Learning Outcomes-
•Research and creative curiosity
•Process, Experimentation, and criritical analysis
•Communication and audience
•Realisation
Research Photos 25.9.25
I went out today with the intention of making images which demonstrate the use of shutter speed, i did this without prior research into other photographers and photos to see what I would come up with myself. These images did not have a specific theme and were simply understanding how different shutter speeds can effect the images. For example the first images were taken at 0.6" and we can see that the movement becomes "invisable" at some parts of the relatively slow walking speed. Whereas the 7th and 8th image were taken at 1.6" which lead to more of a trail coming from the person. The idea for these photos was to make 1/30th my highest shutter speed to see how keeping the shutter open for longer effects the images. I used a mini tripod to stabilise these images as I was not in a position to take out the large tripod, hence the low angles- Although some are handheld. Depending on the type of images I decide to make for this project, handheld could be an option to focus more on colour like the petrol station and fair photos.
Researching Others Work
this photo uses a slow shutter speed to create a light trail which makes a light painting of a heart.
this photo also uses a slow shutter speed to create a light trail and then the subject has held the position at the end to make himself solid, or this was done in 2 images, a long exposure light painting and then a fast shutter speed of the final position and combined together in photoshop.
this is the black sabbath paranoid album cover which uses long exposure to make it appear as though the man with the sword is running towards the camera.
this photo uses long exposure to make it look as though the subject has 2 faces through a slow shutter speed where the subject has held the first and last face position and moved inbetween.
this photo uses a slow shutter speed to show the trails of the balls as they have been broken, the shutter was open for long whilst the balls were initially still as we can see them in the middle position as well as the white ball and then the shutter stayed open after so we can see their final positions.
this photo uses slow shutter speed to show a fighting move to create a smoke like effect behind the subject, the subject started moving as soon as the shutter opened and it stayed open in his final position as it starts in smoke and we can see his ending position.
Detailed analysis
This image features a long exposure using a light painting technique. The photo is set in a vast rocky landscape, the photo was taken at night on what looks to be quite a long exposure, maybe over a minute- I know this because the stars have moved in the sky, although this could be because the tripod was moved. the subject of the image is a rock with a light coming out of it in a spiral shape. This was likely made with a handheld light with someone walking away from the rock. we can see the light on the floor of the scene but it is working in triangles, leading the eye towards the rock. this could indicate exposure stacking or another light being turned on during the exposure to create this effect, regardless i feel this was done purposefully to lead the eye towards the subject. another point is that no person can be seen holding the light which again indicates a long exposure time as the person who is moving has not been picked up in the photo. the aperture on this image would have been high as there is very little blur in the background and all of the light painting is in focus as well as the rock. I feel this image could have a better direct composition if the light trail was following a more linier path- i feel there is little realism and immersion as we can tell the light was not supposed to be there- the lines on the floor help to combat this but I feel more could have been done to create an immersive image.
This image shows two people fighting in a professional kickboxing match, the crowd can be seen and the lines of the boxing ring lead to the start of the camera right mans leg which then leads us up to the foot which leads to the man dodging it. this photo uses a very high shutter speed to completely freeze the frame, it holds the kick in the most suspenseful position and also shows the audiences expressions. i feel this use of shutter speed is effective because rather than showing the speed with a slow shutter, it shows tension with the boxers expression and a missed kick, it leaves the viewer seeing the boxers mind thinking what move he will do next, as well as considering what the opponent will do. it also holds the boxer on camera lefts front foot in a raised position showing that he has just shifted his weight and height down to avoid this attack. this photo creates a lot of drama and raises a lot of questions when left without the context of the rest of the fight.
