Overall Evaluation

Throughout this project I have focused on one particular element to portray through all of my photographs, the element I chose was Story Telling, therefore my photographs had to link to this theme in some way or another. In total I have done 12 shoots that tell a different story. 

- shoot 1, Telling a story of someone's ordinary routine

- shoot 2, Telling a story of anorexia 

- shoot 3, Telling a story of stereotypes 

- shoot 4, Telling a story of the life cycle of a flower 

- shoot 5, Telling a story of fashion

- shoot 6, Telling a story of animations

- shoot 7, Telling a story of Dorothy 

- shoot 8, Telling a story of Alice in wonderland 

- shoot 9, Telling a story of thoughts & feelings 

- shoot 10, Telling a story of the life of a dog

- shoot 11, Telling a story ofold & new

- shoot 12, Telling a story of movement 

In order to understand a more deeper meaning of Story telling and to help me think of photographs that would link to the theme I looked a describing words for Story telling, I also made a definition page of four annotated pictures, the dictionary definition and my own definition of story telling, this helped me gain knowledge of the area I have been portraying through my pictures for this whole project. Before I began shooting for this project I made an image bank containing 30 annotated photographs that linked to Story telling in some way, this allowed me to think of ideas I could develope in my own way androgen photograph them. Research into photographer is a big part of this project, I made a research log containing 20 photographers that I had looked at. After this I then picked 5 photographers from my research log that I wanted to look further into as I believed they linked well to the theme of story telling, the 5 photographers included why I had chosen to look at their work, 4 annotated pictures that they had taken and then an influence and summary paragraph of if they have influenced my work in any way at all. 

After each lesson when I had done a shoot I then made a work record of two annotated pictures that I had taken and an overall paragraph of what I did during the lesson and what I would do different if I was to do it again. By doing this it allowed me to evaluate my own work to see what I like about it and how I could make it better, therefore when i did another shoot I had learnt from any mistakes I had done in a previous shoot and also learnt skills that I like from previous shoot, such as lighting that I could then use in my next shoot. 

Towards the end of the project I made 5 connecting essays, the connecting essays are 5 photographers that have one photograph that connects with one of my own photographs in some way or another. The connection between the pictures could be the lighting, composition, same story behind the picture ect. By doing the connecting essays I have learnt how to connect my work to other photographers and gain a better understanding of the theme Story telling. The connecting essays have also allowed me to develope my initial ideas when looking at my photograph compared to the photographer photo. 

Throughout the project there was a number of print techniques that I used when editing my photographs, these where: black & white, duotone, repetition, selective colour, photojoiner, cluster, soft focus and weaving. By doing these print techniques it allowed me to develope my skills when using photoshop. The print techniques also allowed me to understand which photographs work best with which print technique, also the print techniques made me develope some simple photographs into more complex and different photographs, the print techniques make my work unique. 

During this project I have learnt a number of skills. One being my development of using photoshop and editing my photos, I have learnt a number of new ways to edit my photographs during this project. I have also shown more understanding of how to edit each individual photo, for example: which edit looks best with which photo. I have also developed my skills physically, actually taking the pictures themself, I now understand more about what background suits which atmosphere, what lighting looks best with the photograph and the composition of the photograph. Due to the skills that I have developed in this unit I know feel confident for the next unit(unit3) because I am more confident in my work and feel that I am able to come up with my own, new ideas for shoots to do. Therefore this is good for unit3 as it is a personal project, meaning I have to choose what topic/theme my unit will be about. For the next unit I will carry on with my progress and develop my own skills even further by staying concentrated and working hard to reach my full potential.

Overall this project has allowed me to develope my skills within photography, I know understand fully how the studio works, I am confident at using photoshop and now feel confident when developing my own ideas from other photographers work. Mainly from this project I have learnt that taking more photos in shoots is important because it gives you more to choose from when editing the pictures and it also gives you a variety. 

Story Telling- Electronic Portfolio

Photos from sophbennett1234

Shoot Twelve

In todays lesson I took photographs to tell the story of movement. This shoot was a location shoot, however when it came to the editing process I made the background black, like a studio shoot as I believed it looked a lot better and shows the movement and positions more clearly. I used natural lighting for this shoot. If I was to do this shoot again I would do it in the studio instead of location as it looks a lot better and more professional. 


