therefore, before carrying onto my third set of projects, I decided to make the changes to my second assignment.

I have included my tutor’s comments about the old photograph, above the new photograph.

Overall Comments

Thank you for sending me assignment two, please see below for your deadline for assignment three. I think it is a good idea to get your work assessed and you can register your interest and find out more about it by contacting the OCA directly.

Pointers for the next assignment

Try to carefully consider your images very carefully as images in their own right rather than as simply an exercise in colour.

Single point dominating the composition

 I think you have composed this image well to create a single point dominating the composition. I think the image could be improved by simplifying the background of the bottle to really focus all attention on the bottle itself.

(New Photograph)

Two Points dominating the composition

I think that you have composed this a little more carefully to get the viewer really looking between two objects in the image without them being so close together. Maybe looking at the rule of thirds with one perfume bottle nearer in a lower third and the other bottle further away in the opposite upper corner to create a sense of depth and more movement of the eye to explore the image.

(New Photograph)

Several points in a deliberate shape

 I like the way that you have thought about this image and carefully placed the lids and bottles in a deliberate shape to make a flower. I think, again that a more simple background would be beneficial as well as settling the colours a little. It is a busy image at the moment.

(New Photograph)

A combination of vertical and horizontal lines

 I think that if you had gone in really close to the bottles and really filled the frame with them the lines would be emphasised more. It would also make for a less distracting image eradicating backgrounds etc.

(New Photograph)

Diagonals

There are strong diagonal lines here, I like the way you have carefully considered this image and the placement of the object to create a feeling of diagonal lines. I think the colours work very well here and the shallow depth of field means the background is not distracting but part of the image as a colour and a texture, also making extra diagonals with the texture of the mat.

( I kept the same Photograph)

Curves

 I think that this is a good subject choice for the photograph. I think that you could have emphasised the curves by going in closer to the bottle, maybe looking down on it to really show the curves and fill the frame.

(New Photograph)

Distinct, Even if irregular, shapes

 The bottles themselves have very irregular shapes which are perfect for this category but could you have made them more interesting in the image? Perhaps by considering the background and composition a little more.

(New Photograph)

Implied Triangle

 This creates an implied triangle well, I like the viewpoint you have chosen, looking down on the bottles to give a different perspective.

( I kept the same Photograph)

Rhythm

I think that you have chosen a difficult subject to make into a rhythm image here but I think that you have done well to get a sense of rhythm from the way that you have arranged the boxes.

(New Photograph)

Patterns

I think that you could go in closer to the bottle to really fill the frame with the pattern, maybe not even seeing it as a perfume bottle to start with.

(New Photograph)

Conclusion:

I am really pleased with how my photographs have turned out after re-doing them, taking my tutor’s advice. I think that the plain background really helps make the bottles etc stand out a lot more, and composing them better has also really helped.

Assignment Two: Elements of Design

The idea behind this assignment is to incorporate the insights you have learned so far on the course into a set of photographs directed towards one type of subject. You should produce 10-15 photographs, all of a similar subject, which between them will show the following effects.

• Single point dominating the composition
• Two points
• Several points in a deliberate shape
• A combination of vertical and horizontal lines
• Diagonals
• Curves
• Distinct, even if irregular, shapes
• At least two kinds of implied triangle
• Rhythm
• Pattern

Choose from these groups:

• Flowers and plants
• Landscapes
• Street Details
• The raw material of food
• Choose your own subject

For this assignment, I decided to choose my own subject. Looking at the list of photographs we are asked to take, I decided to use Perfume bottles for this assignment. I have a wide range of bottles. They are all different types of shapes, sizes and colours. I wanted to use something which I hadn’t used previously, and something different from what was on the list.

• Single point dominating the composition

 For this photograph, I wanted a large, bold bottle which would dominate the entire frame. I centralized the bottle in order for it to be dominating.

• Two Points

 For this photograph, I wanted to use the same bottle, however, as I had two of the same one, I decided to use both for the ‘two points’ image.

• Several points in a deliberate shape

 Using perfume bottles for this would be quite difficult as I would have to arrange them in a certain way to produce a shape, and as they are all different shapes and sizes, it wouldn’t have worked that well. Instead, I decided to use the bottle tops off of the perfume bottles and two small sample perfumes. I created a flower design as they were all round bottle tops, and created a lovely curved design by themselves.

• A combination of vertical and horizontal lines

 For this, I decided to use two taller perfume bottles for the vertical lines, and two smaller ones for the horizontal lines. I lead the smaller bottles down in order to create the horizontal lines, and stood the taller bottles upright, to create the vertical lines, however, this image is full of vertical and horizontal lines, as the bottles contain both, whether they are stood up or led horizontally.

• Diagonals

 This was an interesting bottle. Part of the top was designed to be diagonal. I didn’t want to stand it upright, as because it was only a small part which was diagonal, it wouldn’t have had the same impact. Therefore, I lead the bottle on the diagonal piece, and because it wasn’t straight, it caused the bottle to lean diagonally within the frame. It caused powerful diagonal lines.

• Curves

 I had the perfect bottle for the curve option. The bottle is a large round circular base, with a large round circular lid which sits off the side of the base when closed. Because this bottle has a lot of curves and is an odd shape, I thought it would be interesting to photograph.

• Distinct, Even if irregular, shapes

 Distinct even if irregular shapes… I have these two perfume bottles which aren’t the typical triangular shape, however, they are triangular. These two bottles couldn’t have worked any better for this category.

• Implied Triangle

 I used all of my small sample bottles to create an implied triangular shape.

• Rhythm

 I used some of the perfume boxes for this category as they were all different shapes, sizes and colours. I arranged them in order to lead your eye through the picture, causing a rhythm.

• Patterns

 I was lucky with this perfume bottle, as many bottles are usually clear see through glass. However, this one had a pretty floral patterned label on the outside of it. I focused in really close on it, yet still keeping the bottle outline to remind you that it’s still a perfume bottle.

Conclusion:

I am really pleased with how my photographs have turned out for this second assignment. I was pleased that I was able to choose my own subject to photograph, as this meant I was able to ‘think outside the box’ and look at items or objects which I haven’t photographed beforehand. Using perfume bottles came to me whilst thinking about what I could use to photograph for this assignment. It did take me quite a while to plan out what I would use, but in the end, I looked at the categories, such as curves, diagonals etc. I realised that perfume bottles would work really well as they are all different shapes and sizes. I didn’t want to fuss around much with things such as backgrounds, I just wanted to make the bottles be the most dominating thing within the frame. Therefore I just used a pretty purple beaded mat to place the bottle on and away I went. I did plan out what bottle I would use for what category as I didn’t want to use the same one twice, but as I have a wide variety of perfume bottles, I didn’t really have to worry much. I also planned out how I would angle the camera, as for some of the categories such as triangles, I would have to position myself above the bottle in order to show the full triangular shape. As you can also see, I did incorporate perfume boxes and lids mainly because I knew they would work better for that certain photograph. I am pleased with this assignment. I don’t think there would be anything I would change. I will now wait for my tutors response.