This image features a car driving past lights with a reflection shown underneath, showing us this was taken on a rainy evening. this photo uses a technique called panning which means that the camera is moved tracking the subject whilst at a low shutter speed, this movement means that the subject stays in focus whereas the background creates a motion blur. this image was most likely taken around 1/30th of a second and quite a wide aperture as the motion blurred background lights are also quite thick as they have been made into bokeh. the subject is not quite centre frame in this but this could be an artist choice and a use of the rule of thirds, as moving objects should be placed on the line leading them to the middle of the frame, although i feel the artist has missed this point and it now looks like they have just missed centre framing.
this image shows a lightsaber duel using long exposure. this photo was taken in a vast what looks to be desert at night. we can see the stars in the photo and we can also see the light from the blades bouncing off the floor of the sand. the blades show a clear path of the attack and hold just before the connecting moment. the begining of the light is on the outside of the frame from both subjects, i think this is effective as it shows a long build up to the connecting moment, i also think the use of spins is effective, although on the red light we can see that the spin has looped over itself and created a blown out highlight which i think deteriorates this image. i think this photo was taken at a slow shutter speed of around 10 seconds because of how clear the subjects are, i feel this image started with coming from the outside and did the choreography very slowly and then held in the final position we see them in for a while to make them clear in this position, this is further increased by the light showing on the red fighters back and head. i also think this image was taken at a very high aperture as we can see the sand dunes stretching until the back of the frame. this is a well coregraphed photo and i would like to create something with aspects of this image myself.
First Photoshoot - Lightsabers - 28.9.25
Dicsussion on images-
These images were taken in my back garden with my brother and dad. this is a series of images showing a fight scene inspired by star wars. all of these photos are taken on a long exposure time of around a second with lights placed camera left and right to light the subjects and surrounding area so that not only the lightsabers can be seen. the first image shows the start of the "fight" and shows the 2 subjects with their blades touching, this photo was taken on --1 second-- with the models slightly moving their lightsabers to create a wider effect of light- this is not a feature i will be using in future progressions of this as I feel it takes stability away from the photo. the red light from the lightsaber is hitting the subjects face illuminating him in a red shade which could be inferred as making him more "evil" in this situation, his elbow is also rim lit by the light behind. the subject camera right is lit a lot by a light off screen showing he is the "good" guy as he is not shrowded in darkness like the other.
the next image shows the 2 doing some spins and this was taken on--- of a second-- this long shutter speed combined with fast movement brings a sense of lots of movement to this fight, also the long shutter speed obscures the subjects from the photo much more than the previous- making them both fall into the darkness.
The third photo shows an attack which meets in the middle at a hard stop. i used this photo to show a shift of power into the next in the squence. although i feel who the shift went to is not clear enough. this image was taken at -----
The fourth image depicts the shift in power as the subject camera left is well lit and in a still position, the red lightsaber is making a "fish" shape due to the style of defense called "barracuda". I feel this image indicates that the power has shifted into the blue's hand and red is defensively panicking after a devastating hit. this image was taken at ----
The final image in this sequence shows red attempting to block a hit to the legs from blue. in my interpretation of this photo he failed this and the fight ended. this image was taken at -----. although i feel that i could have made a much better ending to this sequence with a more concise point. if i were to do this shoot again, i would start by taking it to location and finding costumes for the models. i would also create a better story which tells the way of the fight better with a clear idea of who came out victorious.
Second Photoshoot- on location
For this sequence of photos I took a similar idea but took it out to a forest location to give the look of a star wars planet. for these photos I added a black mist diffusion filter to the camera to create the look i attempted on the first image from the previous set. this means that the light sabers get more of a glowing effect around the direct light source, this adds a more "cinematic" feel to the lighting. all these photos were lit with a rectangular "aperture mc" light on a pink setting, this allowed for the foreground and some of the background to be more visible in the dark location. in post I created a desaturated look but I feel the use of the pink still helps lighting and can be seen slightly in some of the foreground leaves- i chose pink as I thought it would create a more "sci-fi" look but later felt it was too much and a more cinematic look worked better for this set.
the first photo shows the 2 subjects beginning the fight, they are stood on the rule of thirds grid directly facing each other. both lights can be seen illuminating their faces as well as on the plants in the foreground. the body language of this image seems to me as the blue is very confident and ready to fight but the red is calm and collected waiting for the attack. this image was taken at -----
the second image in the set shows the first attack with blue coming from below and red blocking from above and meeting in the middle. this image was taken at --- seconds- and i had the subjects hold at the final hit of the scene just before the blades touched to allow slightly more exposure to the final placements of the blades.