In this photograph I have captured the movement of a handstand. I have then copied and repeated the same image and changed the opacity as it goes on.  I have edited the background black to show a clearer outline of the handstand. I used natural sun light for the lighting of this image. If I was to take this image again I would try to capture the model doing a handstand when her legs are directly straight upwards as they are slightly leaning to the left hand side.





For this photograph I have got the model to do a bridge. I have also edited the background plain black because it looked better than the location background. By making the background black it makes the position/movement stand out and looks more clear. The lighting used was also natural, the same as above. If I was to take this image again I would take it from all different angles, above, low, in front behind ect to see what angle looks best. I would also take the photograph in the studio due to the fact that I know it will look a lot better. 

Shoot Eleven

In todays lesson I took photographs to tell the story of old and new. I did this by showing things children would do in the olden days compared to what they do know. For example reading in the olden days and playing on a ipad today. To show the difference between the two I edited the old pictures to make them look old fashioned. this shoot was a location shoot, therefore I used a natural background and natural lighting. If I was to do this shoot again I would do a studio shoot as I believe it would have looked better.


In this picture I have merged two separate images together, one showing old and the other showing new. the old fashioned image shows the model playing cards, whereas the present day photo shows the model playing on her ipad. I used natural lighting and a natural location background. If I was to take this image again I would include more background as when I merged the images together it was hard to fit the two together.

For this photograph I have just shown an old fashioned picture of the model drawing. I have again merged two images together, however these two images are the same. This creates a shadow, ghost effect. I have made the image black and white with a hint of orange to make it look old fashioned and show its from a different erea. If I was to take this photograph again I would take it from all different angles to see which ones turn out the best so I have a bigger variety to choose from.

shoot Ten

In todays lesson I took photographs of my two dogs  to tell the story of the life of a dog. This shoot was a location shoot. Therefore I used natural day light for the lighting of my photographs and a natural setting. I took a variety of pictures to show a day in a dogs life. For example: Sleeping and eating. If I was to do this lesson again I would try to do a studio shoot, however I do like the pictures I took on this location shoot because I like that they look natural.


I have taken this image from a direct in front angle. In the photograph I managed to capture my dog looking straight at the camera, therefore you can see his facial expression. During the editing process I slightly blurred the background to show depth of field and make the dog the main focus of the image. If I was to take this photograph again I would try to take it while my dog was outside rather than inside as I feel it would look better if it was taken on grass or a field.

In this photograph I have taken to show the movement of my dog. I took this picture from behind, slightly above leaving a lot of space at the right hand side. then while editing I merged the same image over the top of each other to make it look as if my dog is actually walking. The lighting for this picture was natural as I relied on the sun light due to it being a location shoot. If I was to take this picture again I would experiment with different angles of taking the picture.

Shoot Nine

In todays lesson i took photographs in the studio to tell the story of thoughts and feelings. I did this by having the model write down her first thoughts onto a piece of paper and then photographer her. I used a dark navy background and one sided lighting to get shadows on the models face, making one side lighter than the other. The composition of all my photographs included the model from head to waist. I took the photographs from a direct in from angle. If I was to do this lesson again I would take photos of a variety of different people just so I could get a different range of thoughts and feelings.


In this photograph I have merged tree pictures together at different opacity levels. On showing the quote, 'live for today', the other saying 'inspire me' and then 'peace'. This show the models thoughts and feelings along with her facial expression. I used a dark navy blue background in this photograph and shadowy lighting to create shadows on the models face by having one sided lighting, therefore making one side lighter than the other. If I was to take this photograph again I would change the composition and include more of the models body. For example: Try whole length photos to see how they look. 

For this photograph I have captured the model laughing which I really liked. I have edited the picture black and white and made the corners and edges darker than the middle section of the picture. I have used the same on sided lighting to create shadows as I did for the picture above. I also used the same navy background. If I was to take this photograph again I would take the photo from further back to include more in the composition. 

Connecting Essay

One: Gorna DA

This photograph from the photographer Gorna DA, shows the life cycle of a leaf. The different photographs are put into different sections to represent the life cycle of the leaf growing and then dying. The leaf changes colour which represents time passing as the life cycle takes place. the image is split into 9 different sections. The background used is plain white because the leaves are the main focus of the photograph.  

This image is my own photography. I have taken step by step photographs and put them into a sequence to show the life cycle of flowers growing. I used two flowers as I felt the images looked more full as with one flower it looked to empty. I used a dark blue background but when editing my photos I made the background darker so it looked black because I believe the photos stand out more on the black background. I used an overhead light to shine the light directly onto the flowers rather than the background. I put the different photographs of the flowers in order of the flower growing, until they both have all their petals.


Overall both these photographs connect to one another because they both show the life cycle of nature, for example: a leaf in the first image and flowers in the second image. These photographs also connect together because they are separate photographs put together into a ordered sequence of the leaf/flowers growing. Another reason for why the images connect is because of the plain backgrounds used in all the images, for example: White in the first image and black in the second image.

Connecting Essay

Five: Paul Williams

This image from Paul Williams is a fashion photograph. The photographer uses a fairly dark colour background and places the model on the right hand side of the image. The lighting used in this photograph is lighting up the model herself, rather than the background, therefore making the model the main focus. the composition of this image allows the model to be seen from the head to the waist. The angle of this image has been taken from directly in front of the model. 

This photograph is my own to represent fashion. The composition allows the model to be shown from head to waist. The background is a fairly dark grey. the lighting is fairly natural but darker on one side to create soft shadows on the face. This photograph has been taken from directly in front of the image. The facial expression of the model is very blunt and serious, allowing the audience to create their own thoughts and feelings of the model. 

Overall these two images connect to one another because they are both showing fashion photography. They both have similar compositions, showing the models from head to waist. The lighting is very similar and have both used a dark background. The models facial expressions are also very much the same.

connecting Essay

Four:

This image is of the Tower Bridge. The angle of this photograph has been taken from the right hand side of the bridge. The lighting is fairly dark due to the image being taken in the evening. the colours ate very bright & blue in this image due to the lighting on the bridge itself. A limited amount of the background has been included in this image to make the bridge the main object in the photograph. 

This image is my own photograph that I have taken during my 5 hour exam to tell the story of London tourist attractions. I have made my photograph black and white to make the image look old fashioned. The lighting I used was natural day light due to it being taken on a location shoot. Within the composition of the photograph I have included the boat in my photo as I felt it made the photo more real life and makes the photo different to others as they only focus on the bridge. The angle of this photo has been taken from the left hand side of the bridge.

Overall these images connect to one another because they are both of the Tower Bridge. They both represent London tourist attractions. Also the angle of the photographs have both been taken from one side of the bridge, rather than directly in front of the bridge.

connecting Essay

Three: Hannah Wellbourn

This image represent the red shoes within the film 'Wizard of Oz'. The image is made black and white but it has used selective colour by still keeping the shoes red and everything else black and white. This shows a contract between the two colours. The lighting in this image seem to be very natural and focuses on the shoes themselves as they are the main object/focus of the image. The composition this photo allows you to see more of the right hand side background. The photo has been taken from a direct in front angle.

This image is my own photograph that I have taken in my location 'Dorothy' shoot. During the editing process I made the image black and white and then edited the shows to make them red, like the shoes in the film. After this I then blurred the background as I felt it looked better and made you focus on the shoes rather than the background when looking at the image. The lighting I used for this photo was natural light because I took it on a location shoot and had to rely on the natural sun light. The angle I took this photo from was slightly above the shoes to make them the main focus. 




overall these images connect to one another because the main focus of both images is the bed shoes. They are also both black and white images but keeping the colour of the shoes. Both images have been taken in relation to dorothy in the film 'Wizard of Oz'. 

Connecting Essay

Two: Ray Spence

This photograph shows the damage of anorexia and expresses the models feelings. the image is in black and white and you can see from the angle the photo has been taken that her reflection is in both mirrors, left & right. Due to the way the model is hanging onto the pole it creates the feeling that she is clinging onto her life. The model looks very boney, stressed, lonely and weak. 