The third photo was taken at --- seconds- with the same method used of keeping the final position for an extra amount of time to increase the final light. this long shutter speed also allows to see the starting and finishing positions of the subjects bodies and heads which almost shows 2 scenes inside of 1 photo. this photo shows an attack from red which blue has to block, leading into the next photo.
in this photo we can see blue disarmed which the viewer can assume was from the previous attack, causing the lightsaber to fall from his hand. this image shows red about to take a final strike into red. this photo was taken at --- seconds and this means that we can see movement from blue as he falls backwards trying to get away from this final strike. the lighting on this image changes as there is now only red and the background becomes entirely black creating a very isolated and final feel to this image.
the final image in this set shows the finality of the fight as we see the red blade go into its opponent. this photo also has 2 scenes combined into 1 as we see the starting and end position. we see red dive forward with the blade going into the opponent, we see his starting and ending position in this attack. the opponent we can see falling backwards as the blade comes through. i feel this almost looks as though his soul is leaving his body. this effect was achieved by using a shutter speed of --- and also having the subjects hold start and finish positions again.
for the next photoshoot of this i will keep a similar idea but this time the models will be in costume. i like the background of these shots but i would consider taking it into a different environment like a field for a different feel to the photos, that could create a less claustrophobic environment which would allow for more movement, although i do not know if that would fit this cinematic style which i would like to keep. i will use the black mist diffusion filter again as I think the way in works in photo 1 is exactly how i imagined it in the first shoot. I think I will keep the first photo very similar next time as i feel it works well in creating tension and scale to the fight although I will look at different composures for the models. the fight sequence I will make different but I think I will try and recreate something like the final image as I like the finality it brings to the set.
Third shoot- self portrait in costume on location
This photoshoot reflects on the previous ones by adding the element of costume to bring this scene into a fantasy setting. shutter speed still plays a significant role through the use of light trails and the black mist filter on the still photos. The first photo draws upon the first photo from the last shoot with a stand off scene before the "fight" begins making a clear impression of the side each stands on. blue holds a more relaxed pose than red, who looks as if they are waiting to get started. this is seen in red's arm being forward pointing where blue is relaxed by the side- also creating a clear notion of "good and evil" backed up by the lightsaber colours. red being bad, blue being good/ red being angry, blue being relaxed. the second photo leads on to the first strike in the fight where red attacks from above and blue blocks from below- this photo uses light trails to convey the movement and force in the swings- we can see red has taken a much longer and presumably harder strike than blues short, possibly quick, block. the next shot shows red knocking blues lightsaber from his hand in another downwards attack, showing that this is not the next attack in the sequence and there has been in a time skip for some of the fight, as with the previous attack being from down, this one would realistically not be. we see blue's saber go up in an attempt to block and then fall down with the force of reds hitting, the lightsaber then falls to the floor- i feel the composition on this could be clearer but unfortunately i did not have another chance to recreate this during the deadline. during the shoot, i thought the light on the floor would be enough to convey this message but i am now not sure and would change that if i were to do this again in the future.
this photo leads directly to the next which shows the saber more clearly on the floor and red delivering a final blow to blue to the neck. the use of long exposure in this shows start to finish of the attack and also the start and "ricochet" of blues head, of course with photoshop the head could be on the floor but i feel this conveys a very short scene before this happens. in this photo i do not like how much red's hand is moving but perhaps within this scene this is what would actually happen, we can't be too sure, especially with the already recognised aggression of red.
the final photo shows red stood with both lightsabers showing that he has come victorious from the fight and claimed a "trophy". this photo was handheld at a relatively low shutter speed which holds the frame, still utilising the black mist filter to add an air of ambience and drama to the image.
I think this sequence works well to convey this fight and the use of varied shutter speed fits the brief. if i were to do this again, i would not do it on self portrait as you can see my left hand is always behind me as I was holding my phone to remote trigger the camera and this limited some of the possible poses and actions.