This image represent the illness of anorexia and brings about awareness. This image is my own photograph that I have taken to show anorexia. I have used a tape measure in my photograph to represent that the model has replaced food, showing that the constant worry of weight have taken over her eating. I have used a black background to create a dark, lonely atmosphere. The lighting I used was a overhead light to focus on the model herself rather than the background.

Overall both these images connect with one another because they both show anorexia through the images themselves.  They also connect because both images represent something, for example: the first image shows the model hanging on to a pole, representing she is clinging onto her life & the second image shows the model holding a tape measure over her mouth, representing that she has replaced food with the worry of her weight. 

Sue Kennedy

Photographer Five: Sue Kennedy

Why chosen: I have chosen this photographer because the photographer has captured interesting pictures/portraits of babies. I like the simple grey background used in most of her images to keep the attention on the babies themselves. I also like the way the babies don't look posed, they look natural. 

 In this image the photographer has used a light grey background with natural lighting. The photographer has captured the baby laughing which makes the image interesting to look at. The baby is the main focus of the photograph, therefore a simple, plain colour has been used for the background so that it doesn't take away the attention from the baby.

 This photograph is very similar to the picture above, a grey background has been used and natural lighting. The baby is also the main focus of this image. I like the position of the baby in this photograph and the angle it has been taken from. The colour has been reduced from this picture making it grey and white rather than black and white, this makes the babies big brown eyes stand out in the picture.

 This picture also uses the grey background, as many of her images do. The lighting is also very natural in this image. This image looks less posed then the image above because the baby is just naturally sitting on a chair. The babies hat and eyes are the same colour which draws the eye when looking at the photograph. 

This photograph shows the relationship between a mother and baby. The baby is very naturally posed, placed in her mothers arms. The lighting in this photograph is quite dark and focused on the baby itself. The image has been make black and white so that the baby is the main focus because the mothers top is black, therefore you can not really see it. The background is also black, meaning the mothers top will blend in with the background. 

Influence: This photographer has influenced me slightly as I would be interested in taking photographs of babies as I feel they are different to previous photographs I have taken of models. 

Summary: Overall this photographer hasn't really influenced me as I was unable to take photographs of babies, therefore this photographer has no link to my own work. 

Ben Moore

Photographer Four: Ben Moore

Why chosen: I have chosen this photographer because I am very interested in portrait photography to express emotions. I feel these images themselves tell a story of thought and feelings just through the models facial expressions. I also like this photographers work because they are close up portraits, which I like. This photographers work is simple but very interesting and clearly shows a story.

This photograph creates the feeling that the model is thinking, feeling stressed. The lighting is very natural and lights up one side of the models face more than the other. the models face is the main focus of the image and hardly no background is included in the image. 

This image is in black and white, helping create a atmosphere of loneliness, as from the models facial expression he comes across to be very alone as it looks like from the image that he is looking outside a window. The lighting looks very dark in this photograph but there is a light coming from the right hand side (maybe from the window). The model is looking down which instantly makes the audience assume the model is feeling down.

 This image clearly shows the emotion of sadness due to the model looking down with her eyes closed. The lighting in this photo is directed onto the models face, the face is the main focus of the picture, there is no background involved apart from the clothes the model is wearing. This photograph could show many different emotions but from simply looking at the image you can see that the model is upset about a situation. 

This image is the same model as the picture above, however this picture isn't a close up and reveals the story behind the picture above. The reason for the above picture to show the emotion of sadness is because she is a homeless women. The lighting in this picture is natural day light as you can tell due to the location being outside. 

Influence: This photographer has influenced me to tell the story of different emotions because I strongly feel that a single photo of a model showing a emotion tells its own story. I have also been influence by the idea of homelessness and poverty from the two images above of the homeless lady. 

Summary: This photographer has influence me as I took my own photographs of poor and rich situations, in relation to this photographer showing poverty.

Abelardo Morell

Photographer Three: Abelardo Morell

Why chosen:  I have chosen this photographer because I was very intrigued when looking at their work. I believe it is a very creative idea and I hadn't come across photographs like this before, therefore I found this photographers work very interesting. The use of the cardboard cut outs makes the images very unique compared to photographers with actual human models. The photographs being in black and white make the images look like they have come from a old book or newspaper.

This image re creates a scene from Alice in Wonderland when they are at the tea party. The cut out characters look small compared to the objects in the image, just like the film itself. The images being in black and white create a spooky atmosphere because the lighting seems to be darker. The detail of the cut out characters in this image helps tell the story of Alice in Wonderland and makes the photos a lot more interesting to look at.

This photograph is also in black and white, showing a different scene from Alice in Wonderland. This photograph looks like it has been taken in a forest due to the background looking like a tree, therefore this creates the feeling of there being a little unknown world, just like Alice discovers in the film.

This image  shows a book and a cut out character, the character comes across to be very small compared to the book itself. This image is also black and white like a number of images from Abelardo Morell work. Due to the image being black and white the lighting seems to be very dark. The photo has been taken from slightly above the objects to make the character seem smaller. 


This photograph shows the scene from Alice in Wonderland when she discovers the key and drink that makes her smaller. The picture shows the cut out character of Alice to be big and then small once she has drunk the drink. This image is also black and white, there is limited background included in this photograph because the characters are the main focus. 

Influence: I like this photographers work, however it hasn't really influence my work in any way, as I feel it would be hard to re create this type of photography in my own way, therefore I would have to copy it and i wouldn't want to do that. 

Summary: This photographers hasn't influence my work in any way apart from the story line of Alice in Wonderland. 

Eric Myer

Photographer Two: Eric Myer

Why chosen: I have chosen to look at this photographers work because I fell it is unique and interesting. I like how the photographs show stereotypes within todays society. I also like how the facial expressions in the photographs are very blunt/simple showing limited amount of feelings allow the audience to make their own mind up about how they are feeling, in a way it portrays the models to be hiding their emotions. 

 In this photograph the paper covering the face shows what the person is meant to look like as a stereotypes, however behind the paper he could look totally different. This photos composition only includes the face and hands up against the face, limited amount of background is shown to make the face the main focus. The lighting used in this image is very bright & happy, the opposite to the facial expression. 

 This photograph uses the same techniques to show stereotypes. This image shows depth of field because the image at the front is in focus and the background has been blurred. The emotions shown in this photograph are unclear because you can only see the models eyes. The lighting in this photo is very much focused on the model herself rather than the background, the lighting is very natural . 


This image also shows stereotypes in the same way, the lighting used is fairly dark which creates a mystery feeling when looking at the image. The models long wavy hair stereotypically makes the audience assume he would be a certain type of person, for example: a hippy. The background has also been taken out of focus in this image.

This photograph uses very natural lighting to create a peaceful atmosphere, the background is blurred out and the model at the front is in focus, very much the same as all the previous images of Eric Myer's work. This is known as Depth of Field. This image also shows the different stereotypes within society.

Influence: I have been influence by this photographer to tell the story of stereotypes within todays society. I have also ben influenced by the way this photographer shows stereotypes because it is very unique and interesting. 

Summary: Overall I was influenced by this photographer as I took photographs to show the different stereotypes. However I did not use this photographers idea of the cut out paper facial expressions. Therefore this photographer didn't influence me as much in the end. 

Shoot Eight

During this lesson I did a studio shoot of Alice in Wonderland. I used a brown background for all of my photographs because the blonde whig looked nice against the brown background the colour being brown also made the colours of the dress stand out more. I used bright lighting but focussing on the model herself not the background because I didn't want any shadows on the background. 

If I was to do this lesson again I would change the lighting because some of the images were way too bright and some of them were way too dark depending on how close the picture was. I would also think about doing a location shoot for Alice In Wonderland as I liked my previous Dorothy Shoot a lot due to the location. 

In this image it shows the model holding her dress, I didn't include the models face as I wanted the dress to be the center of attention. I also took this photograph in this way because I had looked at another photographers work of Alice in Wonderland and the face was not included in many of the images. I edited this image to make the background black because I like how it created mystery. If I was to take this photograph again I would make sure that the lighting is right on both sides because as you can see the models left arm is a lot more pale than the rest of her body. 

This second image I again didn't include the model face and focused on the movement of the model poring tea. I did this because due in the film and book of Alice in Wonderland she is at a tea party and a tea set is very much associated with Alice in Wonderland. I like the models skin complexion against the brown background and the gold tea set with the brown background. If I was to take this photograph again I would get more of the models whig in the composition as I believe the blonde hair represents Alice in Wonderland and its helps portray the character through the image. 

Shoot Seven

In this lesson I did a location shoot rather than a studio shoot, this is because I believe the location links to the theme of Dorothy and helps to portray her character in the photographs. For this shoot I took many of the same images but at different angles to see which ones turned out better, I went to a variety of different areas within the location and had the model pose in all different positions, either sitting down or standing. 

If I was to do this lesson again I would just take more pictures because I really liked how these photographs turned out and I felt that I could do a number of editing techniques with these photographs. therefore I would just of liked more variety to choose from. 

In this photograph I captured the model laughing. This created a fun, natural atmosphere which I really liked because I tend not to like photographs that look very posed and unnatural because they look too fake. I edited this age by making the whole photograph black and white apart from the model herself. I did this because I feel the colours of the dress and the red bows look nice against the black background. If I was to take this image again I would try to capture the exact same moment of the model laughing but from a directly in front angle. 

For this photograph the model is looking directly at the camera, smiling. The model is leaning against the tree which creates the feeling that she has been walking a long time (like in the film Dorothy) and is taking a rest by leaning on the tree. If I was to take this image again I would make sure the models hair is in the correct place because the left bow is facing down and its unclear to see, I like the composition of this image very much but if I was to take it again I would include more of the surroundings. 

Shoot Six

In this lesson i took photograph in the studio of portraits and then during the rest of the lesson I edited the images by putting animations onto the photographs. I did this because I wanted the model to look like she had come out of a story/fairy tale. For this shoot I used both blue & red background, the lighting I used for the blue background was very vibrant but elegant to show the fairy tale mood. whereas the lighting for the black background was fairly darker because I wanted to keep the background a plum red colour. 

If I was to do this lesson again I would take some more close up shots and not all of the body as when I took a number of long shot photographs there was a shadow left on the background. To prevent this I could also change the lighting. 

In this image you can see that I have edited 2 animations on to the models had to look like she is holding 4 birds. I used birds from Cinderella because I wanted to create the fairy tale feeling. I like the models black dress and bright hair colour against the red background and I also think the birds stand out more on the red background than on the blue because there are of similar colour. I used fairy dark lighting and focussed the light on the models face rather than the background itself, this is because I wanted to keep the background quite dark in order for it to stay a plum colour but I still wanted the model to look bright and happy. If I was to take this image again I would experiment with the different angles of taking the picture. 

This photograph is a long shot, showing the whole of the models body from head to toe. Although the long shot images created a shadow on the background, by having the long shot images it allowed me to add more animation which I feel takes the attention away from the shadow on the background. I also used Cinderella birds in this photo and used a similar pose from the film. For this image I used vibrant lighting to create the fun, fairy tale atmosphere. If I was to take this photograph again I would lower the lighting to make it a tinny, tinny bit darker to see if the shadow would disappear and get the model to stand further away from the background so the outline of the shadow wouldn't be so clear and noticeable. 

Exam Plan

Exam Plan

Tuesday 1^st April

Shoot for 2 hours at London:

Shoot One- Telling a story of London tourist attractions

What will I need for this shoot?

·      Camera

·      Spare battery

Shoot Two- Telling a story of thoughts and feelings

What will I need for this shoot?

·      Camera

·      Spare battery

·      A3-Paper (loads)

·      Thick permanent marker & a spare one

Friday 4^th April

Editing for 3 hours:

During the editing process I will be:

·      Printing contact sheets

·      Printing 4 straight prints

·      Edit for straight prints

·      Edit & print a number of computer experiments

·      Edit & Print 1 or 2 final pieces